sorry this is a long post .....
i think people just have to put time into the car and really understand "what it likes" to make it go fast. i have just recently switched from a yokomo cgm to a shcumi mi2. i was extremely happy with my CGM but just had to give the mi2 a shot. i've run the mi2 only for 4 race days so i've had very limited time with the car. to be honest, i was starting to get a bit frustrated with car as i could not get it to handle the way i wanted it to. i was easily 0.4 of a second off with the mi2 vs my CGM - so the laptimes showed that i was slower. it was a struggle to say the least. so just as i was about to give up on it, i decided to actually spend time at the track to tune the car - somthing i could never find time to do.
i ran about 3 packs with the car doing some little set-up changes each run. i was running a one way with the mi2 as i am one of those racers who will always run a 1way (outdoor asphalt track) coz i love the corner speed and the 1-way really works at our local track. anyway, each time out, i still couldn't get what i wanted from the car. at my 3rd pack, i hit a corner incorrectly which reulted in some serious airtime! car lands on the tarmac hard & busted my 1way bearing.
of course i was already pissed at this point. not so good handling car and now a busted part that would set me back another $50. i pulled out a spool and slapped it in. note this was somthing i would NOT have even considered if i didnt mess up my 1-way coz i did not want the reduced off power steering it would bring. anyway, i had to make the most of the time i had at the track, so i did number of changes to make up for the turn-in i would loose. put the car on the track and voila! it was better than ever! i did a few more tweaks hear and there during a race yesterday and i must say, the car is great! im eager to hit the track again! just gonna try a few minor stuff to get back the turn-in i want, but the car si almost there!
i guess my point is you just really have to give it some time when you get a new car and you also have to think of doing things that you would normally not do with your previous car. you can't just set the car up as close as possible to your prvious ride and hope that when you put it on the track it will be faster. i'll eventually give the tc4 a try (maybe when the fttc4 is out) and im sure it can be made to handle great..... just having too much fun with my mi2 at the moment. hehehe ..
my two cents....