Originally Posted by
yyhayyim
I tested and ran pan cars in very nice tracks. That's not the issue. I know how nice they can run. I have gotten to run very nicely. Yes, they are very fast, light, blah, blah...all of us who have driven them know that. What i'm referring to is the difference in how both cars run. Pan cars are fast if you set them up right, but they handle and drive differently than TC's. TC's are easier to drive...they are 4X4 for goodness sakes! You cant compare that to a rear drive car. Plus the 4 point independent suspension on TC's is more sophisticated and works nicer on TC's, FOR MY LIKING, than the side or 3-link pan car suspension and handling.
True pan cars and TCs handle differently. Pan cars are much more precise and require you to be a smooth driver to drive well. TCs are much easier to drive because the 4wd makes up for a lot of things. You compared them yourself so I am just responding to that comparison. TCs do have a more complex suspension but that is not always better. More complexity leads to more points of failure, more points of slop, and a more complicated setup. Heck if you want a really complex suspension look at a Tamiya F201 with it's cantilever suspension.
Originally Posted by
yyhayyim
Repair and cost of maintance on pan cars is cheaper, especially if you are new driver and ram TC's into walls every lap. You will pay. But its a TC, it has more components, and more damage can be done. But its a pro TC kit! Not a simple pan car. Its 2 different chassis and style. You cant compare a go cart and a F1 car. You get what you pay for. Can you get a Karting car to run faster or as fast as 350Z- yes...but you cant compare the rides...its a matter of preference. One guy wants to hop and pop all around and shake around in the Karting car, while the other rides in a 350Z and enjoys it just as much.
You brought up the cost comparison. In doing so you must consider the total cost of racing one class VS racing the other. Ok now if a TC kit is a pro and a pan car kit was simple...which was the pro when there was no TCs? Pan cars may have a less complex suspension but there is nothing simple about them. As you point out they are more difficult to drive. Because they are so quick and responsive it is that much more critical to get the right driving line through a corner. Pan cars aren't so simple as they look either. Every small adjustment you make on the car has much more of an effect then they do on a TC.
Originally Posted by
yyhayyim
Again folks, I was talking for my liking and preferences after my personal experience with both types of chassis. Hope you understand. Dont get me wrong...my CRC Pantoura can whip around tracks as fast as if not faster than my TC or other good nitro drivers...its just handles crazy sharp and fly down the straights...but for me- i prefer TC's...they are a bit smoother for me, and I like the feel of TC's over the driving feel of Pan cars.
And that's cool that you enjoy TCs more then pan cars. However you can't go around implying that a TC's "beauty and handling charateristicts" are better then that of a pan car and not expect a rebuttal since by race standards the handling characteristics of a pan car on a high bite track are better then that of a TC. As for beauty I find pan cars much more beautiful as they look much more like a pure bred racing machine where a TC looks like something you'd see driving down the freeway...just gussied up a bit. But that's just my opinion.