AreCee

iTrader: (1)

I've seen more Exotek front ends breaking than either Tamiya or SP. It's usually the ball cups they use that seem to break often.

My Tamiya F104 V2 has seen many wall hits and pipe kisses and I only replace one set of $6.00 front upper arms in over two years. I guess it's durable.

Like I said, if you plan to race in TCS (Tamiya Championship Series) then Tamiya and only Tamiya parts are allowed. If you only plan to race locally or UF1 then the Speed Passion is the best deal out of the box.

liljohn1064

iTrader: (17)

I run the Tamiya front end on my F1Rs. I haven't tried the front arm set. I agree with the parts price and can't justify the Exotek arms. A used F104 V2 can be had pretty easily and like you said a great choice if you're going TCS racing.

Tracy B

iTrader: (3)

The nice thing about the Tamiya cars is that the front ends are easily interchangeable. I have an F104 standard chassis that I converted to an X1, by adding the X1 top deck and roll damper. I am currently running it as the F104W/GP, the cross between a F104 and F103. I'm using F104 "B" compound tires up front and F103 rears. Currently I am in 2nd place in points with 4 races to go.
If you plan on running the car on an oval carpet track, then any of the Tamiya cars, fitted with the wide (F103) front end will work great. Ebay and the for sale section here are great places to look for used, good condition chassis.

sashimi999

iTrader: (8)

the VBC Flash04 could be in your option list as well.
Keep hearing good praise on it. No doubt it is one of the F1 kits in top of the line.

blackshark3

VBC have a prototype at TITC, so don't get the Flash 04 yet...I have a SP1, and I regret my purchase as I reached the first step of assembly...If I am to choose again, I would go for Tamiya F104 Pro II or the Yokomo YRF001

kdempsey

iTrader: (3)

Yokomo!!!

Pipe Killer

iTrader: (6)

Get whatever the fast guys at your club have. If they're anything like the guys I race with, they'll totally help you out with setup. I've even had guys suggest changes and then give me the parts! (And then insist on not taking the money for them.) That knowledge is worth a lot in my book unless you're pretty good at setting up a car from scratch. It's also a strange beast, the F1, unless you're familiar with a pan car on rubber tires.

Also, it's tough to beat the F104 variants since you can race TCS and there is the most knowledge online and usually trackside.

It's just that for me, despite these advantages, no one could help me around the push I had and I knew other fast guys that suffered the same fate. It went away (along with an extra second or more) after I moved to the F1R2. But you might not want to be as fiscally irresponsible as I was.

liljohn1064

iTrader: (17)

Out of interest, what went wrong with the assembly of the SP-1 or is it you feel you didn't wait long enough for your purchase to get the car you wanted?

IMHO, finish the SP-1 and give an honest evaluation. It is one of the better kits out there. I've set aside my F1R for the moment as the SpeedPassion front end has better steering (for me anyway) and is easier to adjust camber and spring preload on the fly.

roger999

iTrader: (13)

Thanks guys again for all input in my searching. At the moment in our club doesnt exist formula1 class. Cant follow different drivers than.. I wont be probably racing outside club (maybe ETS on some stage). I know there should be 190mm wide with tires, so here is next question, are all the cars 190mm wide or do i need to use some upgrades? Ive seen somewhere that SP1 needs to be changed to be able to run RIDE tires in 190mm class.. Is that correct? What about with Tamiya than? Are all rubber tires same in size?

Norman2

Hi, Most all of the F1 cars are 180mm wide except for the F104WGP which is
200mm. I would stick with 180mm as they are more scale looking. Or you can get an Rsector 190-200mm kit if you can find one. Try TQ Racing. Regards
Norman
PS; The f103 is 200mm with the original foam tires. Attached photo of conversion kit at TQ Racing

liljohn1064

iTrader: (17)

Get the aluminum caster plate, set the car up for 185 mm and shave the hump off the pivot ball mounting hole on the upper arm. It works well.

JLock

iTrader: (4)

Another car to consider is the Kyosho Plazma F1. Got one when Kyosho brought it to the states. Very good car that is very competitive right out the box. It has a 200mm trac width (my local track allows up to 205mm cars to run). I have to Tamiya cars as well (F103 & F104). They are all good cars and it is just a matter of picking the one that suits your needs the best.

Tracy B

iTrader: (3)

I speak from experience, the Tamiya front suspension is pretty stout. I have been running the same f103 front end on my f104w/gp since the start of our indoor season last fall with no problems. I've taken some hard hits and even hit the pipes hard too.

Of course that being said, the suspension arms are plastic and can break, no matter who the manufacturer is, so always have a spare set in your tool box as a just in case.

F1Racing@SMA

I agree the Tamiya front end is great. Been running my F104 for three years and have not broken it once. The suspension arms have bent in big crashes but nothing that could not be fixed after the race.

Pipe Killer

iTrader: (6)

One other trick is to run the Exotek wheels: they have a +3 offset so you'll get the 180 cars to 186. It makes a huge difference in how the car feels.

Tires are also super critical and expensive. I haven't seen many people run the Ride tires successfully: I have tried many different combos and I'd stick with Pit Shimizu's. The combo most use is the 571/572, but I've tried the 574/572 combo in an attempt to get more steering. At my track, I didn't feel much of a difference and no longer need the additional front steering anyway, but pay close attention to the tires. I've also been stomped on by guys with Sweeps but they were just fast anyway.