Thinking of picking the Tamiya Subaru Impreza Monte Carlo 1991 1/10 TT-02 Electric Rally Kit
It will be my first build and I’ll probably keep it pretty bone stock. Or do I really need to upgrade the kit to enjoy it?
It’ll be a fun car, no competitions or anything
Depends, are you racing it or driving it for fun on parking lots?
-I'd recommend full bearings for both situations,
however when I first built my TT02, I built it w/ the intention of driving in the parking lot. I built it w/ bearings otherwise it was 100% stock. It runs great and handles well for parking lot fun in nearly stock form.
A year or so later my older son (who was about 10 at the time) started expressing that he wanted to race RC cars w/ me. I converted my TT02 for his use in a novice race class. At this point and if its used for racing I would at minimum: 1) upgrade the shocks to oil filled shocks w/ adjustable collars ...this is really a must if you want it to handle well on a track. 2) I upgraded the top A-arms front and back to adjustable camber links (pivot balls w/ threaded links), ...this is a must too as you'll want to adjust camber front and back. 3) I upgraded the steering linkage to aluminum (from the stock plastic). This is less important than 1 and 2 above, yet it will help give more precise steering which again is helpful when racing. 4) less important, but i'd make sure your drivetrain is using the aluminum parts (not the stock plastic ones), aluminum motor mount w/ adjustable mounting options is also nice to have (not the one w/ the holed slots, but the one w/ the ability to slide the motor forward/back then tighten ..I think Yeah Racing makes it). Get a good set of tires too! Oh, almost forgot, I also put a brushless 21.5t motor in it (I turned the throttle EPA down initially and slowly increased the speed as my sons got better w/ the car).
My son used our TT-02 in the above setup for about 2 seasons, he's now almost 13 and is using a TC7.1 for VTA class. My youngest son is now using the same TT-02 (he is on his 2nd season w/ the car). Point is the TT-02 is a GREAT car for beginners, its strong, parts are not expensive and its easy to work on and fix.