TRF103 Why Discontinued?

[thirtydaZe 0]

Looking to get into F1 racing, my LHS has a TRF103 for sale.  I know it has been discontinued, but was there a particular reason?  I see the TRF102 is still being sold.

Was wondering, if I were to get the 103, am i going to have a hard time with replacement parts, etc?

Just looking for any info anyone can provide.  Thanks.

[Jonathon Gillham 4607]

I doubt parts would dry up that quickly. F103's are really old and their parts are still readily available. I don't know about the TRF103 but there is a lot of parts compatibility between the F103, F104 and TRF102 so even if the specific parts for the TRF103 aren't available there will probably be something that will fit.

I have found that my TRF102 is very durable, I've broken a T bar and a rear wing in about 8 race meets so not much really goes wrong with them.

It was mentioned on RCTech but nothing more was said, so there are no rumours of a new car that I've heard. The strange thing is the TRF102 Black Edition is still listed as a current car.

[thirtydaZe 0]

that's what i was curious about, i wonder if im better off having them order the trf102. 

[Jonathon Gillham 4607]

No idea sorry.  You could ask on RCTech about it?  A few of the guys there seem to get kits before they're publicly available so they may have some idea.

I suspect there isn't much difference between them all.  I got the TRF102 because I got a killer deal on one, it wasn't much more than an F104 Pro, basically just didn't come with a body.  @TurnipJF races an F103 and keeps up with the latest and greatest.  I have heard the F104 isn't as durable as the TRF since the TRF is basically carbon fibre and aluminium, the F104 has more plastic on it.

One thing that favours the TRF103 is it can run 2 different rear ends and also sideways or longitudinal shorty batteries.  The TRF102 is limited to longitudinal battery and just a T bar rear end.  They are a lot more expensive though.

[TurnipJF 9192]

The thing with the TRF103 is that it is designed to allow the use of a PBLR or T-bar rear end, and as is often the case when something is designed to do two things, it isn't quite as good at either of them as something designed specifically for one or the other. From what I gather, those who prefer T-bars are sticking with their TRF102s, and those who prefer PBLRs are sticking with their TRF101s, albeit with TRF103 front ends in some cases. Perhaps this is the reason they have been discontinued while the TRF102 lives on?