300LikesTeam Associated TC4
10-05-2015, 05:52 PM
From what I can see, the TC4 is no longer being supported by those who used to make aftermarket upgrades. I have a passion for what I do and I get a kick out of improving what most have ignored. I'm certainly not doing this for the money...
I find it both sad and inspirational that most aftermarket companies choose not to provide much support for AE on-road kits. It gives those of us who care a chance to show our ingenuity. Although I don't have the resources of these other companies, I also don't have the overhead nor the obligation to make parts that sell for the sake of following a high volume trend. When I figure something out for myself, I feel obligated to share what works with my fellow racers. This is why I have no problem showing what I am working on as it develops.
If you feel you have hit upon something that improves the experience of your fellow racers, ie lap times, by all means, share what you have done and show your results.
Here is an older video of the first prototype. My driving sucks but the car was awesome! https://youtu.be/pHPdz-It2A8
I find it both sad and inspirational that most aftermarket companies choose not to provide much support for AE on-road kits. It gives those of us who care a chance to show our ingenuity. Although I don't have the resources of these other companies, I also don't have the overhead nor the obligation to make parts that sell for the sake of following a high volume trend. When I figure something out for myself, I feel obligated to share what works with my fellow racers. This is why I have no problem showing what I am working on as it develops.If you feel you have hit upon something that improves the experience of your fellow racers, ie lap times, by all means, share what you have done and show your results.
Here is an older video of the first prototype. My driving sucks but the car was awesome! https://youtu.be/pHPdz-It2A8
10-05-2015, 06:26 PM
I must say the chassis performance was very good from the video... I would try a little less steering speed and less EXPO on the radio for more smoothness... After that, practice......
From what I can see, the TC4 is no longer being supported by those who used to make aftermarket upgrades. I have a passion for what I do and I get a kick out of improving what most have ignored. I'm certainly not doing this for the money... I find it both sad and inspirational that most aftermarket companies choose not to provide much support for AE on-road kits. It gives those of us who care a chance to show our ingenuity. Although I don't have the resources of these other companies, I also don't have the overhead nor the obligation to make parts that sell for the sake of following a high volume trend. When I figure something out for myself, I feel obligated to share what works with my fellow racers. This is why I have no problem showing what I am working on as it develops.
If you feel you have hit upon something that improves the experience of your fellow racers, ie lap times, by all means, share what you have done and show your results.
Here is an older video of the first prototype. My driving sucks but the car was awesome! https://youtu.be/pHPdz-It2A8
I find it both sad and inspirational that most aftermarket companies choose not to provide much support for AE on-road kits. It gives those of us who care a chance to show our ingenuity. Although I don't have the resources of these other companies, I also don't have the overhead nor the obligation to make parts that sell for the sake of following a high volume trend. When I figure something out for myself, I feel obligated to share what works with my fellow racers. This is why I have no problem showing what I am working on as it develops.If you feel you have hit upon something that improves the experience of your fellow racers, ie lap times, by all means, share what you have done and show your results.
Here is an older video of the first prototype. My driving sucks but the car was awesome! https://youtu.be/pHPdz-It2A8
10-06-2015, 09:26 AM
just to clarify.....Team Associated does NOT make a TC4.2 or TC4.3.....
please keep that "name" to yourself.....kit conversions are fine....but if you on on this thread every time a comment is made, please quit using the Team Associated TC4 and calling it a 4.2.....my email and pm box is full cause of it....
also if you are going to pom pom the TC4, please have some results and FACTS to support it. You cause major confusion among people trying to learn the chassis as it is sold by AE.
Thanks Myron "BATTMAN" Kinnard
please keep that "name" to yourself.....kit conversions are fine....but if you on on this thread every time a comment is made, please quit using the Team Associated TC4 and calling it a 4.2.....my email and pm box is full cause of it....
also if you are going to pom pom the TC4, please have some results and FACTS to support it. You cause major confusion among people trying to learn the chassis as it is sold by AE.
Thanks Myron "BATTMAN" Kinnard
10-06-2015, 09:35 AM
10-06-2015, 09:36 AM
I am terribly slow at carpet tracks as I probably only run about 200 laps a year on the rug. I can be pretty quick but it takes me awhile to get my s*%t together.
10-06-2015, 09:39 AM
10-06-2015, 02:48 PM
200 laps a year is twice as much as I get... I hope the new chassis gets up there too.. Good luck... Let's both hope to get more laps in the future, and don't mind the negativity thrown at my version of the tc4..... I get that all the time...lol....
10-06-2015, 04:22 PM
Correction
I had the chance to weigh my car on a reliable scale today and it came in at 1415 grams race ready with a heavy 7500mah battery (316g) and all the stock steel components installed so my claim of 1450g was incorrect. With the change of some heavy components and screws, I can easily get below the 1480 ROAR minimum... I think. 
10-06-2015, 04:58 PM
In the United States, the easiest place to find a well calibrated scale is at your local post office. I'm not sure if it will only display the weight in pounds/ounces or if grams are even an option.
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Thankfully I just run USVTA rules, so even a tub chassis TC4 can easily come in at or below 1550 grams.
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Thankfully I just run USVTA rules, so even a tub chassis TC4 can easily come in at or below 1550 grams.
10-06-2015, 06:01 PM
In the United States, the easiest place to find a well calibrated scale is at your local post office. I'm not sure if it will only display the weight in pounds/ounces or if grams are even an option.
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Thankfully I just run USVTA rules, so even a tub chassis TC4 can easily come in at or below 1550 grams.
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Thankfully I just run USVTA rules, so even a tub chassis TC4 can easily come in at or below 1550 grams.
We have a very nice postal scale here at work which I can rely on. I had my doubts as my TC6.2 has always been on the edge of legal weight and it was showing about 30g more than usual on that scale too. I brought the car to work and there ya go!
10-06-2015, 08:46 PM
I've never been upset with a scale being off at the track as long as the scale is available for everyone to use well before racing starts. The only thing I would ask is if the race director would remind people that they are running strict tech and to check their cars.
I always chuckle when the guy who spends most of their race day fine tuning their car on their setup board who then wants to argue with the race director that the track scale/ride height gauge/volt meter/etc isn't accurate.
I always chuckle when the guy who spends most of their race day fine tuning their car on their setup board who then wants to argue with the race director that the track scale/ride height gauge/volt meter/etc isn't accurate.
10-06-2015, 09:40 PM
That is very light with all the steel components, and 30grams more on the body... My suggestion of aluminum/titanium screws/turbuckles/ballstuds , and superlight body/battery was to try to lower the CG as much as possible, and boost performance... My car without a battery weighs about 1176grams, and your car is about 1099grams with all the steel stuff... That's very good... I imagine your chassis to be at least 80+grams lighter than the tub chassis.... I am always looking for the lightest tc4 stuff out there...lol.... My 201gram battery makes it hard to balance my car side to side, but it's the only way I can get below the 1380gram minimum... With your Yodog chassis, I could probably use my TP5300mah (309gram) pack and make weight while being balanced side to side... Great work....Cheers...
I had the chance to weigh my car on a reliable scale today and it came in at 1415 grams race ready with a heavy 7500mah battery (316g) and all the stock steel components installed so my claim of 1450g was incorrect. With the change of some heavy components and screws, I can easily get below the 1480 ROAR minimum... I think.
Last edited by bertrandsv87; 10-06-2015 at 09:51 PM.
10-08-2015, 10:55 PM
Tech Apprentice
iTrader: (2)
This is a very informative thread (although also very long)
Ok heres what I got so far: Associated TC4 club racer, Novak ballistic boss VTA edition, Hobbywing Justock, 40C 5000mAh 2s, hs5645mg on steering, threaded shock upgrade w/40wt green springs rear blue front
Need some advice on what parts to order (what breaks most often?) so when racing comes I have a stash.
Should I worry about a faster steering servo? (had plenty hs5645mg's laying around)
Are anti-roll bars necessary (front, rear, or both)?
Should I run my nib HPI tires on asphalt to scuff them some?
Ok heres what I got so far: Associated TC4 club racer, Novak ballistic boss VTA edition, Hobbywing Justock, 40C 5000mAh 2s, hs5645mg on steering, threaded shock upgrade w/40wt green springs rear blue front
Need some advice on what parts to order (what breaks most often?) so when racing comes I have a stash.
Should I worry about a faster steering servo? (had plenty hs5645mg's laying around)
Are anti-roll bars necessary (front, rear, or both)?
Should I run my nib HPI tires on asphalt to scuff them some?
Anyone have any insight?
10-09-2015, 06:48 AM
Originally Posted by NEOStrech View Post
This is a very informative thread (although also very long)
Ok heres what I got so far: Associated TC4 club racer, Novak ballistic boss VTA edition, Hobbywing Justock, 40C 5000mAh 2s, hs5645mg on steering, threaded shock upgrade w/40wt green springs rear blue front
Need some advice on what parts to order (what breaks most often?) so when racing comes I have a stash.
Should I worry about a faster steering servo? (had plenty hs5645mg's laying around)
Are anti-roll bars necessary (front, rear, or both)?
Should I run my nib HPI tires on asphalt to scuff them some?
This is a very informative thread (although also very long)
Ok heres what I got so far: Associated TC4 club racer, Novak ballistic boss VTA edition, Hobbywing Justock, 40C 5000mAh 2s, hs5645mg on steering, threaded shock upgrade w/40wt green springs rear blue front
Need some advice on what parts to order (what breaks most often?) so when racing comes I have a stash.
Should I worry about a faster steering servo? (had plenty hs5645mg's laying around)
Are anti-roll bars necessary (front, rear, or both)?
Should I run my nib HPI tires on asphalt to scuff them some?
You should pick up a set of roll bars. If you are running VTA with green springs in the rear, I would at least run a rear sway bar. This will help keep the rear end from generating too much grip and chassis roll, which can be an issue when the tires are fully broken in.
There are several ways to scuff new VTA tires. If you look at a new set of tires, the top layer of the tire will look shiny. I will take some rough sand paper and use it to take the shine off. The goal is just to dull the tires and to not really remove any tread. Some people will mount a tire to a drill or rotating tool and then scuff the tires as well. You can also run them on a rough concrete surface or just hold the car slightly off the ground so that the wheels are being scuffed up.
After I scuff the tires, I will liberally apply traction compound and then place them in a sealed container to help the traction compound soak in. I will repeat the soaking process several times before I run the tires for the first time. Even though I run on a carpet track that tends to start out as low bite in practice, tires prepped this way will be good enough to be competitive their first night out. After a full day of racing (2 heats/main + some practice), the tires will be fully broken in and will have decent side & forward bite. The key difference with "sticker" VTA tires and scuffed VTA tires is forward bite.
One more thing about VTA tires when new is to run a bit less negative camber. When I glue up my VTA tires, I end up with a tire that has built in negative camber. To compensate, I will mount my new tires on the car and compress the suspension on the car like it is in a turn to check the contact patch of the tire. I will adjust until the camber until I have good contact patch across the whole tire, which usually ends up being less than -1 camber when measured by a gauge.
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As far as spare parts...
- I would highly recommend having at least 1 spare plastic steering rack
- If you are running the front spool (standard on the TC4 Club), then you should buy a spare set of composite bones or upgrade to aluminum. The spool can be hard on the composite bones during collisions.
The rest of this list is good to have but not parts that routinely break (unless you are new driver learning how to race)
- It is good to have at least one spare of the plastic suspension pieces (a-arms, caster blocks, steering knuckles, rear uprights), but I don't really break suspension pieces very much running VTA
- I would recommend getting some inner a-arm hinge pins. If you hit something hard enough to break an a-arm, chances are you bend the hinge pin.
- I would also recommend getting AE# 31010, which is the a-arm mount shims/balls/wheelbase shims. Nice to have spares in case you loose one of these small parts during an accident or while making adjustments on the car.
10-09-2015, 01:21 PM
Any low profile servo with 0.10sec speed or faster is good, but the most important thing with the tc4 is that the total weight of all the stuff on the motor side should be less than 300grams in order not to upset the side to side balance too much, while making the 1380gram limit... Motor(170grams)/servo(45grams)/esc+wires(50grams/receiver+ glitch buster(25grams)... If your car leans towards the battery side on the balance pins, then you're golden... It's very hard to do if you already bought heavy electronics...Cheers....
Last edited by bertrandsv87; 10-09-2015 at 02:06 PM.