New member and choices to make....

[SimonL 71]

Hi All,

Just joined the forum after following it for a couple of weeks. Always wanted a ‘fast’ RC when I was young, but could never afford one. Now I can, and the Internet has helped me realize there are so many options to be had

I want to buy something that will allow me to have some fun in car parks and maybe the local race track, with the longer term intention of taking part (I won’t say ‘racing’, as I know I’m not going to be competitive) in the Tamiya Cup Top Stock class. After visiting the local hobby shop, I had pretty much decided that the TT-02RR chassis would be a good start, understanding that I would need to additionally invest in ESC, motor, body, RC gear etc.

However, that’s still a significant outlay, and looking around locally I’ve found a TT-01E Scirocco kit for less than 90 Euros. Seems to me to be a good deal - either I buy it and build it, and it satisfies my need for an RC car, maybe with some hop ups, or I buy it and decide I want to ‘upgrade’ to a TT-02RR chassis later. Advantages of this would be I have gained some experience both building and driving a cheaper car, plus I would be able to reuse many of the parts of the TT-01E kit (body shell, ESC etc), and I pretty much wouldn’t lose any money in doing so.

Given the great price on the kit, does this make sense? Or should I just go ahead and buy the TT-02RR immediately?

Thanks for any advice  

[TurnipJF 9192]

The hop-ups that come with the RR would typically cost a lot more if bought separately, so if you are sure you'll want to upgrade, it would be better value in the longer term to go for the RR at the outset.

[ThunderDragonCy 7884]

I think the best person to ask is @GooneyBird, but here is a thread he wrote to give an idea about a TT01E

The thing you need to check with the TT01E kit is whether it comes with friction 'shocks' or oil dampers. If they are friction shocks then you will need 30-40 euros to buy sone good oil dampers. Contact the vendor to find out. 

[SimonL 71]

17 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

The hop-ups that come with the RR would typically cost a lot more if bought separately, so if you are sure you'll want to upgrade, it would be better value in the longer term to go for the RR at the outset.

Thanks for the answer. I can certainly see that being true if I buy a TT-02 with the intention of upgrading it later to TT-02RR spec, but I'm looking at the TT-01E and playing around with it for a while, with the intention of later buying a TT-02RR. The way I look at it is I would be able to reuse the body shell (~50 Euros), motor (~15 Euros) and the ESC (~30 Euros), and have a second rolling chassis for basically free.....

[Jonathon Gillham 4606]

Welcome. If you've been following the forum for a few weeks you will have picked up it doesn't matter as you will buy them all in the end anyway...

How much experience do you have building and running them? If you are starting out as a first build, or at least first in 20 odd years like most of us, then the TT01E is a good option to get back into it. Its cheap like you say and will be a lot of fun.

What are the rules for the stock class you want to run? Is it a TT class, or a plastic chassis class? It may be that you can run a TB05 or TA07, in which case even the most hopped up TT02 will be outclassed. In that case get the TT01E now and see what you want later. I wish we had those plastic chassis Tamiya only classes down here in NZ, the TB05 and TA07 are both cool cars, but here they just enter stock class and are up against carbon fibre cars from Xray, Yokomo, TRF etc. Doesn't stop me running them though, I'll be at the back whatever I run!

Also motor and ESC may be Tamiya only or open, I have no idea. While they will get the race car going, they may not be competitive.

Bear in mind the body will take a beating so by the time you get the racer theres a good chance you'll need a new one anyway.

[SimonL 71]

Thanks Jonathon, makes sense. 

I have experience building models, just not RC cars, with the exception of a brief foray into nitro about 15 years ago (turns out trying to build nitro cars in a flat in the middle of a city wasn't the most flexible plan, so that I didn't stick with it very long )

Tamiya Cup Top Stock (at least in the Netherlands) is fairly limited in terms of the chassis (TT01/02) and motor (23T Carson brushed). Any upgrades are restricted and controlled, and for the ones that are allowed have to be either Tamiya or Carson - there are other classes for the higher range chassis, and if I wanted to race at the local club I would also have to make a step up to a different class.

[GooneyBird 938]

Hi Simon, fellow Dutchie here!

If your intention is to go racing in the Top Stock class of the Tamiya Cup, I'd definitely recommend going with the TT02RR. That things seems to just 'have it all' when it comes to a race-ready machine. If it weren't for the fact that I have an overwhelmingly large amount of 01-parts I'd totally be rocking one too.

With that said, an 01E is certainly not a bad car. In terms of performance when spec'ed similarly there's not much between them. I've beat 02RRs with my Cup Racer (see above thread) and I've been handed my butt by people with 01s. The driver, along with proper tires, is 90% of your performance.
If you buy an 01E you can go completely berserk with hop-ups, both Tamiya and the far-east are more than happy to oblige your every whim. Is that needed? Certainly not. In terms of Hop-ups you 'need' to have a decent car-park basher we're talking about (and in order of importance):

• Proper tires. If you're going bashing in car parks it kinda depends on the surface you'll be running on what to use. I've found HPI X-patterns to work well, but they seem to be getting rare. On track, just ask the fast guys what they use and buy that. This will absolutely save you a lot of money compared to experimenting yourself. If you're running indoor, don't forget traction compound fluid. Not 100% needed, but oh-so-nice to have. (And if you're going to run indoors, hit me up! I'm looking for a good indoor track ever since my local track (RC-Paradise) closed.)
• Ball bearings. Certainly. If you go with plastic bushings from the kit, thinking you can upgrade later, no. You'll be putting a lot of grease, crap, and wear and tear on every shaft. Ball bearings can be assembled dry, meaning your car is easier to clean.
• Steel pinion. Corally makes a good one. I've had the 'soft' alloy pinions on my cars for years, but then I mostly did indoor racing so stuff would last a little longer. Outdoors I'd 100% go with a steel pinion. We've done an 8-hour endurance with a TT01E, and while half the car was completely toast after the race, the pinion was fine and will be reused on the next car.
• Oil shocks. Note how these aren't on the top of the list. For general bashing the pogo sticks (included plastic friction dampers) work fine. They can be used for racing, but they wear out quickly with all the grime that collects on them. Use them to get a feel for the car, and once they're worn out (and really, that's about after 10 packs...) replace them with a decent set of CVA's. They don't have to be the all-out fancy-schmanzy TRF dampers, the plastic ones work just fine, especially if you're just starting out.

Let's see, what am I forgetting.... Ah, yeah, decent electronics. I swear by Savöx servos, but I do realize they're not the cheapest around. (About €60 for a good one). Nothing is more frustrating than trying to get a car around a track with a half-busted or REALLY SLOW and glitchy steering servo. Don't cheap out, keep in mind you can always carry that thing to whatever car you're buying next. Also, decent radio and receiver. See above. ESC and motor shouldn't be an issue, you can run a Carson Cup Machine with the stock included ESC (which, admittedly, won't be included with the 02RR) or the old standby favorite in all of my brushed cars; the Hobbywing Quickrun 1060. They're splashproof, have LiPo LV cutoff, and cannot be killed with conventional weapons. I've never had one fail, and I've run them for many years in all of my brushed cars. (Which is all of them, with the exception of the TRF) Even the Clod has the dual-motor variant of the 1060.

^ My thread about the aftermath of running a TT01E for 8+ hours outdoor. Yeah, I'd say they're durable.

[SimonL 71]

Thanks for that info @GooneyBird, very helpful. I guess we must be fairly local to one another if RC-Paradise was local - have you ever tried the indoor track at MRC Vianen? Seems to be the closest one to me now....

[Wooders28 4723]

13 hours ago, SimonL said:

I want to ‘upgrade’ to a TT-02RR chassis later.

The TT-02RR is ,offer of the week, at one of the forums sponsors this week!! (Offer runs out Sunday night)

 

https://tamico.de/Tamiya-47382-TT-02RR-Chassis-Kit

[SimonL 71]

To follow up - decided to go the budget route and went for the TT01E after all. Arrived today, and looking forward to having the time to build it up. 

I’ll use this to begin with and get some experience, and maybe upgrade the TT02RR later