Yokomo Gets Funky!

I like front wheel drive RC because its challenging. The physics of of motion work against the front engine front drive layout. As the vehicle accelerates its weight shifts from the front toward the rear, reducing the amount of traction by reducing the amount of weight over the front wheels. That means chassis setup and driving skill are very important to to getting the most out of a FWD RC car.

Tamiya Does the CRX

Tamiya has done it again! There are very few RC CRX's in the hobby. I have spent many years and probably too much money gathering the pieces to complete one of these . Pretty awesome right? I decided I wanted one when I was 12 but they were hard to come by back then. Now Tamiya has released this beauty. Look at this car, it is gorgeous. It comes on the standard M05 chassis as far as I can tell and it will be a kit. I am in love. If Santa Claus brings me this and the RX-7 for Christmas I will be super stoked. I better start saving now!

Tamiya Renault 5 Turbo Rally - M05Ra

As a child I never understood the passion the "old guys" had for old race cars. Their technology and performance had been outdated for decades and the styling was dreadful. Cars back then weren't rolling billboards so there was room for graphics and artistic expression. Now I'm an "old guy" and I love old race cars. These old race cars represented the highest evolution of cars from that period. Sure modern cars can do more with less but they don't make you feel like a kid remembering those old contrived racing scenarios you used to create in your head. You know what I'm talking about, you do the same thing when you're playing Gran Turismo. No? Only me? Well fine. I have recreated "The Most Dangerous Race" 700,000 times with my Hot Wheels cars, Legos, The Game of Life, and anything else with about six cars.

Tamiya Brings Us The Honda CR-Z FF03

What do you consider an awesome kit? Is it easy to assemble? Is it the most high tech design? To me an awesome kit is one that when you finish building it you are torn between driving it and staring at it for hours. I find myself staring at this CR-Z not because it is so gorgeous but because it is so almost gorgeous. Tamiya did a tremendous job replicating this Honda. Unfortunately the car itself is iffy. When tuned it can look aggressive but stock it looks as exciting as oatmeal. Of course the FF03 chassis is sweet enough to make up for the bland body.

RC Honda CR-Z - FF03 Item #58490

The 2010 3-door hatchback sport hybrid coupe Honda CR-Z comes equipped with a 1.5 liter SOHC 16-valve i-VTEC engine which produces an excellent economy of 25km/l. The Honda CR-Z is also the first hybrid care to include a 6-speed manual transmission whereas its predecessor the CV-T had a paddle-shift transmission. The CR-V won the "Japan Car of the Year for 2010-2011" and now comes accurately reproduced as a 1/10 R/C car loaded on the FF-03 chassis.

Specs and Features:

• 1/10 R/C assembly kit model of the Honda CR-Z.
• Polycarbonate body.
• Horizontally-mounted motor is installed at the front of the chassis-Full ball bearings, front ball differential, and CVA shock units.
• Short reversible suspension arms with inboard front suspensionTA05 V2, TB03, TRF416 and TRF417.
• Front wheel drive .
• Full independent, double wishbone suspension system.
• Sticker sheet and masking seal included.

HPI Makes A Lunchbox

The Scion XB isn't that attractive. Its a fwd refrigerator. From certain angles with the right upgrades it can almost look acceptable. The HPI Switch chassis is funky. It can be fwd or rwd adjustable wheelbase and Macpherson strut suspension. That type of suspension is terrible at controlling bump steer and camber changes. I would spend my money to tinker with this package if it were only a few dollars. It isn't so judge for yourselves.

3Racing Has a Prototype FWD Sakura

Yup the Sakura FF is real but apparently not for sale. I feel a strong lust for this vehicle. My Christmas kit was either going to be a TA05 or the Sakura Zero S. Now I am thinking about the Xevo Chariot kit and the Diggity Designs XLR8 V2 kit or a Brat. I will probably buy two of these but which two? My TC3 has been hidden in a box for years. I bought it as an unknown chassis on the bay and when I got I was appalled by its ugliness. The previous owner decided to paint much of it silver. I absolutely despise painted chassis. RC cars go through hell and the chassis sees most of it. Paint a chassis and it will remind you of every pebble and slip of the screwdriver it sees. Back to the Sakura FF, I really don't have much to say about this car except it looks rad and i can't get one.

3Racing SAKURA FF Touring Car Chassis (FWD PROTOTYPE)

Four single head drive cars from the early 80's the end of the Kyosho Peugeot 205, Honda CRX times since the start of each period of the first drive car also cited a number of players kind of love. Hong Kong this year also happens to blow a burst of four matches the first drive alone car craze, the situation and the former is a series of different places of course, the emergence of a new car. Tamiya FF-03 PRO chassis and TOP Racing Sabre FD chassis will become regulars on the field. The antecedents SAKURA ZERO competition and reached the Class 3 Racing in Hong Kong market, the company saw the market, but also accelerated the development of a new generation of special-class race car drive four single head.

SAKURA FF Chassis:

Although Hong Kong 3 Racing mourn the loss of the company to face the pace of the first array market, but use this time to collect the various manufacturers on the market four separate issues the first drive for improved car design goals. In particular, the head weight distribution, and the drive gear box center of gravity made many changes. In particular, for example Tamiya FF-03 PRO-driven gear box and spindle center of gravity is too high and so on later. 3 Racing SAKURA FF Kyosho Mantis FF deliberately used as the type of gear layout low center of gravity, and then re-modified form of the gear ratio and small. In order to head higher hardness, but also to spend all of 7075 aluminum alloy material integration. Hydraulic height than SAKURA ZERO change even lower, you can use more types of vehicle Valley. The entire vehicle test use the new gear is also a special material, differential bevel side parallel to spend four Mi-sharing efforts.

Front and rear suspension system and the tail gear box with back SAKURA ZERO identical parts. Their own play SAKURA ZERO of the fans, can share the main part is a very convenient way. Spend a steering system steering system L split into pieces, and the central muon can add different perspective to change the steering geometry. Server location is more a piece of carbon fiber protection board, dismissed the impact damage to the server when the chance. SAKURA FF activities are specially designed battery holder, can be easily able to replace the battery.

I heard Hong Kong 3 Racing 's SAKURA FF Chassis testing has come to an end, now part of some minor improvements and materials can be determined release date. Interested friends to remember to pay attention to 3 Racing site it!

Tamiya Unveils the JAS Motorsport Honda Civic FF03

Tamiya is on fire! This little puppy looks sweet. I know I've been featuring a lot of Tamiya lately, you will only have to endure a few more. Like this one coming soon. It looks like this FF03 is using the short wheelbase set up. This body sure is a looker. I'll admit, I'm a hatchback guy, I think all cars need a giant portal for carrying things. Anyways, no chassis shots no other pics just this. Enjoy.

RC JAS Motorsport Honda Civic - FF03 Item #58476

The latest addition to the FF-03 line-up is a racing version of the European Honda Civic Type R. This Civic is a three door hatch back which uses a different chassis and internal layout than its Japanese counterpart. JAS Motorsport, an official Honda customer racing partner, developed this special version to compete in various racing events.

Specs & Features

• 1/10 R/C assembly kit model of the JAS Honda Civic Type R R3.
• Brand new polycarbonate body captures the sporty form of this current Civic.
• The horizontally-mounted motor is installed at the front of the chassis, and coupled with front wheel drive.
• Short reversible suspension arms with inboard front suspension.
• Equipped with 1050 ball bearing specification uprights, front all differential, and CVA shock units.
• Sticker sheet and masking seal included.

Tamiya FF03 TCS Winning Setup

I like Tamiya. Heck I want to name my daughter Tamiya Grasshopper Mendelson, but I'm not Jewish. Sometimes they do things that make me scratch my head, like spec Porsche bodies for a fwd only class. Don't they have an EG civc? Didn't they re-release a bunch of old FWD bodies? Yes and yes. The real question is; why do they have a surplus of Porsche bodies? Today I bring you the car that won the new FWD class at TCS (Tamiya Championship Series). Slick little piece, nice upgrades, cool paint (I like itasha), great overall car. Check it out:

Front Wheel Drive Returns

At the 2010 TCS North American Finals, one of the original TCS classes made its return with the front wheel drive GT4 class. Using the all-new FF03 chassis and spec Porsche bodies, this class what hotly contested among many different drivers and saw a lot of close action through the weekend. At the end of the day, one driver proved to have the best setup all weekend. Rod Canare took TQ and swept A1 and A2 to take overall victory in the inaugural race for what is sure to become a very popular class. After the race, Rod let us borrow his car to get some detailed pictures and even provided a copy of his winning setup to share.

setup sheet click to embiggin

Parts used for FF03
QTY     Part #         Description
1           84130        FF03 Titanium Screw Set
1           54226        RC FF03 3/32 Tungsten Ball -12pcs
1           53539        5.5 Aluminum Spacer Set
1           53709        FL coated Suspension Ball
1           53646        Wheel Spacers
1           53570        Clamp Type Aluminum Wheel Hub (4mm) front
1           53823        Clamp Type Aluminum Wheel Hub (5mm) rear
1           53884        TA05 Carbon Battery Plate Set
2           53851        46mm Titanium Coated Suspension Shaft
1           53933        Aluminum Suspension Mount Spacers
1           53500        Assembly Universal Shaft Cross Joint
1           53724        Aluminum 46mm Swing Shaft
1           54076        TB03 Wheel Axles
1           54233        FF03 Aluminum Diff Joint Set
1           54234        Aluminum Spur Gear Mount
1           54235        Aluminum Racing Steering
2           54071        Aluminum Suspension Mount (1C)
1           54067        Aluminum Suspension Mount (1XA)
1           54072        Aluminum Suspension Mount (1D)
1           54075        TB-03 Ball Head King Pin (Fluorine Coated)
1           53992        TA05-IFS Rocker Nut - Aluminum
1           53924        DF03 Heat Sink Bar
1           53917        2.6mm Titanium Suspension Shaft - For Reversible Suspension
1           54090        TB-03 Aluminum Servo Stay (Right)
1           54091        TB-03 Aluminum Servo Stay (Left)
2           53918        TRF Damper Low Friction V Parts
1           54183        Reinforced Freewheel Axle Set - M-Chassis
1           51332        TRF416 Front Upright
1           51333        TRF416 Rear Upright
2           53928        Short Reversible Suspension Arm
1           54031        TA05-IFS F Parts - Hub Carrier 4 Degrees, Hard
2           53907        5x8mm Aluminum Ball Connector - Hex Head

XEVO Chariot fwd mini chassis kit

Ok I've been eyeballing this chassis recently. It's pretty cool looking. The idea is you take your Tamiya M03, buy this conversion kit, ?????, profit. Or something like that. I kind of dismissed it when the Tamiya FF03 came out. I've taken a second look at it when I started reading about RWD Tamiya M03 conversions. I started thinking this would make a pretty awesome RR car, maybe. Depending on the flanges that retain the bearings for the differential, it may be possible to swap the bulkheads left to right. This would allow the chassis to be reversed with the front being the rear and the rear being the front. Change the arms and uprights front to rear and it will be a RR chassis. The only problem I can see is this setup will push, a lot. I would like to put the steering servo directly between the front wheels to increase front grip. I have plenty of time to figure out my options since I have already spent September's RC budget. If that won't work plan B is to stretch it to 247mm and use it for the unpainted Tamiya TT-R body I have.

X-Evo Chariot Fwd Conversion Kit for M03/4/5 (Ver.2)

New Version 2 kit. The laydown shock design is now parallel to the chassis instead of perpendicular to the chassis. The Version 2 was tested at the 2010 TITC Race and received very positive feedback.

The X-Evo Chariot converts your Tamiya mini into a lean mean racing machine. The FRP and aluminum not only looks cool, but adds durability and performance to the conversion. The center battery and lay down shock design improve the balance and CG of the mini. As well, the ability for open gearing allows higher top speeds.

Features:

• For the Tamiya M03, M04, and M05
• FRP chassis and upper deck
• FRP shock towers
• Aluminum bulkhead
• Aluminum hinge pin carriers
• Lay down shock design for lower center of gravity
• Center battery placement
• Wheelbase: 210/225mm
• Pinion gear: from 19T to 26T
• Length of suitable battery: max. 225mm

Additional Tamiya Parts Required:

• SP797 5mm Adjuster (short) (1set)
• OP640 5mm Aluminum Ball Nut (1set)
• OP642 5mm Aluminum Ball Connector (1set)
• OP267 Ball Differential (1set) (Not required if you use Gear Diff.)
• OP1000 M Chassis Aluminum Damper Set (1set) OR, SP746 CVA Super Mini Shock Unit Set (2sets)

Note: the conversion only includes the chassis, shock towers, upper deck, bulkheads, hinge pin carriers, body posts, and hardware. Many of the parts you see pictured carry over from your existing kit (including shocks, arms, gears, uprights, etc). Electronics, lipo, M03/4/5 kit not included.

Tamiya's FF03-PRO

I know this is kind of old but I haven't written about it yet and it's an alternative to the TOP Racing Sabre I wrote about earlier. I like FWD touring cars. Actually I like the variety that touring cars offer. FWD is one of many flavors in the touring car ice cream store. I know the old FF01 was supposed to be the best FWD racer excluding the Yokomo YRF. I never drove it before though. I have a pair of FWD's on the horizon and maybe come Christmas I'll have one of these sweeties too! I buy my own Christmas and birthday presents and act like they're surprises. So pitifully sad, yes. Any how this thing is mad sexy and much cheaper than the TOP. So if you're poor like me check it out.

New From Tamiya

Tamiya is at it again. I love Tamiya. Tamiya completes me. People may speak poorly of Tamiya, they just don't understand the awesomeness. Now for the bs. Why the funk are they releasing all of these cool rwd bodies on the fwd M05 chassis? I think they are abandoning the rwd mini platform. I checked the TCS rules and they removed the part about no rwd bodies on fwd chassis and vice versa. Oh well time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'. Into the future. The TA series is up to 5 with 6 looming on the horizon. I'll admit I still haven't bought a TA05 yet. I have no good reason other than the 47 other RC cars I have to feed. 47 may be an exaggeration but anything more than 5 might as well be 50 when it comes to needing parts. This might be the one to crack my wallet. Mach Go Go is Japanese for SPEED Motherfunking RACER! See the M on the hood? When I was a kid I wanted to paint a red M on my hood. Then I realized girls don't like guy with cars painted like cartoons, but they looove guys with toy cars painted like cartoons.

RC Alpine A110 - M05Ra
Item #58471

The Alpine A110 sits on the M-05RA chassis. The Alpine was also founded by a sports car enthusiast. Originally based on a Renault, it was first released in 1963 and later took part in and dominated road races in the late 1960�s and early 1970�s. Some great feats of its career was when it entered the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally and won the race in difficult conditions as well as recording a victory in the European Rally Championship.

•  1/10 R/C assembly model kit.
•  Polycarbonate body, includes separately molded light cases.
•  Side mirrors separately molded.
•  Polycarbonate guards protect the motor and battery pack against dirt and debris.
•  Short wheelbase: 210mm.
•  60D rally block tires included.
•  Install separately available Tamiya LED Light Unit (TLU-01, 53909) for exciting light action.

RC Mach GO GO GO Shaken 408R - TA05v2
Item #84141

Limited edition team Mach's Go Go Go Shaken 408R, mounted on the TA-05 V2 chassis.

Specs & Features

• 1/10 R/C assembly model kit.
• Polycarbonate body.
• Separately molded side mirrors and rear wing.
• LED lights are not included.
• 2-belt driven TA05 ver.II chassis.
• Comes with medium narrow racing slick tires.

OMG FWD FTW!!

Yeah baby! My glory days (90's) are coming back! Don't get me wrong I had fun in the 21st century but nothing compares to the "end of innocence" that was the 90's. People wore clear pagers, cell phones were the size of my shoe, and 2GB ram dual core processors were from outer space. Continue? You wore colors so bright they still embarrass you to this day, Japanese sports cars were embarrassing "American Muscle", Reality TV began and ended with "The Real World", and we were all preparing to "party like it's 1999".

What was all that about? well FWD touring cars are trying to come back. Yeah I passed on them in favor of belt drive carbon fiber and 4wd, but I had no clue. OK I still don't, but now I can appreciate FWD touring cars. I had an FF01 but lost it in the move from AZ to NJ before I could drive it. Now I have a NIB Tamiya FF02 with full options and a Kyosho Mantis that I just converted to FWD (more on those later). I will post up some info on the FF03 once I have all of the details, some people are having problems and I want to give you all of the nitty and some of the gritty. For now I give you the TOP Racing Sabre (Japanese RC's have the best names).


Sexy. I really like the luxury approach they took. It really looks like this car is a serious racer. It looks like its belt drive but its not. It uses the same gears as the FF02, that means the 3racing speed tuned gears for the M03 will work in it. Nice. I wonder if the carbon shafts will work too. Probably not. Now the only problem is 98% of fwd rc owners have plastic chassis parking lot bashers and we have to deal with the guy who dumps $275 on one of these monsters. Lets look at it more closely with RC Mini

TOP SABRE FWD

WORLD EXCLUSIVE

Bored with the seemingly endless numbers of Touring Car chassis that all seem to look the same?
Looking for a new driving experience perhaps? We were, thats why we started racing Minis.
But now there's a whole new alternative as well. Something that even interests us..

Over at T.O.P. Racing in Japan they must have been thinking the same as us, and obviously someone at
T.O.P. likes the idea of thinking outside the square a little and was prepared to be a little more adventurous
than 'just another Touring Car' and came up with the Sabre FD.

Luckily for us, T.O.P. Racing Australia Head Honcho Rod Maslovsky was able to grab hold of the one and only existing assembled version of the Sabre FD and we're presenting it here to the world on rc-mini.net for the first time.
At first glance you could easily mistake it for nothing special, but as your eyes settle on the car there's a lot of tasty little surprises. Like all T.O.P. cars there's a whole heap of red alloy and tasty carbon. And it's all quality stuff, superb machining worthy of any of the leading Major Manufacturers. I'd be happy to buy one on looks alone.

Take a closer look and the drive belt you expect to see running from front to rear isn't there! The rear bulkheads (from the Scythe) are still essentially intact, as is all the rear suspension as well. Most (OK, in fact ALL) of the rear end comes from either the Scythe or the Photon. And why not, no sense re-inventing the wheel here when you've already got quality components that will do the job for you. It also means that you've got all the built in adjustability that those cars have as well.

Moving on towards the front of the car and you've got an all new top plate that terminates in the 2 massive bulkheads lying just aft of the front end. Yep, this is where the motor goes, and here is where the Sabre starts to get interesting. The issue with FWD cars is trying to get everything (i.e. motor, diff and steering) all in the one place. Yokomo hung the motor out front, as have Tamiya with the FF03, T.O.P. have brought it back within the wheelbase and placed the steering linkages just in front of it with a really lovely carbon bellcrank system.

The big surprise for us is that T.O.P. have opted for what is basically a transmission, not just direct drive. Take a look at those gears, if it weren't for the black colour you'd swear they were gear sets out of an M03/05. Word is (although we didn't have the car long enough to confirm) that this is a deliberate design feature so that the final drive ratio is exactly the same as the Tamiya cars... If so, that's a super clever move and to be applauded.

The car has a ball diff as standard and also includes Unis too. Standard battery placement has it running down the side like the Photon. But, we figured out it would be a 2 minute job to move it inboard and have it almost down the centreline of the car. We also found that it could be mounted crossways, and we even think that with minimal work the servo could head up top and the battery could even maybe go right forward next to the motor to give you that extra weight over the front end.

This car really has a lot to recommend it. Superb build quality, innovative engineering and a whole lot of thought has gone into it. And it's great to see that manufacturers are moving out of the 'normal' Touring Car arena a little. After all, 95% of Touring Cars looks exactly the same now anyway.
The question a lot of you are maybe asking is 'Why do rc-mini care about a TOURING CAR anyway?' Very simple,later this year, T.O.P. are releasing a Sabre FD Mini!... And THAT is something we cant wait for!

Check out the optional battery placement


Horizontal or longitudinal