Tamiya started the 4 wheel drive touring craze more than 7 years ago. The Tamiya TA-01 was the first huge leap in technology that spawned the touring car craze we find ourselves in. Through the years Tamiya has produced some of the most innovative cars this industry has seen. They have evolved from the TA-01 through the TA-02 series. They then came out with the ground-breaking front-motored TA-03 series. This car went on to win the '97 R.O.A.R, and NORCA Nationals, piloted by David Jun. Tamiya has been doing their homework for a few years now - producing yet another winner! The Tamiya TA-04 series of touring cars are now here, and we are the beneficiaries of their toils. Through this article, I will go through this new "touring titan " top to bottom. 

Getting started 

Tamiya, in it's usual fashion, has the best instruction manuals in the business.  Open the box and it is all there.  I started with the TA-04 Pro kit.  To enter the next Tamiya Championship Series race (TCS), I elected to put the tub chassis on to make it GT-2 eligible.  All part bags are labeled clearly, with excellent illustrations to help you follow along.  Tamiya holds your hand through the entire building process, ensuring that everything will go together correctly. 

Chassis 

The TA-04 Pro kit comes with a double deck fiberglass chassis.  The bottom deck is cut out to allow cooling for the motor, and will accept stick packs only.  The top deck is secured through the bulkheads to the bottom plate.  This provides the fairly stiff platform for a needed for a high quality racer.  I wanted to make this car GT-2 legal in the TCS series.  To do this I replaced the original kit chassis with the tub chassis version.  This all went together very well, all the mounting holes lined up perfectly.  The only thing now is that you have to use strapping tape to secure the batteries in.  The tub chassis provides an even stiffer platform for the car, yet still only accepts stick pack, or side-by-side battery configurations.  You must to pay special attention NOT to over gear the motor when using the plastic tub chassis!  There is no ventilating hole in the chassis to cool the motor.  The motor sits perfectly in the rear center of the car, providing a nice balance. Both chassis provide ample room to mount all electronics. 

The center position of the motor makes for excellent handling, but beware of heat build-up in the tub chassis versions! 

Suspension 

Tamiya provides the tried and true oil filled plastic shocks.  They are mounted to the lower suspension arm with the option of two locations on both front and back.  The shock towers provide two mounting choices up front, with three choices out back.  The A-arms are nice composite molded pieces.  They are strong and bulky.  They come equipped with tweak screws to set the droop.  Up front the A-arms are connected to hub carriers which house the steering knuckles.  Standard camber links are in use both front and rear, and are fully adjustable.  In the rear there are five positions to choose from, up front you have three choices.  Rear toe-in angle is factory set at 1 degree, front castor is set at 10 degrees. 

Fully adjustable camber links are standard. 

Drive Train 

Tamiya has listened to the racers and uses to a two-belt system with this chassis.  Gone are the idler gears from the TAO-3 series. There now are just two belts, two ball differentials, and one top shaft/spur assembly.  This car has a refreshingly efficient drive train.  The Pro kit comes with two ball diffs.  From the differentials, the power is transferred through dog bones to the axle assemblies.  There are ball bearings through out the entire car, making this one "smooth" cruiser.  The motor is dead center in the rear of the car, transferring the power to the spur gear that is incorporated in the top shaft.  The top shaft has two pulleys that drive the two belts leading to the ball diffs.  I opted to use standard pitch pinions and spur gears.  I used a 128 tooth 64 pitch spur gear.  When building the diffs pay close attention to step #16.  This is where you make spacers that are inserted into the diff housings. Size does matter here, if these are not correct you will find out very soon!! 

This overhead view illustrates the well-balanced nature of this vehicle; with easy access to all components. 

Performance 

Wow!  This car is fast.  I went out the first run with the kit supplied springs.  The car had a little too much body/chassis roll.  I picked up a new Tamiya hard spring set (53440).  I now had the white springs up front, and the blue springs in the back.  With this new set up the car settled down and tracked through the corners well.  The kit supplied tires dialed right in!  They provided excellent traction, and good tire life.  This car has a TON of acceleration, compared to all other Tamiya cars.  No more gear boxes to spin up.  I am having a blast driving this car!  I had a stock motor in the car with a 128 spur, and a 37 tooth pinion.  While practicing, some guys thought it was a mod motor.  During the qualifiers the car was very predictable, and that is paramount when working traffic.  By hook or crook, or just plain 'ole luck: I put the car in the TQ spot!  By this time, everyone was crowded around my pit table to take a look at this new R/C rocket.  The mains went off, and the car took a nice hole shot.  Thanks to the handling and raw speed of the car - it took it's first win on the maiden voyage! 

Hard white springs (Tamiya #53440) reduced body roll which improved cornering

Blue springs in rear, stock motor, 127-spur and 37-tooth pinion - this car had everyone's attention! 

The "Final Lap" 

Tamiya has done it again.  They are one of the leading companies in radio-controlled car production.  They make the cars for the masses, and now they made this one for the serious racers.  The two belt system is efficient, lightweight, and reliable.  The handling characteristics of this car are on par with the most expensive touring cars on the market, but you can race this car for free at any TCS event!  This car is built well, and surprisingly lightweight for it's tough components.  The ease of tuning, and consistency of this car, will bring the racers to it.  It is a great ride, and a load of fun to drive.  This car will make all of it's owners very happy.  See you at the track! 

Charged up and ready to race!

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