Why arent Tamiya RCs "competitive"?

[alvinlwh 7386]

9 minutes ago, GTodd said:

99 percent of Tamiya aren't good at racing because they were never meant for racing.  Hornets, DT-02s, BigWigs, Aero Avantes, Clod busters, etc were meant to be just fun. 

Eh, they are "high performance racers", Tamiya said so themselves! 🤣

 

[GTodd 1571]

It's a racer for a stick solid axle class. You know what I meant. 

[Gebbly 813]

Its always a shame when someone has an attitude in a hobby of "my way is the only right way". I'm not sure I've ever watched any Kevin Talbot videos. I saw a clip in a Tomley RC video in which Talbot couldnt get an RC to behave the way he wanted so he drove over it with a 1:1 car. Enough to convince me other youtubers are more my cup of tea, like our very own @Misterp180's OAG RC and @shenlonco and also Tomley RC and Matteo's RC Movies.

When it comes to RC racing some of the ones I enjoyed watching the most were a Dancing Rider race and a Wild Willy race. In those races everyone in the video was laughing and cheering each other on. I've seen some races with latest cars but the people in the background all seem very serious.

Its a shame if a club does not embrace the great range of cars from people like Tamiya. It would be fascinating if clubs did things like racing 6 wheelers like the Konghead or racing 3 wheelers like the Dancing Rider or special races of particular chassis like the GF-01/2. I've seen events/conventions for people with crawlers like huge building sites for lorries and diggers etc or large obstacle courses for all kinds of vehicles. Are there clubs for crawlers? 

Thanks for all the responses to this thread everyone but I'd like to especially say thanks to those offering advice about the mechanical differences between "competitive" other makes and Tamiyas as it helped me learn some more about this fun hobby. A lot of it sounds like it comes down to materials used and components that allow lots of easily accessible alteration like adjusting shocks in between races.

I think there is room for everyones taste in a hobby this vast but for me personally I continue to get the most enjoyment out of Tamiyas weird and wonderful range. In my little build queue I am currently working on a TT02 that I will be pimping with underside neons, light and sound because I want to learn how the light and sound stuff works. I have a Williams F1 car that my brother bought for me whilst he was working at Williams F1 as an aeronautical engineer, a Centurion tank because I went to the Bovington Tank museum and was amazed by all the tanks and it looked like a building challenge and a Dancing Rider because, well, its a crazy trike with a rider that leans into the turns

I hope you find a club of people that get enjoyment out of the fun aspect of the hobby @ABigChungus

[ABigChungus 132]

They never did put me off the hobby altogether, I've been hooked on Tamiya for two years now and have aimed to build a varied collection, currently owning 20 of their cars buggies and monster trucks. Anything vintage or 80's for me I love, so Tamiya fitted in nicely with its wacky designs and colour schemes, there's a real charm to them. I get great enjoyment out of building and running them, I honestly couldn't care less anymore if they aren't regarded as being competitive or cutting edge. I didn't even think they claimed to be top of the range, just fun projects to assemble and run.

Unironically, I can say the day I got my ex-window display Striker from an old Beatties employee, complete with the box and manual, was a highlight in my Tamiya journey, and getting it up to date with a ESC and GT Tuned motor was a real joy. Same with my Tamiya BigWig, I was really happy to get that one in my collection. So what if the rack and steering system is poor and out of date? So what if I have to drive the striker a lot more gingerly due to the shatter prone front end? Not everyone is out to launch their brand new models off of skate ramps or take them through the deepest puddle they can find.  It's all part of the Tamiya quirkiness and charm, you grow to appreciate it and respect what they were trying to achieve in that time period. It's interesting for me to have built these models and see what changed, say from the GrassHopper to the Hornet, or what Tamiya modified when going from the HotShot 1 to the Boomerang, it's almost like a history lesson in RC mechanics. 

[naturbo2000 1423]

@ABigChungusYou'll be pleased/disappointed to know I'm off racing at probably that club this evening, but that I'm doing it Tamiya-style as usual. Top Force Evo in vintage, and a Durga in modern. 

i don't get _much_ commentary on that choice of cars, though it is still evident.

If I'm being polite,  they for sure are a "racers first" group, where the priority is being competitive. In truth, most Tamiya cars don't drive well enough to be competitive and are not robust enough to cope with crashes.

For the typical person a second hand race buggy is a more sensible prospect. Unfortunately that's often communicated via the minimal word choice of "Tamiyas are ****".

The good news is that there are clubs in the area that are definitely fun first. Fulbourn run an indoor event once a month with Tamiyas and Big Wheels in separate categories (other being general vintage and little UDIRC cars). Being on a polished wooden floor is a great leveller. 

For something really laid back,  look up Mill End RC, outdoor on grass. Popalong recently did a video and they're apparently doing the Popalong GP there in August.

[ABigChungus 132]

I'm not disappointed or anything! Race where you want, I don't mind! I was just joining in the conversation with my experiences of going to a local club and having it hammered in Tamiya's weren't competitive and were plastic c**p. The club is only round the corner from me, sometimes I am tempted to poke my head in the door again and have a watch, but mostly I just feel put off the whole idea due to the last few experiences. Like I mentioned, there was that one guy there who was genuinely kind and supportive, and I recall that one of the organisers did say he was genuinely surpised how well my Boomerang handled the tracks and the jumps, and another mentioned on the club's page that if my Boomerang had carpet tyres on, it would have been a good runner. 

The whole experiencet kind of proved to me I am definitely more into RC's as a fun drive around hobby, rather than a competitive one. Though the club you've mentioned, Mill End RC, that looks good and might be worth me checking out. I think I prefer the idea of a club where you all just get together and have a good bash about and race, rather than making it all competitive and trying to out do each other.

[Howards 685]

Seconding the Mill End suggestion - they do some fun stuff by all accounts. 

[BuggyDad 6367]

1 hour ago, Howards said:

Seconding the Mill End suggestion - they do some fun stuff by all accounts. 

Just had a look at Mill End. They're only an hour's drive from where I often am, so I will try to get there sometime. 

[Pablo68 1151]

On 7/15/2024 at 9:06 PM, Pablo68 said:

My thoughts on the OP were around the question, competitive with what? In what way?
Tamiya are basically in their own world and as far as I know always have been. Especially when you factor in that their main focus is the Japanese market. I'm reminded of their statement when shutting down the TRF off road team etc. It went something like, 'we are not an RC company, we are a plastic model company that happens to make RC cars'. They also said one way or another that they weren't interested in competing in racing.

To me this is a very Tamiya way of doing things. They are a Japanese company after all.

And now for the absolute in narcissism. Quoting myself.
I do this because as we all know by now, Tamiya is releasing a modded Hornet (or close). Modded the way that users have been doing for years now. Releasing a Hornet that at least some people have been wanting for years.

To me, this is a very un-Tamiya thing to do. Hence, I was pretty wrong in this case. Hmmmm, I guess the BBX was a bit un-Tamiya as well now I think about it.

[qatmix 864]

Tamiya makes a broad range of kits. So it’s obvious that most are not race focused. I’ve raced Rc for decades and never had an issue running Tamiya’s.

 

Back in the 80’s most of the time it was just about getting the car to stay fast for 5 mins. So you had to get the drive train free, and have your 1200 Nicads nicely balanced and the gearing spot on.

 

I won my first (u16) championship with a Boomerang against Cats and Mini Mustangs etc That car was superb on grass.

I was an early adopter to scale touring (which became TC). That was basically a TA01 class.. then the conversions started. Infact even when some of the competitors appeared, a well sorted TA01 / 02 could win at our club. Obviously it all then exploded and the TA03R was ok, but then we got TRF’s and never had to worry since.

Along the way I’ve still dabbled with buggies, the DB01 was epic on Astro, and the TRF’s were also tasty.

 

Now I suppose there is only the TD2 and TD4 for modern buggies. Both are ok it seems, infact a friend is getting great results with a mildly hopped up TD2 at a local track.

The main thing is that you can still race a Tamiya if you wish, but 90% of their kits are not focused for that task, unless it’s for a Tamiya Cup event. 

 

[hamtaro 102]

Having raced original wild one back in the day and original top force I'd have to say they were fragile compared to the competition, lack of gear choices, suspension settings/geometry etc.  The list is long, they just were not designed as race vehicles. A 'straight out of the box '95 Schumacher Cat is a better race car than the tf evo as the cat was designed as a pure racer from day one.

Exceptions probably being the TRF cars and maybe the db01.   Avante/egress were an attempt but enough has already been said about those 2.

[BuggyGuy 1142]

There's a lot to this thread!

On road first; they are completitive, the TB Evo, and TRF cars are awesome bits of kit like others have mentioned. The TA08 is also fundamentally sound.

Off road is harder; Tamiya abandoned competitive off road, and at the point they got out of it, tracks did not look like they did today, grip was lower, and the setup windows on the cars reflected that. I can still race my TRF and DB01s, but I'm selective on the tracks I race on - but even then the cars are not as quick as my B7 or XB4 with the same electrics and tyres.

I like the TD2 and TD4 as kits, I couldn't get the TD4 to be competitive, but my TD2 can lap quicker than the TRF211XM (though it's very heavily hopped up and modified).