OSherman

iTrader: (3)

Lower arms look unique to this kit but still TC-01 like.. As the upper arms are similar but different..

But now I wonder if they are interchangeable between the kit.. These would look and hopefully work well on the TC-01

kentech

iTrader: (6)

Here you see a bit more of the suspension...

Dan

iTrader: (75)

Looks like the lower front arm has a bit more to the design than the rear lower arm. Nice to see integrated bearing swaybar mounts with the gearbox. Normal style suspension mounts (thank goodness it wasn't TC-01 style).

kentech

iTrader: (6)

More detailed product information on the TA08 parts:

https://kentech.wordpress.com/2021/0...st-ta08-parts/

Raman

iTrader: (94)

Dan, Good eye on sway bar mounts. Was wondering if they would be with integrated bearing

DavidNERODease

New spur gear for center ball diff?

Dan

iTrader: (75)

kentech

iTrader: (6)

Captured some images if you don't want to watch the whole video

A lot more of them here; https://kentech.wordpress.com/2021/0...tation-images/

sosidge

Thanks for the screengrabs kentech.

I'm less excited by this with every extra reveal... basically a conventional layout with a number of engineered-in compromises in the interests of being "Tamiya":

• Inclined battery which is a complete gimmick and only raises the CG (not only is the motor horizontal, but there are skirts along the lower edge of the chassis)
• Motor pushed out further than it needs to be due to placing it outside the belt on the same side (normal position is to sit the motor alongside the belt on the opposite side)
• Integrated bulkheads which means that a flat chassis conversion is almost impossible
• Playing safe with the pivot ball suspension which is using the same distance between inner pins as the existing Tamiya cars.

The pivot ball suspension is slightly interesting but will be more interesting when there is a kit available to fit it to, say, a TRF420 so you can do a true back to back.

You wouldn't expect a TA-series car to be competitive, but I can tell that this one won't be competitive. And I question whether it has any inherent advantages over a TA07. That's one for the Tamiya racers to answer

Lovely bit of injection moulding though...

zxcvb1t

I agree, with each reveal, i find this chassis become less appealing to me. The biggest problem though, remains the integrated lower bulkhead. Is there a reason to mold the bulkhead into the chassis? Better alignment, rigidty or anything i can't think of?

Other part of this chassis is more or less expected. Not spectacular but fall inline with Tamiya design. I guess only time and track feedback will tell us how this chassis will perform.

sosidge

There's never been an advantage to the moulded bulkheads for racing. Even the highest precision mouldings at that scale are less precise than the conventional flat plate and aluminium bulkheads.

Yes, there is a reduction in parts count and with it a slightly reduced chance of assembly errors, but really these monster mouldings are there because Tamiya can make them and because Tamiya do make them.

gigaplex

iTrader: (2)

This doesn't look like it sticks out any further than the Xray T4 mid mount cars. The belt is on the same side as the motor.

kentech

iTrader: (6)

When looking at any TA-series car we always need to remember that these are not all-out racing cars, with the main target as far as racing is concerned being their own Tamiya series races. All TA-seies cars have had their own 'unique' ideas.

The drivetrain/battery/electrics layout is the same as for example the Infinity IF14-II. Check belt lengths etc. and they are fairly identical when you factor in pulley sizes. Not a bad layout I would say. Of course if this was a TRF chassis the motor would be closer to the rear belt etc.

The V-shape chassis is obviously to get the required rigidity without the need of an upper deck, and without making a moulded chassis that is very wide. If I understood what Kono (the designer) said on the video correctly, the angle will be a bit lower on the production-run cars.

Overall I see some nice ideas, and some stuff I don't like. Exactly what I would expect from a TA-series chassis

herrokero

I agree, too many people look at them from the perspective of high-end competitive touring cars where everything has to be super optimized. Obviously, that doesn't excuse bad design, but I don't think a single TA car has ever been outright bad. Tamiya could keep selling the Ta05, but they are clearly putting the effort into innovating. Especially when no other manufacturer bothers innovating for high-quality plastic cars anymore.

Woulvesbaine

iTrader: (12)

I liked the 04. Taking a guess, but it looks like the 05 may have been the best seller among the series. I'm wondering whether this would actually perform much better. The 05 has a simple layout with the motor close to the middle similar to even new mid motor cars coming out today from other manufacturers. Was the 05 the best?