From TB-01 to TA07 PRO, 15 years upgrade overnight

[Fuijo 880]

After running the car I like to conduct a kind of post-run autopsy, to make sure the wheels are all pointing in the direction they were last time I checked, if nothing else.

But yesterday I managed to break the left front knuckle in a collision, so I wanted to make sure nothing else had been damaged or bent.

In doing so I found I've made a bit of an error in setting up the car. I don't have a height gauge, so I've been using washers, bushings and various other objects to measure height.

A bit fiddly, but it should work ok. However only if you measure them properly. I found that a spacer I was using that I thought I'd measured at 5mm, was in fact 6mm.

So I've been running the car with 6mm front and 6.5mm rear ground clearance, which is rather too high, and might explain some of my roll issues.

 

For my next run everything is going back to as-per-manual standard, but with just a whisker over 4mm ground clearance at both ends, and I'll go from there.

[GooneyBird 938]

That might explain a thing or two, since the more ride-height you have, the less your droop will be without adjusting anything. 4mm ride height is perfect. I have that cork coaster (yes, the kind you'll park your beer on) that's exactly 4mm, so even if your chassis has a bit of a ledge to it, as long as you can slide that thing underneath you'll be fine. This is how I set up the TT01 as well.

I didn't get to drive it, unfortunately. I had my own issues to deal with (couldn't get a new set of tires to work under the TT, and then the return spring of the steering of my radio broke. No matter how perfectly trimmed your car is, if the wheel won't spring-center it won't go straight. ) I hope to coax a run out of it this Sunday, see what she's got and what to improve upon.

[Jonathon Gillham 4606]

So your comparison is TB01 v TA07 and obviously the TA07 is far better, but its 15 years newer.  Any idea how it would compare to the TB04R?  This is just academic for me now as I've bought the TA07 but originally was looking at the TB04R, then realised that the TA07 was about USD$100 cheaper and also a new chassis.

 

Thanks @GooneyBird, *goes off to check ride height and set to 4mm*

[GooneyBird 938]

So I finally got a chance to drive it today. 

The car feels very smooth. It might be because it's still new, but it's extremely quiet, and it feels very smooth and pointed. We first ran it without the anti-roll bars, and it missed a little initial steering, and could kick the tail out under power. Later, we installed a set of anti-roll bars (1.3mm up front, 1.2mm in the rear, as per factory setup for the TRF419, which is what I'm running). This took care of that. @Fuijo felt the car lost a bit of mid-corner steering, but I never had that problem. 

A thing that did pop up was increasing slop in the suspension mounts. I'm not sure if it's the plastic bedding in, and the arms simply need to be reshimmed, or if something broke/bent, but it is something to take into account. Of course, the TRF aluminium suspension blocks I'm sure will cure this problem (as I've never had this with the 419), but at a price. 

The TA07 compared to a few touring cars I've driven:
- TB01: Spaceship compared to a bicycle. The TA07 is lighter, and has far superior geometry. The TB is surprisingly stiff, and more flex from the TA07 means better compliancy over the bumps. Plus, there's less drivetrain loss meaning it's a fair bit quicker up top with similar FDRs.
- TRF419. Difficult to compare, as the TRF's motivated by a 17.5t brushless motor and the TA07 has a Carson Cup Machine. However, handling-wise I can draw some parallels. The TA07 comes stock with 6 degrees of caster, whereas I'm running the TRF with 4 degrees. This means the TRF will turn better, but at the cost of stability, which is exactly the difference. Both are very stable cars, but flooring the (proverbial) throttle mid-corner on the TA will incite a small amount of understeer, whereas the TRF will absolutely pull 'round the bend. Other than that, the cars are more alike in terms of handling than you'd think. Today I said that the TA07 gives 80% of the handling of the TRF, for 30% of the price.
- TT01E racer. Very different. The TA07 will hold a line much better, and will come out of a corner easily. The TT feels more lazy and floppy, with a bit of initial understeer, and more difficulty straightening up after a corner. However, both are easy to drive, and share a sort of friendliness in their handling. The TT requires more work to go fast though. The TA stays relatively neutral and flat, but the TT can get a bit tippy and rolly-polly on the edge.

As a whole, the TA07 is closest to the TRF in terms of how it drives. The TRF is quicker, and a bit more agile. However, I feel with similar power systems and setups, they'd be pretty evenly matched. The thing with the TRF is that it's simply More Car. I feel it's possible to overpower a TA07, whereas a TRF is fine with something like a 6.5t modified brushless motor (in the hands of a capable driver, obviously). The flipside is that parts for a TA07 are cheaper, which is nice if you're breaking stuff. 

I've never driven a TB04(Pro/Pro2/R/base/whatever) so I can't really comment on that.