Speedo

Juho Levanan (sp?) finished 5th in the A. You should probably do a little more research before you start bashing a car based on "bad results."

I agree with futureal, most of the issues with the TC4 are quality issues. If the car was built to good spec, I would love it. The problem is that it's not.

Today was the final day of our two day race, and I got the setup on my TC4 worked out for the most part. I thought the car felt good, and I received some compliments on how good it looked on the track. I don't have any graphite parts on the car yet, although I did replace the kit diff gears with the updated thinner parts, and have number other upgrade parts on the car.

The thing is that when given the choice between the TC4 and an Xray, the comparison is skewed, even when taking price into consideration. I think after you upgrade the TC4 with the necessary parts, the price is just about eqaul to that of an Xray. To run mod with my TC4, I needed the IRS aluminum outdrives, and had to make a jig to put the stock CVDs in so I could replace the steel pins with IRS pin cushions so as to not damage the outdrives. Swaybars are $25 for the car, and the carbon kit is roughly $65. If you say a TC4 kit is worth $220, you come out spending $370. Granted, once you buy the swaybars and a front diff for the Xray, and probably the thicker chassis to go with that, you come out a little in excess of the TC4 package, but the simple truth is that the quality is better on the Xray car. The same holds true for kits similar to the Xray.

Josh

Antonio Sabato

sedanaddict

I bought a tc-4 Friday, built it over the next two nights and raced it today. My previous carpet sedan was a tc-3 which was heavily modified(chassis milled ,batts moved to center, double deck, lots of dremel work on the chassis and diff covers.ceramic bearings etc.) That car weighs 50.2 oz ready to race. It has a very free drive train and is set up great for my local track.I am by no means the fastest guy at the track but I am not the slowest either.
The reason I mention all this about my tc-3 is,I built the Tc-4 bone stock. I used the set up from the instruction manual with a couple exceptions, 60 wt oil front, 50 wt rear purple springs all around and I moved the rear top shock mounting screw to the outermost hole, I also shortened the rear camber link 1 position . There were only two quality problems I had with the build. first was the C-hub rubs the shock spring when the shock is in the outermost lower hole. i fixed that with a couple washers on the mounting screws. the second thing is the motor mount is a little snug and needed some sanding to get it working smooth. this car ready to race weighs 53.2 oz.
Today I had 45 minutes to get ready for the races and I only got to run 1 practice pack through the Tc-4 before we started. The First qualifier I beat my best time on that track by 5 seconds and by my third I was 1 and 1/2 laps faster than i was 2 weeks ago with my tc-3.
Most Important of all, this is a car that has 0 degree hub carriers when 6 is the way to go on carpet and 3 degree rear toe which 2 would work better(as soon as we get parts, i will make the fix).

I don't know what happened in Cleveland but I hope Everyone will be scared away from this car so I can catch some people.

I have to race Eli every week so I need all the help I can get.

robk

iTrader: (22)

From what i saw, and the guys i talked to at CLeveland, they seemed to be concerned with flex in the chassis and the suspension components. With an all graphite car, the rear shock tower flexed, the chassis could be flexed visibly by hand (which i could never do to a TC3(yes I am a weakling, so the gorillas in peanut gallery can pipe down now(wow triple parenthesis))), and the caster blocks moved. I am sure the design itself is a great improvement over the TC3.

I am impressed by what they did with geometery changes, but maybe they are having issues with their materials and/or vendors. If you are racing at a carpet venue without a high level of traction, you may not notice these things. In fact i would say that it is actually helpful on asphalt.

The reason that the TC3 dominated for so long, and continues to work well, is that it was an ultra rigid platform. That being said, it could be a handful to drive at times. The graphite plate chassis out there mostly remove warping and an inconsistent feel. The old graphite tub is plenty stiff.

seaball

iTrader: (9)

pipe down!

sonicboom141

quick question, i guess it goes here...
So do TC3 parts fit over onto the TC4? Like if I had a carbon fiber chassis would the TC4 parts screw onto that?

lazyboy

nope chassis are different...

sonicboom141

are there many/any parts for the tc4 yet? like carbon fiber chassis, shocker towers etc..?

lazyboy

bmi has a proto CF chassis in develpoment for the tc4,..there are some pics of that on the bmi thread...idk about anything else tho

Wolf

It's sad to here that it takes time to adapt, and tune the new TC4. When did it come out?

If it take 2 months for full time factory driver to figure out the optimal setting and get used to the new characteristic of the TC4. How long will it take for us, a average joe ?

IMHO, I think there must be some hidden problem inside the chassis and AE had no idea what's wrong. Otherwise, they will come out with some fix or options parts to fix it.

Rick Worth

iTrader: (1)

Everyone seems to have forgotten about the big delay when the TC3 came out. Remember the diff/pinion gear problems that ran on for a long time. I believe it was a machining issue. Then there was the problem with half of the rear hubs not having the same toe as others. Then everyone complained about the batteries being too far to the left. Then "It's a peice of crap because the hinge pins bend too easy." We all forget about the problems when a new car comes out as soon as it is proven on the track. I'm sure the TC4's problems will go away when it gets some time under its belt.

JDM_DOHC_SiR

iTrader: (31)

I don`t know..I have yet to run into any issues with tuning the TC4 at all ..and some of the excessive play issues in the suspension I was able to fix with little to no problems...and the one thing I Love about the TC4 is it`s Maint. User Friendy.. compared to some of the other Shaft & Belt cars I have ....
-Dave

johnbull

THE TC3 STILL ROCKS....AND ROCKS.....AND ROCKS......

We had the 4th round of the Nationals here yesterday, and guess what won.

SUPER STOCK. 2 out of 3 finals won by a young (12 year old) lad with a TC3. New race record and new lap record for the class in the process. He finished 2nd in the 3rd final too.

MODIFIED. All 3 finals won by 5 year old FT TC3. Race and lap records absolutely anihilated. This was a real show of supremacy.

SUPER STOCK CHAMPIONSHIP. TC3 driver first.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (MODIFIED). TC3 driver first.

Who needs a TC4.

I've got one, but with these results I can't say I'm in much of a hurry to race it.

JDM_DOHC_SiR

iTrader: (31)

Congrats .... but you might just want to try out your TC4 Joe... for $hits & Giggles
-Dave

johnbull

I will, when I finally get all the bits.