Integy axles for Tamiya semi's

[fhhhstix]

I took a chance and bought a set of the new axles from Integy. While installing them I found a few good and bad points on them but over all they are a decent choice for an all wheel drive truck. The gear ratio is 3.1:1 so you cant mix them with the Tamiya's at a 2.6:1 ratio. The pinions do not have keeper's on the out side to stop the pinions from being able to be pushed in. So it is very important that you get the pinion all the way in the drive cup to prevent the pinion from being pushed into the axle. You can put the Tamiya inner rear rim on the front drive axle and it gives it a track width of about 6 3/8in which is narrower than the stock front axle but it makes it hard to mount the steering arms on the axles. I used round pin drives and put stock Tamiya front rims on the axle and it is the same width as the stock axle. Now the rears are just a bit narrower than the Tamiya axles so I used a washer to space out the wheels so they would not rub on the suspension which I will show a pic of here as well. Here are the pic's









The hardware



Spacing out the wheels.







Front axle next to the stock axle and both have stock front rims.















Over all I think they are a good axle set and with a little work and patients will be just fine and are a far better choice then we have had in the past.

Travis

[fhhhstix]

These axle also have the center of the axle housings drilled and taped so they can be used with the Rigid RC suspension as well with no modifications needed.

Travis

[Espeefan]

How sharp is the steering angle on the driven front axle? Looks like the knuckles have a ton of throw, but can the u-joints handle all of it, without binding up?

The pinion gear housings look pretty strange. The big silver cone in front of the differential carrier. I don't know if I like that so much. Can't complain though. Like you said, another option is good.

[ihbuilder]

? , is the tie rod part of the kit ?

[fhhhstix]

Originally Posted by sharkey

Do these work with all Tamiya trucks, or just American trucks?
Look real nice though.

All Tamiya semi kits use the same basic drive train. The only real differences are the springs on the rear of the single axle trucks and an extra bracket on the shift rod of some of the trucks.

Originally Posted by Espeefan

How sharp is the steering angle on the driven front axle? Looks like the knuckles have a ton of throw, but can the u-joints handle all of it, without binding up?

The pinion gear housings look pretty strange. The big silver cone in front of the differential carrier. I don't know if I like that so much. Can't complain though. Like you said, another option is good.

The tires will hit the springs before the knuckles will bind. It will turn sharper than the stock set up.

Originally Posted by ihbuilder

? , is the tie rod part of the kit ?

Yes the tie rod is part of the kit as well as a couple drive shafts. I am not sure why unless Integy has something else they are going to release, for including drive shafts. The shorter shaft is solid it does not telescope. Here is a good pic of all that is included.



Travis

[ihbuilder]

next ? is , would we be able to get spare parts for these ? Not directed @ you per say Travis , just a general ? .

[egronvold]

Are the diffs open or closed?

[Espeefan]

Thanks Travis. That sharp of a steering angle makes these definitely worth considering then. The TLT-1 axle, in comparison, doesn't have much throw.

[1985 kenworth]

thats good to know travis as my lhs got a set in for me and i was wondering about it

[ihbuilder]

I'm gona have to get me a pair of rears to try for something I have on the drawing screen .

[fhhhstix]

Originally Posted by ihbuilder

next ? is , would we be able to get spare parts for these ? Not directed @ you per say Travis , just a general ? .

Integy is usually good at supplying parts but I would not expect it to soon as they can't keep up with the product production as it is.

Originally Posted by egronvold

Are the diffs open or closed?

They are open diffs and I have not taken one apart to see how easy it would be to lock one yet.



Here are some pics of the front axle with SS tires and rims on it compared to a standard Tamiya steering axle.









Travis

[Goose19]

its good to see more companies getting into making option parts for these.......BUT.....

for $260,( which isnt a bad price at all) you would think they wouldnt need any "tweeking" to get them to work right. im not trying to bash integy, im glad to see they tried, but why would they make an option part that doesnt fit right?

they way the steering links are set up looks a bit strange too, how would you bolt those into a stock truck? i know guys here can make them work, but what about the guy who wants to bolt them on and go?


like i said glad to see some more option parts, just wish they went on a bit better.

they look better than the stock tamiya axles, hope they come out with just a set of drives too.

looks good travis, thanks for sharing!

[fhhhstix]

Originally Posted by Goose19

its good to see more companies getting into making option parts for these.......BUT.....

for $260,( which isnt a bad price at all) you would think they wouldnt need any "tweeking" to get them to work right. im not trying to bash integy, im glad to see they tried, but why would they make an option part that doesnt fit right?

they way the steering links are set up looks a bit strange too, how would you bolt those into a stock truck? i know guys here can make them work, but what about the guy who wants to bolt them on and go?


like i said glad to see some more option parts, just wish they went on a bit better.

they look better than the stock tamiya axles, hope they come out with just a set of drives too.

looks good travis, thanks for sharing!

You can buy the rears separate as well. I am sure if you built a stock truck the rear axles would fit just fine other than shimming the wheels out which is nothing more than a washer. At least unlike RC3WD they put the pinions in line.

I think they must have something else up there sleeve since they added the holes in the axles to accommodate the Rigid RC suspension. It is the dive shafts they include in the kit that confuses me.


Travis

[Espeefan]

Dang, Travis, the Aeromax looks tougher then nails with that driven front axle, and the super single up front. Track width is perfect too. Might have to look into these axles, as an option. They should be readily available at my favorite online shop.

That super single rim - that's probably off the reefer kit, is it not? Looks like you've got an RC4WD transfer case in there too.

The thing about Integy is they usually do knock offs of everyone else's products. I saw they are making RC4WD Predator track knock off now too. I wouldn't be surprised if these semi axles are like someone else's.

[fhhhstix]

Originally Posted by Espeefan

Dang, Travis, the Aeromax looks tougher then nails with that driven front axle, and the super single up front. Track width is perfect too. Might have to look into these axles, as an option. They should be readily available at my favorite online shop.

That super single rim - that's probably off the reefer kit, is it not? Looks like you've got an RC4WD transfer case in there too.

The thing about Integy is they usually do knock offs of everyone else's products. I saw they are making RC4WD Predator track knock off now too. I wouldn't be surprised if these semi axles are like someone else's.

I believe they are a copy of some one else's that I have seen for sale on eBay. The rims I used are the inside rear Tamiya rim with the outer bead of the outer rim glued to it to make it wide enough. I don't know how the reefer rim will fit as I don't have one to try on it. I did have to do a little mill work on the steering arms to get them to clear the SS but it is not some thing a dremel could not handle.

Travis

[fhhhstix]

I will put this out there for those looking at this thread and thinking about getting a set of these axles. If a stock truck is challenging for you to put together this is NOT the axle set for you. The rears are fairly simple and bolt right in place of the stock axles. Now you will need to use a thicker hex drive or shim the rim out from the supplied hex. You must use the stock shocks with the travel limiters in them if not the spring arch puts the axle pinions to close together and it will cause you problems unless you shorten the pinion shafts.

The front axle will bolt directly to a set of springs from the rear of a single axle truck or you can drill holes in the stock front springs. The front spring mount will need to be raised to the upper front cross member hole and the servo mount hole. You can see it in this pic.




I just don't want some one to get a set of these and think they are going to just swap out the stock axles for these.


Travis

[Goose19]

Originally Posted by fhhhstix

I just don't want some one to get a set of these and think they are going to just swap out the stock axles for these.


Travis

that was basically the point I was making, not that people find building them challenging but that they aren't a direct swap out. still a good option. maybe the drive shafts are a direct fit for one of the euro trucks or globe?
good thread tho. whatcha making the daycab aeromax into? mobile crane?

[Espeefan]

Originally Posted by fhhhstix

I believe they are a copy of some one else's that I have seen for sale on eBay. The rims I used are the inside rear Tamiya rim with the outer bead of the outer rim glued to it to make it wide enough. I don't know how the reefer rim will fit as I don't have one to try on it. I did have to do a little mill work on the steering arms to get them to clear the SS but it is not some thing a dremel could not handle.

Travis

Cool, Travis. Thanks for the info on the rims!

[Pippoe]

Very interesting axles at a competitive price.

The only thing I don't like is the way the tie bar is mounted. The tie rod to the front screws up your steering geometry w/ the inner wheel having a wrong steering angle compared to the outer wheel.

However.. your pictures suggest it is possible to mount the tie rod to the rear of the axle.

Very nice find!!

So we have a number of alternatives to Tamiya now..

Rc-channels axles (still my favorites..):

Pro: very heavy and all metal internals, cons: only RWD, lockable via screw only..

Rigid-RC axles:

Pro: nice looking, metal exterior, even lockable in the newest version!, cons: several parts of the differential are plastic. Most expensive of the three and only two bewel gears instead of three like Tam & rc-channel, so I wonder how durable these are..

Cheers

Pip

[fhhhstix]

Yes the steering arms are separate and you can mount them either direction. I just prefer to put them up front out of the way and it doesn't make that big of a difference on the model, a full size truck yes on these not so much.

Travis