TD171D

Simply put, B-E-A-Utiful.

Straight from Japan, the Makita TD171D Impact Driver. This is the newest impact from Makita and I am very impressed. This thing screams precision! The nicest impact driver I have yet to grasp in my mortal hands.

3,600 max RPM

3,800 max IPM

New Dual LEDs give excellent illumination. The slightest trigger press turns the LEDs on.

New heavy duty dual ball bearing setup at the chuck to remove chuck/bit wobble. A big improvement over the TD170 impact.

New ‘mode shift’ button above the trigger to switch between the 4 speed modes without removing your hand from the impact.

4 modes for driver control:

1) Lumber Mode (1800 rpm)- Start trigger “slowly” with trigger fully open, tighten at a stroke with automatic speed change “fastest”. 2) Bolt mode (3600 rpm)- In forward rotation, the trigger turns ON fastest instantaneously, and in reverse rotation automatically stops when the nut loosens

3) Thick plate mode (2900 rpm)- Reduces screw head skipping / coming out

4) Thin plate mode (3600 rpm)- After screw penetration, detects blow and stops automatically

Mode memory function: You can register one mode you use frequently. Select your favorite mode and register at the same time by pressing the button at hand and the batting button. Switch the mode you used and the registered mode quickly by pressing the hand button!

More power and shorter than the TD170 impact.

Specs:

180 Nm (1593 in/lbs) (175 Nm for TD170)

116 mm length (4.57 in) (117 mm for TD170)

RPM: 1100, 2100, 3200, 3600

IPM: 1100, 2600, 3600, 3800

Made in Japan[External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied]

so assist mode and tek mode are gone?

Can’t hardly get any shorter without making the trigger shallower

SNAZZY

Jronman wrote:

so assist mode and tek mode are gone?

Extremely compact…so it’s for light to med use with 1600 inlbs.? It looks very comfortable…..

Framer joe wrote:

11 hours ago, Framer joe said:

Extremely compact…so it’s for light to med use with 1600 inlbs.? It looks very comfortable…..

No reason for it to be limited to light to medium use. My td170 would outperform any other impact driver and it had 1500 inlbs. Granted that was when the competition was the 885 and the second gen fuel.

That was many years ago, to this day the 887 rules supreme….watch impact shootouts , like the “ skill builder” it even beats the triple hammer hitachi…..

      Makita makes great compact tools though, extremely comfortable 

Well I mean if you consider 2 many years ago. I’ve owned an 887. Not noticeably better than the td170 was in actual use. All the flagship impacts are basically the same. 

Does the rubber moulding continue up from the grip to the main body? If so, it is more than previous models. Unfortunately, rubber skin is first to peel off from the main unit. I don’t know if it can stand up to daily site abuse.

Framer joe wrote:

22 hours ago, Framer joe said:

the 887 rules supreme….watch impact shootouts , like the “ skill builder” it even beats the triple hammer hitachi.

Sometimes it does rule supreme but not all the big contenders were there like the normal Milwaukee impact or the TD171. Milwaukee is faster than DeWALT in lags but DeWALT is faster with smaller fasteners.

I find the xdt170 and the dewalt 887 very close. The main difference is the makita is smoother(less vibration), less wiggle in the chuck, and quieter. For this it just feels better in hand. Also Makita battery fits snugger in impact, less wiggle and batteries charge faster. I also find Dewalts cold weather performance to lag behind others. 

glass wrote:

10 hours ago, glass said:

Makita battery fits snugger in impact, less wiggle

Agree. I love those little round white rubber things. Great design, simple and effective. All my Dewalt tools rattle and my TD170 doesn’t.

D W wrote:

 
Agree. I love those little round white rubber things. Great design, simple and effective. All my Dewalt tools rattle and my TD170 doesn’t.

HiltiWpg wrote:

I never understood why the batteries were so loose and never fixed. Seems like a simple fix for Dewalt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The DeWALT omt has rubber in the battery housing that helps.

Jronman wrote:

45 minutes ago, Jronman said:

The DeWALT omt has rubber in the battery housing that helps.

Ahh, I have that tool and forgot about that. Mine doesn’t work too well but its definitely better than the others. The string trimmer is my worst for rattle.

I also really like the steps Makita goes to reducing vibration. And they’re very tempered, intelligent steps, nothing overboard or poorly thought-out. Those little rubber nubs on everything do great. Then the rubber suspension gasket they have on their heavy impact wrench and OMT. Massive benefit without being intrusive in terms of form/function at all. I was really trying to avoid buying that OMT too…so “full-size” in comparison to all their other cordless tools, but the vibration damping ended up clinching it for me.

ToolBane wrote:

16 hours ago, ToolBane said:

I also really like the steps Makita goes to reducing vibration. And they’re very tempered, intelligent steps, nothing overboard or poorly thought-out. Those little rubber nubs on everything do great. Then the rubber suspension gasket they have on their heavy impact wrench and OMT. Massive benefit without being intrusive in terms of form/function at all. I was really trying to avoid buying that OMT too…so “full-size” in comparison to all their other cordless tools, but the vibration damping ended up clinching it for me.

Very true. I said in another thread that there’s more to impact drivers than torque. Makita seems to be hanging around the 170-180 NM mark and seems to be improving the driver for what it is.

Does anyone has a translation of the Japanese menu?

kat wrote:

6 hours ago, kat said:

Does anyone has a translation of the Japanese menu?

Would typing the website into google translate work?

Has anyone heard a US release date on this?

Makita makes best impact hands down no questions about it

The.Handyman wrote:

On 2/13/2018 at 10:14 PM, The.Handyman said:

4 modes for driver control:

 

1) Lumber Mode (1800 rpm)- Start trigger “slowly” with trigger fully open, tighten at a stroke with automatic speed change “fastest”. 2) Bolt mode (3600 rpm)- In forward rotation, the trigger turns ON fastest instantaneously, and in reverse rotation automatically stops when the nut loosens

 

3) Thick plate mode (2900 rpm)- Reduces screw head skipping / coming out

 

4) Thin plate mode (3600 rpm)- After screw penetration, detects blow and stops automatically

 

Mode memory function: You can register one mode you use frequently. Select your favorite mode and register at the same time by pressing the button at hand and the batting button. Switch the mode you used and the registered mode quickly by pressing the hand button!

So wait, do these 4 modes replace the old 4 modes of max, hard, medium, and soft? If they don’t, there’s a total of 8 modes, plus assist and tek? How do you use all those modes together? Or if those new modes do replace the old modes (max through soft), then there is just 4 modes in the new impact,  plus assist and tek?

I’m a little confused.

glassman3333 wrote:

On 9/13/2018 at 2:37 PM, glassman3333 said:

 

So wait, do these 4 modes replace the old 4 modes of max, hard, medium, and soft? If they don’t, there’s a total of 8 modes, plus assist and tek? How do you use all those modes together? Or if those new modes do replace the old modes (max through soft), then there is just 4 modes in the new impact,  plus assist and tek?

 

I’m a little confused.

The way I understood it was there are 4 speed modes then 4 specialty modes.

Is it normal for the bit to move back and forward in the bit holder of this driver?

I have an old Makita driver that holds the bit tight and it doesn’t move at all

Like how much? I don’t think a small amount of in/out is all that big a deal. Not every company is guaranteed to use the same tolerances so mixing bits from different companies can lead to different degrees of fitment. There could also be small differences based on region of the world, and you probably acquired that impact from the Japanese market?

Crazy how they released this when the 170 was already probably the best impact driver even just a year ago. Although they aren’t bothering to release it stateside yet which is a bit of a bummer. I have the 170 (XDT12T state-side) and am extremely happy with it. The YouTube linked here (mods please message me if posting the link isn’t kosher and I can edit it out) is probably the most comprehensive and objective test I’ve seen and the Makita won fairly decisively.

But I guess impact drivers are a good idea to not sit on your laurels with. The TTI triumvirate released three impact drivers that are all substantial increases in torque and rpm over the models they replace. Makita does not seem to be overly preoccupied with winning torque number wars though. Or maybe they just under-rate their numbers more than other manufacturers. The 170 won 2 of the 3 practical performance tests in this comparison outright and was a close second in the last. This 171 appears to have the same motor structure and torque/rpm numbers; most of the changes appear to be about features.

Still, in my opinion impact drivers have reached a point where more power seems superfluous and they are better served adding features for better precision and so on. The better impact drivers are well past the point of being able to take lug nuts off of cars and trucks and the simple reality is there’s no objective reason to be designing 1/4” hex tools to do that.

ToolBane wrote:

2 hours ago, ToolBane said:

But I guess impact drivers are a good idea to not sit on your laurels with. The TTI triumvirate released three impact drivers that are all substantial increases in torque and rpm over the models they replace. Makita does not seem to be overly preoccupied with winning torque number wars though. Or maybe they just under-rate their numbers more than other manufacturers. The 170 won 2 of the 3 practical performance tests in this comparison outright and was a close second in the last. This 171 appears to have the same motor structure and torque/rpm numbers; most of the changes appear to be about features.

Milwaukee replace their units so frequently to keep their market happy; sure they improve them but they also know Milwaukee ‘fan boys’ will buy the latest for the sake of having the latest. 

Take a look at Instagram every time a new Milwaukee tool is released… Everyone has got to have this or that tool. It’s a trend I’ve become very wise to but it must move so many units for TTI because I see it so often.

Makita aren’t as frequent and slower on a global roll out but after having used much of both brands I know which of the two I’d rather put my money on.

I find the td171 to have the least slop of any impact driver. Bits  are super snug. When I pull the trigger the bits definitely wiggle less than the other brands. I think some edge it on power but smooth smooth it is. 

kat wrote:

9 hours ago, kat said:

Is it normal for the bit to move back and forward in the bit holder of this driver?

I have an old Makita driver that holds the bit tight and it doesn’t move at all

 

My TD170 does this, about 5mm in/out. 

I didn’t think much of it until I tried another brand (which only had about 2mm movement). 

Not sure if it’s normal or not, but it’s definitely something I’ve disliked about the 170.

Well now that I’ve gotten home to check, I do notice some in/out play on my XDT-11Z…yeah maybe 4mm worth. (Haven’t checked the XDT-12T I also have, but I also don’t feel like digging through the workshop to get it at this hour.) 

Not much side-side wobble though.

Not feeling terribly pressed about it to be honest.

I have noticed my Ryobi impact driver after some use deformed the Milwaukee 1/2” square adapter I have in it a smidge and suddenly it wouldn’t fit in my cheaper Makita without a bit of force. I had to shove the bit into the Makita and use a deep impact socket to hold the bit still in my hand while driving into impact mode in reverse a little bit to straighten the bit back out. Now it fits either impact like a glove again. This only speaks to the Ryobi having slightly looser tolerances (and/or flimsier shaft) laterally/torsionally relative to the Makita, which is not at all unexpected for a budget brand in comparison to a “prosumer” tool.

I also do notice the Ryobi has only 2mm of play in/out. Personally, I find the larger degree of lateral/torsional wobble in the Ryobi to be more disconcerting, but had I not had the Makita on-hand for the direct comparison I would never have noticed either in the first place. I don’t have any other brands nor feel any pressing desire to buy any merely to investigate further.

I would still be inclined to speculate Makita merely has this extra “slop” to give it more compatibility with a wider range of other brands of bits. Unlikely to think they’d have put it in there just being lazy.

Yes, it’s the same 4-5mm on mine.

Also, 25mm bits don’t work with it. You have to use a bit holder adapter for 25mm bits.

My older Makita impact will accept 25mm bits.

By design all impact drivers should have some back and forth movement in the chuck. The limiting factors will be down to the depth beyond the ball bearing bit retainer before the ‘chuck’ bottoms out and the amount on the bit beyond the retainer indentation.

The.Handyman, hello, can you make photo other side of dtd171, where “made in ****”

Yesterday my new TD171 from Japan has arrived. The unit is great but I found out that bit has about 5 mm in/out play in chuck. Then I found this photo:

[External image (www.makita.co.th), not copied]

Chuck is deeper to be able to use longer NZ type bits (I haven’t seen this bits yet). Is anybody using the 322279-6 “bit-piece” with impact driver? Does it eliminate the in/out play?

BTW I love that there is nearly zero wobble play even with longer bits. The double bearing setup at the chuck is big improvement.

QuasarCZ wrote:

On 5/30/2019 at 10:40 PM, QuasarCZ said:

Yesterday my new TD171 from Japan has arrived. The unit is great but I found out that bit has about 5 mm in/out play in chuck. Then I found this photo:

[External image (www.makita.co.th), not copied]

Chuck is deeper to be able to use longer NZ type bits (I haven’t seen this bits yet). Is anybody using the 322279-6 “bit-piece” with impact driver? Does it eliminate the in/out play?

 

BTW I love that there is nearly zero wobble play even with longer bits. The double bearing setup at the chuck is big improvement.

Japan and Korea uses nz type bits so impact drivers for Japan and Korea have different collet than ones from pretty much rest of the world( even dewalt and Milwaukee drivers for the countries have different collet. That’s why your driver has deeper collet since it’s from Japan