Tamiya Asterion Project
Page 2: Upgrades!
I'm not sure why I immediately wanted this car to be special, but
perhaps it was the chrome. I needed something flashy inside to
match the outside. I bought a Yeah Racing aluminum conversion kit
which contained many blue aluminum suspension parts. I also
decided to use the power system which I had tried in the Monster Beetle
but which had turned out to be too much for it. The Tamiya
aeration shocks were recommended for this model on the box, but turned
out to not really be right as I'll discuss later.
The first thing I did was to replace the nylon gears in the
transmission with steel. This is not an easy matter. To
access the gears you pretty much have to tear down the whole
model. That turned out to be fine since I was replacing so many
other parts anyway.
I replaced the stock steering cranks and bridge with aluminum
parts. The original parts were actually very nice ball bearing
supported units so I'm not sure this added much, but it sure does look
cool. You'll also see a little foam washer under the ball
sockets. I have never seen these in another model, but they are
there to keep dirt and grit from eroding the ball. Most of the
joints in the model are thusly protected. You can also see my new
blue titanium steering links.
The steering upgrades get mostly covered by the bulkhead support bracket.
In this image you can see the new front suspension. There are
lower aluminum arms and steering arms. I bought a set of titanium
turnbuckles for the upper links which I thought was enough for the whole
car, but it only contained two so I put them in the rear (not shown).
A sway bar has been added which is a bit tricky to see since it faces
back, but you can see the links connecting to the lower arms.
These images show the front suspension before and after the
upgrades. The changes to the steering hubs and shock tower are
pretty obvious. I also changed the motor to a 23 turn Super Stock
which makes a huge difference. Finally, you can see the new
shocks. These did not really work out as hoped. They are
actually made for touring cars but Tamiya specifically recommends them
for the XV-01. When using the "T" version like I am, they are much
too short. By changing the rod end to the extended length version
they fit about right, but the springs are much too hard compared to the
stock CVA shocks. The result of this is a truck that's pretty
bouncy. They are so pretty that I can't quite bring myself to
change back to the plastic variety, but I did replace the shock oil with
a much thinner variety which helps a bit.
A similar process was conducted on the rear suspension. I replaced
the differential gears, the lower suspension arms, the wheel hubs, the
turnbuckles, the shock tower, and the shocks. I also added a rear
sway bar. Looks really nice! I forgot to mention that I also
replaced the dog bone axles with CVDs. This worked well except
that one of the front parts had a defective thread and wouldn't take a
wheel nut. I don't have any 5mm dies so it was a real struggle to
get a nut on. I ended up having to cut off the last couple of
threads. The Yeah Racing upgrade kit was cheap so I guess that's
what I get.
Here is the pile of parts I replaced. Most of them will go in the
trash, but I'll keep the flexible lower arms in case my aluminum arms
ever bend after a jump.
Here are a couple of final before and after photos. With all the
shields and covers installed a lot of it is not very visible.
There is a new ESC under the cover that will manage the higher output
motor. From a front, rear, or bottom view the aluminum parts are
pretty obvious. The biggest noticeable difference comes from the
motor which makes the car much faster. The shocks are smooth but
too stiff. The other parts are not really noticeable in terms of
performance, but they are theoretically more durable.
©2018 Eric Albrecht
