TAMIYA TL-01
I've had a lot of people contacting me about the Tl-01 with questions about its performance and upgrade ability..
I have to point out that after racing these cars for a couple of years their performance as a race machine are a little lacking..They are intended as a sport class R/C ride and to be competitive with the better handling cars at the track you need to spend a lot of hard earned R/C cash to keep up..
In the end you will find that the R/C cash you save in the beginning by getting a more economical ride is soon burned up trying to keep them running competitively..
We found that with a hotter motor (we're just talking a Midnight Pro2 stocker here)the rear gear housing area tends to overheat...There is no air flow around this completely sealed area and friction becomes a huge enemy.
After actually melting the first set of gears, it was off to the hobby shop for Tamiya Speed tuned gear sets..This worked for awhile but then we managed to melt the actual chassis in the rear gear area..Back to the Hobby Shop for a complete set of ball bearings plus a light weight Tamiya TL-01 chassis.
This seems to have solved the heating problem somewhat..Although we don't "practice" with these cars too much on race day..A few laps to get used to the track and then we run our qualifiers and main..Thats it..
The R/C Kids were complaining that their TL-01's weren't handling very well...I put this down to lack of experience at first..Then I took over the controls during one of their qualifiers and realized how bad they did handle under racing conditions..We determined that it was mainly a result of the inferior shocks included in the kit...Back to the Hobby Store for some spring over oil filled HPI shocks..Another expense.. They made a world of difference...But the point is that the money we saved by not getting an HPI RS4 Pro or simliar performance R/C ride soon gets eaten up in the "extras"..Don't get me wrong..I still think that these are great entry level cars and are truly great for the little R/Cers in your family or for the bigger R/Cers who want to try racing before investing huge amounts of money..But instead of trying to hop-up your TL-01 to be competitive I would suggest that you "shelf" it or use it as a "practice" car and get yourself something more in the lines of a race bred car to spend your R/C cash on..
I just re-read over my review below and still think that all the points I have made about this car are still true..Other than the fact that it really doesn't hold up to being hopped-up..So please read on and enjoy your stop at the TL-01 review section of R/C Ontario....Fanx...The R/C Guy.
KIDS ARE R/C PEOPLE TOO!!
After watching and hearing about me racing over the past years , my kids really got the R/C Bug..They have been wanting a “real” R/C Car for some time..
At first I was thinking of getting the cheapest stuff I could find...Then I decided to get the best cheapest stuff I could find..I wanted a car that they could build on as their skills approved..I wanted a tough car that they could bash around a lot..I wanted a car that was fairly easy to put together because I wanted them to do most of it themselves.
I did a lot of research into this car and decided that the Tamiya TL-01 was the car for them..
I have found that Tamiya makes well detailed dependable cars..The TL-01 is no exception..
It features a shaft driven four wheel drive, a super strong (indestructable??) polycarbonate monocoque chassis , double wishbone suspension on all four corners , Tamiya’s stock 540 motor , and as with most Tamiya kits the included 3 step mechanical speed control gets things running pretty quick..
The R/C kids opened their new TL-01’s on Christmas Day..They were thrilled..The cars both came with great looking bodies that caused great excitement(Ford SVT F150 Lightning & Peugeot 406ST)
I got the Peugeot at the Hobby Show for $100.00 and the Lightning at one of my favorite Hobby stores for $120.00...(Hope my kids don’t check out my site???)..Both radios were about $100.00 at the Hobby Show..The Peugeot is controlled with a Hi-tec Lynx AM radio/servos/receiver..Its a good little radio for the money..It has dual rate steering which is kind of nice..It does seem to have used up its first set of batteries pretty quick though..The Lightning is controlled by my old reliable Futaba Magnum Sport radio..I wasn’t using it anymore and it is a great radio for these cars..
This kit went together very well..The R/C kids were able to do most of the work by themselves as I had hoped..The motor was kind of hard to get installed and I had to take over that job..The motor sits in a hole in the chassiss and its pretty hard to co-ordinate the lining up and tightening of the mounting screws..
If you are thinking of getting one of these cars for your kids or if you are thinking of trying out R/Cing for the first time yourself..The most important thing I can suggest is that you pay very close attention to the instructions..The front end and back end of these cars are basically the same..Different enough to make a big problem if you do it wrong though..We had a hard time telling them apart at times..Look for the location of the motor in the instructions..It is located in the back half of the car , just ahead of the back wheels.
The TL-01 is a pretty basic car..I could start listing all the upgrades that would be good for this car, but I think that this is a car for beginners and to say you “need” this and that , kind of defeats the purpose..Suffice to say it comes with a whole list of possible hop-ups and can be turned into a pretty good little machine..We will , however, post any upgrades and thoughts on them as they get added on..In its stock form this is a fast R/C ride..
The '99 PLRC season hasn't even started yet but we are already adding a hop-up to these cars..Foam inserts for the tires...They aren't that expensive a hop-up and the Easter Bunny got them anyways..We found that the "foamless tires" were like running with flats..Don't get me wrong..The cars went like rockets and did pretty good in the corners..The inserts are not a neccessity to having fun with your new TL-01..
Having said that..We found that only the outside edges of the tires were riding on the pavement..the inside portion(most of the tread) was just along for the ride..If you looked at a cross section of the tire you would see a "sad face"...:(
We added HPI #5140 foam inserts($10.00/4) to all four(eight actually)..tires..What a difference..Now the contact area is greatly improved..I would highly recommend this as a first hop-up for these cars..
Tamiya has great little tinted window decals for both these cars..Great idea I think..Unfortunately they are a “Daddy” job..They are really hard to get centered and smoothed properly..Once they are on correctly though , they look real sharp..
Because Tamiya provides you with a protective film for the outside of the body , you don’t have to worry about the over spray.. This makes the job of masking a lot easier.. The paint scheme of both these cars is pretty basis and easy to do..We masked the windows and then just added the one color to each car..Go over with a very light first coat of paint to seal the edges then keep adding coats until you are happy with the covering.. Three coats (allowing at least an hour if not a day between coats) each and it was done..The hot looking yellow for the Peugeot combined with the decals is the official paint scheme of the British Touring Car Championship Team Peugeot cars.At least it was a few years ago..The racing red and some simple decals was all it took to complete the cool looking F150 Lightning..
I added the black body lines with an extra fine “Sharpee” marker to make the body a little more realistic.. ..
A bit of a ‘guess what I did , story actually’....Both cars were finished...The R/C Kids were being taught the finer points of setting up the radio gear..I told , them turn on the radio, turn on the car!!
I was at the Dining Room table , fine tuning the TL-01 Lightning when I noticed that the forward/reverse had to be trimmed a little to center the mechanical speed control..After completing this , The R/C Kid 2 pointed out that the wheels were turning the wrong way..So was the forward/reverse..Well , no problem son..I’m an expert at this..You just simply change the setting of your radio controls to reverse..Watch , I said....I TURNED ON THE CAR.....It took of like a bullet...The adjustments I had made earlier was now reversed double the other way..The car left the table at a high rate of speed..Slammed into the concrete(in my dining room..yes) floor heavily..OOPPS!!!
As a Final Thought I want to tell you that their wasn’t a mark on this car and nothing broke...The TL-01 is cheap!! The TL-01 is tough!! The TL-01 is fast!! The TL-01 is good looking!!..It is a great car for a beginner..Its a great car for kids..Its a great car for me!! The R/C Kids and The R/C Guy are going racing..Yahoo!!!Keep on R/Cing Guys/Gals..I’m outta here..
The Paint;
Final Thought;??
How Much??
Reviewed By; THE R/C GUY with input from The R/C Kids