TOPIC:

Hi,
As many of you I have re-discovered the joy of RC cars. I used to love driving back in the 80s, but I never got my hands on a Tamiya..until now;) Now I am old enough to buy what I want myself, as log as the wife don`t know the cost:unsure: My resent buy was a vintage Tamiya Boomerang. I installed a new ESC and a 4000mah 2s LIPO-pack and it runs like a dream. I was lucky enough to have a Kyosho LeMans H240s laying around. Now it`s installed, and the Boomerang runs better than i have hoped for.
A couple of weeks ago I got an old Grashopper from a friend of mine, but it needs some care before it runs properly. Looking forward to try that as well.
Hope to learn some tips & tricks from others that has the same cars.
PS! If anyone has good ideas for home made hop-ups, I would like to hear from you. I have a couple of things I want to try out myself. I will post if they work:)

Hi and welcome!

Happened to start on another Grasshopper today myself!
It is also the car I began with a while ago...

Not a very complicated build.
I have done some mods on my original Hopper - to make it handle a bit better.




I'd start with giving it a set of ball bearings. It doesn't need many...
Also, there are wheel adapters (#53913) that will make it possible to fit wheels with (more modern) 12mm hex hubs.

I'll share some more details later if you want...
What are the ideas you were thinking of?

Hi RaoulDuke, and welcome to TamiyaBase.com
Good to see the Norwegians pcking up in numbers

I would love to see pictures of your Boomertang and Grasshopper. And keep us informad about your Grasshopper rebuild.

-Lars

Edou

those adapters you mention are they for the rear wheels only? would it be possible to convert all four wheels to the standard hex fitting as i wanted to fit a set of wheels i salvaged from a baja champ to my grasshopper.

regards

tamiya wrote:

those adapters you mention are they for the rear wheels only? would it be possible to convert all four wheels to the standard hex fitting as i wanted to fit a set of wheels i salvaged from a baja champ to my grasshopper.

Yes, they are for the rear only. One would normally fit a hex wheel hub on the axles that are being propelled.
Haven't heard of a way to convert a free running axle to a hex hub.

I think the front wheels might be a bit too wide to keep the Hopper steering properly too.
It is already a bit limited in this way...

Of course with these adapters it is possible two have to pairs of quality rear wheels for your Grasshopper.
The set of wheels on the pictures above are actually for a (RWD) DT-02...

Edit : thinking about it, it should be possible with a bearing that has a 12mm hex outside form instead of round.
I'll investigate...

Here's some guys brainstorming about a similar subject :

UltimateRc forum thread

Thanks for the replies,

Here is pics of my Boomerang and The Grasshopper. They are both runners, so I will not be rebuilding them into original shape.
First priority on the Grasshopper will be to make it handle better. I'm not sure where tho start first, but I think I'll need to do something with the front suspension first. As you see, the whole car is put together with duct-tape at the moment. This is only temporary;D I will probably put on a Hornet cover to reduce weight.
On The Boomerang I will try to find a solution on converting it to hex hubs. If anyone have a part number for such, i would be greatful:)

Same colour as mine, your Grasshopper!

Front suspension from a Grashopper II or Super Hornet is a straight fit.
You can then also use the short oil filled CVA dampers.
Makes a huge difference in handling. Also because of the wider wheelbase :


Putting on a Hornet body is possible of course. You would need the rear body mounts for it though.
And when you put these on there's a new possiblity of fitting the aluminium Hornet shocks too.

It's all on the pics I posted earlier btw...

Team CRP make a double wishbone conversion kit ( here & here for the nuts & bolts) for the Futaba FX10 that fits the Grasshopper/Hornet/Pumpkin/Lunchbox/Pajero wheelie ... with some chopping anyway...

The problem with the Hornet/Pumpkin/Lunchbox rear suspension is with the slotted gearbox mounts, under power the gearbox rotates & effectively creates a solid pivot like on the grasshopper - the "5th shock" mod (see here & here ) is very popular on the pumkin/lunchbox as it stops the rotation & allows some independance on each rear wheel ... there's not much room to do anything on the grasshopper/hornet though

I can't remember where the idea came from, but someone had the theory that another problem with the back end is the high unsprung wieght, compared to the rest of the car ... and the way to combat it was to increase the weight on the back end - with a spare wheel full of lead shot on the rollbars on the back of the body.

The CRP kit is awesome but it's a tricky fit :

Edou,

What price range do we talk about when we talk about these mods?
Nice pics by the way.