We have not posted before this because there is so much negativity from "experts" in the industry that have to share their opinions to stir things up. We are not here for them. We are here to support the actual users of Team Magic products and will respond to their needs and questions. In the mean time the list of Team Magic dealers across the US and now Canada is growing rapidly.

The E4FS and E4RS are designed to be LiPo friendly. Unfortunately there is no form factor standard for lipos to follow so it is not possible to predict which batteries will fit. The latest versions of the E4 have an open design that allows the battery containment area to be raised for thicker batteries by placing spacers between the chassis and battery brackets. This might compromise the stiffness and handling capabilities a bit but if you are stuffing a huge pack in the car that is probably not your biggest concern. If you are using a racing pack this does not apply.

thanks
I'm happy that there is someone in the U.S. that supports the car :)

I'm not trying to bash but that's gotta be a joke. I've seen E4s and I've seen broken E4s on hits that any other car would have sustained without even any tweak, mine did at least. To me the E4 is a fragile car and that's it.

As a recent convert to the E4 from Tamiya I can just say that this car is soo fast, well mannered easy to drive and very easy to setup.

After running Tamiya's for years and we all know that they are built like tanks and can shrug off some horrendous accidents, I do find that the E4 is a little fragile, however I don't mind this as I ran Schumacher's before and almost needed a permanent feed of wishbones to keep the car running. And the shunts that I have had with the E4 have been pretty major.

Wolf has helped me with sourcing parts and a car and is very easy to talk to and get advice from.

I would recommend his approach however unconventional this is in todays market place and we in the UK wish him all the luck with Team Magic, cause the UK distributor won't import the electric TM cars.

e4
 

Good luck with the car. When it becomes much more widely used, I'll consider it.

Same here, even if its just 1 or 2 others at my track using it. I love the design of it.

EDIT: oooh TM are going to release a budget E4 labeled the E4JS. It still looks sweet!

My E4FS is a tank compared to my Type R and BMI Cyclone. The CVDs and arms have been beefed up from the original version. The only thing that doesn't make sense is that the FS comes with the same soft springs as the RS and has a nylon battery door that causes some flex in the chassis. The springs are an easy fix and the aluminum tray is a most for foam carpet but expensive. I agree the car is crazy fast and has tons of steering. Best of luck to Wolf Hobbies.

wolf hobbies, now I know why you do not post on forums about anything, you do not know what you are taking about, except what you read. Are you a compulsive story teller? What track to you test at? How many laps on the car and do you really have, hundreds or ZERO? Distributors should not be telling stories, which is a BAD business relation. What factory driver in your area that is driving the car for you and driving hundreds of laps and not breaking it? I moved about 2hours from your area over a year ago and very good friends with the guys that owns the only track that has not raced or practiced electric in the last 10 weeks in your 3 hour driving radius.

does anybody know the lbs rating for the stock shock springs ?

No you didn't:eek::lol:

the answers are on this thread: http://rctech.net/forum/showthread.php?t=204165

http://rctech.net/forum/showthread.php?t=204165

try here: http://rctech.net/forum/showthread.php?t=204165

thanks!!i must of read past it :lol: and yes i did :) ill have pics soon,the car is SWEET!! (47 ounces ready to race)

Please keep your personal issues to your self and them person you adress them to...that's why we have PMs. We dont go around thrashing others in public like you're doing here...its not classy bro..dont ake this the wrong way, either...just letting you know that comments like these should be done via PM...

I'm thinking of getting a TM car soon...I'l comapre it my awesome Type R and see which is best...the Losi will be hard to beat, though:D

i agree , and i will be comparing the car to my type r this weekend too :)

Congratulations! i hope it turns out really nice...

Now we'll bombard you with a few questions...

Which kit did you get?
how was the building process? Parts quality, fit and finish?
Better room for electronics than the Type R?
Have you done a test run, yet?
Is it more reactive than the Type R?
Easy to work on?

So far they have not answered any of the posts from people with ligit questions. Team B&B made a nice post asking real spot on questions that any company could answer if it is serious.

The other post just called them out and again if the company really cared they would answer that as well. From other posts TM said they would now distribute to the US so now all of a sudden they have a a so called US distributor.

All good questions when looking to hand over 4 to 5 hundred bucks on a touring car only to find zero support for the product. All the top companies on Tech can easily answer questions that have been posted about with ease so I 'm not understanding why they can't. Seems funny to me and apparently many others.

Which kit did you get?

Seems like the TME4 might be able to handle mod power with those alum diffs:lol:

Well, I think that if one has questions, one can ask in a well mannered respectfull style...some are just attacking the guy for some reason and taking out their problems publicly...that's different. I guess they can try PMs or e-mail, or call the shop. They have a website and number posted on there...give them a day or two...they might be loaded with e-mails of messages- who knows...I'd try calling, too...maybe someone who knows the area can go and check out the shop and personally speak with the owner?

Any ways...will you be getting one?

I can see the one post being out of line to an extent. I think what Team B&B posted what done correctly and constructively without any type of bashing.

No new TM car in my future. I will just sit back and see how you and Marco fair with them.:D

Yeah...that Type R vs E4 experiment will be fun...might be a sign of things to come now that Lipo is finally legalized.

True. Maybe you can find an old HPI Pro 3 Hara edition to throw in the mix.:D That version was a really nice looking car.

well i didnt build the kit i got it from a friend of mine , and he "knows" how to put a kit together:) Its the first Edition kit. The quality of the car is great and the finish.

I think it has alot more room for the electronics compared to the type r.
I will run it for the first time tomorow(maybe) but for sure sunday :)

The car is easy to work on about the same as the type r.

here is my E4 :)

http://www.deadzoom.com/member/terri/mi3002.jpg
http://www.deadzoom.com/member/terri/mi3001.jpg

Hello yyhayyim: I understand what you are saying and no disrespect attended, so I edited my last post and little so it did not offend anybody that might read this.
But, I know for fact what I am talking about and I am not going to read this forum and read false advertising from someone that is trying to make his new company sound like it is a well knowledgeable r/c business that does religious testing, just to try to fool the average racer that he said he is trying to help. I will stick up for my friends and their local r/c business that they have worked hard to establish that truly helps the customer with integrity. I have become close to the locals in that area and know what is going on.

We will be happy to answer any questions related to Team Magic products. Questions about our business plan, financial arrangements or contracts are frankly nobody's business and will not be addressed. The location of our warehouse where we store the bulk of our product is NEVER going to be relased. It would be stupid to do so. We saw a lot of people that were hurting and feeling abandoned. We stepped in to help people with their investments in TeamMagic products.

One thing that is important is the question of how long are we going to be around. All I can say is that we are in it for the long haul. We get weekly shipments by air and regular container shipments by sea. Our list of dealers is increasing daily. We even have dealer in Canada. We are shipping worldwide (Europe, South america and even South Africa). In the past two months we have logged thousands of miles visiting and signing dealers and giving demo rides. This weekend we will be at the Northwest Hobby Expo near Seattle. We are talking to track owners around the country about putting on and co-sponsoring events. On-Road, Off-road and we are also putting together a drifting event in Florida. As for team drivers. It is something we plan to do but it is a little premature to put a team together.

If you had a bad experience in the past with Team Magic products, distributors, dealers or whatever, so did I. I feel for you but I can't fix what someone else did. Rather than bash on the internet I stepped up to the plate and did something.

If you don't own a Team Magic car I don't understand why you are posting anyway and I certainly can't help you. There is no benefit to anyone and it puts a damper on everyone else's good time. "Bashing" is really just gossip. Sorry but I don't have the time for that. The only real advantage is that we have received many emails of support from customers, owners and prospective owners and even made a few sales so thanks for that. I guess the expression: "There's no such thing as bad publicity" is true.

If you own a Team Magic kit and need parts, or if you want more information We can and will help you in any way possible. It is a good product and is gaining popularity on its own merits and we are doing everything within our abilities to promote it.

If you need a Team Magic part or kit we will do what we can to help you. If you have a local hobby shop that you would like to have carry Team Magic please let us know. We will contact them (If we haven't already) and see if we can get them on board.

ROAR did release dimensions for lipo batteries in a 3mm range. It doesnt account for where the plugs exit and things like that but I guess you could answer if packs in that range would fit.

Internet Expert
 

My first message was edited several times. I want to give Wolf Hobbies the benefit of the doubt without being unnecessarily critical. Wolf Hobbies seem to have an uphill battle due to Team Magic's past blunders. I would not waist my time on this forum unless I wish small changes were made to make the product successful.

The bottom line is: If my local hobby shop can buy the E4, stock parts, and provide service, then I would buy this car today. I have been searching for an alternative to the Losi Type R for several months. A well balanced car that can house a heavy brushless motor and a light LiPo battery with the XRAY like quality, service and support is all that I am asking for.


The local hobby shop knows how to ask the right questions from a distributer before they decide to stock and support a brand. They can't hide behind a web site or telephone from irate customers.

I will wait until I see the E4 sitting on the counter of my local hobby shop. I will forward Wolf Hobbies number to my local Hobby shop to see if they can get in the products.

Thanks for having the "keyboard courage" to tell us about the E4 general availability.

If we can't know your physical address, at least post a picture of your smiling face holding the E4.:)

Thanks guys for the good reading material, I will not post on this thread any longer, it is probably just starting to waste your time for you guys to read. I think now it has proved its all funny stuff with no true answers. I had to bring out the truth behind everything that has been brought out in the open first by wolf hobbies and you can see that wolf hobbies is ducking behind the questions from everybody. I am sure that they will be able to answers some of the questions asked in the next 24 hours, they are still thinking on stories for the first 20 hours of questions asked. All he did was bring up financials, nobody really cares, so great answer. If this was a bash only, I can see everybody getting a little offended and pissed off, but they are true honest facts brought out in the open and have not been addressed or truthfully by wolf hobbies. I feel that nobody should be told stories to boost their company to make sales that we all might be buying product from, specially a Distributor.

I am out of here…..

Looking good. What battery is that?

wow, now maybe this thread can get back on track!

Team B&B:

There is a reason why I did this instead of opening a hobby shop or track. That is I am just too thin skinned to take a lot of abuse. I figured, great! Here is an oportunity to help out a bunch of people (myself included) and it had good long term prospects as well. Aside from taking a huge pile of cash I could see no downside. What a crock of "dung" that was. Since starting this there have been two prominent dealer types. One never heard of Team Magic and doesn't want to carry another line. The second was the dealer that is mad as hell and yells at me for half an hour for stuff that happend on someone else's watch. Some days are pretty hard to take :cry: But then I get emails from customers (retail and wholesale) that go on and on about how happy they are that someone stepped up to the plate to get them the parts they need to get their favorite car going again. I got one that told me he knocked a full lap off his personal best with his E4 and it is the best car he has ever seen. That reminds me of why I'm here. Anyone who thinks that this is a way to make a quick buck has a good view of his own colon. I will not see a real profit until 2009. Thank God we have another company that is doing well!! It is normal to be cautious and I'm not asking anybody for a date with their sister and I'm not planning on moving in next door to you. I am not a threat so please at least give me chance to mess up. Then you can dump on me and I'll take it because I deserve it. To date the only thing I have done is sell a bunch of R/C parts to people that really needed (or at least wanted) them. We are (quietly) doing a lot of things to make this a premier brand and to support the US dealers. For example: One of the bigest complaints from hobby shops in the US is that customers buy cars cheap on the internet and then come into the store for support. To counter that when the E4FS came out we bought the entire production run. You want a car? Great!! The price from us is the same as from your local dealer so go to your dealer. When we sign a new dealer they have to agree that they will not undercut other dealers by putting the car on the internet for less than they have it for on their shelves. We have had sales on our site (two by accident when we messed up the web site and the cars were listed at our cost) but the only cars that we had on sale were models that were not for sale at any other active dealer. As soon as a car goes up on the dealers' shelf our sale ends. You also don't see any of our kits on sale at any of the big "box shops" (discount sites). That is because we have not contacted them. We want this to be as appealing to small hobby shops as possible. There are a lot of ways that we could have made some quick bank but we have our eye on the big prize. I have seen a reference to being like Losi. I just want to remind everyone that before Losi was purchased by Horizon they made themselves into a premier brand with a great product. They had a great product and name recognition. They did that by earning it on their own. My sons and I got our starts with Losi Street Weapons. To be honest (don't take this as a negative about Losi or Horizon) we never bought another losi product since then. There were people crying about how being bought up by a big distribution company changed them. There is no debate. It did. Some say for the better and some say not. I think that the best thing for Team Magic is to rise to the top on their own merits with a single minded advocate. Getting lost in the warehouse with a thousand other brands will make the brand cheaper. But will it make them better?

I can't send you a photo of me smiling today. Smiles are not coming easily today. But if you REALLY want one (be careful what you wish for) I'll send you a photo of me in the booth at the show this weekend with a bunch of cars and I'll even give you smile. As an added bonus I'll send you a photo of my now famous E4 making more laps on the track at the show. As soon as we get back I'm going in for rotator cuff surgery and plan on spending at least three days horizontal in a pain pill induced "stupor" (like usual but more drool) No photos of that. A week or two after that I'll send you a photo of me at the port of Oakland picking up another container load. A few hundred kits, about a hundred F8 bags and a bunch of parts. This is for real. Please let me prove it.

I got a sister, and an extra room for you...when are you moving in? Just make sure you bring some E4s and parts:D:lol:

E4
 

Wow...really nice MJ. Looks like you've ran it in the house already...c'mon you know you ran it in the living room around the table and chairs:D:lol:

Looks like you're gonna go all out with that Orion 3.5BL:eek::nod:

Did you get it from Wolf?

HMMMMM.... I Remember reading a post from MJ stating I'm not going to buy this kit it will not make it to the US...:nod::nod: Well it's a very good car guys you will not regret it. The down side with first version is the shocks. I have to use my tamiya shocks so I can use different springs.

Hello Wolf Hobbies, I am not sure what your name is I apologize if I have missed it. I have been doing a lot of looking at new design touring cars.

I just opened up a new carpet track in Albuquerque, NM and to be honest am frustrated because I am losing. Ok so I am not that frustrated but I can’t keep up with our factory associated driver with his TC5 with my XXX-S. So I decided its time to upgrade after all I had the first XXX-S in New Mexico since then we have had a few different track and none for a few years.

It is very evident that the TM car is the best engineered car out there. The X-Ray is a piece of art and I don’t think that anyone can deny there quality, the JRX-S is a good design but just isn’t as refined as I would like, the Serpent is a nice car and so is the TC5 but there is nothing special about those cars. But the TM car brings a piece from all these cars and really puts out a nice piece of machinery.

Ok people may wonder why I confidently say these things. Not only am I running my own RC track but I am a pro racer in the Indy Pro Series (Indy lights) and am trying to get an Indy 500 ride this year. So I have seen toy cars and big cars and everything in between, and that is why I think I can confidently say that these are great looking cars.

Now I am sure that most of you are thinking I should have sent Wolf a PM talking about this but I want to give Wolf Hobbies a chance to show everyone how the deal with potential customers, track owners, and questions from that person. I am also willing to put my name out there in support of Wolf Hobbies if they deserve it.

I would like to know what Wolf Hobbies can do to help there sales and my track. We are putting on a two day show and would like to advertise for them and I would like to buy a car, and help them sale more cars. And in return all I want is support.

I can not afford to buy enough parts to support the cars. I am not a hobby store just a track owner but I already have every single part for the XXX-S and most for a TC4 (90% of our racers run these cars). That overhead along with the track and the facility is a lot, and these parts are getting used. I know drivers will switch to the TM car but I have to prove it is worth it and there is support for it.

So here is the question, if I did everything I said above what will Wolf Hobbies do to help me support there cars.

Again I know that this is more of a PM then a post but I believe that people need to see how Wolf Hobbies works and they deserve that opportunity.

Double post

"let you prove it"? Ok, Contact my shop...
I have tried to pick up the TM line a time or two over the last year, lets see if the third time is a charm.

870-933-0479

Ask for Quinton.

Test Kit
 

How about an unbiased review of you kit on rctech?

I am willing to offer my services for free! I will even return the kit after testing.

I am an accomplished club racer in the northeast and I offer to build the kit, test it and report the results on rctech in a 100% unbiased review.

Sort of like an rctech blog for the kit.

Most people that read the mainstream rc magazine come to the conclusion rather quickly that the test are pretty plain jane. Basically just switch the name of the kit in the article and you would never know the difference.

It appears that you believe strongly in your product line and this would be a great chance to get some feedback from a racer. It would get the car out to actual hobby shops and your potential customers. (4 tracks in a 2 hour radius).

Feel free to contact me by pm or email.

Off to work...cheers

Jamie Gonzalez
Home track-Rc Madness Enfield, CT
email: [email protected]

my thoughts
 

I actually wrote a much longer reply in my previous post on this thread and then removed it. Given the apparent sincerity of wolf hobbies, here are my thoughts:

1) the r/c racer marketplace is largely a gathering of smoke and mirrors companies that only compare to the spam emails for male enhancement
2) products are usually released with hype and the "buy it and try it for yourself" slogan accompanied by the least information possible, even when the product is $500
3) money seems to be meaningless in the pursuit of toy car world domination and the companies gladly push this philosophy
4) a company's promises mean next to nothing in the world of r/c, with a handfull of exceptions

It seems that most r/c companies gain traction by:
1) sponsoring races and giving away product
2) sponsoring racers and giving away product
3) very rarely producing a better mousetrap that is then copied (spintec with the original battery manager, orion with the 4800 lipo, etc)

In my mind, a company can succeed by:
1) having a better product (most important, otherwise you use smoke and mirrors to sell your stuff,)
2) getting that product exposure (send big hobby stores who order some kits a built sample kit (racers will buy an unproven kit they can hold versus see on the side of the box), sponsor some talented racers,)
3) not following the typical r/c product release (best thing since sliced bread, will take 5 seconds off your lap times, indestructable, etc.)
4) standing behind your product and keeping your word

Unfortunately, at this point, team magic is still in the "try it and see for yourself," "trust us it's awesome," stage.

Again good luck and I will consider the car when some racers at my track have one and like it. (I know this is a catch 22, but so is life.)

1 more thing
 

Wolf hobbies -> if you have a thin skin, boy did you go into the wrong industry. The internet lets 1 crackpot do a lot of damage to a company's reputation because the crackpot's words carry just as much weight as the company's word (especially since most don't believe companies anyway.) (Hell, maybe I'm the crackpot.)

I can say with a high level of certainty that most r/c product issues (outside of defective design and bad production (happen occasionally) are the user's fault. I have seen racers do stupid things with electronics and kits and then complain that the product didn't stand up to the abuse. The old saying that if you make a product idiot proof, a better idiot will come along and break it is 100% true.

Instead of making claims like bullet proof, and we have never broken a part, make claims like - "durable." If someone buys your kit thinking it's bullet proof, and then they break it (a racer can break any car,) they will blame you and spread the word that the car is fragile.