Originally posted by trf man
go for the evo3.better build quality,newer design and its a tamiya!cant beet that quality.feel the perfect fit between the hardened wishbones and hubs.they have a engineering tolerence in the suspension arms.u feel a associated its horrible ones got a tiny bit of movement and the other none.feel a tamiyas its a controled amount of movement that tamiya purposly put in for smoothnest and no binding.
Allright.
Let's start by saying I'm no special AE nut. Actually I sold my TC3 a few weeks ago (mostly because I knew the car would become very difficult to sell here in Europe because of the SD being released soon). If I had been a harcore AE fan I'd have kept it. I enjoyed it and won my share of local races with it, but was not "overwhelmed" either. It's a very good design overall.
Let's keep going by saying the usual "both cars have their strengths and weaknesses they're both good and both can win in the hands of a potent driver".
Now, back to the core topic. what's above looks wrong to me, and this is why:
1- Newer design doesn't mean squat. An Evo3 is just a 41X with a shaft tranny. They released this "new" car just to surf on the shaft bandwagon and steal some market shares from AE who are sweeping the market, that's all. A longer living design like the TC3 is actually a good sign that a manufacturer cares about its products and customers and doesn't force them to buy a new "updated" version every 6 months.
2- Except a few wins from Tamiya ace Surikarn, the Tc3 is still winning most major races around the globe in national and local championships. Don't judge a car by the fact that it won the worlds, but rather by the fact that it wins at the middle level
3- Most Tamiya products are well known for tons of slop right out of the box.
4- ANY car will get slop in its suspension parts after a few hits anyway...
5- sorry, but by using the handle "trf man" you can't expect people to consider you as an unbiased contributor to this thread.
Now, as far as which is better, I won't get into that. I know the Tc3 very well, I know the Evo3 a lot less. All I can say is beware when listening to people who seem to have an obvious bias toward one brand, since they will dismise (sp?) any product from another brand.
Bottom line, get whichever car has the most support (shops, racers) in your area. Both cars are potent contenders, no doubt about that.
Later
Paul
PS: Glad to see some people had the same experience as me with the TC3's front A-arms, ie they're just as robust as any other brand's...