~AR~ Gizmo

iTrader: (4)

For the past few months now i've been thinking i want to get involed in r/c racing again. I used to do it afew years ago when the Tamiya TA-03 was the best tamiya around. I was club champion and 3rd at state titles.

Since i've been out of the game awhile now i don't really know what's what and was wanting some help to get a good car to start off with. I've went to my local R/C club and watched one night and saw afew guys using the HPI Pro 4 (i like the idea of shaft driven).

What is the difference between shaft and belt driven?

Is the HPI Pro-4 a good car to start out with (again...hehe)

What are other cars i should be looking at?

I've also read the TA-05 is a decent. Does anyone know how it is?

Thankyoufor your help,

Gizmo

scott_g

iTrader: (9)

Gizmo, there are heaps of good competitive chassis around at present:


Schumacher Mi2 (new version due Christmas)
Corally RDX
Team Associated FT-TC4
X-Ray FK05
Losi JRX-S
Hot Bodies Cyclone
Yokomo BD
Tamiya 415
Tamiya Evo 5
HPI Pro 4 2005

and probably others I've forgotten. Any of these are competitive. Ultimately I think it's most important to pick a car you can get parts and support for and that you like. Check at local club and local shops and see what is supported.

if you specifically like shaft drive then the FT-TC4 would be well worth a look - good results from those that have this car (it has only arrived in the last few weeks).

You really can't go wrong with any of those cars - all are competitive and have those who love and swear by them. Some have better local support and parts support in some areas than others.

muahaha

Shaft car
Yokomo SD lcg (kit/upgrades)
ae ft-tc4
hpi pro4 2005 spec
tamiya evo4 ms

belt car
yokomo bd
schumacher mi2 ver2
tamiya 415ms
corally rdx
losi jrx
xray fk05
alex baracuda

all car mention are top notch, the question u should be asking is which are appeal to u the most, which care can u afford and which car can u get parts for. if money is no objection and u can get parts for all car, hell just get all of them . truthfully all that is left with these cars is tuning to drivers liking.

batboy

Master Muahaha,

I totally agree with you.
I know that you have use most of the car you had listed.

murfy

iTrader: (9)

if i were u i would go with belt drives less problems.

every car is competitive its up to the driver.

the TA-05 is a beautiful car yet it really need to be hoped-up to the max to reach its full potential. so that in the long run is just more money.

take a gamble, buy the car ur mates have one which u can re-learn with and know u'll have friendly help. then go from there.

VenomWorldOrder

if you have raced before and understand relatively well how to set up a car, and are considering cars at the level of the pro4;

-go with a belt car (less maintainance, heaps of people have jumped from pro 4 to the cyclone, tamiya etc)

-go with tamiya belt
-yokomo BD
-xray fk04 or 05
-or the tamiya ta05 (needs a few hopups)

414m2

Basically, the advantage of shaft drive cars is that the drivetrain is a lot more free, there is less drag so the power of the motor is transferred to the wheels rather than turning the drivetrain. So you have better acceleration and better top speed, and some say you get more runtime from the battery. THe other thing is that there is no slop in the shaft drivetrain, so turn the spur and almost instantly the wheel will turn, there is very little movement so when you accelerate power comes instantaneously, so you get more response or better 'punch'.
The disadvantage of shaft drive is that firstly because there is no slop and the drivetrain is quite rigid, when you crash, where in a belt drive car the belt will stretch or skip and absorb the impact, the shaft drive has nothing to dissipate the energy so it will usually snap the bevel gear in the front gearbox (if you use a 1 way), if the bevel is shimmed properly it has less chance of breaking, but something has to give way, I find that the front universal shafts go first, they bent and then are useless, if not the shafts (although usually is) the center shaft's plastic drive cups will snap in half. But you can get aluminium ones, then if I find that the spur gear will be punished and that will strip, so with a shaft drive keep a lot of drivetrain spares.

Advantages of belt drive is that they are much more forgiving in a crash, if you hit something you dont worry about the drivetrain breaking, the belt takes up all the energy. Where the shaft car was more responsive exiting a corner, it can sometimes be bad, especially if its low grip conditions, a belt will stretch and slack will be taken up under acceleration, this acts as a traction control and so the car might be easier to control exiting corners.

Belts are usually more popular in MOD due to the increased power needing better traction.

Its not really much of a problem, but a shaft drive will make more noise than a belt.


I personally like the pro4, but i hate how easily the drivetrain breaks, castle hill is pretty deadly to shafts. I've always wanted a belt pro4, and now there is, the cyclone, but its not purple and its expensive, so ill be sticking to pro4.
I would recommend getting a top of the line kit, dont waste your money on lower models like some tamiya ones.
Xray FK05 are pretty good, they are simple to work on and are quick. THey are belt of course. At the moment there are a whole bunch of belt drive cars that have pretty much the same design.
FK05, Tamiya 415, cyclone, corally rdx, schumacher, and i think yokomo have basically the same design and layout so its up to you which one you get. I suggest the Xray or the Cyclone, or the pro4 for shaft.

~AR~ Gizmo

iTrader: (4)

Thanx for all the info.

When i used to do RC i had a TA-03. In the tamiya cup, i got 2nd at the state titles. It was pretty rare for me to have an accident of my own fault. Because of that i'm leaning towards the pro 4 hara edition.

BUT

For some reason i'm still drawn to a belt driven car. The RDX and the Cyclone. I've been told corally parts are normally hard to get and overpriced so i'm thinking of leaving that one alone.

Is there anyone that has driven both the cyclone and the pro 4 that can give me a comparison of the two cars?

Because the drive train is so easy to brake on a shaft driven car, how much would i be looking at at replacing it in the pro 4 if/when it brakes?

Sorry for all the questions but i want to get all the info i can.

Thanx, Gizmo

murfy

iTrader: (9)

to find the comparisons of the two cars go onto the US forum and look for the cyclone thread and as the question there.

now the pro4 is a fantastic car. handels well, weight transfers good, etc. parts are easy to get just give frontline hobbies in newcastle a call give them the part number and quantity. its pretty cheap shipping to sydney. now to fix the broken gears it is fairly easy the part will cost you around $5 - $10 for the beaval gears.

appart form that its a great car to learn all the fine tuning adjustments.

414m2

Go Cyclone over RDX anyday. Corally is similar to tamiya - they are sloppy.
To compare the cyclone to the pro4, well you'll have to wait a bit for some guys to get them built and raced for a bit. I'd say you wont get a proper comparison anyway, they share the same suspension as far as i'm away, so its really only drivetrain thats different. You could make them handle the same, it will all depend on the setup of the car.

To maintain the pro4, it wont really be that expensive, maybe $7 for a bevel gear, little more for 1 universal, it depends, where you get it, never buy parts in australia (good luck finding them anyway), hong kong, USA or japan are very cheap and shipping takes a week. But the problem with getting from OverSeas is that you usually want them to have all the parts in stock at the same time so you only need to make 1 order to save on shipping cost, thats not always possible. Other thing is that it might take up to 2 weeks from the time you place the order till it gets to your house after negotiating and stuff, that makes planning essential, and if they are out of stock you might find yourself in trouble, things never seem come in time for major events for some reason.
I do suggest getting masses of drivetrain parts. I have only broken like 1 suspension Arm ever, they are so tough. Drivetrain, not so tough. Get some extra body posts, and front bumpers (the plastic lower bit), also get the aluminium bumper posts because the plastic strips.



Make sure you get the pro4 2005 edition, they have fixed the diff coming loose problem that still haunts me. I dont think you can get the special nut separately.

~AR~ Gizmo

iTrader: (4)

Thanx for all the info fellas.

DP

The pro 4 and Cyclone are both very nice cars and its good that the cyclone is virtualy pro4 in ereas so i already have parts. when it comes down to shaft or belt drive between my friends we descibe the shaft as on the edge and very quick, and then the belt as smooth and consistant, but when u look at the times there is nothing in it and at this time at our local track its a belt drive that is dominating. so between the 2 drivetrains dont think speed. thats only my opinion but any big name brand is competitive and they all nearly have small faults with someting but its up to what you personally like brand and drivetrain wise, hope this helps

dave, go the cyclone

Atomix

iTrader: (1)

The Xray, Corally or the Tamiya seem to be the cars winning everything of late & are all well supported locally.

Any of those cars will prove reliable, strong & fast.

~AR~ Gizmo

iTrader: (4)

Well after about a week of alot of reading and asking questions on this forum i'll be making my return to R/C racing some time in the new year (Earlier if i'm lucky) and my choice of weapon will be the Cyclone!

414m2

Nice choice. Good luck!

where will you be racing?