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Tamiya F104 Pro Vii

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Tamiya F104 Pro Vii

Old 06-23-2020, 12:50 PM
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Default Tamiya F104 Pro Vii

Has anyone tried to campaign this car in F1 class? I bought one thinking it would be a fun/inexpensive car to get into F1 but I have read that its a horrible racing platform. Say it ain't so! I ordered a bunch or hop-up parts around the same time as the car but they havent arrived yet. Am i wasting my time? I also have an opportunity to buy a fellow racers Associate RC10F6. I really would rather fun the F104 but i dont want to put in too much effort if there is no way to make it competitive.
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Old 06-23-2020, 12:56 PM
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The newer cars handle a lot better and are easier to drive. I wouldn't invest heavily in that car. The RC10F6 I would not bother. It is discontinued and parts will be an issue soon.
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Old 06-23-2020, 02:59 PM
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I have a F103, F104 and Xray X1. out of the 3 the X1 handles the best by far. its just more stable in corners and just feels all around more planted. I use the others more as display models now with highly detailed bodies. that being said you can race it especially since youve already got money in it. just dont expect too much from it. see how it does for you and if you cant make it work sell it to get something like an x1.
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Old 06-23-2020, 11:52 PM
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F104 ver.II PRO is still competitive, and is pretty much the predecessor to modern F1 designs. The F104 PRO II is not race ready and needs hopups (some discontinued) to be competitive. F104 ver.II PRO =/= F104 PRO II. One is a link suspension, and the latter is a t-bar. At our local track, the t-bar cars seem to drive a tad better on low traction surfaces
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Old 06-24-2020, 08:55 AM
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Which model Tamiya kit did you buy? The naming scheme is similar between the Tamiya F104 Pro II which is a T-plate car and the Tamiya F104 Version II Pro which is a trailing link car.

I race a Tamiya F104 Pro with CRC tires on black ozite against all of the more modern F1 chassis. In stock form the car was competitive enough to turn similar laps times as any other car. Without knowing exactly which car you purchased, I would make sure that your car at least has an aluminum motor mount and adjust rear ride height inserts. I'm in the process of upgrading my car into mostly a F104 X1 car, although I'm still using basically an F103 rear diff.

One weak area on both of these cars is the plastic front a-arms. I've bent/deformed several of my upper a-arms in collisions. I would make sure to keep a spare set of a-arms handy on race day. If possible you can upgrade both of these cars to use Exotek upper A-arms, but these aftermarket parts can be hard to find.

Here are several forums on RC Tech that you might find useful.
Tamiya F104 Version 2

1/10 R/C F1's...Pics, Discussions, Whatever...

The Tamiya cars can be fun and competitive to race. There should be enough info in the above forums to help you setup your car.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:59 AM
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thanks for the answers. yeah, I have a F104 Pro II. I have the exotek front upper arms, aluminum motor plates, carbon fiber top deck, and aluminum pivot post on its way. Hoping those upgrades will be enough for now. What do you all think of the Exotek IFS for the F104? is it worth it?
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Old 06-25-2020, 12:52 PM
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Most of the newer F1 cars have removed the friction disc on a center post and gone to a trailing link suspension. This can allow the rear of the pod to pivot more as the center post can limit the pod. On my Regular F104 kit, I've upgraded my upper deck to use the short X1 deck with side damper that will work on all F104 chassis. Here is a link to that part which is Tamiya 54331...
https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/optio...ll-damper-set/

I also need to replace the short deck that comes with that upgrade and install the longer deck for the X1 upgrade which is Tamiya 54333...
https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/optio...ng-upper-deck/

I replace the damper tube with an oil filled shock which is an option as well. Making these changes allows me to have more tuning on on the pod. I still get the advantage of running a T-plate car which works pretty well on the bumpy parts of the carpet track I race on. They recently put in a sub floor, so I will see how it works on that.

I was able to buy these parts on Amazon for a better price than they list on Tamiya USA's website.
----------

The way that I got my car was basically all the left over parts from another racer who upgraded an F104 to an Exotek front end and chassis. All the people I've raced with that have used the Exotech upgrades on their F104 were happy with them such as the IFS upgrade. Just make sure if you decide to buy that upgrade that it requires a different servo mount than what comes with the car. Make sure to check out the requirements on Exotek's website...
F1 IFS SET v2 , for TRF103 F1R3 F104 - Exotek Racing

----------

I like running my Tamiya F104 mainly because it is different and luckily I got gift cards as presents which I used for most of my upgrades. Because of my location and other F1 racers, if I had to do it from scratch I would probably go with a CRC F1 car. The big thing that helped me is that I have lots of experience racing pan cars on oval, so I understand how to adjust for tweak on these types of chassis as well as setup a direct drive ball diff. A big key on the F104 is that you want the car to be balanced so that you can drive it hard into the corners and/or break hard when needed. If the car isn't very well balance left to right, it can cause the rear end to step out unexpectedly.

Once I got the car setup well and installed a good 25.5 motor in it, I was just as competitive as any other F1 at my track. I'm even using a cheap 4000mah "round" case vs cars using much better batteries The best part is watching other racers surprise when you beat/out qualify them with an older design
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Old 06-29-2020, 11:27 AM
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So, with converting to side dampener set, don't you need more more parts than just the ones listed above? wouldn't you also need the F104V2 CHASSIS SET and RC RM-01 CARBON REIN L PARTS - LINK 2PCS, and other hardware or am i missing something?


Originally Posted by IndyRC_Racer
Most of the newer F1 cars have removed the friction disc on a center post and gone to a trailing link suspension. This can allow the rear of the pod to pivot more as the center post can limit the pod. On my Regular F104 kit, I've upgraded my upper deck to use the short X1 deck with side damper that will work on all F104 chassis. Here is a link to that part which is Tamiya 54331...


I also need to replace the short deck that comes with that upgrade and install the longer deck for the X1 upgrade which is Tamiya 54333...


I replace the damper tube with an oil filled shock which is an option as well. Making these changes allows me to have more tuning on on the pod. I still get the advantage of running a T-plate car which works pretty well on the bumpy parts of the carpet track I race on. They recently put in a sub floor, so I will see how it works on that.

I was able to buy these parts on Amazon for a better price than they list on Tamiya USA's website.
----------

The way that I got my car was basically all the left over parts from another racer who upgraded an F104 to an Exotek front end and chassis. All the people I've raced with that have used the Exotech upgrades on their F104 were happy with them such as the IFS upgrade. Just make sure if you decide to buy that upgrade that it requires a different servo mount than what comes with the car. Make sure to check out the requirements on Exotek's website...


----------

I like running my Tamiya F104 mainly because it is different and luckily I got gift cards as presents which I used for most of my upgrades. Because of my location and other F1 racers, if I had to do it from scratch I would probably go with a CRC F1 car. The big thing that helped me is that I have lots of experience racing pan cars on oval, so I understand how to adjust for tweak on these types of chassis as well as setup a direct drive ball diff. A big key on the F104 is that you want the car to be balanced so that you can drive it hard into the corners and/or break hard when needed. If the car isn't very well balance left to right, it can cause the rear end to step out unexpectedly.

Once I got the car setup well and installed a good 25.5 motor in it, I was just as competitive as any other F1 at my track. I'm even using a cheap 4000mah "round" case vs cars using much better batteries The best part is watching other racers surprise when you beat/out qualify them with an older design
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Old 06-30-2020, 08:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Mantoya
thanks for the answers. yeah, I have a F104 Pro II. I have the exotek front upper arms, aluminum motor plates, carbon fiber top deck, and aluminum pivot post on its way. Hoping those upgrades will be enough for now. What do you all think of the Exotek IFS for the F104? is it worth it?
You pretty much have what you need. Ifs is not really necessary.
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Old 06-05-2022, 01:27 PM
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Default Replacement T-Bar

Does anyone know of a source for after market T-bars? If not how about a reputable online company that can fab t-bars from cad drawings?

I'm still racing my F104 Pro II, and once setup it is a blast to drive. I also have a TRF103 sitting on a shelf, waiting its turn...lol.

Here is the science behind t-bars

Here's my last race (green F104), I was a bit too aggressive. No one else showed up in my class so I was put in with the GT-2's. Still managed 2nd, and with my transponder acting up and not recognizing a lap. Traction was crazy, I was mostly on two wheels around that long sweeper.


Here I am against one our faster drivers who is driving a TRF103 (red/blue car in pole position) with his timing turned up...


And finally, up against a TRF102 (yellow), and two TRF103's.






Last edited by Silverexpress; 06-05-2022 at 03:04 PM.
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