10 useful hop-ups for the Tamiya Mercedes-Benz G 500

Paul Onorato December 30, 2020 Stories

ABOUT THE MERCEDES-BENZ G 500 (CC-02)

The Mercedes-Benz G 500 comes as a kit so it requires assembly and the body to be painted and detailed.

Tamiya is the master at creating ultra-scale polycarbonate bodies that are molded to be as realistic as possible. The body for the Mercedes-Benz G 500 is no exception. It accurately recreates the full size G 500 that was released in 2018. Mercedes outfitted this vehicle with a powerful 4-liter V8 twin turbo engine and gave it its distinctive body design that has made the Mercedes-Benz G class of heavy duty vehicles so popular. Tamiya stayed true to the real G 500 in 1/10-scale.

10 useful hop-ups for the Tamiya Mercedes-Benz G 500 — Tamiya includes the TLU-01 LED Light Unit in the kit.

The body comes unpainted so that you can add your own personal touch to make it your own. Window mask and overspray film help ensure you end up with a great-looking finished product. Then to help bring the polycarbonate G 500 to life is a large sheet of detail stickers along with separately molded spare tire cover, side mirrors and front grille. As an added bonus, Tamiya includes the TLU-01 LED Light Unit so that you can illuminate the front headlights and rear brake lights. Nicely matching the realistic body is a set of matte plated seven-spoke wheels that mimic the ones found on the real SUV. Wrapped around each wheel are rubber treaded tires that have a grippy block pattern that are at home off-road or tooling around a parking lot.

The included sticker sheet provides numerous details to make the body look real.

This model comes with matte plated seven-spoke wheels and grippy block pattern tires.

Underneath the G 500 is the new Cross Country 2 (CC-02) chassis. Its design is inspired by full-size vehicles that are built with the proven ladder frame design that makes the truck very durable. Solid axles sit at the front and rear and are supported by a four-link rigid suspension system with smooth operating oil-filled plastic shocks. The center is home for the separated gearbox and transfer case with the 540 brushed motor positioned longitudinally behind the front axle. Scale looking propeller shafts relay the power from the motor out to each axle housing. Inside of the axle housing are 3-gear bevel differentials that allow the CC-02 to easily maneuver around tight spots. If you find that you will be using your G 500 on more extreme terrain were full time traction is necessary, the diffs can be locked.

SPECS

Item #58675
Scale: 1/10
Length: 17.91 in. (455mm)
Width: 7.72 in. (196mm)
Height: 8.15 in. (207mm)
Wheelbase: 10.51 in. (267mm)
Chassis: FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic) ladder style
Drivetrain: Shaft-driven 4WD
Differential: 3 gear, bevel gear diffs
Bearings: Metal and plastic bushings
Suspension: 4-link rigid suspension
Shocks: CVA Molded plastic, oil shocks
Motor: 540-brushed type
Speed control: TBLE-02S ESC (Electronic Speed Control)
Wheels: 7-spoke, molded in matte silver
Tires: Rubber block pattern off-road tires

REQUIRED ITEMS

2-channel radio system
Steering servo
Battery pack
Battery charger
Polycarbonate compatible paint
Paint for plastic

PAINTED VARIENT OF THE MERCEDES-BENZ G 500 (CC-02)

Something that Tamiya is offering more and more these days is a painted variant of its kits. The Mercedes-Bens G 500 is one of those vehicles that benefit from this helpful option where the kit is offered with a pre-painted body. The Mercedes-Benz G 500, item #47441 comes with the body painted in Tamiya great looking Bright Gun Metal paint.

Shown here is how the body of the pre-painted variant of the Mercedes-Bens G 500 (CC-02) comes out of the box.

This saves you the prep time of washing the body, drying it, masking off the windows, trimming it out and the actual painting. All that is left for you is to install the scale details like the front grille, side mirrors and spare tire cover.

TAMIYA HOP-UP OPTION PARTS FOR THE MERCEDES-BENZ G 500

CC-02 Aluminum Spur Gear Mount— #54970

When you are looking to upgrade your RC whether it be the G 500 highlighted here or any other, pay attention to the critical components that are constructed of plastic because they could be a weak spot on the vehicle. The CC-02 Aluminum Spur Gear Mount is a replacement for the stock plastic mount that comes with the G 500. Since it is machined out of aluminum, the rigidity is welcome over the plastic and it increases efficiency in the drivetrain. This optional mount is designed to be lightweight and is anodized a cool gun metal color. Tamiya includes the hardware, pins and shims so that you can precisely install it onto your CC-02 chassis.

CC-02 Bearing Set— #54910

A big cost savings measure utilized by most manufacturers is to spec bushings instead of ball bearings, which keeps the cost of the kit lower. The downside is the reduction in performance for that vehicle. Tamiya offers a complete metal shielded ball bearing set that will replace the stock metal and plastic bushings that come with the Mercedes-Benz G 500. These metal ball bearings spin very smoothly and will allow the drivetrain to operate with less friction thus making it much more efficient. This is also one of those upgrades that make the most sense to add to you truck when you are just starting to build the kit.

CR Tuned Motor— #54114

For a trail truck like the Tamiya Mercedes-Bens G 500, the stock 540 brushed motor provides adequate power and can be something that gets swapped out after other upgrades. Access to the motor is not a big hassle; meaning it does not require a huge chassis tear down to change the motor. Now if you are more competitive in nature and/or find yourself traversing tough off-road obstacles, a motor upgrade would make sense.

A great option is the Tamiya CR Tuned Motor which produces more torque than the stock motor. The added torque translates into more control over you G 500. It is a 35-turn brushed motor that will work with the stock speed control. As a side benefit, the motor looks color installed on the chassis as opposed to the plain silver can motor.

CC-02 Motor Mount Bridge Spacer— #54971

If you decide to upgrade the motor like with the CR Tuned Motor mentioned above, we recommend picking up the Tamiya CC-02 Motor Mount Bridge Spacer. This spacer is specifically designed to site between the gearbox and the screws that secure the motor onto the gearbox. It is an anodized, CNC machined aluminum component that is very strong and will help keep the drivetrain working efficiently and brace the gearbox against warping. Installing this spacer does not require any hand fitting and will bolt right on with the included mounting hardware.

CR-01 Carbon Steel Propeller Shaft— #54112

Eliminate the chance of the drive shafts twisting under load by simply replacing them with these stout CR-01 Carbon Steel Propeller Shafts. The stock drive shafts are molded from a rigid plastic, but they are not nearly as strong as these hop-up option steel shafts offered by Tamiya. When rock crawling or if you have upgraded the motor on the CC-02, the truck will face a considerable amount of torque. The carbon steel material used to manufacturer these shafts will be able to withstand those torque forces. And inherent in the design, the shafts will ensure optimal suspension stroke by extending and shortening. Please note that you will need two sets to completely upgrade the G 500.

CC-02 Reinforced Rear Drive Shafts— #54978

These CC-02 Reinforced Rear Drive Shafts are essentially made of a better material than the stock units. The rigid carbon tool steel will retain their shape during hard use to keep the drivetrain spinning true. They are precisely made for exacting tolerances and even offer some weight savings. If you want your CC-02 to handle extreme conditions, then this upgrade needs to be on your list. The rear axle housing will obviously need to be removed and taken apart so that the old shafts can be removed and the news ones inserted.

Front Assembly Universal Shafts— #54984

It is a given that universal shafts will give an RC vehicle better performance over a dogbone setup. The Front Assembly Universal Shafts that Tamiya created for the CC-02 chassis will replace the stock front drive shafts and the wheel axles found in the steering knuckles. Instead of the dogbones, universal joints are utilized which will rotate without binding even when the steering is full lock in either direction. Like the optional Rear Drive Shafts, these Front Assembly Universal Shafts are constructed of carbon tool steel for superior rigidity.

CC-02 Aluminum Arm Pivots— #54944

Yet another way to further increase the durability of the G 500 is with these CC-02 Aluminum Arm Pivots. These Aluminum Pivots replace the plastic ones that come with the kit and are the component where the suspension links attach to the chassis. The mounting screws will be less likely to come loose following hard impacts. Each pivot is beautifully CNC machined out of aluminum and then anodized in a sharp-looking gun metal color. Two sets are needed to outfit the chassis and don’t worry about the hardware because Tamiya includes it with this hop-up option part.

CC-02 Aluminum Damper Set— #54991

Most of the time when we are recommend oil-filled aluminum shocks is due to the fact that the vehicle in question comes with friction shocks that clearly hinder off-road handling. This time around the vehicle in question, the Mercedes-Benz G 500, comes equipped with oil-filled shocks albeit plastic ones. These stock shocks can do the job of soaking up rough terrain while keeping the CC-02 settled, but appearance wise, they fall short. They are molded in a dull gray color and have a toy-ish look that hurts the super-realistic scale look of the G 500 body. These are not just one of Tamiya’s aluminum shock sets. This damper set comes with narrower shock bodies with a shiny aluminum finish that look much more realistic than the stock units. Each damper is crafted from lightweight, precision aluminum to give excellent operation. Ball connectors are used on both ends to keep smoother roll motion. Nearly everything is included to get these shocks assembled including the shock oil. What is remaining is the springs and the stock ones can be used or the dedicated shock springs (item #54992).

Clamp Type Aluminum Wheel Hub— #53823

The last of the recommended 10 useful hop-ups for the Tamiya Mercedes-Benz G 500 are these Clamp Type Aluminum Wheel Hubs. They may not seem like anything special, but once you use them you will not want to go without. On the CC-02 plastic wheel hubs are used to mount the wheels onto the chassis which can easily slide off when the wheels are removed thus allowing the tiny cross pin to fall out of the axle. Even slight movement of the plastic hub on the axle can release that cross pin. The solution are these clamp type wheel hubs. They are made of durable, lightweight aluminum and securely clamp onto the axle with tiny cap screws. For added convenience, Tamiya includes all the gear to get the hubs mounted onto the CC-02 even the Allen wrench for the cap screws.