Tamiya Nitro Crusher
Having a short break from our mortgage committments has allowed myself and the family more time (and benjamins) to spend on idle hobbies. Long time readers will be aware of my other hobbtistic passion, but may not be aware that radio control aeromodelling was preceeded in my early days by a wee dabble in road-going RC cars. From basic electric models up to higher-spec two-speed nitro-methanol beasties.
So it was that a recent trip to the hobby shop had my eyes wandering to the racks full of gas-powered stadium trucks and buggies. You see my road-racing days were exciting, but forever haunted by the demons of less than perfectly smooth roads, and less than perfect weather. Driving to the hopefully-not-wet RC road track, I would often drive past the offroad guys, seeing them blasting around their track, leaping trucks into the air, and throwing up great plumes of dirt with gay abandon. Then we’d sit around waiting for the last puddles to dry off the road track before getting our runs in.
You can imagine it didn’t take much prodding for me to take the plunge and grab a 1/10 scale Tamiya Nitro Crusher NDF-01T. It just looked too damn fun. I was actually looking for a kitset that I could build up and install some spare radio gear from one of my planes, but that turned out to be almost impossible. I could rant on here about pre-built kits and unimaginative lego sets (two halves of a pirate ship and some figures?!) causing the downfall of society by spoonfeeding spoilt little brats and removing all knowledge of mechanical workings and any sense of ownership in terms of safety and reliability that one gets by assembling a high-speed, barely-controllable RC car where every last screw matters… but I won’t. It turns out these days 95% of RC cars come in a ‘ready to run’ format, where all that is required is to install batteries, add fuel, and go. The anal retentive in me required a thorough overview of the assembly manual (thankfully still provided in case of repairs), and a check of tightness in critical components. After that it really was batteries, fuel, and go. Tamiya has a sad promotional movie completely lacking in any jumping or decent off-roading, but it does come complete with Satriani-esque rock music if you feel so inclined (9.4MB Quicktime).
I can’t offer any qualification as to the performance of this car in relation to any other nitro-powered 1/10 offroaders, but I can say that it’s quick and very fun. Quick enough to easily clear the 2 metre-long tabletop jump at the local BMX track, and sturdy enough to survive a triple cartwheel when it lands badly. I only managed to slightly bend a steering tie-rod when testing top speed on the back straight at the RC offroad track, failing to take the subsequent corner, and flying sideways into a metal stake holding up the well-placed safety netting. For someone (like myself) not planning any racing, it’s perfect. For those wanting to go further, I understand there are some add-ons like metal doodads to replace plastic, and a two-speed gearbox to improve low and high speed performance.
[tags]RC, tamiya, radio control[/tags]
Popularity: 11% [?]
Hey
Just wanting to know if yourve had any problems with the exhaust coming loose during use? if if u have, do you know of a way to fix it?
Thanx Leigh
Hey
Just wanting to know if yourve had any problems with the exhaust coming loose during use? if if u have, do you know of a way to fix it?
Thanx Leigh
No? Hasn’t been a problem for me at all. Do you need to tighten the zip-ties, or replace them?
Hey man,
Sorry to bug you. But regarding your Tamiya Nitro Crusher – have you ever had fuel issues with it, where the pressure from the exhaust isn’t good enough to force fuel from the tank to the carburettor? I bought one a few weeks ago here in South Africa and have a lot of issues with the car, I’m just trying to find out if other guys have had the same issues.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers dude,
Adam
adamcaulkett@hotmail.com
Tamiya – Nitro Crusher
Hey man,
Sorry to bug you. But regarding your Tamiya Nitro Crusher – have you ever had fuel issues with it, where the pressure from the exhaust isn’t good enough to force fuel from the tank to the carburettor? I bought one a few weeks ago here in South Africa and have a lot of issues with the car, I’m just trying to find out if other guys have had the same issues.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers dude,
Adam
adamcaulkett@hotmail.com
Tamiya – Nitro Crusher
Adam, I didn’t have any issues with it at all.
Have you checked that you have a good seal with the o-ring on the lid of the fuel tank? Any leakage there will stop the fuel flow. You could confirm this by seeing if it runs while you push down firmly on the lid, but stops when you let go.
Otherwise also check to make sure the air nipple on the muffler if free from debris.
Hey Ben, thanks for your reply bud.
I ended up calling Jeffery Stein Sales in SA yesterday, they are the sole Tamiya importers and they are paying for the car to be shipped to them overnight and sorted out at no charge. It is only two weeks old after all. Im really impressed with their service so far.
Cheers,
Adam
hey do u no how fast that gos?
I have this car, the exhaust header bolts come loose all the time, also tuning it has been impossible, it cuts out, has never even got through a whole tank, I am returning it after weeks of trying to sort it. This car SUX. Don’t buy it!!!
It is fast and a good chassis etc, be good if it kept running. HPI are better.
Matt
I run a number or nitro cars/buggy’s, some of the them race standard. This truck is by far one of the best all-rounders I’ve ever had. It starts first time, goes very well and handles all conditions with ease. It looks great and takes everything you chuck at it. It doesn’t need any tuning and mine is still n the factory settings. It has good torque and the engine clears-out when you get it up towards top speed. I run it on 16% fuel and it never over heats.
I bought this truck recently and it has been a good performer. Have had issues with the exhaust setup and the engine temp. After only a few days of owning it i melted the manifold plate which fits between the manifold and the engine block. I saw it as an immediate fault and instead of replacing the part i bought a complete mew exhaust system and fitted that. I bought a Topway racing exhaust which fits pretty easily although i did have to remove the right hand mud guard to make it sit flush. Gives the truck a better note and a bit more top end speed. Besides that this truck is pretty good quality for the price and is quick and handles really well.
I have a bunch of NDF stuff for sale:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZtystuffsellQQfrppZ50QQfsopZ1QQfsooZ1QQrdZ0
This is a cool truck. I still see the occasional Terra Crusher here in my shop too. Not too often though. I just don’t like the way it handles reverse. Kinda tricky for newbies. Otherwise it’s a tough truck.
I have two of these trucks for sale on ebay and one Nitro Force buggy. Plus TONS and TONS of parts. Since you are all fans, I would just like this to go to a good home
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Tamiya-Nitro-Crusher-Force-Buggy-TONS-of-Parts_W0QQitemZ320211333324QQihZ011QQcategoryZ44029QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
it is a cool truck the only problem i picked up is it only runs a half of its tank then cuts out, what can the problem be. please help