TB EvolutionIII
Model Number: 58299
Released
2002
Drive
4WD shaftdrive
Suspension
Four wheel independant double wishbone
Chassis Description
Graphite upper & lower plates
Body Type
n/a
Motor
n/a
Original Price
JPY 37,800
Width
189mm
Length
366mm
Wheel Base
257mm
Tread Front
163mm
Tread Rear
163mm
Ground Clearance
5mm
Weight
1,440g (incl servo, CPR, Battery & motor)
Scale
1/10 Touring Car
Tires
front:24mm Type A, molded inserts
Rear:24mm Type A, molded inserts
Strictly speaking, this is not an 'Evolution' of the TB genre, its a whole new metamorphorsis!! This new car shares very few parts if at all with the earlier Evo I/II.
Essentially its a shaftdriven TRF414M. Suspension arms and locating hardware are all taken off the 414/TA04 and everything is fully adjustable. As per 414, the lower mounting points are independent (no bulkheads!) and can be moved to accomodate rollcentre adjustment.
New-design diff housings front and rear make the bulkbeads redundant, so now they're absent - for a 40g weight saving. New-style 'compact' ball-diff at rear and a one-way unit upfront as before.
EvoIII's pizza box contains:
Full Ball Bearings (not Blue-sealed though, only steel-shielded)
2.5mm Thick Carbon Lower & Upper Frame
2.5mm Thick Carbon Front/Rear Carbon Damper Stay
2.5mm Thick Carbon Body Mount Stay
2.0mm Thick Carbon Battery Plate
Aluminum Spur Holder & 2.5mm Thick Carbon Spur Stopper
2.5mm Thick Carbon Steering Linkage Connector
Aluminum Suspension Mount
Aluminum Motor Mount
Aluminum Propeller Shaft
TRF Dampers (Fluorine coated)
Aluminum Servo Stays
Unique Ball Diff with Delrin outdrives
One-Piece Front One-Way Unit
Front/Rear Stabilizers (3 types)
TA04 Hard Suspension Arms
Clamp Type Aluminum Wheel Hub
Front/Rear Universal Shaft (rebuildable type!)
Aluminum Motor Heat Sink mount
Urethane Bumper
Medium Narrow Racing Slick Tyres (A Type)
Also appearing is Tamiya's latest anodosing colour on all alloy parts... don't know what they call it, but certain owners refer to it as 'Pandan (pandanus) green'.
All of the TRF team seem to have started racing the EvoIII in recent months with good success.
-Thailand ITC Championship Feb 21-23, 2003
-German Indoor Championship April 9-13, 2003
-YamaYama Cup Japan
-2003 Reedy Touring Car Race of Champions
[by WillyChang]
Reviews
SubaruBrattJunkie
I bought mine built from Wheels, Scott in Canada. It came very well executed, so I disassembled it on arrival. I put in the light weight diff joints and the light weight diff balls. I replaced the front uprights with the aluminum replacements. It came without a motor or pinion so I installed a Trinity speed gem pro 15 turn titanite motor and a 34 tooth pinion. I am running a Rooster and this is as low as it will go turn wise. When I bench tested it it immediatly threw the tires off the rims. Uhh ohhh. This thing is going to smoke. I had an Enzo body I bought from Hong Kong Cowboy and fit it to the chassis, which wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. HPI is now making a reproduction of the Pirelli tire that is very good looking on this car. I put a set of A slicks on it and charmed my way into the local high school gym for a few practice laps. It is unreal how fast this car is. In the long straights it is almost a blur. It corners like it is on rails and will surely make your lap times go down. It beats my poor TA03 so bad that it is another world. I do think they have finally come up with a set-up that is really competitive. It is simple to tweak, but to do it right, you need the board that has all the markings on it to get everything even. They are fairly cheap and a good investment. It is a very smooth mechanism with the motor out. Turns very, very easy. No binding and of course is ball raced all the way. This one is a winner. It is not for the faint of heart or wallet. It is a very expensive proposition. Even with the great deal Scott gave me, this car is still in the 500.00 US range. Would I do it again, you bet. If you really want to kick some can at your club, this is the unit to do it. In all, I had a blast with both the body and the car. I used some Pocher metal trim, like the Ferrari script, the side badges and the Brembo labels. All the decals are reverse printed and applied inside, which makes for a more realistic picture. Go for it!!
Maxxed Ross
My new racer, the TB Evo III. It is a very smart looking machine with every little part done in carbon fibre. I bought the car built from Dazmeister and he made a great job of putting it together, thanks mate.
It handled well staight out of the box and after a few custom tweaks was on an A final winning spree halted only by missing the train home from college in Aberdeen. Bummer! The only mods I've added are a servo saver from my TA02 (as the kit one didn't fit very well on my servo), two-way front diff (as I race indoor and need stable brakes) and a Surikarn short spring kit.
All in all this kit has boosted me to great heights at my club, it could do the same for you!
Walker
This kit was a joy to build and set up, the only area that concerned me was the front diff. It seems to have a tight spot I inspected everything in it and could not figure out what was binding. I did finish thou and it seems to be pretty smooth in the end I think I will call Tamiya and see what they have to say about this, it seem that the bearing for the drive shaft is very loose. Driving the car has been limited to my hallway due to the snow outside
So no real comments yet on driving it.