Michiganmisfit

Hey guys.
II'm afraid to dump a bunch of money onto something that's poor quality. I love the traxxas 4-tec because I'm only going to be pavement, parking lots, etc driving and from what I hear they're super tough. Issue is I want to build a kit because it's winter here in Michigan and I need something to do lol looking for something that is great to start and then easily upgraded and the parts are available. I really appreciate it ya'll!

dman18t

If you don't plan on racing, Tamiya kits are fun to build and come with great bodies. They aren't race ready but definately tough and parking lot ready. There are tons of hop ups to make them fast.

If you plan to race at a local club, go see them first and ask the locals what to get. They have already figured out what's good and readily available. No sense doing the same work when they've already done it for you.

Full on TC kits are not really with it for parking lot play, too expensive with no pay off. 4 tec is already good for that purpose.

jgil089

The Tamiya TT02 kits come with decent bodies and often an esc (which can run brushless too) and motor (slow brushed), are bulletproof, have heaps of upgrades available and are generally well supported. However performance is average and you cn quickly spend a small fortune and still not have a great car at the end.

You could look at Tamiya's TA and TB range. They have a big range of hop ups available as well and since they are better quality to begin with you can turn one into a car that will compete with anything (but will have spent more than a high end kit). I have a few cars ranging from entry level TT02 to race kits from a few manufacturers and the TA07 quality is up there.

The latest are the TA07 and TB05 which come as chassis kits only, but you can still buy TA05/6 and TB03/4 kits which come as kits with body etc as well. They are good enough to compete at club level with minimal hopups if you decide to give racing a go. If you get into racing you will no doubt either go for the exotek conversions or just buy a race kit but the Tamiya's will allow you to give it a go.

Plastic chassis kits are better for carpark bashing/racing, a high end race kit will be wasted.

I'm not sure what other manufacturers offer in the same category as I have either race kits or Tamiya rereleases

Michiganmisfit

Awesome man! Thank you so much. It's so hard to pick up something man. Some people love tamiya stuff, others curse it and say they're junk, so your advice is huge. Which one do you recommend? Just a TT-02?

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

Before buying anything. Check to see what classes are run.

Michiganmisfit

We don't even have a racing track where I live man so it's whatever is best. TT01 TT02 whatever.

jgil089

Thats a tough one. The TT02 is a cheap way to start, but check out the price of the alloy steering set as an example of how they can get crazy expensive. Without major work they'll never be great. I have a few and just do bearings and oil shocks, otherwise they stay stock. The TT02D kits could be good for you, they come with a body, bearings and oil shocks already and drift tyres. Buy a set of normal tyres and you can do either.

Personally I would go for the TA or TB cars. A TB03 or TA05 kit isn't much more than a TT02 and usually have bearings and oil shocks so you are good to go with them. They are also proper tub chassis so should be better at keeping stones out. The TA06 (front belt, rear gearbox) and TB04 (motor position, centre gearbox) don't get a lot of love as they were different to normal. Both would be fine for carpark racing though

I really rate the TB05 and TA07 but they don't have a normal tub, rather a flat chassis with a skeleton thing which will let stones in. They are also quite a bit more expensive than the others as they come without body, tyres etc, but do have nice TRF shocks so the value is there but they cost more overall. The plastics used are good and you don't need to upgrade anything, although alloy suspension blocks do help as they remove slop (Yeah Racing make some cheap ones that work well). There are also a heap of hopups available for them.

There is also the FF03 which is the same quality but front motor fwd for something different. The FF cars go surprisingly well, I have a FF04 which I am planning to run in the clubs new fwd class next year

JJ100179

If it is your very first kit, I would definetly suggest a standard TT-02 over a TA or TB car.
TT-02 has the right amount of complexity not to overwhelm a newcomer (just think of gear mesh, suspension adjustability, differentials, etc.) Just add a set of ball bearings and a better servo saver as first hop ups, both are highly recommended.
I would also choose an easy to paint body with not too many stickers for the beginning.
​​​​Just keep it simple and have fun 😊

dman18t

TT cars are crazy cheap and it's a good place to start for first build. Just pick one with a body you really like and have fun.

After this build, maybe try something a little more performance oriented but that will quadruple the cost. Small steps right?

Do yourself a big favor through and buy the Tamiya screw driver when you buy a TT kit. Tamiya uses JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screws which look like Phillips head but a Phillips will strip them and frustrate you. The Tamiya screw driver won't strip the screws (easy on the gorilla grip) and the build will go much better. Best $10 I ever spent!

Metalsoft

iTrader: (76)

LISTEN TO THIS MAN! He knows what he is talking about. Really good advice and well worth the investment.

Nerobro

iTrader: (2)

I"m "mostly on board" here.

Yes, buy the car you think is pretty.

Do not buy the tamiya tool kit.

Buy this screwdriver set:
Ok, the most important bit of advice when building a Tamiya kit, is there's some grease that comes with the car. Put a little bit on EVERY screw before you put it into the car. The screws are self tapping, that means they require quite a bit of force to install. The force needed to strip out a screw, is not much more than it takes to thread the plastic, dry. If they're lubed, they take a lot less force, and the force to strip them out seems a LOT higher. Also, you won't have the screwdriver slip out as often. (I've built three M05's, two M06's, four TT02's, a FF03, A FF04, a TA07, two TT01e, a TT02b, and.. i'm sure i'm missing a few. I've.. built a few..)

Spend some money on a fast steering servo. LOTS of "that's weird" or "that's hard" when it relates to driving r/c cars, is due to slow steering servos. You'll save weeks off of getting good at driving by chosing a good steering servo off the bat. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/tracksta...08sec-45g.html This is my usual steering servo for cheap builds. Any servo that says "KG" on the case, is optimized for power, not speed, and NOT what you're looking for.

Oh yes, buy a set of bearings. They're about $15.

Nerobro

iTrader: (2)

Because I'm feeling it.

The Tamiya TT and M series chassis are hilariously cheap. Retail on the motor, and ESC are $8 and $30 respectively. $38 of that car you're buying is the motor and ESC. Wheels and tires? That's $30. $68 of the car, before you've even gotten to the chassis. These cars are regularly available for $100-120. But it gets crazier! Tamiya bodies are AMAZING, and are really the $35-45 they retail for. Between decals, good plastic, good molding... This means your "race car" is contained in the remaining $5-40 of retail price. *shakes head* The chassis really are ~very nearly~ toy grade. But they're "good" in that they're designed to be repaired. And instead of building solely to a price, they're built to be actual r/c cars.

When I want a car to throw around a nasty parking lot, I grab a TT01, TT02, M05 or M06.

Dealer Xing

iTrader: (13)

I like the Kyosho Fazer Chassis kit https://www.kyoshoamerica.com/34461-...assis-kit.html since it accommodates both 190mm and 200mm bodies out of the box; comes with grippy tires and chassis has low center of gravity. It's inexpensive; durable; has front Universals/Fluid Diffs/Oil shocks and can handle high HP without upgrades other than a non-plastic 48P pinion gear. Here is a clip with a truck body; dying 75mm tires and 13.5T BL:

Nerobro

iTrader: (2)

As much as Kyosho was how I got my start in hobby grade RC, the Fazer's aren't good value. They're harder to get parts for, the parts stream isn't fast or broad, and the knowlegebase behind them is much smaller. As for value, the chasiss you posted is $130ish, without motor, or ESC or body.

the TT series cars will happily take a 13.5 (though why would you?) and 190mm is the normal width for road cars now.

I mean, if you're gonna spend the $200 for a RTR, go for it. But ifyour'e building your kit, a fazer is not the path to take.

Dealer Xing

iTrader: (13)

I think the Fazer is a good value if you don't plan on upgrading like I am; and there is no need to for general bashing with that car. Parts are available at my LHS and on the web. I have many Tamiya kits (from TA01 to TRF) and I think the Kyosho is a great value based on its performance and durability. Sure it lacks an ESC and a body but a TT01/02 kit don't come with Ball Bearings/oil shocks/fluid diffs/CVDs/sticky tires either. That's an easy $100+ right there