The Classical Wecker mini RC

The Classical Wecker mini RC. 

This is a nice micro Rc I decided to pickup. It looked so cool that I couldn’t pass up the chance to have one. There are at least twelve styles of these European classical cars. It’s 1/48 scale fully functional forward, reverse, left, right with front and rear lights. 

The head lights are very bright and it moves very well for it’s size. The package is quite nice, it serves as a display case when not in use. It also houses the controller. It responds very well and is fast enough to enjoy a good race with friends. 

Replacing Wheel front uprights / hubs on a TT02 chassis

So here is why sooner or later you'll have to replace the feeble plastic parts the standard TT02 Tamiya chassis. Years ago the standard plastic parts that came in RC combo kits were made much better. You really had to suffer a hard crash for it to break, such as to the curb. I've driven the TT02 as standard without any up grade parts for just a couple months. As I thought the weakest part of this chassis is around the wheels. Just a few hours of drifting and the "front uprights" gave out. The uprights gave out just under natural stresses.  Well it's time for the upgrade!

Front upright/ hub

Sheared off axle from drifting buckled under pressure 

Here is what I'll be replacing it with. 

Square brand aluminum front uprights 

These weren't cheap but they add a mighty cool touch of class. They are solid machined peace of aluminum. Cheers to durability!!! 

Square TT02 Front Upright for  Tamiya

The rear sets are on a four month back order. Really popular!

I decided well why stop there let's additional upgrades for called for so installed ball bearings new gear box joints and disc breaks. Just a few extras and the chassis has a new appeal.

The Future of RC

In recent years radio controlled cars have increasingly become smaller and more dynamic. Even on a micro scale their parts can be upgraded for better performance.

Key upgrade features usually include motors, tires, dampers and other precision parts. The characteristics of your car improve and are distinct with each additional upgrade and tweak. You can even gain some advantages on various tracks and courses if you know how to tweak your RC just right. That is why serious racers take such a great deal of time setting up their cars.   Kyosho’s Mini-Z has helped take micro sport places they’ve never been before. Despite the significant success created by Mini-Z  fan base has dwindled and new releases for cars have been lagging. Will Kyosho redesign this product from the ground up? How will it evolve from here? One thing for sure they will have to release a whole new fleet of auto scale bodies of current cars to ignite new hobbyist. If that doesn’t spark up the interest what will?

            If the guys from Anki have anything to do with it they just might set new standards for future indoor racing. Anki is an artificial intelligence co. They just released a new product called Anki Drive, which are micro RC cars with AI built in. If you haven’t heard of them you soon will. They took first stage at Apple’s summer 2013 product event announcement.  You can learn more about them on the web.

So what does that have to do with anything? Well if you could imaging being a driver and the race manager at the same time you could tell your car to overtake maintain a good lap or watch out for cars that are seconds behind.  This is just the beginning of Anki’s enterprise but the technology behind it has potential. We can only wait to see how this unfolds.

Lights On! Tamiya 458 Challenge with LED lights.

As soon as you install LED lights in an RC car, it adds a whole new feeling of excitement.
It is certainly a nice way to enjoy driving. You can go all out and have them blinking or the chassis glowing. However you like it, research what's right for you and you'll enjoy the added attraction.

TT02 Chassis

Lights can be activated without switching on the car.

Tamiya TLU-01 LED light kit

Installing LED lights on 1/10 Italia 458 Challenge

If you ever wanted to enjoy a little drifting at night, Tamiya packaged up a nice light kit installation set for their 1/10 models. The kit is made simple to install and use. I fit it into my 458 Challenge fairly quickly. Here's what you'll need to get.

Pick up  the TLU-01 option parts LED kit. 

Everything you need is in the box one front and one rear lamp set.
I added another light set for the front because I preferred the front LED orange

The module is light weight so not to hinder your car.

The system is able t re-rout and use the cars battery conveniently.

front and rear plugs.

Quick test before wiring.

The body can take two sizes of LED o3 and o5. Special adaptors are used for either size.  

If you use the wrong ones it won't be a sure fit.

Center the module and use supplied double sided tape to affix it to the body.

If you position it right you can still turn on and off the lights without removing the body. Also consider the balance of the RC. Use some black electrical tape to help fasten the wiring and follow the contour of the body to prevent rubbing on any moving parts and to maintain a neat uncluttered look.

Once you've positioned everything the way you like it you are done. Pop on the body and turn off the lights. Because I changed the front LED to orange I have a spare white o5 set. 

Stock to drift spec tires on the 458

Changing the tires on the the Tamiya 458 Challenge is simple. Tamiya has a nice hop-up set you can pick up from your favorite hobby store. The ones to get should be 26mm. All four wheels front and back are the same size. You'll need just the wheel T-tool to get the nuts off the tire and change the tires.
Be careful not to loose the pin that sits behind the disc brakes.

26mm Drift Spec in set of two.

Stock gray grip tires.

Front and rear tires are the same width.

The only tool you'll need to sweeten up your ride.

Tamiya TT02 Italia 458 Challenge review

About a month or so into the official release of the Italia 458 Challenge and it is here for review. This is an XB kit, it includes just about all you need to get on the road running. The expert built series (XB) saves you a lot of time building and painting and lets you enjoy driving as soon as you get home by just adding 4 AA batteries to the controller. Even an experience builder can enjoy the saved time.

2013 TT02 Italia 458 Challenge by Tamiya

Pros.

The price is really reasonable allowing anyone to get into this enjoyable hobby.

So what’s in the box? You get the new TT02 prebuilt chassis, with an (ESC) electronic speed controller, a steering servo, 2.4 GHz receiver and stock motor ready installed. The whole setup is already done for you. At a glance the design is very clean. The entire system is easily accessible for routine maintenance.  The Chassis on and off switch is located conveniently so it can be switched easily with the body on. The chassis is well molded and rigid giving you a sturdy drive.

Cons.

The questionable parts seem to be around the wheel areas. This includes the wheel hub axels and disc break plastic parts. They look to be vulnerable to breakage from an accidental crash or wear and tear.  Some of the cheaper looking parts are most likely used to keep the price down. Optional parts are left up to you. The body is great, well painted and decaled also flexible enough to absorb those bumpy occasions. But the flimsy part is the side view mirrors. They lose their position easily and rotate a bit due to vibration and are easily disturbed by touching them. Take extra precaution when removing the car from a bag, so they don't get torn out.

Overall this body and chassis looks and drives great right out the box. Get ready to enjoy power slides and drifting 

Unboxed 

Under the hood

Quick access to electronics

Front Wheel Assembly 

TT02 Rear Suspension

Ferrari 458 challenge TT02 First Run  

Out of the box bare bones first run. 

It drives very smooth good handling. Brakes pretty well, good control.