TOP Racing Photon

TOP Racing Scythe

TOP Racing Sabre

TOP Racing Rebel F01

Différence de taille entre une boîte de FF03 EVO, une Sakura FF 2014 et Sabre FD2.

Déjà que la boîte de la Sakura était pas bien grande, celle de la FD2 est encore légèrement plus petite.

La boîte se trouve dans un sur-emballage.

Dans la boîte se trouve une pochette ainsi que les sachets contenant les pièces.

La pochette contient la notice au format horizontal comme la Safura FF 2014 et une jolie planches d'autocollants.

Le châssis carbone et le sachet contenant les sachets de pièces.

Exit le gros sachet et place aux petits sachets.

Préparation des divers sachets ouverts. J'utilise des couvercles d'une boisson chocolatée du petit déjeuné, c'est bien pratique.

On commence.

Le différentiel et le pignon intermédiaire. Les satellites du différentiel sont en plastique comme sur tout les autres FF que j'ai pu monter.

Cellules inférieures.

Arbre avec la couronne principale.

Cellules supérieures et support d'amortisseurs.

Cardans à simple articulation et portes fusées.

Montage de la triangulation.

Assemblage des cardans portes fusées avec la triangulation. Et les différentes biellettes.

Assemblage des biellettes et des renvois de direction.

Assemblage des amortisseurs.

Assemblage des supports latéraux et de la fixation de l'accu.

Assemblage du servo de direction (low-profile Feetech).

Assemblage du Bumper et des supports de carrosserie.

Support d'antenne et écrous de roues.

Installation de l'électronique et du moteur. Pas de bol je n'ai toujours rien reçu.

Planche d'autocollants.

Photo de famille des Tractions. De gauche à droite: FF03 Upgrade-Set, Sabre FD2, FF03 "Blue-Touche", Sakura FF 2014, FF03 EVO, Huge FF12.

La collection de tractions modernes s'agrandit doucement.

Pas de soucis de montage particulier sur le FD2. Quelques petites erreurs dans la notice au niveau des vis de montage mais rein d'insurmontable.

L'anodisation n'est pas rouge mais un rose qui tire sur le rouge. Seuls les amortisseurs sont anodisés rouges.

Pas d'huile pour les amortisseurs ni de graisse pour le différentiel dans le kit.

photos plus grande:boomerzworld

Tokio Option Parts racing driver Josh Cyrull was driving the all new prototype car lately. Here's what Josh had to say viewing the picture: "Unfortunately, I missed that pic being taken but I can guarantee that it wasn't taken at close range as I've turned away anyone I've seen with a camera within 15-20ft of the car and made sure to keep an eye on them. Yes, there has been opportunities for people to take pictures but most have had respect for our wishes to keep it from being photographed."

Though Josh wasn't really happy with the picture being taken he could give us some more information about the new car: "It will come with molded pistons and I am not aware of any plans for aftermarket "machined" ones. The difference though is that these are not your "typical" piston. They are a special shape to aid in the fit/drag and fluid flow through them. In my testing, they were much more consitant than even a machined piston." Josh also used Kyosho shock because the new TOP Racing ones weren't available yet. The new car will also have black belts instead of the white ones shown above.

"With the new Photon, I am confident we have a very good base to work from with ample adjustments, super light drivetrain, strong suspension components and all the essentials to put the car up with the best out there. Not to mention the fact that I've had other top drivers and engineers tell me how impressed they are with the car and even some tell me that they are jealous and they wish their sponsor's car was like the Photon. I know the group of us who have worked so hard to develop the Photon are proud and have done a great job."

The production of the TOP Photon is delayed, the official release of the car will take place in April/May

source rctech et rctouring

Type:

Tamiya Front Driven Chassis FF02 Class; intended to be a professional version of the Tamiya FF02 class.

Dimensions:

1/10 EP Touring car specifications.

Drive Train:

Front Gear Driven (Gear ratio & gears compatible with Tamiya FF02); Photon compatible universals and wheel hubs

Suspension:

Photon compatible suspension parts; ARP compatible rear bulkheads, differential.

Chassis:

A. Super narrow and super low CG chassis designed specifically for professional front drive racing.

B. Photon Lipo battery balancing and guiding system.

T.O.P. Racing Sabre FD chassis

…and I have named it the Scyton.

Basically it’s a hybrid of the TOP Photon suspension and the TOP Scythe chassis and drivetrain.

Why have I done this? Well, partly because I can (since I own both cars), and partly because I hope it will take the best bits of each car to make something even better.

I like the simplicity of the Scythe; I like that the chassis has no undercuts beneath the motor and that the top deck is not countersunk for more consistent flex and tweak; I like the security of the servo mounting; and I like its light weight. But I have reservations about the suspension (borrowed from HPI). The hubs are incorrectly moulded with unequal toe; the roll bar drop links are tight and the geometry is prone to oversteer (probably due to the short camber link at the rear). The Yokomo shocks are tricky to build consistently with the supplied diaphragms (Yokomo do now have some black rubber Tamiya-style diaphragms but I haven’t tried them).

I like the suspension on the Photon. It is much more accurately moulded; strong; and operates smoothly. The rear geometry is better balanced, with a longer top link. The Tamiya-inspired shocks are plush and easy to build. But the chassis is over-complicated with too many components to come loose in a race, and arguably too many adjustments that you don’t need. It also has an undercut under the motor (on my 6-cell chassis, although the LiPo chassis has been changed), and a countersunk top deck which makes de-tweaking impossible. The servo mounting is far less secure than on the Scythe, requiring smaller mounts and a lot of extra spacers.

Handling-wise, the Photon has a slight understeer tendency, the Scythe has a fairly strong oversteer tendency. I’m hoping that the Scyton will be somewhere in between.

Overall, the conversion is fairly straightforward, although there are a few small dimensional differences. This is how I did it… (all measurements approximate)

Scyton front suspension

The anti-roll bar link does foul the inside steering knuckle at full lock and full compression - shouldn't be a problem on the track.

Photon shocks and anti-roll bars are a direct fit.

Scythe ackerman plate has been moved forward one hole. Photon ball ends are too chunky to fit on the Scythe bellcrank.

Shot of the front wheel arch, showing how far forward the Photon suspension moves the wheel.

Starting at the front, the Photon arms have a forward sweep of about 2mm compared to the Scythe. To compensate for this I chose to move the ackerman plate forward by one hole to give straight steering arms again. The Photon ball ends are too big to fit on the Scythe steering bellcrack, it is the only part of the conversion that requires the old Yokomo ball ends. The Scythe crank would be equivalent to the middle length and a theoretical “8″ insert on the Photon. The Photon C-hubs are 0.5mm lower, so I removed 0.5mm from the inner camber links. The Photon suspension arms need a 0.5mm spacer and a couple of shims on the inner suspension shaft. Shocks and anti-roll bars are a straight swap, although I have spaced the top shock mounting forward by about 4mm, and the anti-roll bar drop links foul the inside steering knuckle on full lock at full compression (shouldn’t be a problem on the track).

Rear suspension is even easier to fit.

Nothing to foul the drop link. Longer camber link should generate more rear grip.

The rear arms are swept forward by 1mm. When you take into account the extra 0.5mm spacing required on the suspension shaft, the wheelbase ends up about the same, but the weight distribution has been moved back a tiny bit (0.5% or so!). The rear lower arms are 0.5mm shorter than the Scythe, but the top link is mounted 2.5mm further out on the hub, which should generate a better balance overall. The rear hub is 2.5mm lower than the Scythe, simply use a 2mm spacer though and it matches the front Photon hub geometry. Again, I am running 0.5mm less under the inner camber link. Photon driveshafts (46mm front and 44.5mm rear) appear to fit the Yokomo diffs perfectly.

Scyton top view

Car is now converted to brushless and LiPo.

As you can see the Scythe comfortably fits brushless and LiPo technology. The LiPo has to be mounted outboard for balance – so the NiMH-shaped centre bulkhead of the Scythe is not a problem. Car needs about 15gm ballast to reach 1350gms with no fancy lightweight parts.

I’m expecting the car to have a bit less steering than the Scythe, so for that reason I have put a basic Scythe setup on the car (0.5mm under the blocks, 2.5 front arm sweep), rather than the setup I have developed to tame the steering with the original suspension. Testing will prove whether the setup is right or not. Looking forward to it.

Any questions, just ask.

PS-TR15550 Shock Spring 393gf/mm , 22.0lb/in Rubber Tire

PS-TR15575 Shock Spring 367gf/mm , 20.5lb/in Rubber Tire

PS-TR15600 Shock Spring 344gf/mm , 19.2lb/in Rubber Tire

PS-TR15625 Shock Spring 324gf/mm , 18.1lb/in Rubber Tire

PS-TR15650 Shock Spring 306gf/mm , 17.1lb/in Rubber Tire

PS-TR15675 Shock Spring 289gf/mm , 16.2lb/in Rubber Tire

PS-TF17625 Shock Spring 626gf/mm , 35.0lb/in Foam Tire Front

PS-TF17650 Shock Spring 591gf/mm , 33.1lb/in Foam Tire Front

PS-TF17675 Shock Spring 560gf/mm , 31.3lb/in Foam Tire Front

PS-TF17700 Shock Spring 532gf/mm , 29.8lb/in Foam Tire Front

PS-TF17725 Shock Spring 507gf/mm , 28.3lb/in Foam Tire Front

PS-TF14575 Shock Spring 347gf/mm , 19.4lb/in Foam Tire Rear

PS-TF14600 Shock Spring 325gf/mm , 18.2lb/in Foam Tire Rear

PS-TF14625 Shock Spring 306gf/mm , 17.1lb/in Foam Tire Rear

PS-TF14650 Shock Spring 294gf/mm , 16.2lb/in Foam Tire Rear

PS-TF14675 Shock Spring 274gf/mm , 15.3lb/in Foam Tire Rear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XFU3W7S3Bw

TOP Racing "Scythe"

Driver: EJ Evans

Stockton Raceway