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Product Description
Like many Tamiya fans, I LOVE the Astute series of cars despite their many flaws. The gorgeous bodies, the novel technology and the history is a huge draw for me. The only problem that can't really be solved is the gearbox... The Astute gearbox is a nightmare with many failure points that was barely even able to handle a hot brushed motor, let alone a modern brushless. The Super Astute’ s TTC is better but ratios are limited and parts expensive and increasingly rare.
My aim was to create a "drop in" replacement gearbox with modern internals:
A Durable Slipper
A Sealed, Adjustable Gear Diff
A Range of ratios
etc.
This gearbox is the culmination of 5 months design, build and test. Documented here. The item for sale here is the CASE only. You will need to source internals (see the link for details).
<<<BUYER BEWARE! PLEASE READ>>>
1/ I am a hobbyist not a commercial outfit. I have designed and tested the Gearbox to the best of my abilities but I simply don’t have resources for the level of testing you might get with a commercial RC part. I *think* if anything, the gearbox is overbuilt but there’s always a chance that something might break unexpectedly. Please set expectations accordingly.
2/ Just because you now have a modern gearbox does NOT mean you have a modern car. With a hot brushless setup you will be pushing the rest of the car to it’s limits. If driven sensibly – that can work (and be a ton of fun). Just don’t expect your Astute to be an E-Revo. Noone likes breaking vintage cars. 3/ Due to Shapeways tolerances and the 3D nylon some shimming and manual setup will be required. If you are a total beginner – this might be hard to accomplish. I am assuming that you have basic knowledge of how to shim, run-in and tune a car. If not – this will be a learning experience for you!
4/ I realise that this is not a cheap upgrade. Unfortunately the costs are just what they are. The best way to reduce overall cost is to get hold of used a Cougar KR, second best way (with some risk & hassle) is to buy a new Cougar KR and sell on the unrequired parts.
Please review the post here for detailed assembly instructions & pictures.