The Joy of Hex! Tamiya TRF201 & TRF211 Hex conversion DN-01 51768 22106

I don’t have a great relationship with superglue and RC cars. I hate the stuff… although probably not quite as much as my partner, who once discovered a set of buggy wheels and tyres firmly attached to the kitchen worktop!

So, wherever possible, I try to avoid it. However, running a Tamiya TRF 2WD buggy has usually meant gluing my own front tyres, as the original front wheels don’t use the common 12mm hex fitting found on many other 2WD buggies.

There have been conversions over the years, but those I’ve come across have all altered the steering geometry slightly. That isn’t necessarily a problem, but I’d prefer to retain the kit set-up. I still think the TRF201 and its DN-01 relatives handle very well in their original form on the carpet tracks I’m racing on at the moment.

Luckily, pre-glued tyres are now a straightforward option for Tamiya TRF 2WD racers. With the growing popularity of RWD buggy classes, Tamiya has released the DN-01SR and thoughtfully updated it to use 12mm hex wheels all round. Good news for tyre choice, and potentially even better news for the kitchen worktop.

The rear end was already catered for, thanks to Tamiya’s 54669 Buggy Aluminium Hex Hubs (Rear). It’s the front end where things get interesting.

Now however they have released separate parts so that we can upgrade our 2WD TRF201 / 211's etc 

Here are the parts you need..

• Tamiya 22106 One piece Steel front axle and Hub
• Tamiya 51768 DN-01SR Front uprights
• 2 x m3 5mm screws
• Tamiya 53587 5mm shim set (for the necessary shims).
• 2 x 1050 bearings (Std 4mm)
• 2 x 1050 bearings (3mm thick)

So let's get on with it.

The totally new part are the 51768 DN-01SR front uprights. As you can see they have been redesigned to accommodate a pair of 1050 bearings. They are made from Glass reinforced plastic, and whilst the upright arms are the same offset and height. They are now much deeper, I assume this is to give more strength to the parts, and less flex.  

The other new part for the DN-01SR are the 22106 One piece Steel front Axle and hub. These are a steel version of the Tamiya 54996 M-Chassis Lightweight Aluminium axle and hub. So you will be able to swap to those if you wish.. (Which also means that the 54183 and 54343 axles will be able to be used if you want to fit wider 12mm Hex's to change the front width). 

These new axles weigh in at 4.79g each, and they seem very sturdy indeed.

The hub needs 1050 bearings, but they are two different depths. 3mm and 4mm. These are easily available from RC bearings (3mm bearings here) and (4mm bearings here). The 4m thick bearing goes on the outer part of the hub and the 3mm bearing goes on the inner section. 

Mounting is easy. You add the 0.5mm spacer on the axle and then slide it through the bearings and attach the 0.3mm shim over the end and attach the screw.  (Note: I actually found that 0.6mm was better, so just used two of the 0.3mm on the outer position to achieve this). 

You then end up with a free spinning hex hub, ready for all of those lovely pre-glued wheels. 

As you would expect. It's then just a simple swap of the old wheel and hub and you are all done. The size of the hub is exactly the same, so you will not need to change your hub spacers etc. 

Buy you pre-glued wheels, add wheel nuts (Blue obvs).. and away you go!  

As an aside, I've been really getting back into running the TRF201 and there are a few other little parts I will be making available to DN-01 / TRF racers soon :)

Set-up sheets etc available at PetitRc (Click Here)