Good starter car?
 

I have been racing offroad for a long time but have been away for 15 years. Now with a bit more time and money the sickness has grabbed me again. I had no problem getting back up to speed in off road but asphalt and carpet racing seems to be bigger locally to me so want to give it a try but I am cluelesss and overwhelmed at all the information. I read about all the adjustments you guys are fiddling with and think, wow!

I envsion just wanting a car I can race some slower spec class and grow a bit with.

Where is a good place to start? I will go brushless as my offroad collection is.

Thanks

You could do with a lot worse than a tamiya ta05.

These cars are strong and upgradable later on when you want some tuning parts :)

Or a second hand Xray T2 '009, strong parts and performance.

It will all really depend on what you want to spend.

Get a second hand Xray T2 '009 - they are "cheap" (depending on what you want to spend) and they are still very good cars.

Those all look like good choices.

What about a Associated TC4 RTR? I have many asssociated off roads in my collection.

Also a very good choice. Very durable & your LHS probably has very good parts support for the car. Although somewhat outdated in the opinion of some, they can be tuned to still be competitive.

I'd agree with the xray, I'm just getting back into the hobby after some time off too. A lot of the T2 parts will work with the T3 so you would be able to ugrade at a later date if you choose too and won't have any wasted parts.

They all look high tech to me. I am looking at new T2 '008 for under $100, but I guess that is too old at this point.

Xray t2008 is a great car also TC5 is a good option. Check if your local track is running VTA great starter class and dont need high budget to race im running an older xray T2 with no issues. was running FT TC4 before that pretty much anything can be competitive in VTA

<--Has a xray t2 006. :p

If you get one of these advanced cars, you will spend more time working on it than driving it.

But definately look at whatever your local store has parts for, and what everyone at the tracks are running; Whether their too advanced or costly or not, it will pay off. Break somehting, go right n the shop and replace it, get right back out racing. having other drivers with the same cars can also help you setup. Personal experience.

Funny, I'm thinking about getting a TC, too. I've narrowed it down to either a TC6 or a Mi4 LP. Good choice for a cheaper, not-necessarily-new car is a Hot Bodies Cyclone TC.

Most guys that I've talked to say that the T2'008 was the best T2 that was released.

Nope.. the 008 is the same car as the 009, and is still one of the best TCs you can buy.

You can't go wrong with an Associated TC3 either, same basic design as the TC4 but the TC4 has a few different things that were redesigned.

I'm running the TC3 in the VTA class and am still very competitive with the others who are running TA05, Xtray T2's and the like. There is going to be a lot of tuning to be done no matter what chassis you buy. I learned that a few weeks ago when I went to another track that I've never raced at. The setup that works at my home track does not work at another indoor carpet track. Plan on tinkering with camber link location, shock mount locations, springs, shock oil, wheel base, anti-squat, droop, ect..

Xray has a great setup book that you can download for free on their website for their T2 chassis but will be helpful to anyone with a touring car chassis. I even used some of the information in that booklet on my Associated SC10 :nod:

I agree that a TC3 and the vintage class is a good place to start. If you have some older stuff laying around than you can use up the brushed motors and whatnot. If not going brushless is a good idea just due to the fact that theres no maintenence.

TC3's can be had for cheap, they still make some hop up parts for them, and parts are cheap. The problem with X-ray is that there great cars but it costs 3 times as much to replace a broken part. One of the Biggest X-ray dealers in the US (nexus racing) is my local hobby shop and track and I still wont run an x-ray. I just couldn't afford to race because I couldnt afford to break.

Learn to tune the car in the vintage class, get used to the handleing differences in that and on-road and then swap the motor out from a 21.5 to a 17.5 or 13.5 (whatever they run in your area) and race the same car in the touring car class for a little while. Torque stear on the TC3 is Very bad with the lower turn motors so you'll find that your going to want a belt drive car just because it will help your driving a lot because the throttle isn't going to effect the direction of your car on the straight, but thats really the only place you feel it is hard on the throttle down the straight.