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esmuz

Help on choosing a first On-road model

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Most of my onroad cars are race cars but we still run them at the local school on the asphalt courts when the mood takes us.  This includes a carbon chassis TA07, F103, TRF102 which most people would say should stick to prepared tracks.  While they are better on the track, and the stones etc can cause additional wear, they run fine.  I've had no problems with stones getting stuck in exposed gears or belts, broken parts from uneven ground etc.  So you can run whatever you like the look of.  If you wear down a carbon chassis you can get a replacement.

The Express cars are a step above any that are mentioned from Tamiya.  I don't own one, but a lot at my club race them and they go well and are great quality.  The XQ2S is the 10th scale touring car of the same level and similar price to the M sized one you've already seen.  People run them in stock classes and they hold their own against carbon cars costing 5 times as much.  The only upgrades that you may consider is a set of sway bars for more tuning, but you don't need those.  Running a 21.5T or 17.5T (these are the most common stock classes around the world, you'd need to check whats run in your area) sensored brushless motor in one would also allow you to put it on a track and race for fun, and not be held back by the car.  So while overkill for just playing around, they are definitely a good option.  I think they're an RCMart brand now so spares will be easy to get hold of.  The Sakura cars are a similar option to the Express cars, although the ones I've seen at the track break quite often (could be the mod motor in them though).  I'd stick to Express.

If you get a TT02 or similar, don't spend a lot on upgrades other than the already mentioned bearings and oil shocks.  You'll throw so much money at it and still be left with something that isn't a great performer.  They are great for what they are, but if you want performance buy something with better performance out of the box (TA, TB, FF series, or another brand).  With the TT02 options, none come with everything that you need so you always have to factor in additional expense.  The R and S kits don't have a body, the base kit don't have bearings and oil shocks etc.  Look at the drift kits.  They come with all the upgrades you need (bearings, oil shocks, sport tuned motor) and a body and drift tyres.  Buy a set of rubber tyres and new wheels and then you can both drift and race/bash.  This isn't the TT02 Type D as thats a chassis kit like the Type S etc, its the TT02D and will come with a body.

The other suggestions like FF03 (or TB03 or TA05) are good too.  They are older now but a step up from the TT cars, and you can often find a kit with everything in it for a good price.  Its a much better base to start from than a TT if you do like modifying them.  At the end you'll have something quite decent, rather than a really expensive TT.

I often say this though, buy the better kit rather than the cheap one and modify it.  I've done that for all of mine with the exception of a TA07Pro.  I have modified so much of that I was able to build another TA07 from leftovers.  Its cost as much/more (who's counting?!) as if I had just bought a TRF419 to begin with, and now has about the same performance.  Best to avoid that path.

 

 

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im a buggy guy and picked up a F103GT, not a fun onroad car to parking lot drive. Id say stay away if u want to actually drive an onroad car and not spin out constantly or have a tiny pebble destroy your painstaking paint and bodywork. ONLY MY OPINION. M chassis is awesome, shell choice is great. 

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Wow, I never expected such amount oh help and wisdom.. Thank you so much.

As expected, and that's probably a personal problem, now I am more confused than before, analysis paralysis? 

Current state of mind:

  • The bodies I like the most, Carrera RSR, Capri, Alfa Giulia, Alpine.. which either have the basic TT02 or M-06 cost around 150€ and will probably require to spend an extra amount of money on the  Big 3  let's say 100€ more.. so that's about 250€ 
  • By the other hand, I could get a TT02D with all the 3 bigs covered for 175€ and add 50 more € on an RSR or Capri Body + 40€ more on non drifting wheels matching the bodies, so it's almost the same sh*t, but in this case I might try the drifting experience too for the same price. 
  • The Express XM1S keeps being a strong option, there's no way to get anything close to it in terms of quality in Tamiya version and it's M-chasis size as I like, but getting nice M-chasis classic bodies for it, is expensive and complicated in my country right now, plus I need the **** shorty battery too.
  • The F104W option gets discarded because although some people here say are usable on regular asphalt, being a rookie driver I think I will be terrified about having any bump or crash with it and will end as a queen shelf. 

My other Off road cars are a DT03  which I totally hoped-up expecting it to become perfect, but that keeps being a mediocre car, difficult to drive as badword no matter what you do. The other one is a wonderful Kyosho Tomahawk re-re,  which is not perfect in many ways, but it is just wonderfully beautiful and even being a model from 1985 it keeps being and feeling like a competition car. If I make some memory I think I ended up spending way more on the DT-03 than on the Tomahawk... And that's why I still feel prone to consider the Express XM1S or a TT02D as a warranty of having a decent car from the box.

I think I'll let it cool down and maybe make some decision by December, now I am too excited and I know I trend to make wrong decisions when I am in this state of mind. 

Thank again, and please keep talking! 

BTW if we are to show pictures, I hate my DT-03 but I like the way it looks what do you think? 

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18 hours ago, Willy iine said:

Are we just randomly posting pictures of our beloved cars now?  

I know, right? I've bought so many cars that way. 

Quite innocently, I'd be reading up on merits of DT02 vs DT03 and I'd ended up buying both. I'd be reading up on DN01 and end up buying that too, etc, etc. My wife would be very happy if TC just stopped posting stuff we want!  

And you, my Good Sir, wasn't helping either. I ended up buying reproduction Wild Willy 1 tires after seeing so many perfect WW1s!  If I said your pictures didn't influence me, I'd be lying, lol...:lol: (thank you) I love these...

lUTuqVl.jpg

 

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7 hours ago, esmuz said:

 

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That is one of the best looking DT03s I've seen.  It's got some retro vibe, yet, completely contemporary. 

 

 

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7 hours ago, Juggular said:

That is one of the best looking DT03s I've seen.  It's got some retro vibe, yet, completely contemporary. 

 

 

Thanks! I feel quite proud of it. 

I don't know if you noticed, but it somehow replicates the 90´s Kyosho vibe. I realized the racing fighter body is a very Kyosho looking body, and decided to take advantage of it.. Also the Kyosho dampers are crucial to make it look that way. 

The problem is that the car continues being quite mediocre, even with expensive modern tires haha.. 

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Son has just got the Tt02 NSX and I have just got the Tt02 Escort. Both been round the local indoor track a few times and seem very user friendly. Easy to strip repair and drive. But the big 3 should be the big 4. CVA drive shafts are a must for the front or you'll be forever refitting the dogbones

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The Xpress cars are a really good option (even more raceworthy than any TT-02).

If going Tamiya, the TT-02 is a good budget option, but I'd usually recommend going with the Type-S, for its vastly superior suspension (that is, if going through corners is any priority for you :D).

As for M-Chassis, I don't really see many good reasons to go with the older M-05 or M-05 over the current (and IMO much better) M-07 or M-08. Ok, the newer cars are more track-oriented, so for bashing, rally-style driving, etc. maybe the older chassis still have their place. ;)

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I just wanted to update the thread and thank you all for your help.

I finally got the XM1S + an ABC hobby Honda city Turbo II body. 

Adapting the chassis body posts to the body was a total nightmare, but besides that I am super happy with the result, the car looks fantastic and the chassis is amazingly stable and fun to drive, I don't think I could get this level of quality from a Tamiya kit without spending gazillions on hop-up parts. 

I hope you like it, happy to answer any questions. 

(sorry for the ****ty quality of the pictures, Tamiyaclub makes them look terribly blurry, it improves a lot if you click on them )

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