Exotek EXO-SIX Conversion Kit for EVO6 build and Review

The TB-EVO series has a loyal following and the recent EVO-6 had a mixed reaction from some racers. Many liked the car and it's very easy handling, but others wanted a more direct drive train to get the most out of their Stock class motor.

Exotek are renowned for their conversions for many brands including a range of Tamiya Cars and they have been busy working on an EXO-6 Conversion which they hope will cater for those who want a more efficient EVO6.

The Kits are quite hard to source in Europe, as Exotek does not ship out of the U.S. But some stockists will import the kit.

What's in the kit?

The conversion kit includes the below items in the packet

You get all of these precision components for your cash.

The EXO-6 offers the following specifications:

• New inline motor mount plate eliminates 1 of the 3 EVO6 gearboxes for improved top speed and motor efficiency and reduced weight.
• Motor plate with centrally mounted and triangulated base insures solid motor mounting and superb gear mesh while independent of the top plate to reduce tweak and provide better top plate flex traits.
• Lower deck is stiffer than the stock chassis. Well suited for higher grip, bigger event, track conditions.
• 2.25mm thick USA made premium QUASI weave chassis and top plate for superb flex traits for rubber tire racing.
• Ultra narrow chassis layout for reduced chassis scrub. Only 86mm wide!
• Motor placement is positioned on the left side of the chassis to induce better on power stability. Torque steer? What is that!
• The motor position has been moved further back to improve high speed steering but also low speed stability.
• Slotted motor mount allows quicker and easier motor install and removal and easy pinion changes.
• New one piece, hard anodized, spur mount/ input shaft eliminates the play and vibration of the stock unit. No loose pinned spur gear or e-clips!
• New hard anodized center shaft drive cup uses a Tamiya cvd puck (TRF417 V5 Swing Shaft Cap #51536) for reduced wear and quieter drive line.
• Lipo cradle system with adjustable sliding holders (forward or back or in or out) for preferred weight balance.
• Battery holders accepts full 7.4v lipo packs or 7.4v shorty style packs.
• Battery holders uses strapping tape.
• The outside of the holders uses micro bearings to hold the battery in- this allows the chassis to flex laterally naturally without becoming tweaked by the battery. As the chassis flexes the bearings can roll against the battery instead of getting caught on the battery like standard cups.

All of the above should help it become a 'Stock Killer' according to the product info, so let's take a look.

Getting Started

The conversion comes neatly packaged, and there is a sheet of instructions included along with a link to the PDF instructions on the Exotek website.

The contents of  the conversion kit

Obviously this is a conversion so you will need either a Tamiya Evo 6 kit, or with the purchase of an additional parts pack (TB04 parts pack link here) you can just use a std TB04.  For this build a TB-Evo6 black edition was used.

Other things that are needed to build the car are:

• TRF417 V5 swing shaft Cap
• 1060 bearing (There is an error in the kit and this is not listed or included)

Lets start the build

I am building the EVO parts, as I add them to the conversion, so here is a quick overview of the build.

The motor mount is a really well machined part, shame it's not black to match my TBEVO black edition

First up I prepared the carbon fibre parts, and I added the EXO motor mount. This is a key part of the conversion kit and it changes the orientation of the motor to a longitudinal layout, and allows the removal of an extra gear in spur assembly making the drive train more efficient.

Next up I made the rear differential.

The components laid bare, ready for assembly

I used the Tamiya 42259 Gear differential O-rings (the red ones). Instead of the black ones in the kit, as they eliminate any potential leaks.

The rear differential ready to for the final assembly

Following this I worked on the front spool.

The spool spins smoothly on the included bearings

Tip - Take your time to shim both the differential and the spool in the gearbox. This will give you a smoother drive train, and will reduce the load on the gears, giving them a longer life.

Now it's time to fit the front and rear propeller joints.

The front drive cup

The front prop joint fits fine as it's just the Tamiya parts. For the rear you get to fit the EXO part. This part is really well machined and the build was going well, however I noticed that the stock bearing did not fit.

Do not use the stock bearing

The shaft is actually 6mm, wider than the std Evo shaft so the kit bearing will not fit all the way down the shaft.

Eeek!

As you can see it will not fit in the gearbox. Luckily I found a 1060 bearing from the F104 and I fitted that over the shaft.

Now it was all a perfect fit.

Everything is now back on track :)

The rear gearbox as then all assembled. I also fitted the front steering arms from the EVO6 kit.

The front gearbox was added along with the main prop

Things were going well, everything was assembled and when I moved the prop shaft the whole drive train felt really smooth.

Then I moved onto the top deck and I found another problem

The Kit spur will not fit with this conversion. So a 77t 64DP pinion was ordered

As you can see the top deck will not fit with the kit spur. It's not much of an issue as I doubt anyone will every use it. I ordered a small 64dp spur as I intend to run this car in the local 17.5 blinky class.

Whilst waiting for the spur to arrive in the post I worked on adding the suspension arms.

The car is really coming together now

The Evo6 uses the TRF418/9 suspension arms and they are really well made, and very strong.  I also added the roll bars

Shocks next, and as this is the EVO6  black edition you get the shorter big bore shocks in a black design.

Limited edition black TRF shocks..

Tamiya shocks are renowned as being one of the absolute best in the business and these are so well built, it is a joy to assemble them.

Tamiya Shock pump

I assembled the shocks as per instructions and added 450cst oil all around. (A good start point for carpet).

Come on and do the conga!

After all the air had been removed the shocks were assembled and I marked the adjusters with white paint pen to ensure I could easily see my adjustments at the track.

Would no top deck give you too much flex? ;)

With the shocks built, I added the shock towers and the front bumper assembly. Then all that was left to do was to fit the new RW racing spur gear and the top deck.

The final Chassis ready to race

The chassis looks fantastic, and I hope it will be as fast on the track as it looks on the bench.

I then added the electrics and set up the gearing for a FDR of 4.096

A 47t pinion and 77t spur 

Set-up

With the electrics fitted it was time to get it on the set-up station. 

It is worth the investment for a set-up station when racing a top level car

I will be using the following base set-up from the Exotek website

I will run 6mm front and 5mm rear droop

Overall

Ready for the track...once I fit some wheels :)

The Exotek kit is excellent quality, and other than the few minor issues listed above (bearing and original spur not fitting) it is great quality and easy to assemble. The big test for me will be to see how it handles when I get it on the track, so expect an update soon. Hopefully this will be the ultimate shaft car for those who want to compete in stock and blinky classes.. I will update you on progress :)

The EXO-6 Chassis is available here Exotek Website

Author Jamie R Cheshire