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Is there a big difference between the TA04-R chassis and the TA04-R chassis with the HKS Altezza body? The only difference I found is that the Chassis only Ta04R seems to have better lower deck (Carbon reinfored lower deck instead of Carbon modled lower deck)..

However the price differnce is scary. 50 dollar more than the HKS TA04R. Without a body or a motor. (Towerhobbies' price) what's up with that?

neons

Hi Peter...yup...its me...

Not sure how they're doing the "exchange"...but they will be exchanging for those who bought just the lower chassis as well. They're not in yet (probably still few weeks away is my guess) from being ready to distribute these. Tamiya Tom will probably let stores/customers know as soon as they come in how to do the exchange.

As for the TA04R chassis kit....I don't know the specs, but I would assume it is the TA04R w/Altezza except no body and motor. Not sure about wheels/tires.

The TA04R w/HKS Altezza IS a discontinued item....because of this chassis problem. And I know Tamiya Canada is not bringing in any TA04R Chassis Kits because of this lower chassis problem as well (And I think Tamiya Japan is actually holding off release of the Chassis Kit till the chassis problems are fixed as well). I don't think there's a differnce between the chassis in the HKS Altezza Kit and the Chassis Kit. Both are considered "Carbon Reinforced Molded Tub Chassis".

petersiu007

Cool! thanks, i'll be sure to talk to Tom when they do come out. hehe

hobbipro

iTrader: (23)

Maybe the new chassis is here, like I posted earlier, I emailed them and a reply was send by a person named David Anderson. He told me to send it in and it would be replaced, he stated they were aware of the problem. I really dont care what chassis they send me as long as it works!! I guess I should make a follow up phone call to see were it is at.

neons

Not sure...last I heard was they weren't avialable yet...

But who knows...

From what I know....some of the chassis's were okay and not overly tight, while others were so tight it felt like the belt was locked up...just some inconsistent manufacturing...the new one should fix it for everyone

Aurra Sing

I heard from a trusty friend that the tub version is actually better than the saddle pack chassis. True? yes/no.

I don't understnad why because it doesn't have as balanced weight distrobution. Has anyone compared the two?

Alvin

Aurra,
if I am not mistaken, there was a post mentioning that the composite chassis (i.e. TA04R) has less flex compared to a saddle pack/carbon chassis (e.g. TA04 Pro).

rccarracer

Alvin,
actually, the decks on the TA04 Pro are fibre reinforced plastic and not carbon fiber. So the composite chassis would surely have less flex. But compared to the carbon plate saddle pack chassis I'm not sure, i'll have to check it out.

Alvin

ops got me there

coolrcdad

Tamiya has acknowledged that the carbon tub combo is stiffer than the carbon saddle pack chassis - saw this mentioned on their site. BTW, Tamiya just announced a slew of -- get this -- BLUE aluminum hop ups for the '04.
http://www.tamiya.com/english/news/news/news0.htm

k_bojar

iTrader: (30)

I saw you all posting something about a chassis defect with the o4R?? Can anyone give some more info?? just found this forum and this is the first I've seen anything like this

Does this have anything to do with the overly tight front belt????

Thanks

hobbipro

iTrader: (23)

k_bojar,
The TA04-R carbon chassis is actually 1mm too long. This makes the front belt very tight, even without the belt tensioner on the car. I tried some of the guys tips on this board, like trying to "break in" the front belt using an old motor to run the car freestanding for a few packs. This did nothing but make the belt crack. I sent the chassis away to Tamiya, and they informed me that a replacemant chassis will be offered 1mm shorter with battery slotts, the bad news is that it wont be available till January 02. For now they are sending me a regular tub chassis to atleast get my wheels rolling, and the new chassis will be sent as soon as it arrives.

rccarracer

So in the new tub chassis, you will be able to run saddles?? Or "side by side" and stick packs?

hobbipro

iTrader: (23)

The new tub chassis will be, carbon reinforced, 1mm shorter, and with battery slots for side by side, and will work with stick packs as well.

Aurra Sing

I just raced my TA04R for the second time today. It has been dialed in since the first time a ran it!

Track: Sheldons Hobbies in San Jose, CA
Surface: Parking lot, Swept
Traction: Low-Med (soda)
Temperature: about 60° F
Description: Very Fast, high speed corner track (9.0 second Stock run times.. heh)
Class I ran: Expert Modified (unfortunately, only 6 racers, but they were all professionals)

Practice One: Got the car dialed easily. Though I had a little understeer.

Qualifier One: I started 2nd to last, so i had to pass traffic. But i crashed into something hard enough that the servo saver actually moved over one tooth (but luckily didn't strip). It took a long stop to adjust the trim so it's straight. Then when i got it fixed (several laps down of course) I crashed straight into a guy stuck on the middle of the straight (huge jump, too, hehe) and it knocked my front body pins off. I just gave up after.

Qualifier Two: This being my first mod race, i had little experience, but I was more consistent than stock. I had a very consistent run, until my 2400's dumped at 4:00 minutes exactly. This was my first Mod race, so i never knew it would dump so early.

Practice Two: I bought a One-Way pulley and tested it out. WOW! It had a lot more steering without the rear-end sliding even with the low traction surface.

A Main: I qualified 5th. I also changed the timing and geared one tooth lower to get mroe run time. As the buzzer rang, a few weren't alert and i got a good jump, making some good passes. I was even more consistent, with a better handling car. The car was absolutely perfect. I was in second place for a long time, until my batteries started dumping, with the updated timing and pinion at 4:30 minutes, but BARELY had enough power to cross the finish line. I lost the position in the last lap because of the dumped battery, and finished a good 3rd place.

I love the car! Honestly, I like it better than my full option Pro 3!

Setup (ONLY the changes made to the setup from the kit TA04R settings are shown - if a setting is not shown it is just the stock setup.) This setup works very well.

(F/R)

Camber: 1.5°/2°
Toe: 0°/2° in
Spring (Tamiya): Blue/White
Oil: Trinity 55wt
Tires: Sorex 32R
Wheels: Tamiya Dish 2mm offset
Gearing: 128/30 (Kimbrough Spur, RRP Pinion)

Carbon Saddle Chassis
Carbon Shock Towers (but positions left stock)
Carbon Hard Suspension Arms
Racing Body Posts
One Way Pulley

Equipment:

LRP Quantum Competition ESC
Futaba 3PDF Radio System
Hitec 650MG high-torque servo
Nuclear Power 2400 Racing Cells
Team Orion Chrome Modified 9x3
Duratrax Intellipeak Mini charger