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Kowalski86

Best/Worst Touring Chassis

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I've been looking at Tamiyas touring chassis for a while largely due to the variety (front motor belt driven 4wd, etc), but I've only owned a TT-01.

To those who have experience building and driving them, whst is your favorite/least favorite one?

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I raced AE TC3 and was usually in the  top 3 spots in modified class at my local parking lot races back in the late 90's.

I suppose my worst touring car was a TA02 as it could not win any races, but I still have it and like it for what it was for that era.

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2 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

To those who have experience building and driving them, whst is your favorite/least favorite one?

As a dedicated builder and casual driver, my favourites are the TA03 and TA04...they're both compatible with body sets and wheel combos from (in my opinion) Tamiya's golden age, and individually they offer almost limitless options for personalisation:

TA03 offers:

  • front and rear motor options
  • short and standard wheelbase options in both configurations
  • the ability for ride height to be jacked up for rallying
  • plastic tub and carbon double deck options in all configurations (actually, maybe not FS)
  • a vast array of Hop Ups, many of which can be found in a variety of colours (although many are now quite hard to find)
  • stunning TRF versions of the rear motor options

TA04 offers:

  • standard and short wheelbase options
  • a very cool dual belt set up
  • standard wheelbase can be had in standard tub, carbon reinforced tub or carbon fibre double deck
  • carbon parts which come in either standard or SSG 
  • a vast array of Hop Ups, many of which are easier to find than the TA03 parts
  • a clear kit-level upgrade path from standard to Pro to S to R to TRF...a bit like 1:1 cars such as Ford (L, LX, Ghia etc)

I'm sure others are better to drive, but in terms of build and personalisation I love those. Members like @svenb@wtcc5 and @Nicadraus will give you better insight into their favourite drivers

My favourite to drive is the XV-01, which is technically a rally chassis but just does everything

 

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I'm not really an expert with touring but I have some experiences running them on the track and raced them. Kits I've owned are TA-04R, HPI Pro4 and LRP-S10. I currently, have an FF-01, a few FF-03s and an XV-01 (rally and tarmac spec) that are all heavily modified and runs very, very well on both the tracks and open pavement/street/court. I have also driven a other touring cars like the TT-02, TA-05, TRF-415, 416 & 417, Xpress X10R, and a few more from other brands like Mugen, X-Ray and Hot Bodies Cyclone. With all I listed, I enjoyed them but the Pro4, FF-03 and XV-01are probably my favorites. Although I'm really impressed with the X10R in the new/modern league. Very well planted on the track and fast running 13.5t.

In building, I enjoyed almost every kit I built so there's no worst in them really. :)

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I fear that in the end here every chassis is mentioned somehow :lol:

As I am totally (not) biased… (as @Juhunio said) …

Best chassis to drive and work on (not fast though):

FF-01 —> Forgives driver errors, is nearly always in perfect balance, easy to repair, clean and maintain, hard to break (soft plastic)

Second place: TT-02 KRv4 and 5 —> Fast boy (fights off competition touring cars), has grip and rotation galore, won’t break easily, light and simple design

 

Worst… I find that hard to answer… I don’t like to wrench on the TT-02S, because to reach the diffs you have to pop off the camberlinks and shocks. Overall it is a fuss reach/replace the diff. The same goes for the rear diff, where the spur cover has to be removed too. The TBevoV also could be less complicated to work on the rear drivetrain. Especially shimming every gear perfectly is a must! The TBevoV is an absolute beauty, maybe even a diva, so these things are forgiven.

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42 minutes ago, wtcc5 said:

I fear that in the end here every chassis is mentioned somehow :lol:

As I am totally (not) biased… (as @Juhunio said) …

Best chassis to drive and work on (not fast though):

FF-01 —> Forgives driver errors, is nearly always in perfect balance, easy to repair, clean and maintain, hard to break (soft plastic)

Looks a bit like a simplefied TA01/02, which I've heard good things about even if its an older design.

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For me its the TA07, any of the plastic tub versions. They can do it all from driving around in carparks through to club racing (actually, thats probably just 2 things). Its shares a lot of parts with the TRF418/9 but still has the plastic tub rather than carbon fibre so you don't have to worry about it. The single belt gives you 3 motor positions just by changing 2 screws too so you can muck around with setup which most others don't allow.

From what I can see there is a lot of love for a few of the TA and TB chassis, specifically the TA05 and TB03, which have thw same benefits as the TA07. 

All can be upgraded as much as you like, and when you do they actually get better and end up as good as a TRF but twice the price.

The TRF and TB EVO cars are obviously better performers but too niche to be the best as you don't really want to use them in unprepared carparks etc

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2 hours ago, wtcc5 said:

 

Worst… I find that hard to answer… I don’t like to wrench on the TT-02S, because to reach the diffs you have to pop off the camberlinks and shocks. Overall it is a fuss reach/replace the diff. The same goes for the rear diff, where the spur cover has to be removed too. The TBevoV also could be less complicated to work on the rear drivetrain. Especially shimming every gear perfectly is a must! The TBevoV is an absolute beauty, maybe even a diva, so these things are forgiven.


If you have the Type S aluminum upper arm mounts (54651), you don’t have to pop off the upper arms or the shocks to access the diffs. Makes wrenching on the car a lot easier, lessens wear on the upper arm and shock cups and it takes stress off the damper stay too

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DF806786-D96D-4E98-84BC-E89E752ED254.jpeg.4f86573c741fadbc288db4dbbbe07c41.jpeg 

 

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2 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

For me its the TA07, any of the plastic tub versions. They can do it all from driving around in carparks through to club racing (actually, thats probably just 2 things). Its shares a lot of parts with the TRF418/9 but still has the plastic tub rather than carbon fibre so you don't have to worry about it. The single belt gives you 3 motor positions just by changing 2 screws too so you can muck around with setup which most others don't allow.

From what I can see there is a lot of love for a few of the TA and TB chassis, specifically the TA05 and TB03, which have thw same benefits as the TA07. 

All can be upgraded as much as you like, and when you do they actually get better and end up as good as a TRF but twice the price.

My only real concern with a belt driven car is rocks from unprepared parking lots. 

Is it risky looking at an older shaft driven TA/TB chassis for on-road bashing? Im not looking to hop it much or rally it. Just some drifts and j-turns.

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Honestly, some variant of the TT-02 is probably the best start point. I don’t have the newest releases but the collection currently includes:

2x box stock versions for car park bashing.

2x heavily hopped up versions for a stock indoor race class.

1x SR with many extra parts for a stock outdoor race class built following @qatmix’s advice.

1x KRv4 because @wtcc5 is a genius.

2x KRv4 being built to a hybrid “KRF” spec with blue parts.

The M Chassis are great too, mostly for the same reasons as the TT-02 in that you can build them from car park bashers into full race spec cars.

Separately, I love the TRF line and have a 415 MSXX MRE, a 417X Reedy Edition, a 420 & a 420X.

That whole post could have been shortened by saying hi, my name is Luke and I have a Tamiya addiction.

Luke

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I'm no expert but a keen collector/builder

27 different chassis types 

By far and away best build has to be the TA03

As @Juhunio rightly says there's so much you can do with it and the hop ups for it are brilliant but probably not all needed!

Any TRF chassis is a delight to build as are some of the lower spec chassis's like the TB range, even more so if it has the letters MS .

least inspiring to build.. M04 and TT01/2

I really enjoyed doing my TL01 and remains one of my favourite.

to drive, TA03 again , just for a simple easy drive. No long set ups or tinkering, the F is especially nice to drive. Then the TL01 ,that's simply but  limited.

Worst one to drive..TA06, big disappointment.

Understeer city🙄 could have been my style but just couldn't get it to corner, straight line and smoothness was good, I went back to the TA03.

M04 rewarding when it went well but so difficult to keep the rear end in.

Sorry not a great help but I'm a 90's-2000's fan really. 

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Favourite FF01 by a country mile, for all the reasons @wtcc5mentioned. I wish they would just do a couple of thousand A Parts trees again so we can get some gear case spares and get on with our lives.

Worst TA06. My first, and I was clueless, but I just fought it and fought it and couldn't get it to work.

My TB03 by comparison was just lovely, and still is. 

Briefly had a TA04 but couldn't get that handling nice either. Lovely and smooth, but not for me. 

TA02 was OK, and I got that running well at the track because it responds to similar approaches to setup as the FF01. But, (weirdly because it shares diffs with the FF01) diff spline reliability was a big issue, and lack of high speed gearset (at the time) was frustrating. Ultimately just not as nice as FF01. Great rally car though. 

Soft spot for TT01E because although they fundamentally don't handle that well, I managed to get it sorted enough that it got me into racing and feeling like I could race, so I will always be grateful for that. To be fair, with some toe in rear uprights, TRF shocks and a bit of front diff stiffening it was pretty nice to drive. 

TT02 Type S was just a bit dull. 

FF03 is great if you can get it handling nice. Very very setup and surface sensitive, but when running well, really runs well. 

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Of my 4WD touring cars, my favourite has to be my TB-03. It was a fun build, interesting but not hard, which produced a lovely neutral-handling vice-free car which works very nicely even if built box stock. (Not that I left mine stock of course.)

A close second would be my TT-02 Type S. It shares the same suspension as the TB-03 and FF-03, and with a bit of tweaking it can be set up to handle just like a TB-03. It is a bit more fiddly to work on, sure, but parts are cheaper and easier to find. 

My TL-01LA deserves a honourable mention too, being in many ways a predecessor to the TT-02 Type S in that it too features an Everyman chassis with race grade suspension allowing it to perform well above what was then its price bracket. (They were very affordable when launched but are right pricey nowadays, if you can even find one.)

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1 hour ago, lukej said:

The M Chassis are great too, mostly for the same reasons as the TT-02 in that you can build them from car park bashers into full race spec cars.

I have a couple of M chassis, just finished building an M05 and they do make for good on-road bashers. If M04s were more common I'd consider one, I like chassis that fight back.

15 minutes ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Favourite FF01 by a country mile, for all the reasons @wtcc5mentioned. I wish they would just do a couple of thousand A Parts trees again so we can get some gear case spares and get on with our lives.

TA02 was OK, and I got that running well at the track because it responds to similar approaches to setup as the FF01. But, (weirdly because it shares diffs with the FF01) diff spline reliability was a big issue, and lack of high speed gearset (at the time) was frustrating. Ultimately just not as nice as FF01. Great rally car though. 

Soft spot for TT01E because although they fundamentally don't handle that well, I managed to get it sorted enough that it got me into racing and feeling like I could race, so I will always be grateful for that. To be fair, with some toe in rear uprights, TRF shocks and a bit of front diff stiffening it was pretty nice to drive. 

TT02 Type S was just a bit dull. 

Im surprised that more people aren't 3d printing hard ro find parts like that.

Everything that I've read has mentioned that a stock TT01E out handles a TT02, but they're not as versatile.

2 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

My TL-01LA deserves a honourable mention too, being in many ways a predecessor to the TT-02 Type S in that it too features an Everyman chassis with race grade suspension allowing it to perform well above what was then its price bracket. (They were very affordable when launched but are right pricey nowadays, if you can even find one.)

I've seen a few regular TL01s pop up here and there, my biggest concern is their intergrated shock mounts and the age of the plastic, not that parts would be hard to get.

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2 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

My only real concern with a belt driven car is rocks from unprepared parking lots. 

Is it risky looking at an older shaft driven TA/TB chassis for on-road bashing? Im not looking to hop it much or rally it. Just some drifts and j-turns.

I've never had an issue with stones getting in to any of my onroad cars but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Mime are mostly run on prepared courts but do get run from time to time at the local school.

Theres always the TB05 if you want a modern shaft drive? It uses all the same parts as thw TRF418 or TRF420 depending on what model you get.

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My favourite touring car chassis of all time is not a Tamiya but a Yokomo YR-4M2 Pro Type-J.

Reason being of it's simplicity, speed/handling, robustness, no Hop-Ups required, cheap parts.

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2 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

I've never had an issue with stones getting in to any of my onroad cars but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Mime are mostly run on prepared courts but do get run from time to time at the local school.

I bash in parking lots or the street, so lots of dust, maybe a few pebbles. I'll probably try a belt drive at some point, I like the idea of a front motor tourer.

1 hour ago, M 800STD said:

My favourite touring car chassis of all time is not a Tamiya but a Yokomo YR-4M2 Pro Type-J.

Reason being of it's simplicity, speed/handling, robustness, no Hop-Ups required, cheap parts.

I like the "no hop ups required" part!

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13 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

I like the "no hop ups required" part!

Because most Yokomo, X-Ray, Mugen, and Serpent kits are hopped-up already and don't need upgrades anymore unlike Tamiya. Tamiya created a marketing strategy by selling important parts for their kits as "hop-up" but are actually standard parts for the mentioned brands and will charge so much. 

An upgraded XV-01 or TA-05 for example would obviously perform much, much better than an out-of-the-box standard kit. But as mentioned, spending almost double (if not more) the cost of a Pro or R version for those upgrades. 

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2 hours ago, Nicadraus said:

Because most Yokomo, X-Ray, Mugen, and Serpent kits are hopped-up already and don't need upgrades anymore unlike Tamiya. Tamiya created a marketing strategy by selling important parts for their kits as "ho-up" but are actually standard parts for the mentioned brands and will charge so much. 

An upgraded XV-01 or TA-05 for example would obviously perform much, much better than an out-of-the-box standard kit. But as mentioned, spending almost double (if not more) the cost of a Pro or R version for those upgrades. 

Whats the cost of those kits from mugen, xray etc though? The TRF420 doesn't require any hopups either, and the TRF420X and TA07MSX even come with both aluminium and carbon chassis vs others supply one or the other. They're all around the same price.

XRay don't have an equivalent to the TA08 or TB05 as far as I know so can only be compared to the TRF. The TA and TB cars are 90% there out of the box, but of course cost a lot to get to TRF level, but they get there

But lets not go into hopups for the TT!

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I think that Tamiya's "Golden era" was around 2010 - TB03 (That's one I owned), TA05 V2, DB01 (ok, this one's not TC) - basically TRF models stripped down to be cheaper, but still competitive - TA05 was even ahead of time with its belt layout. 

Base models were simple, but miles ahead of TT-01, but still cheap enough to be enjoyed by folks who just drive around on a parkong lot. There were tons of TA05s around back in the day.. 

Which leads me to my least favorite chassis, that in my opinion killed this class - TA06 and TB04 - overcomplicated, expensive and not really great. After their failure, Tamiya stopped producing base kits with bodies, so people who weren't racing, chose TT02 instead. 

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2 hours ago, Honza said:

I think that Tamiya's "Golden era" was around 2010 - TB03 (That's one I owned), TA05 V2, DB01 (ok, this one's not TC) - basically TRF models stripped down to be cheaper, but still competitive - TA05 was even ahead of time with its belt layout. 

Base models were simple, but miles ahead of TT-01, but still cheap enough to be enjoyed by folks who just drive around on a parkong lot. There were tons of TA05s around back in the day.. 

Which leads me to my least favorite chassis, that in my opinion killed this class - TA06 and TB04 - overcomplicated, expensive and not really great. After their failure, Tamiya stopped producing base kits with bodies, so people who weren't racing, chose TT02 instead. 

This.

Unfortunately those kits are now quite pricey so picking an older model up isn’t cost effective, but I guess the TA08 Pro slots in well here & it’s not stupidly priced at €220 (Tamico), which is €20 cheaper than the new TT-02 SRX and it includes proper dampers.

What makes it good? CFRP chassis, SSBB dampers, central spur placement & a bunch of TRF420 parts.

What might put you off? No body, no tyres & belt drive (not ideal for the OP).

What might you be indifferent about? It’s not “Full Option”, because Tamiya, needs all the electrics including a motor and ESC unlike a base TT-02.

The TB Evo8 is a much bigger step here, even more race focussed so probably not worth considering.

Luke

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2 hours ago, lukej said:

What might put you off? No body, no tyres & belt drive (not ideal for the OP).

The only touring car kit that fit what I want is the XV-01, since it comes with everything that I want for my on-road cars, bearings, CVAs, body, wheels, etc.

It feels weird how there is no "complete" TT option, except drift but I would still need rubber tires and I'd be limited in body choice.

I ended up getting a very cheap TT-01E, which while I know isn't great, it should be enough to test the waters if I'll enjoy 4WD parking lot bashing.

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4 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

 

The only touring car kit that fit what I want is the XV-01, since it comes with everything that I want for my on-road cars, bearings, CVAs, body, wheels, etc.

It feels weird how there is no "complete" TT option, except drift but I would still need rubber tires and I'd be limited in body choice.

I ended up getting a very cheap TT-01E, which while I know isn't great, it should be enough to test the waters if I'll enjoy 4WD parking lot bashing.

For some general car park running, good choice. In my experience, get some really thick diff oil (2 million cst) or grease in the front diff, get some ball connectors and short turnbuckles so you can trim the front wheels for toe, get some toe in rear uprights (I believe tt02 works). If you are in the UK I have some spare toe in uprights I got 3d printed for my race car you can have for postage. If you have some spring options get some rear springs much softer than fronts. Tamiya 53440 is good set. TT01E is all about calming the front down enough that the rear can follow. Another little tweak I can't believe more people don't do is flipping the top front arms for a bit more Caster. 

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7 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

 If you are in the UK I have some spare toe in uprights I got 3d printed for my race car you can have for postage. If you have some spring options get some rear springs much softer than fronts. Tamiya 53440 is good set. TT01E is all about calming the front down enough that the rear can follow. Another little tweak I can't believe more people don't do is flipping the top front arms for a bit more Caster. 

Thanks for the offer, my first order of buisness is to fix anything that needs work (it will need a lower control arm), oil shocks if it doesn't have any, then I'll start playing around with diff fluid. 

 

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I'm considering getting an Xpress X10R if ever I decide to go back to touring car racing. I'm just so impressed with this kit and other cars in their line. Their entry level XQ1 & XQ2s are very impressive as well below $200 and a little over $100.

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