TRF 415 Prototype
First shaft for a long time, then belt, then shaft again, and now back to belt... seems as someone can't decide ? Maybe, but what do you mean ? It's Tamiya's latest car, the TRF 415. Surikarn won the 2002 IFMAR Touring Car World Championship with his TRF 414 which was belt driven. Then it was followed up by the TB Evo III and it became even more successfull than the TRF 414.
The latest development is the TRF 415, as mentioned it's belt driven and at the moment in a testing phase. Its first outing is supposed to be at the Reedy Race Asia 2003 which will be held end of this week in Bangkok /Thailand. Surikarn is supposed to hit the track with this new weapon from Tamiya, so it'll be very interesting to follow the race and see whether it'll actually be in competition or whether it needs to be tested more before being run at a major event like the Reedy Race.
Why Tamiya has chosen to opt for a belt drive is not fully known, and with 3 new cars in less than 1 1/2 years Tamiya is surely not resting. To many it might seem odd that the successfull EVOIII is outdated as it has been available for only one year. The reason to go back to a belt driven car might be because the former Tamiya designer Masayuki Miura has left the company and thereby a big part of the erpertise of the shaft car. Rumour has it, that the new TRF 415 is not designed in house by Tamiya itself but by Tech who's been quite successfull during the last couple of seasons.
Despite the similarities to the Tech MY-02 car, the TRF415 has certain differences. One noticeable difference is the rear bulkhead, and also worth mentioning is the many mixed parts from the EVOIII, and a couple from the TA-04 along with others from the TRF414. These include: Front stabilizer, steering blocks, C Hubs, steering racks, aluminum suspension mounts, 42mm drive shafts, shock absorbers, lower arms. The rear aluminum uprights were the same ones used on Surikarn's TB EVOIII at the last JMRCA race back in September. The rear stabilizer is similar to that of the 414M, but wider in the middle part. The most noticable new parts other than the chasis and upper deck are the full aluminum bulk heads, front oneway, pulleys, rear diff joints, shock towers, bumper and the low profile servo mount. Front and Rear pulleys are 35t while the center ones are 16t.
In a couple of days we'll get the first news from the Reedy Race in Bangkok and thereby a hint about the performance of the new car.
reviewed by: rczone.net