Tamiya on-road advice needed!

[JNSD1 288]

Well since finishing the Tundra, Bruiser, Lunchbox and Clod I think it may be time... I'm thinking of an on road and have been hunting through this forum for advice. 

My criteria: 4WD, reasonably priced. The question: 

For your money, and for ease of availability and price, what would you go for?

After looking through this thread: 

It seems like the TA04 is simply awesome, but you can't get them anymore really...

Then I was looking at the TA06 Pro, then saw the TA07 has just been released... But I'm down a rabbit hole I don't want to be down really. Price can spiral out of control quickly... Still...!!

I've run a hundred off roaders, but never really had any on-road experience apart from a Kyosho Calsonic GTR that never really worked that well!

 

Again - Advice welcomed gents, for your money, and for ease of availability and price, what would you go for?

 

[Darat76 265]

willy's wheeler

[JNSD1 288]

3 hours ago, Darat76 said:

willy's wheeler

??????????

[Darat76 265]

here

http://tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=39

or the new one

http://tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=1391

[TenzoR 62]

If you are planning to race, any of the TRF chassis would be ideal. 

If you are bashing, the TT02 series will be ideal as it is super durable. You can do a bit of stock racing with it too. http://www.thercracer.com/2014/08/tamiya-tt02-guide-mods-tuning-and-tips.html

If you want something unique, I'd wait for the 40th Anniversary Porsche, the TA02 chassis is vintage and fun. 

[Darat76 265]

hmm, re-read your OP, my suggestion still stands as it is meant to be (ie a joke) but it misses the requirement of 4wd

[JNSD1 288]

25 minutes ago, Darat76 said:

here

http://tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=39

or the new one

http://tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=1391

Those are truly horrible  

 

24 minutes ago, TenzoR said:

If you are planning to race, any of the TRF chassis would be ideal. 

If you are bashing, the TT02 series will be ideal as it is super durable. You can do a bit of stock racing with it too. http://www.thercracer.com/2014/08/tamiya-tt02-guide-mods-tuning-and-tips.html

If you want something unique, I'd wait for the 40th Anniversary Porsche, the TA02 chassis is vintage and fun. 

Thanks for the recommendation... 40th Anniversary Porsche, which one is that?

 

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

I'm kind of a fan of the TB03 chassis for street bashing as the drivetrain is sealed and it has more tuning potential than a TT01/TT02 chassis.  The TB03 has been superseded by the TB04, but the TB04's center gearbox isn't sealed.  There are still a few TB03 models out there and readily available.

No doubt the belt cars like TA05, TA06, TA07 appeal more to the club racing crowd and the TT01/TT02 shaft cars appeal more to first-timers in onroad due to price and variety of bodies, but I like the TB03 because it is a middle ground between the two.  Sealed and durable like the TT family, tunable like the TA and TRF families.

TB03 kits include ball bearings, turnbuckle adjusters, and CVA oil dampers by default, which the base TT kits will not include.  You can set up the front suspension for either standard damper mounting or IFS (inboard front suspension), which allows for very low nose shells like the NSX.  You can play around with settings by swapping in 6 degree or 4 degree caster front uprights, dial in the camber and toe with the turnbuckles, and play with roll center settings using spacers under the ball connectors and shims under the hinge pin blocks.  There are carbon-reinforced parts available if you want to reduce the flex of the chassis.

The design is a little dated and does have a few quirks, but they are solvable.  The tub chassis is molded to accept NiMH stick packs, so modern hard case LiPo batteries don't fit quite right.  You can Dremel out the tub to make the LiPo mount flat, or you can use a TA05 carbon battery strap to let the battery sit a little higher in the chassis.  Some people have complained about steering slop, and that seems traceable back to the flange tubes used in the steering rack.  I've been able to drill out the holes in the steering bridge and use flanged bearings in place of the flange tubes, and the steering is very precise with that modification.

Anyhow, that's my point of view.  If I was club racing seriously I would consider a belt-drive chassis from either the TA or TRF families, and if I was street bashing on a strict budget I would consider a TT chassis.  But for me, I like the TB family as it's a middle ground between the two.

[qatmix 794]

If onroad bashing the XV01 is king. It's a great drive, easy to drift, easy to rally and it is also an interesting build. It is belt drive and these ones are sealed (Although I have rallied a converted TRF415 on dirt and gravel and the belts are never an issue)

I would never recommend a TA04, they were ok in their day, but the TA05 is miles better. Infact I would say that the Ta05 is a better car than the TA06. The new TA07 looks very good, I know a racer who has tried his version out and he said after only 1 days track time it's already proven itself to him. I have one coming so I'm looking forward to seeing if it is as good as the TA05 was in its time.

The TA05 is a brilliant car. I've loved mine in its time. Near indestructible and fun to drive. 

Obviously the cheaper end you have the TT02, I really like mine. Easy to build, lots of options to add at a later date and it handles ok.

 

 

[GooneyBird 938]

I race a TT01E in a brushed stock class. Some guys throw silly money at them but with a few choice hopups they can be made to handle decently. The only thing letting them down is their weight and high center of gravity. They're easy to build, share many parts with other Tamiya cars so kit bashing is always an option, and can be had for next to nothing. As long as you don't end up throwing silly money at it, they're good fun and quite reliable. 

[volvotech 101]

I bought a NIB TA05 kit on ebay a few years ago for a very reasonable price. It has proven to be an excellent basher. It has an insanely hot castle creations BL motor on it an the thing flies! Often end over end  That being said, it's been way more durable than I could've ever imagined. Leaps and bounds compared to my TA03's. I've run it on nothing but car parks and the open drive train has never been a problem. Though I won't be surprised when/if something will get lodged among the belts. If you can find yourself a new or even used, good condition TA05 at a reasonable price, I'd jump on it. Hop ups and parts are widely available and not *quite* that pricey yet. Also, I found the build to be significantly more enjoyable than the more basic TT chassis cars.

[JNSD1 288]

Thanks for all the great advice guys, exactly what I was after.

[t3garett 268]

Just to add a stone or pebble ....

If you are the kind of guy who likes run a car and then wonder if it would be better with x hopup and want to see an improvement I would go with the TA series which respond very well to tuning and have effective hopups as opposed to bling hopups. The Ta04 is my personal favorite and parts are still out there, the ta05 is an awesome car and the ta06 is a great car with its quirks and particularities. Or get the ta07 !