3LikesTRF101
06-30-2013, 01:01 PM
#347
The car was good yesterday, made for a fun first drive.
There was 4 101's on the track making their debut and all seemed to have a decent starting point. I never saw Ed's setup but Jeff, Troy and I were all on differing setups. That said the car seemed to handle them all well.
Mine was good across the board for off power, midturn and exit feel. I seemed to be able accelerate off the turn better than most and carry that speed into the turn very well.
Track prep was Nationals class, if anyone has doubts read any review about Timezone Raceway. First class facility with close racing all day long.
There was 4 101's on the track making their debut and all seemed to have a decent starting point. I never saw Ed's setup but Jeff, Troy and I were all on differing setups. That said the car seemed to handle them all well.
Mine was good across the board for off power, midturn and exit feel. I seemed to be able accelerate off the turn better than most and carry that speed into the turn very well.
Track prep was Nationals class, if anyone has doubts read any review about Timezone Raceway. First class facility with close racing all day long.
06-30-2013, 01:07 PM
#348
That's reassuring to know that you are running it on asphalt. I was worried that the TRF101 was designed specifically for carpet.
Could you share some pictures and details of your set up? I would like to know if you are using a full length battery or shorty. And where you placed your electronics to balance the weight.
I start my build tomorrow.
Could you share some pictures and details of your set up? I would like to know if you are using a full length battery or shorty. And where you placed your electronics to balance the weight.
I start my build tomorrow.
Two o rings inside piston. Stiffer of the two black springs that came in the kit.
Side links were on the inner most position. I used silver springs from the f104v2 for sides in the outer most position. It made the car little less responsive to steering and I will try something stiffer next time.
06-30-2013, 08:57 PM
#349
Raced my TRF101 today and I liked it a lot.
I made many bad moves but that was because the car's speed and handling gave me too much confidence. My f104v2 might not get any more run time.
I am driving the yellow car. (There were at least 3 other TRF's at the race today including Difuser's which TQ'd.)
I made many bad moves but that was because the car's speed and handling gave me too much confidence. My f104v2 might not get any more run time.
I am driving the yellow car. (There were at least 3 other TRF's at the race today including Difuser's which TQ'd.)
The long track looks fantastic with th F1's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
07-01-2013, 07:35 AM
#350
This weekend I got my TRF101 out on the track for the golden state race and of course this was the first time out on the track with the car. Starting out during qualifying the car was not very good at all and super difficult to drive. After some tuning and stiffening up the rear substantially I was able to put down a pretty good third qualifier so I got in on the triple As qualifying 5th. In the first A main I won, but the next two were more difficult due to being taken out a few times. Overall I finished 3rd. Not too bad for the first outing. I however did have the fastest lap times by a few tenths.
Comparatively to the 104V2 I can definitely tell this car likes to carry corner speed. I can't wait to run this during the UF1 series again. The car also definitely draws a ton of attention as well since I was the only one there with this kit.
Comparatively to the 104V2 I can definitely tell this car likes to carry corner speed. I can't wait to run this during the UF1 series again. The car also definitely draws a ton of attention as well since I was the only one there with this kit.
07-01-2013, 12:02 PM
#351
Hello All,
I decided to take the TRF101 for a spin. I built one off the shelf to see how I can best share the differences between both platforms.
As most of you may know I have A LOT of time on the V2. About 6 weeks ago I was in Japan talking to the designer of the car. In case anyone wondered it's Kiyo Suzuki. He's the same fellow that travels the world with Marc Rheinard developing the TRF touring cars. The man knows his stuff when designing cars in case you wondered.
In short Kiyo and Satoshi Maezumi told me the new front end changes the way the front end responds to your steering input. Basically, you'll notice it feels more neutral compared to the standard front end. Having driven a million laps with my V2 around the Tamiya track I can confirm that is indeed the case. The V2 is a stable car. However, the 180 hairpin turn after the sweeper has always frustrated me as the V2 wants to continue to turn. You have to be careful after the 180 to keep the car straight to make the inner sweeper. In the past I've tried to fix this with dual rate on the radio and with tire choice and sauce application tricks. With the TRF101 the car enters the turn with immense stability and there is no sign of the car wanting to continue to turn after applying throttle after the 180. It's just that stable. I believe this is the case because you now have a solid front end like the F103 on top of having the side links further apart. With the F104 link front end you have more movement going on with the front end, which makes for some unwanted movement. I didn't think this was an issue before, but it seems like the solid front end cures sensitivity and over-steering. Also, loosening the front screws on the carbon mellows the car out even more. If you think the front carbon piece doesn't move if you loosen it think again. There's a ton of movement. It's a great tuning option. I would suggest making sure the whole is big enough so the screw moves freely with the carbon top piece. Also, Kiyo informed me that I should experiment with using O-rings instead of the steel washers in the middle of the front end. This will make for a softer and dampened front end.
In short...I put two packs throw the car with my V2 starting point set up. It can only get better once I begin to play with more things. For one, the stock instructions have the TRF shock built with too much droop. Surprisingly, the car remained stable at the Tamiya "Kink" even with that much pod droop. Typically, you have to set the V2 with little pod droop to keep the car stable though the kink. Not so with the 101 so it seems, but more testing is needed.
Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying their new toy. I am. I'll post some pics soon to show how easy it was to get to 4.2mm ride height on the front without having to use shims on the upper arm. At the Tamiya Track lowering the car below 4.2 is not recommended.
Stay tuned...
I decided to take the TRF101 for a spin. I built one off the shelf to see how I can best share the differences between both platforms.
As most of you may know I have A LOT of time on the V2. About 6 weeks ago I was in Japan talking to the designer of the car. In case anyone wondered it's Kiyo Suzuki. He's the same fellow that travels the world with Marc Rheinard developing the TRF touring cars. The man knows his stuff when designing cars in case you wondered.
In short Kiyo and Satoshi Maezumi told me the new front end changes the way the front end responds to your steering input. Basically, you'll notice it feels more neutral compared to the standard front end. Having driven a million laps with my V2 around the Tamiya track I can confirm that is indeed the case. The V2 is a stable car. However, the 180 hairpin turn after the sweeper has always frustrated me as the V2 wants to continue to turn. You have to be careful after the 180 to keep the car straight to make the inner sweeper. In the past I've tried to fix this with dual rate on the radio and with tire choice and sauce application tricks. With the TRF101 the car enters the turn with immense stability and there is no sign of the car wanting to continue to turn after applying throttle after the 180. It's just that stable. I believe this is the case because you now have a solid front end like the F103 on top of having the side links further apart. With the F104 link front end you have more movement going on with the front end, which makes for some unwanted movement. I didn't think this was an issue before, but it seems like the solid front end cures sensitivity and over-steering. Also, loosening the front screws on the carbon mellows the car out even more. If you think the front carbon piece doesn't move if you loosen it think again. There's a ton of movement. It's a great tuning option. I would suggest making sure the whole is big enough so the screw moves freely with the carbon top piece. Also, Kiyo informed me that I should experiment with using O-rings instead of the steel washers in the middle of the front end. This will make for a softer and dampened front end.
In short...I put two packs throw the car with my V2 starting point set up. It can only get better once I begin to play with more things. For one, the stock instructions have the TRF shock built with too much droop. Surprisingly, the car remained stable at the Tamiya "Kink" even with that much pod droop. Typically, you have to set the V2 with little pod droop to keep the car stable though the kink. Not so with the 101 so it seems, but more testing is needed.
Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying their new toy. I am. I'll post some pics soon to show how easy it was to get to 4.2mm ride height on the front without having to use shims on the upper arm. At the Tamiya Track lowering the car below 4.2 is not recommended.
Stay tuned...
07-01-2013, 02:33 PM
#352
That explains it. I didn't even have one spin out on Saturday. The rear end was planted while it had good steering. The track was prepped well and 572's worked great with 573's.
I would throw the car into a turn and the car would go almost sideways then like a badminton shuttlecock the car straightened right out.
Hmm. All these posts will make the used market for f104v2 really soft.
I would throw the car into a turn and the car would go almost sideways then like a badminton shuttlecock the car straightened right out.
Hmm. All these posts will make the used market for f104v2 really soft.
07-01-2013, 04:14 PM
#353
Hope this helps.
07-01-2013, 10:48 PM
#354
I'm sorry to hear about your camber plate screw not threading all the way through. Tamiya America's customer service department is more than happy to fix or replace the part at no charge. Simply call the 1-800 number or contact them via email with the image you've shown here. All we need is the the place of purchase and the receipt to cover any US warranty claim. Provided the TRF101 was purchased in the USA through a brick and mortar hobby shop or U.S. based online retailer we'll take care of it ASAP.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
07-02-2013, 02:14 AM
#355
Tech Apprentice
Anyone able to compare the performance of the 101 with VBC Flash ?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
07-02-2013, 03:25 AM
#356
07-02-2013, 06:33 AM
#357
Tech Apprentice
why not just get a tap and finish tapping the hole? taps are like $5-10 and then you don't have all that down time waiting on parts. Just a suggestion
07-02-2013, 06:50 AM
#358
Tech Apprentice
