Tamiya is not a racing company

[Effigy3 1267]

That's what Fred Medel - the marketing manager for Tamiya America has to say.  Read more here.

[Rb4276 803]

Saw that also on facebook, not surprising considering they seemed to give up on off road a few years ago. I guess they prefer their "toy" designation.  Id love to buy a trf off road updated car but i think that nail is definitely in the coffin now after this confirmation. Looks like the new associated 4wd i will be getting

[Pablo68 1049]

Well, in off road at least ,Tamiya are a couple of years behind the curve now.

When did they stop supporting off road? The 201, which is a car I really like still had bearings mounted in the front wheels and pins driving the back. Don't think they ever made a laydown gearbox for them either. Their most recent 4wd, the 503? How does that one stack up now? (Wouldn't mind one of those actually, still have a 501).

I would have thought though that their on-road division was still worthy of support on results at least. They didn't stop developing their on-road chassis so.....

Just seems to be very Japanese thinking to me. Conservative, no risk taking. Also as they said, they are a hobby company that makes some racing models.

[Effigy3 1267]

4 hours ago, Pablo68 said:

When did they stop supporting off road? The 201, which is a car I really like still had bearings mounted in the front wheels and pins driving the back. Don't think they ever made a laydown gearbox for them either.

I've been racing a 201 for about a year now and it's VERY dated on a clay track.  It's circa 2010 chassis with rear motor mount simply can't manage the corners like the mid-motor chassis cars can.  My wife got me a 211XM so I can be competitive.  It has exactly the same front end that my 201 does.  The rear wheels are still pin drive.  Not exactly innovation.  While it does have a mid-motor configuration it doesn't have a lay down transmission, or a 3 gear option.  The most innovative bit is the unique plastic that the tub is made from and I really can't wait to build it and get it running on the track!  Of course I'm highly brand loyal.  The thought of running something other than a Tamiya at the track would be like going on a date with not my wife.  Just wrong.

Team Durango did something similar to this a year or so ago.  They dumped ALL their race drivers and they had a bigger off road team than Tamiya TRF.  Durango decided to refocus on their "consumer" line, aka Arrma.  Arrma is turning into another Traxxas but that's where the money is.  Racing is a money pit.  Manufacturers participate for the advertising.  If the advertising isn't generating more revenue than it costs, it gets axed.  At least Tamiya isn't dumping ALL their racing.  They're still going to have a small number of racers (2) for each of the major markets.  So to me it seems that TRF is being downsized but not eliminated.

[mastino 1085]

Continuing with the reading, also he says:

“Tamiya is a hobby company that makes some race cars, and what we learn from racing trickles down into other genres.”

Personally, and I speak for myself, this is the Tamiya what I like. From a certain point of view, it is much more than a racing company.

[Effigy3 1267]

5 hours ago, mastino said:

Continuing with the reading, also he says:

“Tamiya is a hobby company that makes some race cars, and what we learn from racing trickles down into other genres.”

Personally, and I speak for myself, this is the Tamiya what I like. From a certain point of view, it is much more than a racing company.

Couldn't agree with you more Mastino.  As long as they don't completely abandon the TRF product line and continue development (in their own fashion) I'm perfectly ok with racing under their banner!

[Mokei Kagaku 2706]

I would never fully trust any statement about Tamiya unless it comes from Tamiya Japan. A statement about Tamiya's future plans coming from a distributor employee means nothing to me. In this case it's a person who claimed in one of the videos made locally that one of Tamiya's WR-02 models is named Wheelie King. Enough said about credibility.

[magnumb 97]

On 12/9/2016 at 11:08 PM, Effigy3 said:

I've been racing a 201 for about a year now and it's VERY dated on a clay track.  It's circa 2010 chassis with rear motor mount simply can't manage the corners like the mid-motor chassis cars can.  My wife got me a 211XM so I can be competitive.  It has exactly the same front end that my 201 does.  The rear wheels are still pin drive.  Not exactly innovation.  While it does have a mid-motor configuration it doesn't have a lay down transmission, or a 3 gear option.  The most innovative bit is the unique plastic that the tub is made from and I really can't wait to build it and get it running on the track!  Of course I'm highly brand loyal.  The thought of running something other than a Tamiya at the track would be like going on a date with not my wife.  Just wrong.

Team Durango did something similar to this a year or so ago.  They dumped ALL their race drivers and they had a bigger off road team than Tamiya TRF.  Durango decided to refocus on their "consumer" line, aka Arrma.  Arrma is turning into another Traxxas but that's where the money is.  Racing is a money pit.  Manufacturers participate for the advertising.  If the advertising isn't generating more revenue than it costs, it gets axed.  At least Tamiya isn't dumping ALL their racing.  They're still going to have a small number of racers (2) for each of the major markets.  So to me it seems that TRF is being downsized but not eliminated.

I have multiple 201s,  a 201XR, a 201XMW and 3 211XMWs. I've been in this hobby for over 20 years and this is by far my favorite chassis as the tuning window is large and 211xmw chassis is killer for the indoor track on run on. The 201XMW is better suited for our outdoor track as it offers a bit more flex. I only wish they offered sway bar kit and better slipper setup, although the Avid white pads are very good. As far as pins go they really didn't bother me as and never gave me trouble and they may even offer less rotating mass....but i did switch to hex to be able to test out fellow racers tires. 

It's too bad Tamiya couldn't keep this chassis going. The new offerings are nice from AE, Losi and Kyosho, but when all the guys at my track make the switch I come out ahead in the beginning and stay competitive as i have alot more pistol time with the 201 and 211. For fun i still break out the 201s especially when the track gets loamy and have a blast driving it hard into the corners....need to drive a different line and at times this gives me an advantage to take a win now and again. Also run the Zahhank body which really gives it the old school look;) 

These Tamiya's and the older RC10s and some Yokomo's are the only ones i'd consider keeping in my collection. The others were just racing machines and didn't have good fit and finish and no soul and were sold off or trashed. 

[GTodd 1349]

To me Tamiya has always been a hobby company that you could buy a car from and be able to run ok at the club. The Egress, EVO, and 5XX had verying degrees of success, were cool to build and look at. Tamiya gave it an honest to goodness try for about ten years (2005-2015ish) maybe it paid off for them maybe it didn't. Its probably going to be the way the pre Dark Impact and Durga days were until "they" decide to make another go at it .

[Shodog 1835]

It’s been said many times before that racing is a small segment of the hobby population. 

[studioRS 213]

I'm going to try and squeak every bit of Tamiya racing gene I can out of my TT02R in the TCS finals.

The only racing I've ever done — 1994 #2 TCS race in San Jose, CA and my second ever #235 TCS at RC Kinetics 2018 - what a span, two races in 24 years! This will be my third TCS ever and round out with the finals at the last event on the track. Even though my family lives about 13mi from the track, I've never raced on it.

I like the racing aspect with the emphasis on scale. Tamiya certainly has been marketing this forever. My TT02R won't be the fastest, but I'll do my best to represent the best race car in scale!  In the end, its really all about how you "Enjoy Radio Control" in whatever way that makes you happy.

Cheers, Thompson