mxaexm

Hello,

I'm about to get into this hobby (I've been flying RC airplane for 3 years) and now wants to try cars. I'm interested in electric on road cars. What do you think would be best on road Tamiya kit. I don't think I will have the time for racing so I guess parking driving only...so far I really like Tamiya Beetle M-04L (I like full scale bettles).Let me know what you think would be best.

nitrosportsandrunner

i have been in electics for a long time now, but never built a kit. but i have decided just recently to buy a kit as well.
i am thinkin of getting tamiya lunchbox. partly cause i think it looks cool, and at $110 with everything but a radio its their cheapest kit.
the tamiya tL-01, th eTT-01 or the chassis you mentioned are all good to start with. the ones i mentioned are 4wd tho.

mxaexm

I guess next question should be which of the Tamiya's kits would be good for parking lot driving but also have a potential for some racing?

The Mad Modder

Tamiya's M-series cars are fun to drive. They are about the size of a 1/12th scale car, but work well representing 1/10th scale smaller car such as the Beetle, Mini Cooper, and Miata. Myself, I own a m03(front wheel drive version of the m04) and it's an absolute blast, especially with the 19t motor I have in it.

The Mad Modder

The tt01 is Tamiya's base model 4wd shaft drive sedan. It would be good for parking lot driving and decent for racing. The next models up would be the ta05(belt drive) or tb03(shaft drive), which have better handling and sound like what you're looking for.

lee172

the TA05 would be a good parking lot basher and be a decent chassis for racing.

its very hard to recommend a Tamiya car as there are so many different chassis..

dragnse7en

The TA05 kit is not for beginners - it says so on the box and the instructions.

Try a Frog, grasshopper, Subaru Brat, or something simple and 2WD.

You don't need to get boggled up with a four-wheel drivetrain yet. 2WD will be much easier for you to troubleshoot.

lee172

A Frog, Grasshopper, Brat or 'something simple' would have very little potential for racing.. why buy a one trick pony when you can spend a little more and have the best of both worlds..?

i also disagree on the TA05 being 'not for beginners', anything this side of a 1/14 tractor truck or 1/16 tank is buildable by almost anyone.

sheograth

A beginner can build any Tamiya kit if they're slow, methodical, and stay organized. The bigger kits just take longer, but they're not really that much harder if you're technically inclined. Tamiya provides great instructions. Just make sure you keep a clean work area, only open bags as necessary, and be careful.

mxaexm

I'm thinking of starting with Tamiya M04L Beetle and then as my second car: TA05 or TB03

Thanks for your help guys.

Haddi Taha

 if your parking lot bashing the tb03 is much beeter tha the ta05 as the ta05 needs to replace belts and other stuff reguarly bt the tb03 is shaft driven and is easier to build from my experience.

alexchen86

The DF-03Ra is also a good choice for a parking lot basher. Already comes with full bearings, alloy shafts/cups, oil filled shocks, and by far the best handling mid-grade Tamiya cars I've driven.

Drop a nice brushless system in there and you're set! Also fun to drive at buggy courses too!

lee172

good call, i'd forgotten about the DF-03RA! [8D]

alexchen86

MAN! Lee I will kick your butt if you forgot the DF-03Ra!! A cool feature is that their body holes are the same positions as any TT-01...so basically it's a do-all street machine.

Buggy/off road heritage, lots of hops ups included, scale looks, ball diffs, easy to tune to a drifter, touring, or rally within 20 minutes!

And if you completely waterproof everything on it from headlight buckets to axles you have one hell of a rally car!

You learn more from building a buggy inspired touring/off road car than you do a simple TT-01 with no adjustability.

mxaexm

I'm pretty sure that I will start with M04L Beetle (my first RC car) and then TB-03 (that's once I will get addicted).

Casper06

That is a great starter kit. The M chassis Tamiya's are easy to build and are a lot of fun to drive.

lee172

check my thread out.. different body but same chassis..

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_63...tm.htm#6311535

Lunchboxer

Because one never stops at just 1 Tamiya... so you buy a whole bunch of one trick ponies..

lee172

for sure, i like variety

Haddi Taha

you will be addicted when u see a tamiya at a great price i got a brandnew tb03 for $105

mxaexm

I was trying to get TB-03 at rcmart.com for around $100 but all of them were out of stock.I will keep on looking...

dragnse7en

When I was 14 or so, I bought my first Tamiya Frog (1984?) and bashed the crap out of it for 2 years, modded it up with Parma parts, Dirt Burner parts, Genuine Tamiya hop-ups, And a few Hot Trick Stuff parts.

I ran my very first race in the off-road open class, and that's when the original gold tub RC10 came out. I made 2nd place, but that was the most fun in my book of fun memories

If you don't wan't off-road, a simple front wheel drive MO3 series car is fun, easy, simple, and they race em here in stock and mod class here in the east coast.

Tamiya seemed to have sold their larger portion of high-end class off-road cars to it's brother company Yokomo.
The 4WD Dark Impact kit looks promising, with many DF series Tamiya Genuine Hop-Up Option parts. Otherwise, The 2WD TRF201 is youre best bet to give any California car a run for its money

It's just double duty w/ maintenance on any full-time 4WD and esp/ w 4WD offroad RCs with shifting gearbox transmissions. All those vehicles need more attention to detail, even as mundane as we play with it. Then again, these vehicles typically weigh 3-10 times more than your average RC.

Gas, Nitro, Glow Plug -

No thank you. $35 plus a gallon average, change glow plugs, still need a battery for servos anyways, wha wha wha

Giggity Goo


Tamiya Racing Factory TRF -

TA05 V2-R
Evo V
TRF417

and earlier models - almost all are still available.

Micro -
Tamtech Gear 1/18 scale fun fun fun
Aftermarket and Genuine Tamiya Hop-Up galore !!!