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Links | Tamiya F1 McLaren

In 1995, I got a McLaren MP4/6 F1 radio-controlled (R/C) 1/10th scale (402 x 200 mm) car (Tamiya). Tamiya launched the car on 10 March 1992; it was based on the (now obsolete) F102 chassis (see here for an overview of all chassis types), with a rear ball-bearing differential, a single rear damper suspension for smoother cornering, and two small front spring suspensions. The care orginally came with spunge tyres, and a Lexan body casing covering the chassis. The current came from 7.2 V NiCd battery packs, feeding into a TK-S03 servo for steering and an Acoms AT-5 electronic speed controller that moderated the current to the electric engine (standard 540 type). The transmitter was a Graupner standard D4-SSM40 JR 40 MHz remote control unit (2 channels). Nice detail, the driver sitting in the car is the famous yellow-helmet-wearing Ayrton Senna, also known as God's right foot.

In the years following, several modifications were made, such as an aluminium front body mount, larger snap pins, an aluminium differential joint set for the steel rear axle, a hi-torque servo saver, a rear aluminium motor mount to dissipate the engine's heat, complete ball-bearings on all axles, new 70T 0.6 spur, 93T/104T 0.4 spur, 20T/21T 0.4, 22T/23T 0.6, 24T/25T 0.4, 24T/25T 0.6, and 48T/49T 0.4 pinion gears, and optional packers on the front suspension to increase the frontal driving height. The underplate hovers approximately 3-5 mm above the ground (depending on the tyres used).

Depending on the gearing, tyres, motor, and weight of the car, it can currently achieve about 80 km/h (~ 48 mph). In order to stabilise the car's behaviour and steering at such high speed, the use of a gyroscope is necessary as it was not out-of-the-box designed for these conditions.

As of 2022, the car was again updated after 25 years:

It now works with NiMH and LiPo batteries (3000 mAh and 4600 mAh at 7.2 V NiMH, and 4000 mAh at 8.4 V LiPo), for which the height of the central upper deck was increased in order to fit larger batteries. The LiPo battery is charged inside a Bat-Safe (manual) for added fire safety.
Controlling the vehicle was done using a Reflex Stick Pro 3.1 LCD 2.4 GHz FHSS 4-channel transmitter and receiver (manual). I recently switched to a FlySky FS-i6X 10-channel 2.4 GHz AFHDS2A transmitter (manual, quick start) with a FlySky FS-iA10B 2.4 GHz 10-channel receiver (6-channel manual).
An Mtroniks tio Storm 14 electronic speed controller was initially installed, but later replaced with a Hobbywing QuicRun WP 1080 G2 ESC (manual, leaflet). The latter is also programmable via a LED program card (overview).
The default 540 motor (27T, brushed, 14000 RPM) can now be swapped for:

Mabuchi Sport Tuned RS-540 motor (silver can, 23T, brushed, 18300 RPM)
Super Stock RZ motor (23T, brushed, 27500 RPM) (manual)
Lightly-Tuned motor (28T, brushed, 16300 RPM) (manual)
CR-Tuned motor (35T, brushed, 12000 RPM) (manual)

The 93T/104T 0.4 spur gears were replaced with low-friction ones that contain molybdenum.
There sits a Perfect Pass RC Car Launch Control between the ESC and the receiver. This prevents a smoother throttle curve and can eliminate wheel spin when fully accelerating from a standstill. In addition, it also provides smooth power to the motor by eliminating voltage and amperage spikes and noise.
The steering servo was replaced with a high voltage splash-proof brushless digital HRC Racing HV titanium gear 44 kg torque servo, and the fixed steering rods were replaced with adjustable blue anodised aluminium turnbuckles of 32 mm and 50 mm and accompanying reinforced adjusters (short and long). The servo is mounted using aluminium servo stays which stay in place using Loctite Threadlocker Blue (Medium) 242 (manual).
The central damper system was replaced with a TRF special aluminium tension-adjustable damper, filled with medium damper oil, in addition to new front springs.
A SkyRC GSM-015 GNSS speed and GPS positioning sensor was installed that allows full trajectory sampling up to 10 Hz.
In addition, a SkyRC GC-401 gyroscope was initially mounted near the middle of the vehicle for additional steering assistance. It was then replaced with a Yokomo DP-302 V4 (manual) aluminium drift steering gyroscope (with slow-return assist mode) and moved to the centre of the vehicle on top of the bridge.
The car can now also be fitted with full rubber tyres (front soft, front hard, rear soft, rear hard, wheels, and bearings). It now weighs approximately 1.4 kg.
All Tamiya-style battery connectors were also replaced with IC3 ones (capable of handling 60 A continous current). They have been treated with silicone for smoother (dis)connecting.
The cockpit has been equipped with white LED lights and a rear red LED light.
To capture on-board video footage, both the car's Lexan body as well as its frame can be equipped with a Vizu Extreme X8S actioncam (manual).
Strips of custom-cut aluminium were bolted to the car's underside to prevent bottoming out of the chassis plate.