TheRCRacer Carbon Tamiya TRF201 / 211 shock tower available now

So after several iterations here is the carbon TRF201 front shock tower. The front shock tower is impossible to source nowadays, I was in need for a replacement for mine, and once I sourced one from a friend I was still a little concerned about breaking it, so I thought I would make an alternative to future proof the buggy. 

One of the main things I struggled with was trying to make something that was reliable and also presented enough tuning possibilities.

So after a few months tinkering and testing, the final version here in 4mm carbon provides great durability, along with 5 roll centre adjustments that cover the most popular set-ups. 

The front bulkhead is also a rare part, with that in mind I have engineered the tower to fit very precisely around the lower part of the bulkhead. Combined with the 4mm thickness it is a snug fit, eliminating longitudinal twist. 

Installing the tower..

The tower will need some hardware to ensure that you get the most from installing it. I will bold out new parts. 

In the front bulkhead I used 4x 1.5mm shims from the Tamiya 53539 Aluminium spacer kit. 

You can attach the ball nuts to set your roll centres. I used Tamiya 53640 5mm aluminium ball nuts.  Tamiya 53599 Fluorine Coated nuts are also a perfect fit (And harder wearing).  

The next step is to screw the tower onto the bulkhead. You want to swap out the screws and use 4x 3x12mm screws. This compensates for the thicker carbon and strengthens the grip with the bulkhead. You want to align the screws by fastening them in a cross pattern, not tightening them until you have all four screws attached. 

The shocks use the same mountings as the TRF211. This uses the Tamiya 54155 3mm Thin aluminium Lock nut.

The final change was to add 1mm shim, again from the Tamiya 53539 Aluminium spacer kit. The 5x5ball connector is fine, but you can use Tamiya 53969 5x8mm hex ball connectors if you really want to have maximum strength.

I hope you enjoy running this part. 

How to order. 

At the time of writing this, the 4mm tower will cost £17.50. You can order it via Fibre-Lyte. By contacting directly. Order details and price is now on the TRF201 page on the fibre-lyte. webpage  (Note They ship worldwide. Just contact them via their page to place your order. 

Help Support this Blog

If you appreciate the non profit work I have done, please feel free to tip me to help me to afford to develop more parts for the racing community to enjoy (Everything I do comes out of my pocket, I never take anything from the sales etc, to ensure you get things for the cheapest price) If you wish to tip me, You can make buy me a cup of coffee tip by clicking this link https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheRcRacer

Disclaimer and thanks

These have been made as a contribution to the Tamiya racing community. There is no profit for myself and the parts can be ordered directly via Fibrelyte. These are just a tuning aid, I found them to work well, as has others who have tested parts. Every track / driving style is different so do not expect a golden bullet.

Thanks to Steve at Fibre-Lyte 

I have invested my own time and money in these parts for the Tamiya community, at no profit for myself. These designs are always improved via feedback from other racers. So please let's share feedback and set-ups and I can try to refine or design other parts in the future :) 

I own the rights to these parts so please do not copy them and sell them for profit.