Dialing-in The Tamiya Tankpool24 Mercedes-Benz Race Truck

Paul Onorato August 31, 2024 Stories

KIT OVERVIEW

In 2019 the Tankpool24 team raced the Mercedes-Benz Actros MP4 MB Motorsport race truck in the European Truck Racing Championship or ETRC. It was able to get the Tankpool24 team to 4th place in the team standings and its driver, Norbert Kiss from Hungary took 6th place in the overall driver’s standings. Tamiya has recreated that full-size truck in 1/14-scale and added it to its cool on-road race truck lineup. In order to achieve a realistic and accurate RC version, Tamiya created the cab using three polycarbonate pieces with the front bumper and rear body section also molded from polycarbonate. After you paint up the different body sections and have those all trimmed out, you can assemble the body. Lastly is to add the numerous stickers with many sponsor markings. The finished product looks incredible and worthy of being displayed on the shelf, but this truck needs to be raced.

Dialing-in The Tamiya Tankpool24 Mercedes-Benz Race Truck — The complex, muscular form of the cab is recreated in polycarbonate, and made up of three separately molded components.

A glance at the rear shows a great deal of realism, with depictions included of the turbocharger, frame and other sections.

At the rear, deep rim wheel designs are used, with fine depictions of details such as the minute bolts. A touch of red in the center will look great!

ABOUT THE TAMIYA TT-01 TYPE-E CHASSIS

The Tamiya TT-01 Type-E is a proven four wheel drive shaft driven chassis and the “E” in its name stands for evolved as it features many improvements over its predecessor…the standard TT-01 chassis. Tamiya placed the motor and battery close to the ground to give the TT-01 Type-E a lower center of gravity and optimum balance which translates into enhanced on-road handling. Adding to that is the four wheel double wishbone independent suspension that is supported by easy to build and maintain friction shocks that further enhances handling. The main portion of the chassis is the bathtub frame supported by a fiberglass reinforced nylon top deck and gear covers that makes for a more rigid setup. A propeller shaft relays power up to the front gearbox for full-time all-wheel-drive action while reliable 5-gear differentials are used in the front and rear and spin on metal bushings. Along with all those features, you will find the TT-01 Type-E chassis to be easy to build thanks to a low parts count and an exceptional instruction manual.

SPECS

Item #58683
Chassis designation: TT-01 Type-E
Type: Build-up kit
The TT-01 Type-E is based around a solid plastic bathtub, which features a screw-affixed upper deck to enhance reliability even further.
The rear also employs a double-wishbone suspension setup, with friction dampers helping absorb any bumps that the model encounters.
Scale: 1/14-scale
Length: 17.36 in. (441mm)
Width: 7.40 in. (188mm)
Height: 7.64 in. (194mm)
Wheelbase: 10.12 in. (257mm)
Body: Multi-piece clear polycarbonate semi truck
Wheels: One-piece, scale truck design w/ rear deep rims
Wheel adapter type: 12mm hex
Tires: Treaded radial rubber tires
Suspension type: 4-wheel independent
Shocks: Friction type
Shock positions: (F) 2-tower, 1-arm, (R) 2-tower, 1-arm
Camber: Non-adjustable
Roll: Non-adjustable
Wheelbase: Non-adjustable
Steering type: Dual bellcrank
Toe: Fixed links
Chassis type: Tub-style, plastic composite
Drivetrain: Shaft driven 4WD
Differential: Bevel gear diff
Bearings: Plastic and metal bushings
Motor: Brushed 540 type
Speed control: Tamiya TBLE-02S ESC

ITEMS NEEDED TO COMPLETE KIT

2-channel radio system
Steering servo
6-cell 7.2V NiMH battery pack with Tamiya connector
Battery charger
Spray paint for and polycarbonate

TAMIYA HOP-UP OPTION PARTS TO CONSIDER

Following are five Tamiya Hop-Up Option parts that we feel are great ones to get your Tamiya Tankpool24 Mercedes-Benz Race Truck performing at the next level. These five hop-ups are a small sample of the sundry hop-up option parts that Tamiya offers for this truck and other kits utilizing the Tamiya TT-01 Type-E chassis.

TT-01 Aluminum Propeller Joint & Shaft Set—#54026

In their stock setup, these on-road race trucks come with a plastic center driveshaft that can twist and flex thus hinder power delivery. You can improve how effectively the power is transferred from the rear of the car up to the front end with the Tamiya TT-01 Aluminum Propeller Joint & Shaft Set (#54026). The shaft is precision machined out of aluminum and will spin true as well as be able to handle more powerful motors. Included with the shaft are aluminum propeller joint cups to compete the center driveshaft assembly and all the parts are anodized a bright blue which add some nice bling to the chassis. When you drop in the propeller joints and shaft, do it at the same time you are installing the ball bearings.

TRF Fluorine Coated Damper Set—#53571

Plastic friction shocks are utilized at each corner of the chassis and just like the metal and plastic bushings, they help keep the cost down of the kits not to mention they are super simple to assemble. The downside is that they severely lack damping when compared to fluid filled shocks. Do yourself a favor and upgrade to these Tamiya TRF Fluorine Coated Dampers to drastically improve the handling. They are constructed of CNC machined aluminum and are fluorine coated for silky smooth consistent damping. In stock from these trucks will tend to bounce around when traveling over rough terrain and therefore are more difficult to control. These oil-filled units will eliminate those traits and make any of these race trucks handle much better, especially when racing.

TT-01 Metal Motor Mount—#53666

There are some hop-up option parts that you can simply add on without worrying about needing to change other parts of the car. The TT-01 Metal Motor Mount shown here is one of those items that you should certainly consider if you are adding more power to the chassis. The stock motor mount is made of plastic and does not offer the same type of rigidity that this aluminum mount can. The connection between the pinion and spur will stay constant and therefore cause less wear. There is also the benefit of keeping the motor cooler as it acts like a heat sink.

TT-01 Type E Racing Steering Set—#54058

The optional TT-01 Type E Racing Steering Set features precision machined aluminum steering arms that are supported by quality metal shielded ball bearings. This is a great way to eliminate slop in the stock steering system which uses plastic bellcranks and bushings. Steering input in a race vehicle is critical and you will find that your truck will exhibit better steering response by adding this hop-up.

TT-01 Type E Ball Bearing Set—#54025

Although adding metal ball bearings to one of these on-road race trucks is not super exciting, this is a definite upgrade where performance will be gained and is lasting. Tamiya specs metal and plastic bushings that function adequately and keep the overall cost of the kits down. These metal ball bearings spin much more smoothly and allow the drivetrain to spin faster and with less effort thanks to the reduction of power-robbing friction in the drivetrain system. This bearing kit not only replaces all the bushings in the drivetrain, but also the tiny plastic bushings found in the steering bellcranks. If you don’t want to replace all the bearings, below is a list of what bearings are required just for the drivetrain of the TT-01 Type E chassis along with the quantity minus the ones needed for the steering bellcranks. And if you decide to add the Racing Steering Set hop-up option (mentioned later in this article), it already comes with metal ball bearings.

1150 Ball Bearings (qty.12)—#53008
1280 Ball Bearings (qty.4)—#53066

For more information about Tamiya products, visit: TAMIYA