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I want my first pan car, but which one? EDIT: (Got them!)

Kingfisher

By Kingfisher
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Kingfisher

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This post sponsored by Gin and Mountain Dew.

I think the term is "pan car". Correct me if I am wrong. I am talking about cars like the F104 and RM-01. There's no tracks anywhere near me to run these. I've kept my interest away from these as parking lot racers due to how low they sit, and how the smallest pebble could be a major obstacle or damage. The parking lot where I do my speed runs is very flat, and very clean. I would almost bet that it was laser leveled. I've been all over it multiple times, and the only obstacle I found was a discarded water bottle cap. Knowing how smooth and clean this lot is has planted the seed of interest, and this seed has started to sprout. So, I am certain I want one, I just don't know which I would choose. I've narrowed it down to 4 choices, but am open for any other suggestions / corrections / information.

TRF101 chassis kit is on sale at TamiyaUSA for $199 USD.  The TRF101W kit is also on sale for $249 USD. According to Tamiya.com, these have a wheelbase of 270mm, which would allow me to run some of my touring car bodies on them. Is the TRF101W that much better than the 101 that would justify the price difference when it will never be truly raced?

My next choice is F104W. Also a 270mm wheelbase. TamiyaUSA has the Wolf WR1 for $99 USD, but I am not opposed to the F104 Pro II.

My last choice is the RM-01 Mazda 787B. It has a shorter wheelbase, and that's fine. It's the 787B. To me, the 787B is that dream car that you know you'll never own, or want to own, but go all fan girl crazy every time you see one on the internet. 

 

So where to I go from here?

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InsaneJim69 Newbie Copy

InsaneJim69

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Yup, RM01 787b would be my choice. You can pick them up super cheap these days too. If you ever wanted to livery it up like the 91 lemans winner in orange and green I have an almost complete (98%) set of original 1/10 Tamiya decals for it 😉 

The 101 and 101 W are very much the same, just that the 101W is wider to reflect the older 90's style F1 cars and the 101 is made to look like the narrow 2009-2016 style cars. The new Pro II is made to look like the new 2017 cars.

But still for a parking lot style outdoor use the RM01 would best imo. I lived running mines outdoor ls when I had it, and it was good fun and surprisingly stable. I had a shorty lipo and a 17.5T brushless in mines.

James.

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markbt73 Newbie Copy

markbt73

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RM is 1/12 scale, right? If you've never driven one before, I would start with a larger 1/10 scale car. Pan cars are glorious fun, quicker and more agile than anything else out there, but the little 1/12 cars can get downright twitchy. I seem to recall the F102 I had (ages and ages ago) being pretty stable, on a par with my beloved Associated and Bolink pan cars.

Speaking of which, an RJ Speed Sport 3.2 (descendent of the old Bolink Eliminator series) wouldn't be a bad starting point, either...

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Jonathon Gillham Newbie Copy

Jonathon Gillham

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I have the TRF102 and would recommend a TRF chassis at least once in your life if you haven't got one already, they are amazing.  I have converted mine to the wide front end from the F103 but that was all of $15 worth of bits from RCMart, and that was to race it as it gives more grip.  Just mucking around you probably won't need the extra width, but the TRF101W has carbon fibre bits which look amazing so could be worth it for the bling factor alone.

They are so simple yet efficient, I'm still amazed that the live rear axle has a ball diff in it, looking at it you wouldn't know.

There is also the F103GT which has the touring car wheels and could be worth a look.  Check out @Jason1145 build thread for an idea of those.

As for driving it that is a completely different experience but really rewarding when you get it right.  I've only had mine out once so far (next race meet this Saturday) and I found it hard to drive (as in, going in a straight line can be a challenge) but you get in a groove and it almost seems easy to drive fast.

Its my favourite car to look at (except my Boomerang, obviously) even though I just did a generic PS4 paint job, but it looks fast sitting still with a dreadful sticker job.

So yes, get one, and I would get the TRF as most TRF cars are so expensive, this way you can have at least one of them!

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Jason1145 Newbie Copy

Jason1145

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One thing is for sure which ever pan car you choose you are in for a treat... the handling and grip they offer is amazing when taking turns at speed they just hug the road and won't spin out as much as a regular 1/10 TC you may have driven. Ofcourse you have the perfect playground area for one so go fill your boots, I love my F103GT and it makes switching any style of 12mm wheels you have on it a breeze.

My F103/104 hybrid thingy is even more fun to drive and the most grippy road handling car I have ever driven.... with the grippy F1 tyres.

That $99 dollar offer is hard to beat though and gets you a lovely Wolf WR1... although I am selling mine NIB as I don't have the time to build it never mind to complete the shell to do it the full justice it deserves... would love to see one on the forums though!

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TurnipJF Newbie Copy

TurnipJF

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The F103 platform still has a lot to offer, be it in standard F1 guise, F103GT form or even as a 6-wheeled Tyrrell P34. As one that has been in production in one form or another for around two decades, parts availability is excellent too. 

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speedy_w_beans Newbie Copy

speedy_w_beans

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My vote is to get a F103GT Nissan GTR LM Nismo kit and then play around with it.  You can put as many different touring shells and tires on it as you like since the wheelbase is 257 mm.  The F104W is longer and more suited to F1 shells and tires only, and the RM01 is 1/12 scale (201 mm wheelbase/170 mm width).

If you're trying to do speed runs you can always change to foam touring tires and a RJ Speed 962 LeMans shell.  As TurnipJF says, the F103 platform has been around forever.

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edeneen Enthusiast

edeneen

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On 3/14/2018 at 9:30 PM, markbt73 said:

RM is 1/12 scale, right? If you've never driven one before, I would start with a larger 1/10 scale car. Pan cars are glorious fun, quicker and more agile than anything else out there, but the little 1/12 cars can get downright twitchy. I seem to recall the F102 I had (ages and ages ago) being pretty stable, on a par with my beloved Associated and Bolink pan cars.

Speaking of which, an RJ Speed Sport 3.2 (descendent of the old Bolink Eliminator series) wouldn't be a bad starting point, either...

only thing about the RJ Speed is that it has no rear suspension.

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Kingfisher Veteran

Kingfisher

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Thanks all for the info, and sorry for waiting a day to respond. I've been reading over the responses and going back and forth on my decision. I considered an RJ Speed car, but as mentioned above me, the lack of suspension brought me back to Tamiya. Though, I do like the RJ Speed Legends bodies. I have three 1/12 Bolink pan car bodies that I was going to attempt to make fit on an M-chassis. 

A seller on eBay is reproducing them.

http://stores.ebay.com/sabulatech/

 

I also have a new set of 4 wheels and rear foams for an F104 car that I got about a year ago. The TRF chassis kits don't come with wheels. Do F104 wheels fit the TRF kits?

There are a lot of suggestions for F103, but I cannot find anyone online selling them that has them in stock, or with a decent shipping price. I don't really see many online sellers with much in stock still, but I could be looking at the wrong websites.

Currently, I am leaning towards getting both the RM01 787B and the Wolf F104, but will keep searching around for F103 for a bit. 

 

TurnipJF Newbie Copy

TurnipJF

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The TRF F1s, F104 and F103 all use the same 14mm hex rear and bearing-in-wheel front fitment, so F104 wheels will fit the TRFs and F103. However because the TRF/F104 kingpins are longer than those on the F103, the smaller F103 fronts might bind on the TRF/F104 kingpins so the reverse its not necessarily true. 

 

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TurnipJF Newbie Copy

TurnipJF

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Good grief! That makes a F104 seem space age by comparison. I remember seeing tierod adjusters like that on a home-made RC from the 70s!

Kingfisher Veteran

Kingfisher

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Update. I've decided to go both ways. I've already ordered the RM-01 787B. I cannot find anyone selling a NIB F103 Advan Courage kit, so I am back to looking at the TRF's. Which of the TRF's will fit a touring car body better? TRF101 or the wider TRF101W? I don't want to get one and have the wheels sunken into the body, but at the same time, I don't know if the wheels would stick out too much with the other. 

TurnipJF Newbie Copy

TurnipJF

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1 hour ago, Kingfisher said:

Update. I've decided to go both ways. I've already ordered the RM-01 787B. I cannot find anyone selling a NIB F103 Advan Courage kit, so I am back to looking at the TRF's. Which of the TRF's will fit a touring car body better? TRF101 or the wider TRF101W? I don't want to get one and have the wheels sunken into the body, but at the same time, I don't know if the wheels would stick out too much with the other. 

The TRF101 would fit nicely width wise, but the wheelbase is longer than a standard touring car. Creative wheel arch trimming might hide it though.

The 101W is the same width as a F103, far too wide for a standard 190mm touring shell, but an excellent performer as a F1 or Le Mans racer. 

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Kingfisher Veteran

Kingfisher

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4 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

The TRF101 would fit nicely width wise, but the wheelbase is longer than a standard touring car. Creative wheel arch trimming might hide it though.

The 101W is the same width as a F103, far too wide for a standard 190mm touring shell, but an excellent performer as a F1 or Le Mans racer. 

Honestly, when I made this thread, and up until 2mins ago, I had it in my head that touring car bodies were 267mm wheelbase. I now realize that's the wheelbase of a TT02B. I was all set to go Nuh-Uhhhh! Look here!, until I looked for a link, and said a very quiet ....oh.... 

So, going on that.... I'm glad you said something, Thanks! 

So, now I am back to F103GT, and will continue searching for @speedy_w_beans's recommendation of the Nissan LM. 

  • 2 weeks later...

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