TRF 202 or 512? TRF SC?

[MITamiya]

Any rumors regarding new TRF vehicles on the horizon? With the release of the 22 and RB6 it will be interesting to see if Tamiya counters with a new 2WD racing machine, especially something with a +6 or +8 chassis.
As is appears Lee Martin may prefer the 511 for most tracks, I wonder if we will see new option parts or a revised car in the future. Here in the states where the 502 might be the better choice we do not have a rockstar driver like Lee to help sell the 502 and with more indoor/astro tracks in Europe, it sure seems like the 511 would be the car to develop. I never really see the Japanese racing results or what car is popular there, does anyone know if they typically race the 502 or 511?
It would also be great to see Tamiya release a SC truck, as they are soooo popular here and the 22 SCT and Durango SC have our tracks buzzing for the winter season.
What does everyone think?

[Aussie Top Force]

http://rcnewz.com/?p=5283

The after market is doing good job with this for the 201. And the Vega for mid motor.

more and more upgrades are available for the 502. I don't think there will be another belt driven 4wd to continue the 511 legacy. I have to admit though, it's a great car and still a winning design. Maybe they should just relelase another round of 511's.

[DeMogoobra]

Here is what I think...

Tamiya top drivers all use the 511. Guess Tamiya listen to them. My belief is the only logic thing to do is a re-release of the 511 but with some new parts here and there like (maybe) some sort of new BB shocks and an included diffcover front and back. Could also appreciate the slipperaxle facing the other way next to the motor. Creating more space for electronics. Perhaps a new design chassi where slots are taken out and some more options included in the kit from starters. Calling it the TRF511 LM Edition .

I am in between cars right now and i am not in a hurry to buy a new one soon so I wait. Can wait all winter if I have to. Really want a 511 instead of 502. Dont miss understand me. Like 502 but love 511.

Really dont care for a SC so no comment on that matter.

Logic thing to do again is to make a mid motor car branded Tamiya so the factory drivers can represent their company with 100% Tamiya parts.

[rcaddict]

Well, according to the the Tamiya USA website, the current status of the 511 is not "discontinued", its just "temporarily out of stock."

So it does appear as if they will be doing another run of the kits.

I doubt they will redesign the chassis, otherwise it would not be a 511 anymore, but a "512" or something new, which in that case they would show the 511 as discontinued. They might however add some hop-ups inside the kit of the re-release (possibly gear diffs and some blue aluminum parts, maybe even include a body). My guess is that they will do one more re-release of the 511 and then discontinue it for whatever belt driven 1/10 4wd buggy they have in the works to replace it (TRF512 or whatever they call it).

I'd love to see a Tamiya 2WD SC truck released. I'm in Southern California (as is Tamiya as well), and here over 90% of racers race short course. Tamiya knows what the racing climate in the US is like because California leads the way.
I'm lucky if one guy other than me shows up to the track with a 1/10 4WD buggy.
Tamiya already has a platform to release a 4WD short course truck, the XV01. All they have to do is extend the chassis and widen the wheel base, but they should do a 2WD SC truck first and then release the 4WD SC truck.
They have to come out with SC trucks because they are missing out on a HUGE market.
Even HPI, Kyosho, and Durango came out with SC trucks. I'm surprised Schumacher hasnt come out with an SC truck.
Tamiya is just really slow at getting things done becuase they have so many items in their catalouge.
If they had a more focused R/C division they would have come out with their SC trucks two years ago.
Hey, better late than never, but in racing that motto doesnt sound so good.

[qatmix]

Tamiya have announced 1/10RC Asuterion (XV-01T) which hopefully is their 4wd short course truck.

[jimmy]

Lee Martin was booked in for an SC race but withdrew as the Tamiya wasn't ready in time - I would guess this means there's a Tamiya SC coming of some sort.

The 511 wasn't better on the track than the 501X - the main difference was the cell movement - which only really mattered for nimh cells (yes, it's that old) and most / all drivers use their lipos at the same position as the 501X - further back so they fit under the centre.

All the rest was the same - though achieved in a different way and with cheaper materials and less in the kit for more money. Bargain!

That's just me opinion though as I'm a 501X fan - the only reason that car wasn't as popular is simply because it was the first and they had no team drivers in the UK.

I don't think Tamiya listen to their team drivers - let me know if you know different. I imagine they might come out with another car thats possibly not as good.

Again.

[AaronR]

4WD SC... http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/ite...oduct-id=58537

[rcaddict]

That looks like the same Tamiya Chevy S-10 Pickup and Toyota Prerunner my cousin and I put together for Christmas of 1995 Except ours came with mechanical speed controlers. That was a fun kit to build and thrash, but I dont think that platform is going to cut it at the racetrack.

An XV01 based Short Course Truck would be a contender, but Tamiya might have to move the motor to the center or to the back, and of course lengthen the chassis and widen the wheel base. A Tamiya SC truck is definitely a job for TRF.
The only problem I see is there is too much red tape and too many dam hoops to jump through over at Tamiya HQ in Japan to ever get anything done in a timely fashion over there. I hope Tamiya is reading this!

[Origineelreclamebord]

To be honest I don't think there will be a new version of the TRF201 (or a replacing model) before the next years Worlds - the IFMAR drives on dirt tracks only anyway, so the car is pretty much ready (with a few hopups perhaps) to be driven high in the A-mains...

As for 4WD... they might, but I think they're going to give it a final shot with the 511 or 502 before releasing something else.

SC? I think Tamiya is too late with that: pretty much every major manufacturer already has an SC truck, which means it'll be very hard to get even the smallest market share at racing level - just like with the TRF201 - I think they need to sort their spares availability too to gain a racing market share in general.

On the bashing market I think Tamiya is more at home... And perhaps they are just selling the TA02 'SC' trucks because it gives people a smaller scale alternative - and some sort of VERY low cost investment for Tamiya to test the water for the potential of doing more SC-like stuff.

[Dyna]

Tamiya in RC i think still see more manufacturer credibility and kudos on the TRF tourers than off-road. They seem to release a new tourer or update them every 6 months or so whether they need to or not, where in off road we wait years before a new TRF buggy release or even basic platform upgrades - like the 502 updates.

Its a shame tbh, 20 years ago they had a very strong UK off-road team that made the Tamiyas into competitive race machines. Now we just have Lee Martin as the UK's sole TRF factory driver. But of course the UK Tamiya Distributor back then was more inclined to support Tamiya racing buggies and their drivers - i cant ever see the Hobby Company doing the same now and helping the brand by part-sponsoring a couple of extra TRF drivers... I sometimes think the Hobby Co. would rather the TRF buggy brand in the UK didnt exist at all, and I always have this sneaking feeling they are part of the reason why we dont have any other UK Team TRF buggy drivers... or maybe thats me just being paranoid ??

There have been rumours of a mid TRF 2wd for ages now, i have a feeling one, or a conversion kit, will turn up sooner or later. Maybe before the start of the season next year ? Maybe even a decent truck conversion too...

For 4wd, i dont think there will be one for a while. The 501x/511 is still up there with the best in the world, and the 502 isnt far behind now. I think they will release another 511 batch sooner or later, even if it has been 'updated' slightly as has already been suggested. I cant see the DB02 ever being released as a TRF version....

Hey ho, ill probably be proved wrong on every count and Lee will win the next Worlds with a TRF'd DB02

[rcaddict]

I know this is probably old news to most of you, but this is the closest thing that I've seen to a real Short Course truck from Tamiya.
I wonder what happened?...

http://www.rc-area.co.uk/2010/08/18/...ours-squashed/

[kentech]

Watch out for a TRF511 Upgrade Set from Tamiya soon as well...

[rcaddict]

Kentech,
It sounds as if you know something that we dont.

Please do tell...

[DeMogoobra]

Kentech , dont do this

I truly truly want to buy a TRF511 and if there is such a thing you speak of I want it along with a nib 511.

Please tell

[kentech]

All I know is that there is such a product coming, there is a part number and it should be released December. This is a fact. But I have no more info than that.

[DeMogoobra]

Thank you for that info. It gives hope of a re-release of the 511 as well. I do really want one. Owed one and sold it faster than lightning when I heard it was going to be discontinued. So sorry for that today. Never driven anything that good after it.

[rcaddict]

Originally Posted by kentech

All I know is that there is such a product coming, there is a part number and it should be released December. This is a fact. But I have no more info than that.

I knew eventually they were going to do a re-release because the car never went into "discontinued" status on the Tamiya USA website, and Tamiya is very quick to discontinue kits and parts. The 511 has been in the "temporarily not in stock" status for at least a year and a half since it was all sold out. I found that very strange. I was asking myself what the hell is taking Tamiya so dam long to restock!? Looks like I might be buying another 511 kit, or at least the upgrade set.

[Ray Kindstrom]

Originally Posted by rcaddict

I knew eventually they were going to do a re-release because the car never went into "discontinued" status on the Tamiya USA website, and Tamiya is very quick to discontinue kits and parts. The 511 has been in the "temporarily not in stock" status for at least a year and a half since it was all sold out. I found that very strange. I was asking myself what the hell is taking Tamiya so dam long to restock!? Looks like I might be buying another 511 kit, or at least the upgrade set.

I'm with you! Saving up my penny's and dimes

[Fredrik Emilsson]

Now official from Tamiya, part nr 84315 TRF511 Chassis Upgrade Set.

[Origineelreclamebord]

Originally Posted by Fredrik Emilsson

Now official from Tamiya, part nr 84315 TRF511 Chassis Upgrade Set.

But what does that really mean? A set of hopups (a bit like converting it to a 'Worlds' edition?)