Redwood

The TC4 (non-FT) is imperial whereas the TC5 is metric, so I am afraid that screws and allen drivers cannot be switched between them. If the FT-TC4 is metric then I am wrong and apologise.

On topic, as far as I can tell there is not a massive performance gap between any of the popular chassis'. The major difference is, as others have said, how good the support is, not only for spare parts but for setups and help.

However if there is a car you really like the look of, but there is no support locally don't despair as I have been doing quite well using this forum for setups/tips and online next day delivery sites for spare parts (since I have no LHS)

Regards

Neal

bertran

I understand most of the points you guys raise, but in terms of track performance, the AWESOMATIX is far ahead of the competition. I would rather wait a while for perfection than jump the gun and get less !!! If you own a tc4 right now,upgrading it is much more cost effective than getting any of these new belt kits!!! I would hope that the lack of enthusiasm about the AWESOMATIX is not caused by the fact that it's a RUSSIAN design !!! Had ASSOCIATED or X-ray design that car, I am pretty sure you would all agree with me!!!!!!!!!!! TIMES HAVE NOT CHANGED AT ALL. DONT HATE, EMBRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cpt.America

iTrader: (52)

Who's been letting the crazy people sign up here?

chensleyrc1

iTrader: (38)

Who was driving the other cars? What event has it won? The only thing I have seen on here is it winning local races in Russia. How will it do against the best drivers? How did it do at the last worlds???
Not hating on the car it looks neat, but to me shaft drive sucks when you start putting power to the car with a high power motor. They ALL torquesteer. Belt cars just handle better, thats why Associated went away from the shaft. And the TC4 was crap when it came out, the team drivers at Cleveland went back to the TC3 in the middle of qualifiing when it came out.

As for what car I recommend for rubber: Tamiya 416WE, X-Ray 008-009 EU, or Schumacher's. Since you are close to Schumacher and their team drivers, that would be the choice I would make. Here in St. Louis we have Drew Ellis racing locally so it is mostly X-Rays. It is really nice to have a factory driver to get input from when needed.

hippie

iTrader: (20)

Thank you for your repliys . As i said eairler Schumacher USA is only 30 min from my house . The LHS in my area dont really stock much TC parts just mainly the basic stuff like arms & knuckles for the tc5 . I would say there is a even mix of tc5's & mi3.5's & the xray car at my track . The 3.5 & 5r would be eaiser to get parts for . I guess i just have to make a desicion .

Grizzbob

iTrader: (2)

Yup, truth be told, YOU are the only person that can answer your original question, because different people have different tastes(not better or worse, just different) & different needs, so a different car may suit you best. As the others have said, most of today's newest cars are VERY clos to each other in capability, it just comes down to part support locally(which you already know) & which YOU are more comfortable working with. I have had most of Associated's cars, but I never really got to a comfort level where I could get CONSISTENTLY fast laps with one, but one night when I got especially frustrated with them, I had a Tamiya TA05 handy(had just bought it to run in TCS events, as they require Tamiya cars & parts only), & figured why not? So I transferred my electronics to it between the qualifiers & the Main, had NO time to set trims(aside from centering the steering) or make any real adjustments, but within 30 seconds of driving it I was already runing laps as fast as anyhting I'd done before & I could EASILY do them lap after lap after lap. So needless to say, I started buying more Tamiya cars(up to the 416 WE that I'm running now) & I'm more competitive than I've ever been. And it's not from one detail or another, it's just because of how comfortable they are for ME to drive. Other guys have tried the same cars & didn't like it much, some feel better with an XRay, some with a Schumacher, some the TC5R, it's just different for everyone. If you can, I'd suggest going to the guys running the car's you're interested in & ask if you can try driving it yourself for a few laps, see how they feel to you, & then make your choice.....

tc3team

Sorry guys....

bertran

First,there are no crazy people here!!! I personally dont own an AWESOMATIX, AND I AM TRUSTING IN THE EXPERT OPINION of guys like Martin Hudy who have witnessed for themselves the untouchable performance of the AWESOMATIX vehicles(one with a shaft drive, and a second one with a belt drive) ,particularly at the 2007 Rebellion Race in Finland!!! Hudy himself admitted that they(both awesomatix cars), at least in supersport,were untouchable on his website and against the best competition in the world !!! In addition, the shaft drive version always beat the belt version hands down,from the Russian championships on !!! Finally all the problems(torquesteer,etc..) the traditional shaft cars suffered from have been eliminated: the main purpose of developing the AWESOMATIX was to solve these issues, and they have successfully solved them !!! It is only a matter of time before other companies like X-ray and ASSOCIATED start making the same engineering modifications in their cars, so they wont be left behind...IF you like being left behind, go ahead and buy more of the same: 416WE,T2,PHOTON,TC5,CYCLONE,etc....LEAD, DONT FOLLOW!!!!!!!!

ottoman

iTrader: (13)

Hmmm.... so your saying Hudy says it was better than his car... in 2007... and he hasnt used any of the concepts in a XRay... a full 2 years later... well that makes me wonder

bertran

The AWESOMATIX belt version is very similar to an X-ray, except for the rotary dampers!!! Some might feel there is no need to switch to these low CG dampers,but I feel if you insist on a belt car, than a belt AWESOMATIX would be better than anything else out there. I don't think AWESOMATIX is even considering a belt drive, knowing how superior the shaft version is!!! The point is shaft is superior to belt! That's why real race cars use them instead of belts! It's very hard for people to accept defeit even if it's obvious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hippie

iTrader: (20)

Does anyone know if a traxpower lipo will fit in a MI-3.5 with out mods ?

wyd

iTrader: (51)

Until this car runs at one of the large races that have huge status like Reedy Race, Worlds, Vegas or any of the household races and does well or wins it will be another car with potential and thats it. Until results show at a MAJOR TOURING CAR RACE you talk smack, say people hate and so on but until you can show legitimate results against Masami, Lemiux, Hara, Reinhart and so on that car don't have a leg to stand on. Thats the facts!!!!!!!!!!

Hey I like shaft cars but you need real world results not winning against racers 99% of the world has no clue who they are.

BlackedOutREVO

iTrader: (67)

Just curious, why wouldnt you buy a MI4?

wyd

iTrader: (51)

Hippie if I was in your shoes I to would go for the Schumacher Mi3 or if you can the new MI4. Shawn and Adam at Schumacher have excellent customer service and parts in Florida are super easy to come by. Great choice.

I run a TC5R and for me since i work at a hobbyshop Associated parts are super easy to get from many distributors that almost every hobbyshop orders from and then the parts are super cheap. Its a good car and cheap to run.

I always tell people go with what you like because in the end you have to pay for it and race it. If you don't like what you picked before you get it you will never like the car in the first place no matter how good of a car it might be.

hippie

iTrader: (20)

I dont have that much money .