58726 Tamiya XV-02RS pro chassis build and review
Like any excited newcomers, they often plead for me to take one of my cars outside and thrash it on the driveway. But seasoned racers know better—such abuse quickly destroys tyres, stresses drivetrains, and leads to unnecessary wear and tear. While off-road cars are built for rugged terrain, I primarily race on tarmac, meaning driveway antics are firmly off-limits.
Determined to let them experience the joy of racing in a more suitable setting, I picked up a Tamiya MF01X—a perfect beginner’s platform for them to test the waters. The real question was, could I drive alongside them, demonstrating techniques while sharing the excitement?
Then, an intriguing opportunity arose: the Tamiya XV02RS Pro, available at a tempting discount. After some research, I took the plunge and placed my order. Would it prove to be a formidable machine worthy of some serious play?
The XV02 builds on the development of the XV01 to create a successful rally car. The XV01 was a front mounted motor with belt drive, the XV02 is a shaft drive car with the motor within the chassis.
As the car has evolved, it's been looked at to make it a competitive car. There are tarmac rally events around the world, so made sense to create a car that is capable of ripping up tarmac, yet able to deal with loose surfaces and small jumps. The emphasis of this car is to cover those options
This kit is aimed at someone who has some level of experience. There are a few small details which could trip a novice up. I'll call them out in the build.. Anyway let's begin!
The first step involves securing the shock tower mounts to the chassis tub. At first glance, the chassis material appears to be the optional 22075 Carbon reinforced lower deck, offering excellent rigidity. Tightening the mounting nuts can be fiddly, but a small dab of super glue applied via a blade helps keep them in place while inserting the bolts from the opposing side.
Next, the turnbuckles come into play. Some racers dread assembling them, but in this case, they cut cleanly and aren’t too challenging to fit
The plastic steering assembly is fitted and the turnbuckles are connected. Make sure you use a decent set of pliers on the ball cup. Otherwise the steering gets moved about and the potential to bend the assembly
Precision Differentials – Setting Up Performance
The XV02RS Pro features oil-filled gear differentials at both ends.
To ensure a smooth action, I sanded the rear of the plastic gears to eliminate imperfections that could cause binding. For performance tuning, I opted for 100,000 cst oil in the front differential for controlled slip, and 3,000 cst in the rear for better traction—striking a balance between grip and agility.
The kit includes two 39T crown gears and one 40T gear, allowing racers to customize their drivetrain by tweaking overdrive characteristics. A 40T crown gear in the front or rear can induce either increased stability or sharper oversteer—perfect for dialing in handling preferences. For now, I chose to run 39T gears all around, aiming for neutral behaviour.
Note: There is a matching pinion gear for the crown gear, so make sure you fit the matching one for the crown gear you plan to use
Suspension arms
Nothing out of the ordinary here. There are no droop screws as there is nothing for the screws to mount against. As it's a rally car, you will have a lot of movement which is required. You can always put o rings on the shock shafts if some drop is required.
I ran a reamer through the arms so the pins ran nicely.
The arms attach to the lower gearbox. I chose to use some alloy shims rather than the kit supplied ones, these won't wear as quickly as plastic. Just make a note of how many shims go in certain places and ensure the arms drop under their own weight once fitted
Powertrain – Laying Down the Torque
Now it's time to fit the diffs, and the prop shafts.
They diffs are held in securely with the lower gearbox covers.
Time to build up the layshaft with the spur/pinion required. I chose 64dp as I have loads. If you want to fit the optional centre diff, you will need to run the Tamiya spur gear.
There is a clip that holds the pin in place, if fitted the wrong way around it may come off in use. The manual clearly shows which way around so pay attention at this stage.
For power, I dropped in a 17.5T brushless motor—a reliable choice, though meshing the gears requires extra attention. The motor mount is integrated into the chassis, meaning adjustments are best made before installing electronics to avoid unnecessary repositioning later.
Further enhancing durability, the kit features special lowered carbon shock towers in 3.5mm carbon, ensuring rock-solid support for the suspension.
The driveshafts are CVD units front/rear. There are clips that hold the pins in place, make sure these are fitted the right way round or they will come off in use.
The front hubs are a 2 piece design. Not like a conventional C hub design but seems to function fine.
There are steering limiting screws that can be adjusted for more steering if needed
Now it's time for the shocks, they are not listed as TRF dampers but clearly are the premium units.
The shafts aren't fluorine coated but are still super low friction. The fronts are built with an o ring under the piston and are built shorter.
I used the kit 400 yellow damper oil. They built as nice as a usual TRF damper and had no issues to achieve consistent rebound
The cap has an option to drill the cap for less rebound. I chose to leave it for now. The manual also suggests to mark this area to aid with mounting the ball ends.
The ball ends are slightly bigger on one side to ensure fitment. The smaller edge retains the ball on the shock. If you try to fit it on the smaller edge, they simply will not fit
Electronics
Hunting through my boxes, I found an esc, servo and a receiver.
Looking through the design of the car, it feels the focus was on mounting the motor near the front, probably better for rally driving. Everything else has been squeezed in around it. The servo fits with the horn at a 45deg angle and across the propeller shaft.
I had to plan the best route for the wiring. I did use 12awg, so it's always going to look big but has less resistance so will handle power better than 14awg. The motor wires weren't much of an issue, but the battery wires were a challenge. As the lipo is on its side, its not in the usual position so normal working placement wasn't going to happen.
I had the run the positive under the propeller shaft and made sure it didn't rub. The negative ran high but connected ok. It's not my nearest wiring, but it is effective for this car.
The battery is retained by the side deflectors which also help to keep dirt away when flicked up from the tyres. I put the others on, but will see how hot the electrics get. The receiver is small so fitted in nicely and I mounted the capacitor as best as it would fit.
I fitted alloy wheel hexes as I'm not a fan of push on plastic hexes
Bodyshell
No shell is supplied which gives you scope to use anything you desire. I had a Yaris WRC I painted in the Subaru 555 colours which I modified the graphics. The aforementioned gold wheels suit This race scheme.
This was originally mounted for a TB02, but the holes lined up perfectly. I may of trimmed the posts slightly too much but we'll see
Track test.
I did some gentle laps at my local racing club, but it wasn't what the car was designed for!
However, upon driving the car it did go very well. Once I raised the shell, it certainly drove more like a rally car. The car would lean whilst cornering and nose dive whilst braking, looking like a rally car should! The kit supplied semi slicks gave a little slide, but nothing that wasn't controllable
Yes, the suspension could be tuned and a lower ride height adopted but this doesn't feel like a competitive touring car. If I want the car to be rapid on a track, I'll get my TRF421 out. This is more designed for loose surfaces or outdoor tarmac where grip is lower
Overall
Whilst a stock XV02 would be a very capable rally car, it may not be considered the best car to compete in any sort of circuit racing.
This car fills that gap and adds the upgrades that are felt necessary to make this a decent racing machine. Yes, more upgrades are possible but this car focuses on the appropriate upgrades deemed essential
In terms of a pure bred racing chassis, you will need to look at a TRF421. For an unfussy car that has a bathtub chassis and can mix it with similar cars, this is the way to go
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