Tamiya servo upgrade

[KevBev77]

I'm after some help.
After a very long time (and a push from my 13yr old son) I recently got my Tamiya Nitro Thunder running again. However we've hit a snag with the electronics just not working. Looking at possibly upgrading from analog to digital. The original servos are tp-s3003's.

Any suggestions.

 

[bill_delong]

can your radio handle a digital servo?

You didn't specify a budget so I'm going to give some options, where you will get what you pay for in terms of smoothness and longevity:

Best: https://www.nitroproracing.com/product-page/ct2-jtp-rc-550

Good: https://www.amazon.com/PDI-HV7232MG-Coreless-Aluminium-Standard-Helicopter/dp/B08R9FL5DP/

Gitterdone: https://www.rcjuice.com/servos/serv...star-hs-4309lv-super-speed-digital-servo.html

 

[KevBev77]

can your radio and esc handle a digital servo?

You didn't specify a budget so I'm going to give some options, where you will get what you pay for in terms of smoothness and longevity:

Best: https://www.nitroproracing.com/product-page/ct2-jtp-rc-550

Good: https://www.amazon.com/PDI-HV7232MG-Coreless-Aluminium-Standard-Helicopter/dp/B08R9FL5DP/

Gitterdone: https://www.rcjuice.com/servos/serv...star-hs-4309lv-super-speed-digital-servo.html

Thanks.
Shows how green I am with this.
What esc and radio would you recommend?
Budget wise will probably depend on the whole package so options are much appreciated.

 

[WickedFog]

I'm after some help.
After a very long time (and a push from my 13yr old son) I recently got my Tamiya Nitro Thunder running again. However we've hit a snag with the electronics just not working. Looking at possibly upgrading from analog to digital. The original servos are tp-s3003's.

Any suggestions.

That is a really weak servo, but all were back in the day. That kit, being an actual 1/10 scale looking buggy is probably pretty lightweight, so I would be looking for something at least 125 oz/in torque or higher. For speed, you'll want something close to .12 or less, though to be honest, anything below .2 will be an improvement to what you have. Higher torque and lower speed values are better, so get what you can afford, or care to spend on the kit.

It is a standard sized servo, so about any standard sized servo should fit, but you'll want to compare dimensions with your servo and the replacement to make sure.

For brands, there are a lot to choose from, and prices can vary for around $25 to over $200. There are some 25kg-35kg servos on Amazon that are decent budget servos. I typically use Savox or Hitec brand, but there are lots of others out there that will do.

 

[DavidB1126]

You can use any 1/10 standard size servos. I recommend waterproof and full metal gear servos. I run cheap amazon 20kg servos in my bashers. I run a Xpert 4000 servo in my full on 4wd race buggy which is a little expensive but pretty fast. For this car, any cheap 20kg-35kg servos will be fine. Savox and HiTec are good servo brands. Futaba is good but expensive but programmable with futaba radios and products.

 

[WickedFog]

You can use any 1/10 standard size servos. I recommend waterproof and full metal gear servos. I run cheap amazon 20kg servos in my bashers. I run a Xpert 4000 servo in my full on 4wd race buggy which is a little expensive but pretty fast. For this car, any cheap 20kg-35kg servos will be fine. Savox and HiTec are good servo brands. Futaba is good but expensive but programmable with futaba radios and products.

Yeah, like David suggested... go for a metal geared servo. I totally shoulda mentioned that

 

[tntpoof]

very important is to keep travel the same..bill what esc is on that Tamiya nitro thunder,?
if its the steering servo id look into getting servo saver, saves the servo from the curb action

 

[bill_delong]

very important is to keep travel the same..bill what esc is on that Tamiya nitro thunder,?
if its the steering servo id look into getting servo saver, saves the servo from the curb action

I removed ESC from my post, I have no knowledge of the "Nitro" Thunder and didn't know that Tamiya actually produced a RTR Nitro back in the day:
https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/110-nitro-engine/rc-gp-rtr-buggy-nitro-thunder/

Not very often you see a 1/10 nitro buggy, ha!

The manual shows a proprietary bell crank where I personally wouldn't use a servo saver, they tend to create an unacceptable amount of slop where modern servos are far more durable these days:

I would replace the antiquated servo saver with a modern industry standard arm like this here:
https://www.amainhobbies.com/exotek-tlr-22-aluminum-hd-servo-horn-25t-exo1946/p1207984

 

[WickedFog]

I removed ESC from my post, I have no knowledge of the "Nitro" Thunder and didn't know that Tamiya actually produced a RTR Nitro back in the day:
https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/110-nitro-engine/rc-gp-rtr-buggy-nitro-thunder/

Not very often you see a 1/10 nitro buggy, ha!

The manual shows a proprietary bell crank where I personally wouldn't use a servo saver, they tend to create an unacceptable amount of slop where modern servos are far more durable these days:



View attachment 162181

View attachment 162182


I would replace the antiquated servo saver with a modern industry standard arm like this here:
https://www.amainhobbies.com/exotek-tlr-22-aluminum-hd-servo-horn-25t-exo1946/p1207984

View attachment 162183

I am the same with servo savers, and don't generally use them. That is, unless they are adjustable, like on Kyosho's, Associated, etc kits. The old school servos were crap compared to today's offerings, and typically needed a saver to keep them operational.

And as for getting servos with the same travel, that might be the case if sticking with old school radio systems, but grabbing anything in the 2.4ghz lineup will typically have a way to set servo endpoints, either via on board end point adjustments, or by using the dual rate.

 

[KevBev77]

Thanks all.
Really makes me understand just how green I am with all of this! I'll be spending some time with my boy looking through all of your suggestions!

 

[WickedFog]

Thanks all.
Really makes me understand just how green I am with all of this! I'll be spending some time with my boy looking through all of your suggestions!

One thing I would also suggest is upgrading the radio if you're still using the old crystal type radio. There are lots of decent radios out there these days. For a budget friendly option, the Flysky GT3B is a great radio for the money (around $45). Radiolink would be the next step up from that.

Feel free to come back with more questions. There are lots of folks here happy to help