Best Tamiya chassis for playing on tarmac and grass?

[King Mustard]

I am in the UK, a beginner, and I looking to buy my first Tamiya chassis.

I want an 'all-rounder', ideally. Something I can use on tarmac but also on light grass. I will not be racing.

The TT-02 appears to be the most popular Tamiya chassis and therefore have the most parts available for it but it looks like it only supports small wheels (I could be wrong), which would be an issue on grass.

I have included a Tamiya photo below that I found on the Internet - I would love to replicate something like this.

I would be happy buying a buggy chassis if it it recommended, but only if I can easily scrap the buggy 'look' and have bodys like the one below.

Would it be a 'truggy' chassis I am looking for?

 

[332_RC]

@DavidB1126 correct me if I'm wrong--
I'm no Tamiya expert. The TT02 chassis is great. They offer on road TT02 & off road, a TT02B, buggy kit. Very popular chassis. Thousands of upgrades available. I purchased a TT02 911 GT3 on road kit back in November, on sale, for $125.

 

[Greywolf74]

@DavidB1126 correct me if I'm wrong--
I'm no Tamiya expert. The TT02 chassis is great. They offer on road TT02 & off road, a TT02B, buggy kit. Very popular chassis. Thousands of upgrades available. I purchased a TT02 911 GT3 on road kit back in November, on sale, for $125.

@WickedFog Can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the TT02 is a huge POS.

I dont have a recommendation for Tamiya though as I dont buy their kits. They barely even register as hobby grade to me. Theyre good for shelf queens I guess but I dont care for them personally.

 

[DavidB1126]

@WickedFog Can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the TT02 is a huge POS.

When I got mine I was super excited. But after the first drive I was like. Nah this thing is trash. Can't even drive straight since the steering rack doesn't return to center. And there is really no fix for it. Had plans on racing it before I built the kit. But after I'm like. No. I'm not spending a fortune into a cheap car to get it race ready. Or what is even race ready?

 

[Greywolf74]

When I got mine I was super excited. But after the first drive I was like. Nah this thing is trash. Can't even drive straight since the steering rack doesn't return to center. And there is really no fix for it.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, @DavidB1126 has one also and has had nothing but issues with it.

 

[DavidB1126]

Tamiya quality
Tamiya as shelf cars
My TT just sits currently.

For the street and grass, tt02b would be the best. But it still (probably) has the same issues at the regular on road tc version.

 

[King Mustard]

Tamiya quality
Tamiya as shelf cars

What do you recommend instead?

Keep in mind I am a beginner, so it would need to be simple to work with, and affordable (in case I give up).

 

[DavidB1126]

If you can get or find Traxxas in the UK. I would highly recommend a Slash. Especially the newer BL2s version. These SCTs can be built into everything and anything. Monster truck. Drag car. On road off-road. Speed. Whatever you want it to be. Have one myself. Was my first RC since is was 7. Now I'm 15 and my slash is almost 9yrs old. But only thing left stock on it is the receiver box and battery strap lots of upgrades available.

Edit: MST is also a great brand what @WickedFog said. But ideally any on road cars aren't the best for grass too so that's why I suggested a Slash. Can do and go everywhere.

 

[WickedFog]

What do you recommend instead?

Keep in mind I am a beginner, so it would need to be simple to work with, and affordable (in case I give up).

Look at MST brand kits like this.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/mst-tc...S9vMO6fMaBRTe7uZDMroVPCs_8Ebnh9RoCv3wQAvD_BwE

MST also makes some nice drift cars.

Here's their website
https://www.rc-mst.com/

 

[Greywolf74]

What do you recommend instead?

Keep in mind I am a beginner, so it would need to be simple to work with, and affordable (in case I give up).

MST is good from what I hear. Traxxas or Arrma prolly a good place to start. Honestly Id just look around and see what interest you and then post it up here and ask for opinions.

 

[332_RC]

correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the TT02 is a huge POS.

I dont have a recommendation for Tamiya though as I dont buy their kits. They barely even register as hobby grade to me. Theyre good for shelf queens I guess but I dont care for them personally.

My bad on the TT02
Recommendation for a real RC in light grass & tarmac- Arrma Typhon 3s. I won't comment on Traxxas.

 

[WickedFog]

@DavidB1126 correct me if I'm wrong--
I'm no Tamiya expert. The TT02 chassis is great. They offer on road TT02 & off road, a TT02B, buggy kit. Very popular chassis. Thousands of upgrades available. I purchased a TT02 911 GT3 on road kit back in November, on sale, for $125.

The TT02 chassis is more of a display to show off the body than anything. Evident by the pogo-stick toy grade shocks, if you want to call them shocks. Tamiya makes some killer bodies though. They are a very popular kit simply because you get a complete car kit minus the servo and radio gear, and they have a huge selection of bodies.

Kyosho seems to be doing the same thing with their Fazer chassis. So if I wanted something similar to a TT02 I'd probably grab the Fazer. But it likely won't be much better. I am sure the steering is better on the Fazer, but there isn't a lot out there in the way of upgrades for them. But then again, I wouldn't really advise spending any money on upgrades on either to be honest.

 

[332_RC]

My friend got a Fazer several months ago. Shelf queen now.

 

[Tunedfrog]

A few things to consider @King Mustard , tarmac eats tires more quickly than anything, and running on grass will make them run higher temps.
No matter what rig you go with, I would be prepared to replace tires often and purchase a heat temp gun so you can monitor the temps.
You did the right thing by asking here before you purchase a rig but MAKE SURE THERE IS AVAILABLE PARTS. I can't stress this enough.
They are nothing more than a shelf queen or paper weight without parts to repair it. They break unfortunately and more often than we like.

 

[Panko75]

If you want a "jack of all trades" Tamiya, I'd reccomend either a "Squash Van" or a CC-02. Both can run on asphalt, gravel, low grass, dirt, etc.

The TT-02...and by extension other 1/10 rally cars, can barely do low cut grass or gravel. The TT02B is too low to really work as an "all-rounder" on top of spikes tires being terrible on asphalt.

I'd personally go for this for a basic "jack of all trades" type of RC.

https://www.hobbytown.com/kyosho-fa...-electric-4wd-readyset-truck-red-kyo34411t1c/

It's 4wd so it'll work on low grass, dirt, gravel, but unlike the TT02B it comes with tires that won't go bald on asphalt in one run. It also has a low CoG so it won't grip-roll like most monster trucks.

 

[King Mustard]

If you want a "jack of all trades" Tamiya, I'd reccomend either a "Squash Van" or a CC-02. Both can run on asphalt, gravel, low grass, dirt, etc.

The TT-02...and by extension other 1/10 rally cars, can barely do low cut grass or gravel. The TT02B is too low to really work as an "all-rounder" on top of spikes tires being terrible on asphalt.

Someone else has also recommended the MF-01X.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Panko75]

Someone else has also recommended the MF-01X.

What are your thoughts?

I'm not a fan of the MF-01X, it's very tedious to service, there's zero battery protection, the rear dogbones fall out, and the "rally car" variants really can't go off-road any more than dusty asphalt. I owned the "rally beetle" variant, you'd do much better simply buying a proper buggy and mounting a lexan VW Bug shell to it.

If you'd like to build a kit, the Arrma Gorgon will work in low grass, asphalt (though it'll probably grip flip), dirt, gravel, etc. It also comes with bearings and proper oil filled shocks.

 

[King Mustard]

If you want a "jack of all trades" Tamiya, I'd reccomend either a "Squash Van" or a CC-02. Both can run on asphalt, gravel, low grass, dirt, etc.

The TT-02...and by extension other 1/10 rally cars, can barely do low cut grass or gravel. The TT02B is too low to really work as an "all-rounder" on top of spikes tires being terrible on asphalt.

I'd personally go for this for a basic "jack of all trades" type of RC.

https://www.hobbytown.com/kyosho-fa...-electric-4wd-readyset-truck-red-kyo34411t1c/

It's 4wd so it'll work on low grass, dirt, gravel, but unlike the TT02B it comes with tires that won't go bald on asphalt in one run. It also has a low CoG so it won't grip-roll like most monster trucks.

Does it matter that the Rage 2.0 Fazer MK2 is brushed, rather than brushless?

 

[Panko75]

Does it matter that the Rage 2.0 Fazer MK2 is brushed, rather than brushless?

Given that 99% of Tamiya kits are either brushed or don't come with a motor at all, I don't think it matters too much in this particular case. You can always upgrade to a brushless setup later on too.

The stock 14t 550 motor that Kyosho uses in the Fazer line-up is a good motor, and the stock ESCs run Deans connectors which are fairly common in the industry.

There's always Arrmas line-up too, I can't reccomend Traxxas since I understand that they're much more expensive in the UK.

 

[WickedFog]

Does it matter that the Rage 2.0 Fazer MK2 is brushed, rather than brushless?

Did you ever decide on a charger?

If you absolutely must go cheap on a charger, a lot of folks started out with the SkyRC iMax B6 charger. They are dirt cheap (around $25 USD) and they will charge a LiPo or NiMH battery. I wouldn't spend any more than that on a cheap charger. Just be aware, there are a lot of clones of it, so you want to do your best to buy the real deal. The real ones are likely a little bit pricier than that come to think of it.

As far as brushed vs brushless, I think you already have a LiPo battery? Can't remember. Brushless, you will need to use a LiPo. Brushed, you can get by with NiMH battery packs. Brushed motors can wear out over time when the brushes wear out. Brushless don't have that problem.

Another RC to check out is the Traxxas Slash kit. It is $270, and all you need is a battery and charger. It being an easy to build kit means you will learn a lot putting it together. It will be good on pavement, dirt, grass, jumps, etc. It's a great all around vehicle.