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I'm just getting back in to the RC world as an adult. We just recently got two of the kids off-road trucks and after having to repair them a few times my tinkering fire was stoked. I have an extreme love for road racing in general, so decided I would get a little project for myself. I picked up a TT02R chassis kit and that is where I am at. I am literally starting from scratch with this. I've been reading/researching and getting great information, but the more I'm doing the farther down the rabbit hole I'm going and finding myself getting a bit more confused. I have a couple questions that I'm hoping can get answered here...or at least start me down the right path that I can follow up on.

  1. Motor? I'm pretty sure I want to go brushless, but not sure what size would be too much for this chassis. I would like it to be fast, but I also don't want to have to be constantly replacing parts because the motor is too much for the build. I had come across the Speed Passion Reventon R combo reviews a few places and it appears to be a good combo (based on user reviews). But very much open to recommendations at suggestions. 
  2. Servo? I honestly haven't done much research on this component yet as I've been stuck on the motor/esc.
  3. Transmitter/Receiver? I haven't done much research in to this yet either. Although I keep seeing Futaba mentioned as being good????

Those are the main things that I am honestly stuck on and keep going in circles. Body, tires extras I can probably narrow down, although the choices seem to be very vast. I have a couple of tracks out here, so my main objective with this is to make it as fast as possible, without sacrificing the integrity of the chassis (too much), handle/corner well and enjoy myself while doing it. I'm not really interested in any serious racing, or clubs or anything at the moment. That could  possibly be down the road, but right now I want to learn, research, tinker, upgrade, test and get accustomed to this style of RC'n.

Thanks in advance for any advice, suggestions or roasts because I'm a newbie with basic questions haha. Looking forward to this build and future Tamiya builds.

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Welcome back to the hobby, its a lot of fun.

To answer your questions

1. Brushless is a good idea. They require no maintenance and outperform brushed motors. You need to gear them differently as they have much more torque than brushed motors. I think the TT02 does well with around 10.5T - 13.5T motors, but really when geared properly there isn't a huge variation. Consider the ESC too, and whether you want a progrsmmable one that can add timing and boost to the motor. It makes a huge difference compared to a 'blinky' mode or non-programmable ESC.

The Speed Passion combos are good but I thought they were pretty much gone now? Which ones are you looking at? Look at the Hobbywing 120BL,  a lot of people swear by them. I run the SkyRC TS120 and am going to get the TS160 for my 4wd buggy and have found them really good value for money.

Surpass V4S, SkyRC ares motors are good bang for buck. Any of the big brands like Orion, Trinity, Orca, Maclan, Reedy etc all make good motors. You don't need to spend heaps for bashing but if you get into stock racing you need to geta  modern motor. Also look at some of the ebay deals, no-brand motors still work well and are cheap.

2. Servo - Savox has been my go to for decent quality and reasonable price. My favourite is the 1258TG for standard size. Fast and strong. Its overkill for what you want to do but should never let you down. I also have thenTrackstar TS D99X in some onroad cars, they are about 1/3 the price of Savox and so far so good. Slower and weaker but still good. For cheap ones I'm using JX PDI 4409 and they seem to do the job well. They are half the price of the Trackstar, about USD13 from banggood. I look for metal gears, 0.12sec or faster, 8kg or better in general. My race cars I prefer as fast as possible as I can slow them down if need be using my tx.

3. Transmitter. Whats your budget? I like Sanwa and Futaba, I run Sanwa MT4S  in my racers, my son runs Futaba 3PV. While Sanwa seems to be the preferred for racers overall, the rx are the most expensive. I think the Futaba 4PV or 4PM would be my choice if buying again, based on current radios. My son uses the 3PV which is great but is physically small, so perfect for 6yo hands, but i find it a bit small. I have 6 transmitters now, with some cars being on cheaper units for others to use when  they come over, and the good cars on the 3PV or MT4S

There are much cheaper options like Flysky GT3. I have a Flysky FSi6 and GT2e and while they do exactly what they say on the box they feel cheaper and less solid than Futaba or Sanwa.

Things to consider:

Model memory - how many can it handle? My initial 2 cars 3 years ago is now about 15. Many do 10, some do more, some are just a single one. I think its worth getting one thta can handle multiple models.

Price of receivers - sanwa are heaps, futaba are less than sanwa but still heaps. Skyrc are cheap as chips

Features - EPA is really important. Setting the end points on the steering servo is often required, and you can slow the car down when you hand the trnasmitter to someone else. Most that have EPA will have everything else you need.

Some places you may know but worth looking at

Banggood.com - cheap electronics inclduing servos, tx/rx, esc, motors, wires, connectors etc

Rcmart.com and rcjaz.com, both stores based in Hong Kong with good stock and prices.

Hobbyking.com cheap batteries, connectors  electronics etc

Tqrcracing.com good parts, wheels, tyres etc

Amainhobbies.com has just about everything

Its probably worth checking out the local club and what classes they run. That could determine what electronics you buy so you can give it a go if you feel like it.

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Welcome to the hobby!

Some good advice there from @Jonathon Gillham.

I would recommend 13.5t as the sweet spot for this chassis. It is also a common class raced at a lot of clubs, so if you fancy some track time it shouldn't be hard to find somewhere to race.

Savox is a good servo brand - I use them in several of my racers. I have also been trying the Alturn race servos recently to good effect.

Spektrum make some good mid-range radios, not as fancy or expensive as Sanwa, but a step up in quality from Flysky and the like.

Body and tyres are probably best chosen according to the track(s) you are driving on, as different tracks call for bodies with different amounts of downforce and tyres of different compounds. Just take a look at what the fast drivers are using and follow their example. 

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 @Jonathon Gillham Thank you so much for all of the detailed information. It is GREATLY appreciated. @TurnipJF Thank you as well for the follow up. 

Motor - Speed Passion probably isn't around anymore. I did find a combo available online, but I'll ignore that and look at Hobbywing or a SkyRC. The big names I really don't want to pay that price tag right now for what I"m trying to accomplish. Should I look for a combo ESC/Motor or? I couldn't find a combo for the Hobbywing model you mentioned OR for the SkyRC you're running. I'm probably not searching right. I'll keep looking though.

Servo - It sounds like Savox is the way to go. I like the sound of " Its overkill for what you want to do but should never let you down." I see a SC-1258TG and a SA-1258TG. Is there a difference?

Transmitter - I'll look at the Sanwa and Futaba. I was looking at Sanwa's site and they have High-Middle-Entry Class rating on their transmitters. Is the entry level MX-6/MX-V ones to stay away from? I'm just trying to divert cash to the proper places with this build to maximize it's potential. I'm also assuming that I should get a receiver to match the transmitter? Meaning if I go Sanwa get both transmitter/receiver. If Futaba get both translmitter/receiver? I definitely want one with good model memory. Seems the ones I was browsing through had up to 10. That is more than enough...for now haha.

Tires/Wheels/Body - I'll make this decision after I get all the other components in place. Honestly the least of my concerns right now. My wife thoroughly enjoys art, so I enlisted her for the body work. I have my homework, she has her's. Oh one question, are there any particular body types/styles that are common (or used a lot in racing). I'll probably end up picking up a few different styles, as this chassis is pretty adaptable it appears, and just looking for some suggestions for cool looking bodies that are fun to airbrush. 

Only other questions I have right now are what hop up parts should I be looking at right off the bat? I watched a few build videos on this model and on one of them within the first 10 steps of the build there was a TON of parts upgraded. Hardened plastic deck, metal gears for the rear diff, different spur gear and a few others. With a brushless 13.5T motor (which I think I'm leaning towards after your guy's suggestions) am I going to be tearing up plastic gears? Should I worry about the harder plastic pieces right now as I'm just getting started and probably won't feel any difference performance wise (as I don't know what to expect anyways)? I know the stiffer the chassis the better handling etc, but is that worth it right now?

Am I missing anything else? You guys have been awesome and I much appreciate you taking the time out of your days and responding to my questions. As I move along on my build I plan on taking pictures to capture the fun. Thanks again.

 

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1 hour ago, TheCEO said:

Only other questions I have right now are what hop up parts should I be looking at right off the bat? I watched a few build videos on this model and on one of them within the first 10 steps of the build there was a TON of parts upgraded. Hardened plastic deck, metal gears for the rear diff, different spur gear and a few others. With a brushless 13.5T motor (which I think I'm leaning towards after your guy's suggestions) am I going to be tearing up plastic gears? Should I worry about the harder plastic pieces right now as I'm just getting started and probably won't feel any difference performance wise (as I don't know what to expect anyways)? I know the stiffer the chassis the better handling etc, but is that worth it right now?

Am I missing anything else? You guys have been awesome and I much appreciate you taking the time out of your days and responding to my questions. As I move along on my build I plan on taking pictures to capture the fun. Thanks again.

 

The hardened plastic deck isn't a bad option as the stock one is not very stiff and tends to mask subtle changes in suspension setup. However chassis stiffness is a tuning aid in itself, and you would be better off to consider the Fibrelyte/TheRcRacer chassis stiffener and top deck. These allow you to alter the stiffness in increments depending on how many attachment points you use, as opposed to the hardened chassis which is an all-or-nothing approach.

Metal gears for the rear diff are an excellent idea in the TT-02B where the stock ones aren't tough enough to withstand jumps, but the weight penalty outweighs the strength advantage in a touring car where you won't be jumping. The stock plastic ones are fine for use with a 13.5t motor. However you'd want to go for a hardened steel pinion.

The spur gear is a good shout though. A smaller one will allow you to run a taller gear ratio better suited to your 13.5t motor. The 64t 51356 one from the TB-03 is a good fit. 

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52 minutes ago, TheCEO said:

 @Jonathon Gillham Thank you so much for all of the detailed information. It is GREATLY appreciated. @TurnipJF Thank you as well for the follow up. 

Motor - Speed Passion probably isn't around anymore. I did find a combo available online, but I'll ignore that and look at Hobbywing or a SkyRC. The big names I really don't want to pay that price tag right now for what I"m trying to accomplish. Should I look for a combo ESC/Motor or? I couldn't find a combo for the Hobbywing model you mentioned OR for the SkyRC you're running. I'm probably not searching right. I'll keep looking though.

Servo - It sounds like Savox is the way to go. I like the sound of " Its overkill for what you want to do but should never let you down." I see a SC-1258TG and a SA-1258TG. Is there a difference?

Transmitter - I'll look at the Sanwa and Futaba. I was looking at Sanwa's site and they have High-Middle-Entry Class rating on their transmitters. Is the entry level MX-6/MX-V ones to stay away from? I'm just trying to divert cash to the proper places with this build to maximize it's potential. I'm also assuming that I should get a receiver to match the transmitter? Meaning if I go Sanwa get both transmitter/receiver. If Futaba get both translmitter/receiver? I definitely want one with good model memory. Seems the ones I was browsing through had up to 10. That is more than enough...for now haha.

Tires/Wheels/Body - I'll make this decision after I get all the other components in place. Honestly the least of my concerns right now. My wife thoroughly enjoys art, so I enlisted her for the body work. I have my homework, she has her's. Oh one question, are there any particular body types/styles that are common (or used a lot in racing). I'll probably end up picking up a few different styles, as this chassis is pretty adaptable it appears, and just looking for some suggestions for cool looking bodies that are fun to airbrush. 

 

I can't comment on hop ups for the TT02, I actually have 3 (2 B's and a D) but they are fun cars for us and are stock unless stuff breaks. Except bearings, but the R comes with full bearings right?

Combos can be good as they are a bit cheaper than buying separately but not essential. You can mix and match motor and ESC no problem, just make sure you get both are sensored. Sensorless are cheaper and often waterproof but sensored is the way to go as they are smoother. I haven't seen Skyrc combos before, except their cheaper range.

You may need to buy a sensor cable separately. Buy 3, they break easily and then you have to wait for another to arrive.

One thing with the motor, don't get a fixed timing motor. Get one that yoy can adjust it. Same with the ESC, get a programmable one.

Servo - i didn't know there were 2 versions. Just checked and they have the same specs, doubt there is any difference. One drawback about thr 1258TG, as its an older model it only handles 6V input. Some new ESC will give 7.4V, so if you buy an HV servo you can take advantage of that. Its plenty fast at 6V so you don't need better, but you know...

Transmitter - the downside of the MX6 is that it is the only one that uses the FH-E rx, but the rest of the Sanwa range can use all the rx. Personally since the rx are so expensive i would prefer to be able to use them all as theres always one on sale or a secondhand one available. The 3PV uses any Futaba FHSS rx (not FASST), but it may not use the latest one that came out for the 7PX. Look at the Sanwa MTS though, its more expensive but is close to their top end. There are also some good deals on the M12 right now which was their top end radio until the M17. Still more expensive than the others but a great deal. If you stick with the hobby you will use the tx for 10 years before thinking about an upgrade. Advantage of a cheap one now is you can buy a better one later and have the cheap one for loaner cars. 

You will get loaner cars (they're cars you don't really want anymore but not worth selling and it justifies keeping them to your wife)

Race bodies are blobs, even the VTA style are stylised old cars. Look at Bittydesign, Zoo racing, Protoform for examples. Tamiya bodies are great, high quality and detailed and based on real cars.

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5 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

I can't comment on hop ups for the TT02, I actually have 3 (2 B's and a D) but they are fun cars for us and are stock unless stuff breaks. Except bearings, but the R comes with full bearings right?

Combos can be good as they are a bit cheaper than buying separately but not essential. You can mix and match motor and ESC no problem, just make sure you get both are sensored. Sensorless are cheaper and often waterproof but sensored is the way to go as they are smoother. I haven't seen Skyrc combos before, except their cheaper range.

You may need to buy a sensor cable separately. Buy 3, they break easily and then you have to wait for another to arrive.

One thing with the motor, don't get a fixed timing motor. Get one that yoy can adjust it. Same with the ESC, get a programmable one.

Servo - i didn't know there were 2 versions. Just checked and they have the same specs, doubt there is any difference. One drawback about thr 1258TG, as its an older model it only handles 6V input. Some new ESC will give 7.4V, so if you buy an HV servo you can take advantage of that. Its plenty fast at 6V so you don't need better, but you know...

Transmitter - the downside of the MX6 is that it is the only one that uses the FH-E rx, but the rest of the Sanwa range can use all the rx. Personally since the rx are so expensive i would prefer to be able to use them all as theres always one on sale or a secondhand one available. The 3PV uses any Futaba FHSS rx (not FASST), but it may not use the latest one that came out for the 7PX. Look at the Sanwa MTS though, its more expensive but is close to their top end. There are also some good deals on the M12 right now which was their top end radio until the M17. Still more expensive than the others but a great deal. If you stick with the hobby you will use the tx for 10 years before thinking about an upgrade. Advantage of a cheap one now is you can buy a better one later and have the cheap one for loaner cars. 

You will get loaner cars (they're cars you don't really want anymore but not worth selling and it justifies keeping them to your wife)

Race bodies are blobs, even the VTA style are stylised old cars. Look at Bittydesign, Zoo racing, Protoform for examples. Tamiya bodies are great, high quality and detailed and based on real cars.

Thanks for all this information. I'll definitely make sure nothing is fixed. I love tinkering and adjusting WAY too much. Should I stay within a certain kV range for the motor? 

Noted on the sensor cable. I'm finding with my kids trucks that having many spares of certain parts is a great idea and saves time and gas having to go back to the shop. 

I'll actually probably start with a cheaper transmitter for now, just cause I want to put that money in to other parts of the project...unless I see a killer deal on something and can't resist. Maybe a couple months after the project is done and 'out of sight, out of mind', I'll suddenly acquire a better transmitter.

Thanks for the info on the bodies. 

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36 minutes ago, TheCEO said:

Thanks for all this information. I'll definitely make sure nothing is fixed. I love tinkering and adjusting WAY too much. Should I stay within a certain kV range for the motor? 

Noted on the sensor cable. I'm finding with my kids trucks that having many spares of certain parts is a great idea and saves time and gas having to go back to the shop. 

I'll actually probably start with a cheaper transmitter for now, just cause I want to put that money in to other parts of the project...unless I see a killer deal on something and can't resist. Maybe a couple months after the project is done and 'out of sight, out of mind', I'll suddenly acquire a better transmitter.

Thanks for the info on the bodies. 

The kv rating is a bit misleading on the sensored motors. They generally quote them at 0 timing so you get a lot more than what they say. I had a 21.5T Trinity Monster Max with 3100kv in my TA07. Orca motors rev high but have less torque so you have to gear lower to let them rev.  I'm currently running Surpass V4S 17.5T in my race buggies which are around 3200kv and they need taller gearing as they have buckets of torque. Check out a few and you'll see that most good brand sensored motors don't quote a kv figure.

Does the TT02R come with the high speed gearset? That combined with the Yeah Racing motor mount means you can swap to 48p spur and pinion and get any gear ratio you want. Gearing is important. Having say 3 spurs and 3 pinions gives you 9 options which will be plenty for a range of motors.

Have a look at this thread on rctech re transmitter, there is also a link to a youtube video in there reviewing MX6, 3PV, Spektrum DX5C and Flysky GT5 which are all similar price. Check out the Futaba 3PRKA if you want a basic radio that works well too. Only single model but I have one and it is pretty decent and has EPA as well. Its a great second radio when you get your next car.

https://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-electronics/1038200-sanwa-mx6-vs-futaba-3pv.html

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Savox servos have a heavy power draw, so you might need to get a "glitch buster" for them to avoid brown outs. They are only about $5 so you may as well buy one from the start.

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One other thing with motors - dont get too hung up on motor of the month like the spec racers do. Any of the recent generation motors are fast. We have pretty competitive 4wd and 2wd stock classes at my club and we all have good gear. There is no noticable difference between Orca, Orion, Performa, Fantom, Surpass, R1 Wurks etc. The surpass is the darkhorse given its about 1/2 - 2/3 the price of the others. Don't go older than about 18 months though as there was a big step up around then.

Or, since its a basher just buy one of thise blue ones off ebay for 20 quid, they'll work fine. I have some trackstar and speed passion motors which run great, they just can't keep up in club racing anymore. Onroad won't be so bad as a good driver will beat a worse driver with a fast motor but offroad the old motors cant clear the doubles and so make a big difference.

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1 hour ago, Biz73 said:

Savox servos have a heavy power draw, so you might need to get a "glitch buster" for them to avoid brown outs. They are only about $5 so you may as well buy one from the start.

Not had any issues with standard savox servos, but made my own for the HV servo for under a pound 😁

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17 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

Not had any issues with standard savox servos, but made my own for the HV servo for under a pound 😁

Apparently it only happens with certain radio systems. I just bought the capacitors in case there were problems. Better safe than sorry was my thoughts. The info on what system combos have issues can be found with an internet search if you want to know specifically which ones.

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1 hour ago, Biz73 said:

Apparently it only happens with certain radio systems. I just bought the capacitors in case there were problems. Better safe than sorry was my thoughts. The info on what system combos have issues can be found with an internet search if you want to know specifically which ones.

Guessing it depends on the ESC too, if it can supply the amps, you won't get the voltage drop to the rx?

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Thank you guys for all the great information that you have provided me. I completed the chassis build last night, so now it's time to acquire everything else needed. I have a local shop by me who specializes in Tamiya, actually holds races for Tamiya at his track on site, so I have access to parts etc. I'll probably pick up the servo from there, but not sure about the ESC and motor. They had the Hobbywing XR10 JustStock or the Hobbywing XR10 Pro stock spec as far as an ESC. I don't remember the brand of motor they carried, but I hadn't seen anything online about them. Think it started with an A, but don't remember (I didn't grab a picture). The motor and ESC seemed to be a little over a $100US/each, so wondering if I can get away with something different for a lot cheaper. The motor and the ESC keep throwing me for a loop and I keep going round and round and round and can't determine what to do with. It's looking like around $200 for a legit ESC and motor. Does this sound about right?

Side note: I reached out to Fiberlyte and will be ordering that carbon top deck set up they offer. Oh, and I'm TERRIBLE at gluing tires on wheels haha.

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2 hours ago, TheCEO said:

Thank you guys for all the great information that you have provided me. I completed the chassis build last night, so now it's time to acquire everything else needed. I have a local shop by me who specializes in Tamiya, actually holds races for Tamiya at his track on site, so I have access to parts etc. I'll probably pick up the servo from there, but not sure about the ESC and motor. They had the Hobbywing XR10 JustStock or the Hobbywing XR10 Pro stock spec as far as an ESC. I don't remember the brand of motor they carried, but I hadn't seen anything online about them. Think it started with an A, but don't remember (I didn't grab a picture). The motor and ESC seemed to be a little over a $100US/each, so wondering if I can get away with something different for a lot cheaper. The motor and the ESC keep throwing me for a loop and I keep going round and round and round and can't determine what to do with. It's looking like around $200 for a legit ESC and motor. Does this sound about right?

Side note: I reached out to Fiberlyte and will be ordering that carbon top deck set up they offer. Oh, and I'm TERRIBLE at gluing tires on wheels haha.

If they run tamiya races why not build it to meet those specs so you can enter?

If not, the justock and prostock are good esc but they are for blinky classes,  so no turbo and boost.

USD200 is about the start point for a name brand setup, but there are certainly cheaper. Rcmart have the SkyRC TS120 for usd68 including shipping. Motors, the SkyRC Ares are on sale right now around usd50. That would be a great combo for bashing, or even racing for a few years.

Hobbyking have the Trackstar combos for about usd70 which work well. They're old now but still do the job

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47 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

If they run tamiya races why not build it to meet those specs so you can enter?

If not, the justock and prostock are good esc but they are for blinky classes,  so no turbo and boost.

USD200 is about the start point for a name brand setup, but there are certainly cheaper. Rcmart have the SkyRC TS120 for usd68 including shipping. Motors, the SkyRC Ares are on sale right now around usd50. That would be a great combo for bashing, or even racing for a few years.

Hobbyking have the Trackstar combos for about usd70 which work well. They're old now but still do the job

Honestly, not really interested in club/stock spec racing right now  I'd much rather build something I can tune/tweak and is super fast.

I just threw the SKYRC TS120 and the SKYRC Ares Pro V3 13.5T in the cart on RCMart. Will probably get those ordered today. Do I need a programming card (saw this mentioned in comment section) or can I do that another option? Didn't mention much on that on RCMart. 

Decided to stop by a hobby shop after a customer visit today. Found a Savox SC1258TG for cheaper than I've seen it online...so I picked it up. Getting there thanks to all the help on here. Much appreciated. 

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If you are into tinkering, a program card would be a good idea - it gives you easy access to all sorts of parameters to fiddle with, depending on the ESC of course. 

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Yep the progbox linked above. I got mine from Banggood. It works for a few of their ESC so if you stick to the brand then you have it for ages.

There are a few options for SkyRC though, they have a something that works with your phone too

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Again @Jonathon Gillham & @TurnipJF, thank you for all of the great info, tips, suggestions etc you've given me so far. Between this info and the reading that I have been doing I am starting to understand things a lot better in this crazy/confusing RC world. My first 2 projects were the Team Losi JR-XT (age 9) and then the first Team Associated RC10T that came out (age 11). I haven't touched this hobby since then....so a lot has changed.

I have the TT02 kit built. Servo sitting on my work station. Motor/ESC ordered and waiting for it to be shipped. Carbon top deck and center brace being ordered. Now on to the transmitter and receiver, battery/charger and any lose ends that I'm missing. Very much looking forward to getting this project running and on the track for testing and fun. Thanks again for the help and I look forward to getting more immersed in to the community

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