Racing

[AQUABATH 9]

Assuming I learn to drive, can I make a TT-02 club competitive or should I be looking at Schumacher / RCXpress at a similar price level?

 

Thank you

[TurnipJF 9192]

I'd say it depends on the class you are racing in. Some clubs run classes targeted at beginners and casual racers where only plastic tub chassis cars are allowed. These are an excellent introduction to racing, and the TT-02 is well suited to such a class whereas a carbon sheet car wouldn't be allowed to compete.

On the other hand, while a fully tricked out TT-02 Type S is a capable club racer, a base spec one will struggle to keep up with the carbon sheet cars, or even the higher end tub chassis cars such as the TA-06 and TB-03, if you move to the quicker classes. But then, who is ever likely to keep their car base-spec?

TheRCRacer has some great material on making a TT-02 race-worthy:

https://www.thercracer.com/2014/08/tamiya-tt02-guide-mods-tuning-and-tips.html

[Jonathon Gillham 4606]

The best entry level racer that I'm aware of is the Xpress XQ1S.  The chassis kit is about the same price as a TT02 but of course you need a body and all electronics on top.  All parts are compatible with their top car too, so you can upgrade as you go.

If you want to stick with Tamiya then you are really looking at the TA07 or TB05.  These are a great base to work from but you will need to spend some money on them to make them competitive - in my experience you would need the chassis stiffeners in carbon fibre and sway bars to start with.  No doubt you'll end up with carbon shock towers, alloy servo mount and a few other things too. 

Or the TRF420 or TA07MS which should have everything in the box and require nothing extra.

[Mad Ax 9313]

I would advise going along to your local club and having a chat with the staff and other racers.  As @TurnipJF says, they may run a clubman class for novice racers.  (At my club, the clubman class often also has a few veteran racers who have got tired of the constant setup, fettling, hop-up buying and over-competitiveness and pot-hunting of the touring classes.  This is not a bad thing - racing with experienced racers will teach you a lot about racecraft and ettiquete.  Racing purely with other novices, you will struggle to learn how to race your own race when you are constantly getting taken out by other cars.  Also because they are having a break from the fast classes, they won't get upset if you slow them down or bump them off the track a few times - which you will - because they're just having fun).

If you have a clubman class with limited motor and hop-ups, you can focus on learning to drive.  Going straight in with a top-spec car means you'll be learning to drive around a stock setup choice which might not be right for your track, or your own bad setup decisions, or around potentially good setups given to you by fast racers which might not be right for a novice driver.

If they don't run a clubman class, or you want to go straight in with a competition car, then ask what others are running.  You might find someone is selling last year's top car.  I once bought last week's FTD qualifier off another racer for £40.  OK, it was last week's FTD qualifer in his hands - in mine it lots its rear suspension on lap 2 and didn't race again for a while.  But that's by-the-by. 

I always thought it was cool to be the maverick and run a TA-05 when everybody else had Schumacher and Losi, but when I struggled with setup nobody could offer any more than generic advice, and when I broke parts and needed spares, nobody carried any.

Above all - give yourself plenty of time, don't try to learn too fast, ask for advice and listen to it, and make friends in the pits.  For me racing is more about the social than the driving.  Sometimes I go without my car just so I have more time to chat to people, and I can leave before it gets late.  That's so much more fun than some of these ultra-committed guys who barricade themselves into a corner behind their 3-figure haulers and don't let anyone see their chassis in case they steal their winning setup.