New car

[Caleb 1]

Well after much thought I have decided to get another car. But this time it is going to be a street car. Vintage or new, I don't care as long as it is not going to drain me of money. Preferably under $100. (64 pounds)

[Origineelreclamebord 45]

That's quite a wide range of cars to choose from. Do you have any preferences? For example size/type (M-chassis, Touring car, F1/Pan type car, etc), Drive (RWD, FWD, 4WD), sealed from dust and dirt or not, aka, how clean will the surface(s) (need to) be to run it without damaging the drivetrain?

[Caleb 1]

That's quite a wide range of cars to choose from. Do you have any preferences? For example size/type (M-chassis, Touring car, F1/Pan type car, etc), Drive (RWD, FWD, 4WD), sealed from dust and dirt or not, aka, how clean will the surface(s) (need to) be to run it without damaging the drivetrain?

I just want a car I can run in a parking lot at my school. as long as it is fast enough, I wouldn't care about equipment. Just not too big, no too expensive.

[Eddystone 1]

You would be hard pushed to beat a Tamiya M-Chassis Rover Mini Cooper as an on road fun vehicle. Loads and loads of them on ebay at any time usually. Best avoid the M-01 chassis as it's too old now but you should be able to pick up a decent secondhand M-03 or M-05 chassis version for your money.

[mongoose1983 3335]

Mini. Any Tamiya mini will be able to put a smile on your face. They're beautiful, incredibly scale, and VERY fast!

[Caleb 1]

You would be hard pushed to beat a Tamiya M-Chassis Rover Mini Cooper as an on road fun vehicle. Loads and loads of them on ebay at any time usually. Best avoid the M-01 chassis as it's too old now but you should be able to pick up a decent secondhand M-03 or M-05 chassis version for your money.

i could only find one mini cooper m-01 and i couldnt find any m-03 or m-05.

[Eddystone 1]

Try searching ebay for Tamiya Mini Cooper - I just tried that on ebay.com as I'm guessing you're in the USA and got at least one second hand M-05 Rover Mini. I personally prefer the looks of the genuine British Rover Mini to the later BMW Mini but if you have no preference there seems more of the BMW body shelled version about. Avoid the M-01 though - not nearly as tough as the M-03 ( I've never owned an M-05 to comment ). Your $100 very nearly pushes to a new kit too.

Checking out the completed auctions shows quite a few Tamiya Minis have been sold through ebay recently - you may just have to wait a bit longer for the right one for you to come along.

[Origineelreclamebord 45]

An M-chassis would indeed be an affordable choice, and pretty quick stock. If however the parking lot is dusty and has a smooth surface (for example concrete), you might want RWD or 4WD because an FWD will really struggle with grip there (especially for acceleration). That said, the FWD M-chassis should work nicely on tarmac.

I'd indeed avoid the M01 and M02: They are very cool cars, but spares have become scarce and they cost more to buy and maintain than M03/04/05/06's in the same condition. Considering your budget I think you can do without those drawbacks

If you're looking for a cheap 4WD, have a look at the TA02. I found it to be pretty tough, it drives well and I think all TA02s have oil shocks as standard (a bonus over many other standard low-budget 4WDs by Tamiya). Despite it's old design, spare parts are still plentiful because there are still TA02/DF01 based chassis' in production (F150 Baja Truck, Porsche Cayenne), and spare parts are cheap as chips second hand! (I got one, RTR, for 25 euros! It happened to include the box of a Technigold motor, which I sold for about the same price ) Hopups are vintage and some of them can be quite expensive, but to be honest, apart from bearings and possibly a metal motor mount (cheap aftermarket metal mounts are available) it doesn't need hopup parts to make an ultra reliable runner!

[Eddystone 1]

Do you know we've totally overlooked the TT-01 chassis as being ideal for this situation. There's an absolutely huge number of them out there, often as cheap as chips and ideal as a 4WD car park racer.

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

Some quick thoughts from browsing the Tower Hobbies site:

- Tamiya M03-M Suzuki Super Swift kit for $100. This is the previous generation to the M05; some people prefer this chassis over the M05.

- Tamiya TT01E Ford F150 SVT Lightning kit for $115. This would be a good starter chassis with the potential to be modified for drifting or rallying at a later date.

- Tamiya M05 Mini Cooper Racing kit for $119. Fun to drive as others have mentioned, and also popular as a spec racing class depending on where you live.

Within Tamiya's lineup, I'd vote for the TT01E kit as it opens the door to a lot of options depending on what you want to do with it both now and in the future.

Another option is a RJ Speed Sport 3.2 pan car for $119. I have one of these, and with a 540 silver can and basic ESC this car is a blast to drive. It has good acceleration and top speed thanks to its light weight and gearing. If you already have a radio, receiver, servo, ESC, and silver can motor it will all transfer to this chassis easily. The kit comes with chassis parts, body, tires, and wheels, so there's nothing else to get assuming you have the electronics already. I like the ground clearance this chassis has (good for unprepared asphalt with pebbles and debris). The foam tires have good grip and wear pretty well. This car teaches you how to be a smooth driver; I like it a lot.

I have examples of TT01 drift and rally conversions, and (BoLink) Sport 3.2 pan cars, in my showroom.

-Paul

[backtomyroots 432]

Didn't we just go through this ?

http://www.tamiyaclu...13

Or were we giving you too many options !

The suggestions above are all great choices, the minis are great fun.

Are you located in the UK, then ? Let us know where you are and we can recommend the best places/prices.

[Caleb 1]

Didn't we just go through this ?

http://www.tamiyaclu...13

Or were we giving you too many options !

The suggestions above are all great choices, the minis are great fun.

Are you located in the UK, then ? Let us know where you are and we can recommend the best places/prices.

No, I live in the good old U.S. of A. But, finally a hobby store is starting to build dirt and rally courses for rcs. if you want to get specific i live in indiana, near Louisville, kentucky.

[Caleb 1]

so far I havent been able to find anything good. i had a good custom m-05 but someone took it. any more cheap suggestions? and also couldnt find any minis under $150.