Ty Tessman dominated the ROAR Off-road Fuel Nationals last month in Pennsylvania and we got an exclusive up close and personal with Ty and both of his Hotbodies vehicles he used to win. Ty and his father Gord are notorious for building one off parts and testing some top secret stuff for HB. Here’s a look at what took Ty to the top.
For full race coverage check the October issue of RC Car Action Magazine on news stands Aug. 21st and through our digital subscription.
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- To the untrained eye Ty’s D8 Buggy appears to be just your typical run of the mill kit. A look with the body off however reveals an entirely different buggy you’ve never seen anywhere.
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- The biggest thing on Tessman’s buggy is the new arms found on all four corners. These monocoque style arms are similar in design to the arms used on the HPI Apache vehicles and are stronger and keep dirt from building up inside the arm.
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- As most of this buggy is completely prototype, the shock tower is like nothing we’ve seen from Hot Bodies to date. Our best guess is that due to the finished look to all of the parts, a D9 Buggy may be right around the corner.
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- The one piece radio tray has been carried over but in this, the battery box was removed and fitted with a graphite hold down for Ty’s LiPo receiver pack. You might also notice the same center diff cover from the truggy. This part appears to be a metal bit rather than the revised part from the Hara Edition kit.
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- The steering looks to be similar but a smaller bore bellcrank appears to be used. Having more material on the servo saver portion of the crank increases its strength.
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- Out back you can get a good look at the new arm arms and geometry. In the back of those wheels appear to be new and much heavier bottomed rear hubs.
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- The rear shock tower doesn’t seem to be as finished as the front did. It is made of a thinner aluminum and has a ton of upper shock mounting holes. Looks like the Hot Bodies team is still experimenting with rear geometry a bit. On a side note, check out those trick shock guards that keep the dirt off the shock shafts!
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- Those arms really are cool. Here’s about the best look you’re going to get at them until they hit production kits… if they ever do at all.
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- Tessman’s DT8 truggy is more on the tame side with just a handful of one off goodies like shocktowers and new geometery.
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- Another custom graphite tower out back again raises the upper shock mounts and moves the shocks further out.
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- Although the Tessman’s went with the standard one-piece radio tray, handmade parts can be seen everywhere in this shot, from the graphite servo horn and switch cover to the aluminum steering brace. They even lightened the side pods!
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- A closer look at that steering brace reveals just how lightweight it is. The part was also used on Ty’s buggy and looks to be pretty close to a finished part. Could this be a cross over part from a new vehicle? Only time will tell.
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- Up front a rear toe block was modified to fit the front and give the arms a toed out sort of rake which is more forgiving through rough spots on the track.
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- A view from the rear gives us a better look at that extended rear shock tower that allows the arms to be run more flat. You also can get a better feel for just how far apart the rear shocks are on Ty’s truggy.
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- Pro-Line Racing’s new Blockade VTR tires debuted in a big way. Ty Tessman used them all weekend and won the Final. As you can see there is still a lot of tread left on the tires after a very tough 45 minute race!
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