Tamiya Chassis Question
 

I'm pretty new to all of this and I need something that's fairly cheap for now (stupid college lol). I plan on making a few upgrades on the suspension and such, but I just found this the other day looking at TT-01's. I can't post links but the Tamiya part number is 57981. Any thoughts on this? I believe it's basically a TT-01E but it seems like it's pretty cheap other than not having a body. Am I missing something? Thanks

TT01 is a basic basic basic car- allmost to the point of being crude.
Most of them dont even come with ballbearings (thats how much Tamiya think of them)

Most TT01 upgrades are for the bling factor only, they wont actually help it much
silk purse from a sows ear sort of thing.

but they are very tough

Look at a TB03 or TA05 instead , even a used one.

Alright thanks. I'm going to have to buy a used one to watch the budget :(

tb03!!!

I guess it depends on what you are looking to do?

If you want to get into RC and you plan to drive around parking lots and tennis courts, and you are excited about the build, you might be happy with that TT-01 kit (if the price is right) or even a new, older kit like a Tamiya TB-02, which is much more advanced, but older then the newest technology racer. If you just want to drive and tweak, maybe search for someone selling all their gear cheap to get out of the hobby.

If you are looking to race, and you are a beginner on a budget, the TT-01 basic chassis (not the E or D version) could be a great place to start, as classes of "spec" racing are very popular with this chassis- they are relatively low-tech, but they are robust and inexpensive, and in these classes everyone has the same chassis and motor (expensive hop-ups are usually not allowed) so it keeps it even and cheap. Look around your area to see if they are running a TT-01 class around you to make sure you'll have a place to race.

If you are looking to get serious about racing (but have limited funds now), a TA-05 (either new or used) is a good place to start. They are more sophisticated and have a lot more tuning possibilities (might be hard for a beginner), but will remain competitive as you get more skill (and funds to contribute towards hop-ups/motors/escs/batteries, etc)..

Ultimately, maybe the best thing to do is take a look at your local hobby shop, and also local place where rc'rs hang out and drive- see what they run/race/drive.. See if it maybe influences what you want? Even some of the RTR (ready to run) packages can be found for good deals, and come with most everything you need to get going?

Good luck!

The real question is...."what do you want to do with it ??" If you want to actively pursue racing and you don't have a Tamiya Challenge Series program to race at......then there are better chassis than the TT01. It's a great chassis to start learning on but in anything other than the TCS program it's not worth the eventual investment. The TB03 or TA05 is a much better chassis for a good start in any racing program. There are some great older competition chassis that aren't Tamiya. Losi xxx-s, Associated tc3 or tc4 , HPI cyclone-s, Schumacher Mission or MI2 are great choices.