Stadium Blitzer or Thunder?

[nckmat]

I am considering getting a Stadium Blitzer or Thunder for Casso Vintage race in September does anyone have any advice as to which is the better truck? Handling, durability and parts are my biggest concerns.

[Mokei Kagaku]

The chassises are virtually identical, so the durability of the chassis itself will be the same.

The Stadium Thunder body is however more durable than the Stadium Blitzer body because the Blitzer body has more sharp corners to promote cracking (primarily in the rollcage/bed area) and because the rear body mount is mounted to the front and not to the rear of the damper mount as on the Thunder, thus supporting the rear of the body less well. The difference in durability is absolutely significant.

If we are talking about the the original release Blitzer and Thunder, the Thunder (and possibly the Chrome Beetle, I simply don't remember) is the only model in the Blitzer series that came with proper length steering rods. They are simply a bit too short on the Stadium Blitzer and Blitzer Beetle, causing toe-out, especially when the front suspension is compressed. This of course has a negative effect on handling, giving the Thunder a slight edge. The Stadium Thunder, Blitzer Beetle and Stadium Thunder re-releases all come with proper length steering rods though.

[nckmat]

Thanks, that is exactly the kind of feedback I was after. Cheers.

[wolfdogstinkus]

Isn't the stadium thunder on the TL-01 chassis?, I have no experience of this chassis but,

the stadium blitzer is amazing, I run mine on 3s lipo and brushless and it pulls wheelies at 40mph.

Edit to add, my mistake, they are the same chassis, I knew when I saw it was Mokei that his information would be correct.

[kontemax]

You are speaking about the Stadium Raider that is a Wild Dagger body on a TL-01 chassis with different yellow color and sticker scheme.

Stadium Thunder or Stadium Blitzer, definitively the Stadium Blitzer.

Both chassis are identical but the Thunder body is the Dyna Blaster body with different paint scheme. For this reason is longer than Blitzer body and is more prone to breakage in the front end. In fact the Dyna Blaster chassis is longer than Blitzer chassis.

Max

Isn't the stadium thunder on the TL-01 chassis?, I have no experience of this chassis but,

the stadium blitzer is amazing, I run mine on 3s lipo and brushless and it pulls wheelies at 40mph.

Edit to add, my mistake, they are the same chassis, I knew when I saw it was Mokei that his information would be correct.

[Mokei Kagaku]

Stadium Thunder or Stadium Blitzer, definitively the Stadium Blitzer.

Both chassis are identical but the Thunder body is the Dyna Blaster body with different paint scheme. For this reason is longer than Blitzer body and is more prone to breakage in the front end. In fact the Dyna Blaster chassis is longer than Blitzer chassis.

Well..... The Dyna Blaster chassis has a longer wheelbase (adjustable from 280-288mm), but the Dyna Blaster/Stadium Thunder body has a 260mm wheelbase, exactly the same as the Stadium Blitzer body and Blitzer chassis. Admittedly, the front of the Stadium Thunder body is slightly in front of the bumper whereas the front of the Stadium Blitzer body is slightly behind the bumper, but in a crash the bumper will flex anyway, so it hardly makes much of a difference. Also, the "soft" shape of the Stadium Thunder body more than makes up for this slight disadvantage as the body's lack of sharp corners makes it less prone to develop cracks.

During all the years I serviced Tamiya models for customers (worked for a Tamiya national distributor and a hobby shop specialized on Tamiya from 1982-2000), the percentage of Stadium Blitzers with damaged bodies was by far larger than the percentage of Stadium Thunders with damaged bodies.

[Gruntfuggly]

I run a Stadium Thunder with 2C lipo and a 9T brushless combo and I can honestly say it's pretty bulletproof. The weak points are the top rear suspension mounts which crack and the front uprights which also crack. However if you replace the self tappers with machine screws they last fine. I've also run long M3 bolts right the way through the mounts where the front section attaches to the chassis tub.

To fix the bizzare front steering geometry just attach the steering rods to the underneath of the steering arms instead of the top. Ie put the balls in from below. This makes the wheels much straighter through the compression of the front suspension.

I'd also recommend the Stadium Thunder body - mine should have been binned long ago but it's hanging on in there. It's definitely a tough shell ...

[kontemax]

Yes but this depends by how many Blitzer and Thunder were sold.

F105D Thunderchief was the most american downed aircraft during the Vietnam War but the F105D made the 75% of american war missions.

If you found 10 Stadium Blitzer broken bodies and 5 Stadium Thunder broken bodies we are allowed to think that the Blitzer body is two time more prone to break.

But if were sold 400 Blitzer and 100 Thunder probably the situation is the opposite.

Max

During all the years I serviced Tamiya models for customers (worked for a Tamiya national distributor and a hobby shop specialized on Tamiya from 1982-2000), the percentage of Stadium Blitzers with damaged bodies was by far larger than the percentage of Stadium Thunders with damaged bodies.

[Mokei Kagaku]

Yes but this depends by how many Blitzer and Thunder were sold.

Exactly! That's why I wrote "percentage"!

[kontemax]

The percentage is made from body to body or body to itself model?

I suppose the second or not?

Max

[Gruntfuggly]

Another thing - whichever one you go for, throw the rear tyres in the bin (metaphorically - keep them for the shelf or flog them on ebay) and get some that will last more than two battery packs! I've got Schumacher V4s on the back of mine and they are excellent - just not sure where to get them from anymore...

[wolfdogstinkus]

Proline dirt works all round just now. modelsport uk

[redzone]

Proline Caliber on the back of mine, they have the best combination of grip & life.

[Gruntfuggly]

Thought of one other thing - the only thing that seems to wear out on mine are the drive shafts (dogbones) - I've replaced my old Tamiya ones with some some HSP ones off eBay - they seem to be holding up well...

[HornetRacer 1971]

I have all 3 and I love them all!

Hope this helps!

[nckmat]

Wow, didn't realise there was so much passion for a toy car out there, and statistics. I have bought the Blitzer chassis, will decide on body when I get it. As for tyres, I'm s racer, I would never even consider keeping the stock tyres on, will put on whatever tyre suits the track surface closer to the day.

[Grastens]

Wow, didn't realise there was so much passion for a toy car out there, and statistics.

Really? That has essentially come to define TamiyaClub - perhaps we just love our 'toys' a lot

Glad you found the answer you were looking for!