I'll tell you what - I've been a super hard-core AE fan all the way. I have been like that ever since I bought my first Associated RC10, and then the 1st "Cow paint/ Gateway scheme" RC10T.
I also have been an amateur with Tamiya. Yeah, durable than most other hobby RC car kits, but readily available on the market everywhere for replacement parts.
The same for AE, every time I raced in Kansas and in Texas at the local hobby shops.
NOW - BACK TO THE POINT:
Tamiya has finally beaten AE in the on-road scene. This is simply why:
1. DURABILITY: AE's TC5, TC5F/R, are total garbage upon durability. Nasty open front and rear diffs welcome dirt and debris, which become magnets to both belts; the Tamiya TA05 has a much more "sealed" F/R bulkhead area to stop that.
2. MAINTENANCE: Maintenance? Really AE - WTF were you thinking!!!!! Lame on your desk sleeping if you ask me. It takes me TEN screws to access the center pulley ALONE, VS half that on a TA05. I surely hope some un-talented "professional" from AE is reading this. The rest of maintenance is also crap, since we all might as well tear the entire car apart, just to rebuild/replace one or two parts. Tamiya has it all modular, accessible, and easy to use, all in a streamline fashion.
3. STEERING: AE has a single, center based bell-crank steering post. That is always guanteered to stick and/or bind up, anytime, anywhere. The Tamiya TA05 has a DUAL bell-crank steering system, and I even let the damn thing RUST UP - and IT STILL won't bind or stick!!!! SHAME ON YOU AE!!!!!
4. HANDLING: ANTI SQUAT on the front end has been proven to be detrimental on real full-size cars, but AE thinks that they're "special" - I guess it's an Ego thing with their "so-called engineers". It slows down the car, esp if the drive wheels are in the front. Anyone remember the Desoto, the Volvo 650, or the Dodge Neon? All of them had canted front anti-squat. Whah whah whah . . . but again Tamiya went with what works VS what AE thinks "what is best" and totally screwed up their world championship and reputation since then.
5. Overall - TA05 cost (average base kit = $150) AE cost (TC5 base kit = $330)
You tell me, Associated Electrics - what happened to the talent back in the day when you guys got hired to do the Dirty Harry movie - "Dead Pool"? I think you all lost it, or all you guys there have absolutely no clue NOR ENGINEERING SKILLS to create an on road winning car. And this is coming straight out of a Mech Engineer's mouth - shame on you for bragging the best and giving us less.
Plain and simple. Point blank.
PS - My basically stock TA05R beat all AE cars last night by over 1.65 secs on the local track.
PS - DID you know that the AE "so-called engineers" DO NOT have a degree in mech eng from any accredited college?
And I paid WHAT for that P.O.S.!!!????!!! Really!?!?!?!?
LAME
The TA05/R rules, all TC5s drool.
Buy a Tamiya! Hell, half the parts I got from AE were stamped JAPAN anyway, and all the hardware, wheels, etc are metric anyway . . .
Doubt me, call me up. I can race anytime
__________________
Tamiya or AE - thats how I roll :)
Last edited by dragnse7en; 11-20-2009 at 09:35 PM.
I'll tell you what - I've been a super hard-core AE fan all the way. I have been like that ever since I bought my first Associated RC10, and then the 1st "Cow paint/ Gateway scheme" RC10T.
I also have been an amateur with Tamiya. Yeah, durable than most other hobby RC car kits, but readily available on the market everywhere for replacement parts.
The same for AE, every time I raced in Kansas and in Texas at the local hobby shops.
NOW - BACK TO THE POINT:
Tamiya has finally beaten AE in the on-road scene. This is simply why:
1. DURABILITY: AE's TC5, TC5F/R, are total garbage upon durability. Nasty open front and rear diffs welcome dirt and debris, which become magnets to both belts; the Tamiya TA05 has a much more "sealed" F/R bulkhead area to stop that.
2. MAINTENANCE: Maintenance? Really AE - WTF were you thinking!!!!! Lame on your desk sleeping if you ask me. It takes me TEN screws to access the center pulley ALONE, VS half that on a TA05. I surely hope some un-talented "professional" from AE is reading this. The rest of maintenance is also crap, since we all might as well tear the entire car apart, just to rebuild/replace one or two parts. Tamiya has it all modular, accessible, and easy to use, all in a streamline fashion.
3. STEERING: AE has a single, center based bell-crank steering post. That is always guanteered to stick and/or bind up, anytime, anywhere. The Tamiya TA05 has a DUAL bell-crank steering system, and I even let the damn thing RUST UP - and IT STILL won't bind or stick!!!! SHAME ON YOU AE!!!!!
4. HANDLING: ANTI SQUAT on the front end has been proven to be detrimental on real full-size cars, but AE thinks that they're "special" - I guess it's an Ego thing with their "so-called engineers". It slows down the car, esp if the drive wheels are in the front. Anyone remember the Desoto, the Volvo 650, or the Dodge Neon? All of them had canted front anti-squat. Whah whah whah . . . but again Tamiya went with what works VS what AE thinks "what is best" and totally screwed up their world championship and reputation since then.
5. Overall - TA05 cost (average base kit = $150) AE cost (TC5 base kit = $330)
You tell me, Associated Electrics - what happened to the talent back in the day when you guys got hired to do the Dirty Harry movie - "Dead Pool"? I think you all lost it, or all you guys there have absolutely no clue NOR ENGINEERING SKILLS to create an on road winning car. And this is coming straight out of a Mech Engineer's mouth - shame on you for bragging the best and giving us less.
Plain and simple. Point blank.
PS - My basically stock TA05R beat all AE cars last night by over 1.65 secs on the local track.
PS - DID you know that the AE "so-called engineers" DO NOT have a degree in mech eng from any accredited college?
And I paid WHAT for that P.O.S.!!!????!!! Really!?!?!?!?
LAME
The TA05/R rules, all TC5s drool.
Buy a Tamiya! Hell, half the parts I got from AE were stamped JAPAN anyway, and all the hardware, wheels, etc are metric anyway . . .
3. STEERING: AE has a single, center based bell-crank steering post. That is always guanteered to stick and/or bind up, anytime, anywhere. The Tamiya TA05 has a DUAL bell-crank steering system, and I even let the damn thing RUST UP - and IT STILL won't bind or stick!!!! SHAME ON YOU AE!!!!!
4. HANDLING: ANTI SQUAT on the front end has been proven to be detrimental on real full-size cars, but AE thinks that they're "special" - I guess it's an Ego thing with their "so-called engineers". It slows down the car, esp if the drive wheels are in the front. Anyone remember the Desoto, the Volvo 650, or the Dodge Neon? All of them had canted front anti-squat. Whah whah whah . . . but again Tamiya went with what works VS what AE thinks "what is best" and totally screwed up their world championship and reputation since then.
PS - DID you know that the AE "so-called engineers" DO NOT have a degree in mech eng from any accredited college?
[...]
There are many other cars with the same steering setup. The problem you have is not inherent to the design but depends greatly on tight manufacturing tolerances, proper shimming and maintenance.
Front kick up (anti-squat is a term reserved for the rear suspension inner hingepin angle) can be useful on RC cars. I run kick-up in most of my cars and they handle very well. I am not sure about real cars. In offroad it is absolutely necessary to avoid destroying the front suspesnsion on hard landings.
In the anglo-saxon world a lot of tertiary education institutions are allowed to award the title of engineer to anyone completing one of their courses which are by no means equivalent to a university course. I have noticed that about the UK and Australia and I am pretty sure the US is the same. This creates a confusion especially for people coming from different education systems where to be an engineer you have to have a university diploma. To avoid this confusion, people like mr Hudy are representing themselves as a "diplom engineer".
On the other hand, I am not sure what a college is either (at least in the US). Is it equivalent to a university or not? In Australia for instance, some colleges are equivalent to universities while others aren't, so there is another source of confusion there.
Thank you to everyone (sponsors and racers) who have helped me and continue to help me in my time of racing, you know who you are! It's important that we all give something back to this hobby and not always just think about winning the A.... :-)
__________________
Mike Gee
Team Driver For: Exotek/Castle/Psycho Cells/GQ Tires/Darkside Designz/Rad Racing
Proud Supporter of: MRL (Micro Racing League)/Final Thoughts RC Club/Ray K's Hair Tonic, Tire Sauce, and all purpose lubricant
Yeah, I did sound like a fool ranting - lemme clarify.
I love AE just as much as Tamiya, and when I got my TC5 last week (not a TC5R or F), I bought it used, and the thing is immaculate already with some upgrades. However, I was a little let down.
I'll have to monkey with the steering bellcrank to get it to stop sticking. If I race, I'll have to make sure that the spur gear I want to use is the one I want, b/c I doubt I could change it in time between races. I was hoping that the TC5 would also have a tighter tolerance than my TA05R, but it's got pretty much the same slop/ play. There's also no wire tie-down clamp for the battery plug, to keep it away from the drivetrain.
I do like the TC5's center pulleys; much beefier than my TA05R. The way the sway bars connects to the lower arms not only looks more solid, it also looks stronger than my Tamiya.
Other than that, as far as maintenance and accessibility goes, the TA05R comes out on top in my book.
I may be bias because I've had the TA05 for much longer than the TC5. I'll race against my own TA05R next weekend and then I will add further feedback. My cousin wants to race, so I'll lend it to him and we'll hit the track.
If I beat my own car, then I'll eat my own words and stop being a crybaby about it. If I loose against my cousin, then he can have the TC5 instead.
__________________
Tamiya or AE - thats how I roll :)
you should come to the Ko Propo Grand Prix here in Southern California. it'll be a great race for you.
its at West Coast RC... indoor asphalt... Dec. 12 and 13th.
Awesome - thanks! Can't make it out there; I live in MA and am racing in CT during that time though. Lemme know which racer you are in SO CA, and I'll root for yah!!! GL
__________________
Tamiya or AE - thats how I roll :)
A nicely hopped up TA05 is a pretty neat car. It's also more expensive than a TC5, or a 416 for that matter. I enjoy mine, but the joy of beating someone with a tub car isn't quite the same when you know in your heart it cost more than whatever they're driving.
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Quote, Leodis, 2007: ''I've been shopping online for 9 years and the only charge I've ever had to dispute with my credit card company was from TiR. Congratulations TiR. Even porn sites are more ethical than your company!''
...but I have never known one to be poorly manufactured, ever.
[...]
I know one, and it's on my shelf right here.
I actually had to replace at my own cost th edefective part right out of the box. Not impressed. Once I posted about that on the relevant forum, others have stepped forth and told their own stories of woe.
Tamiya is a big company but their attitude towards the consumer is pretty much like that of other huge companies, i.e. if there's anything wrong with their product, it is either the customer's fault or an inimaginable conspiracy of the universe against them. Either way, you pay. Perhaps elsewhere (read in larger markets they actually care about like the US) the situation is different in this respect but that's the way it is in Australia. Pretty disenchanted with it.
But I admit they make really good cars (otherwise I wouldn't buy them) and very easy to drive with minimal tune-up. Straight out of the box they'll go pretty close to perfection.
Tamiya TA05 VS AE TC5
They are well planned out.
