In-Depth Drives: Building Tamiya’s Latest XV-02 Pro Rally Chassis

Rally racing has captivated my interest since I was young, and though that may be true for many other forms of auto racing, with rally there is something a bit extra to it. Like other forms of auto racing, rally has cool cars, lots of skill involved and sheer speed. The extra bit with rally racing is the fact that drivers are ripping through forest trails, country backroads, and even the sides of mountains at break-neck speeds, and that just always seems like such a rush. It’s because of this extreme approach to racing that rally has always cast a spell over me. Now, I couldn’t tell you exactly who’s who in modern World Rally, but I will always be a fan of anything rally-related which, of course, extends to our beloved RC hobby.

With that in mind we recently got a call from the guys at Tamiya USA. As it happens, they had some exciting news about the release of their new purpose-built rally chassis, the XV-02 Pro. The chassis kit was soon to hit the market and we figured what better way to give it some love than to make it our next In-Depth Drive? Join me as we take a closer look, at a slightly slower pace, and give the new Tamiya XV-02 Pro the In-Depth Drives treatment.

What’s in the box?

Tamiya has such a clean way of packaging their Pro chassis kits. They always come in a small, well-proportioned box, with parts perfectly packed inside, all nicely wrapped along with their nicely illustrated build instructions. Inside the box you’ll find all the labeled parts packages with their respective letters to match their step in the build process. All the supplemental parts trees are individually packaged to keep them clean and safe from harm during shipping, with only the base chassis being left uncovered, which is fine as it sits snugly nestled alongside the rest of the parts.

A full polycarbonate chassis cover is supplied, which sits neatly under the parts trees, along with a set of rally-style wheels and block-tread tires. Tamiya even includes a small tube of grease, a multi-sized hex tool, and various small hex wrenches to aid in the build.

BUILD QUALITY

Assembling the XV-02 Pro feels like building a true racer rather than a model kit that will sit on a shelf. The XV-02 Pro is a purpose-built rally chassis meant for performance, and what sets it apart from other Tamiya kits is a step up in material and hardware quality. There’s nothing wrong with standard Tamiya kits—as you know from my other reviews, I love Tamiya’s standard kits—but their Pro models are in a league of their own. The XV-02 Pro plastics are all a high-quality, fiber-reinforced composite material that feels nice and sturdy with just the right amount of flex, perfect for a racing vehicle. The included hex-head hardware is factory-finished with a sleek black plating that not only protects the hardware from corrosion but adds a clean look to the overall kit.

All parts fit nicely together, with no extra trimming needed other than removal from their original parts trees. The brand-new XV-02 tub chassis provides a sturdy base for the rest of the kit, with each set of parts bolting securely into place one after the other. The front and rear bulkheads sit atop the upper diff housings, which are part of the main chassis, creating a secure mounting point for the shock towers. The steering assembly bolts up just behind the front bulkhead and sits on anodized aluminum steering posts with metal ball bearings for silky-smooth operation.

At the center of the chassis sits the mid-ship drivetrain housing. Tamiya includes a direct-drive spur unit for this, with a fluid-filled gear diff and an adjustable slipper unit available as optional parts. An aluminum motor plate sits at the center and is anodized in Tamiya’s slick TRF blue. The motor sits toward the front, with room for the ESC and receiver at the backside of the diff housing. Blue anodized aluminum servo mounts and a fiber-reinforced plastic battery stay fill out the other side of the tub, leaving ample space for a high-speed servo and high-performance LiPo battery pack.

The XV-02’s brand-new shaft-driven drivetrain is a complete change from the original XV-01 belt-drive design and includes equal-length driveshafts front and rear. This shaft-driven design feels very much inspired by current high-end 4WD racing buggies, a change that I personally feel is an excellent choice on Tamiya’s part and makes for a great fit in the XV-02 rally chassis. The front and rear differential housings feature a lower cover that bolts in place from the underside of the chassis, safely sealing the differential away from dirt and debris. Removable toe-blocks for the suspension arms mount on the underside of the vehicle.

Tamiya includes access holes at the topside of the chassis for easy removal of these toe-blocks, so you won’t have to drop the entire diff cover to remove them for tuning and service, a great design for easy maintenance. Tamiya includes fluid-filled geared differential units for the front and rear of the vehicle, which can be custom tuned with different fluid choices along with an included optional 40T bevel and pinion set for front or rear drivetrain bias adjustment. All components operate smoothly thanks to the included steel ball bearings throughout the kit.

The XV-02 features an updated suspension design with tall shock towers front and rear, fully adjustable links all-around, and updated 6° caster blocks at the front. The front of the XV-02 allows for up to four different shock mounting positions between the shock tower and lower arms, while the rear provides up to 18 different shock mounting positions, allowing for complete control and fine tuning of shock and suspension performance. The front and rear lower arms include adjustable spacers and provisions for optional sway bars. The lower arms pivot on polished steel hinge pins with a captured design to keep them securely in place.

Pro Parts and Design

The XV-02 includes a large list of adjustable and pro-grade, race-inspired components. Starting off with one of the most noticeable inclusions is the full set of aluminum threaded shocks, complete with TRF blue accents. These long-travel shocks are more akin to buggy-length shocks than touring car components, making them a great match for the ruts and bumps the car will encounter on various RC rally stages.

All four shocks include high-quality polished shafts, silicone O-rings, and Delrin spacers for excellent sealing and smooth performance, along with finely threaded shock bodies and adjustable collars for ride-height and travel adjustment. Precision-machined steel CVAs are included at all four corners of the kit, providing excellent durability and power transfer. These rebuildable units feature an outer circlip retainer for easy maintenance between race weekends.

The overall adjustability of the XV-02 is further expanded with its toe-block and hinge pin package. The included parts allow for a minimal amount of adjustment, but Tamiya designed the XV-02 to be able to use the optional pill-insert system from their TRF419 chassis, allowing for full tuning capability hinge pin skid and toe angles. With that kind of tuning potential, the whole car comes together as one cohesive unit that can be custom adjusted and tuned as you see fit, making it a true rally stage contender.

What’s in store for part 2

That wraps up our look at the XV-02 Pro chassis basics. This new shaft-drive design is excellent, and I can’t wait to get it running and onto the dirt. Before that happens, we still have some more decisions to make with exactly how we are going to deck it out. In Part 2 we’re going to outfit the XV-02 Pro with electronics and running gear, going into detail about our setup and even some possible optional upgrade parts we have lined up for the kit. Until then, I hope this look at the XV-02 Pro chassis has gotten you interested in everything rally. As always, thanks for reading, I’ll see you in the next one!

Scale Reference
One aspect I appreciate most about Tamiya’s instruction manuals are the scale references for their hardware. Building an RC kit can be rather tedious if we have to reach for a ruler or pair of micrometers every time we need to measure hardware, so Tamiya makes this simple by including that info right in the sidebar of the instructions. This illustrated sidebar gives us a quick visual reference for the exact type of hardware needed for the step, the amount hardware needed, and a true-to-scale illustration of the pieces. All we need to do is simply place the piece on the drawing and we’ll know right away if we have the right part.

Source: Tamiya tamiyausa.com

---

Text and Images by Lauren Short