Avante Review?

[GTodd]

Ok I am trying again, do any of you have this article that u could post up or send to me? tjm7671@HOTMAIL.COM.

[terry.sc]

We have the reviews from Model Cars magazine

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/article.asp?id=115

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/article.asp?id=124

[GTodd]

I know, and thanks for the heads up. But I never realy knew that magazine existed, it was RC Car Action that got me into the Avante. It wold be great if one of you could post up the review or comparo that RC Car Acttion did.

[terry.sc]

I should have it somewhere, I'll put it up in the scans section if I come across it.

[Saito]

Here you go, enjoy!

[GTodd]

U ARE THE MAN!!!

[GTodd]

Now that article confuses things. Just as the RC Racer article said the car handled quite well and was competitive, I wonder why Tamiya didnt come out with a stronger aloy for the Aluminum parts. It sounds like the car started out well and was never developed.

[Saito]

Ah, but the Avante was further developed, just in a different way. Tamiya (like any good company) rarely lets even initially unsuccessful products "go" after the first try (witness the Jugg 1 which went onto the Jugg 2 and then formed the base for the TXT-1). ALOT of R@D went into the Avante. They addressed its main faults which were weight and fragility. Lightweight wheels were available to replace the heavy cam-locks. Aluminum nuts and titanium screws were available to replace the kit items. The real kicker was the highly expensive carbon graphite chassis set which basically remade the whole car. Not only did it include the chassis decks but also lightweight, more durable resin suspension parts. Of course, these suspension parts were all part of the new cheaper version of the car, the Vanquish. All the hop-ups listed found their way into the Egress. By the time the last incarnation of the chassis came out (Avante 2001), the rest of the 4wd competition had moved onto even more highly evolved designs. Even Tamiya had begun to surplant the Egresses they raced with a new car design roughly based on the Manta Ray (soon to be Top Force). I think the Avante was such a hit with journalist of the time because it WAS so radically different and competition-driven than anything Tamiya had bought out before. Tamiya had chugged along stamping out Hot Shot derivitives for some time and then bam! Avante! Like nothing else before it (or since). It certainly got alot of attention before its glaring faults pushed it out of the limelight. I have a 4wd shootout article I may post in which the Avante sadly lost to the Cat, Yoke and Opitma Mid of the day.

[GTodd]

Yes please post that article!!!!!!

[acorn]

The Avante was, and still is (IMHO and experience) rubbish ........ Yet, it remains my favorite RC car of all time.

I need to explain that, right?

OK

I bought one when they first came out in the 80's. I bought it as a club racer, to replace my (next mind blowing statement) raced up Hornet. So, on the Friday I bought it, Friday night and Saturday I built and tested it. Sunday I 'raced' it.

When I turned up at the meet, every one, and I mean every one went, oooh, wow, thats **** cool, where do I get one? By the end of the meeting, every one decided to stick to their Cats etc.

Monday I took it straight back to Beaties where I bought it.

Why?

By Sunday evening this so called racer had shaken its self to bits, bent several rods, broken the suspension mounting point on the upper chassis by the motor, bust one of the alloy front uprights and lost one of the wheels. There were several other issues I cant now remember. The speed and handling was no where near the competition. (perhaps with set up work it might have done much better) All this on a so called race car. I was appalled, so was every one else. And no, it wasn't my driving. I was actually trying to be careful since its was my new expensive baby and every one loved it.

Monday morning, Beaties saw my point and refunded my money with out any fuss.

Thing is, no matter how flawed the Avante actually is, it is still IMHO the most beautiful RC chassis ever made. Its a real statement of intent, if not success. The ball joints, the shocks, the chassis, the driver, the body, the wheels and fat front tires, its just gorgeous. badword, I even love the funky front and rear diffs!! Even now its the one car I get off the shelf and put on my table just to look at, perhaps even push it up and down on its suspension!! Its a thing of true RC beauty.

I never had or ran any of its variants, but its clear to see that most of the flaws were ironed out in the Egress, but for me that was way too late, and even more expensive.

Of course now I have rediscovered the Avante, and its variants, thanks largely to this site and dear old Ebay, but not I would never dream of running any of them in anger or competition. They just sit on my shelf looking gorgeous.

So there it is, my Avante history.

[loopycoma]

I think the consensus is that its a beautiful but flawed design.

I have a Avanti 2001 which use to be a runner but is now on display. The fragility issue was improved from Avanti but I remember I lost tiny parts such as spacers/screws when running and requires a detail inspection and rebuilt after each run. The cam lock design on the wheels is what I would call 'over design' - a simple nut would have done a better job. It was very easy to over tighten and thread the plastic which require new parts and at that time it did not come cheap!

[GTodd]

Can you post up that comparo?

[Saito]

I'm still digging for it. I have almost every Car Action from the mid/late 80's to the mid 90's. Sadly, I have them a bit scattered about and the shootout issue wasn't where I thought it was but I'm getting close. Hang in there .