jmarzello

I'm interested in purchasing my first R/C car and need some help deciding what would be best for me. I'm certain I want on on-road vehicle for looks and feel. I will mainly be driving in a parking lot/street or at the local park's tennis court. I really like the drift cars but I'd like something that will pick up and go with a little modification. My budget is about $300. Cars I'm debating over are the HPI Sprint2 Drift, Tamiya TT01, or the TA05. My main concern is driving on parking lot/street will I be going through a lot of belts on the HPI? Another factor is being able to change to a traction/speed setup if I wanted too. I would consider other cars as well.

Thanks for the input.

gokemidoro

Changing up to a "grip" setup from drift will take removal of the rear diff, and changing out drift shoes for grip, ones.

The Sprint 2 is a good choice. There are some mods that will need to be done, so you don't shred belts, but they are easy to do. The TA05 (which model?) takes less to drift, but the rear diff and tires/wheels will be the same process no matter what chassis you get.

Lots of guys complain about the belt issue, and prefer shaft-drive, but belts are just smoother, don't make as much noise, and are more efficient, in my opinion. I have a Losi JRXS-R that is so efficient, the motor doesn't even get past lukewarm, no matter how many battery packs I go through. My Sprint 2 is not as efficient, but it doesn't get hot, either! Same-same my TA05 VDF. Shafties will all get hot.

It's still your choice, though.

icedude1989

i have a thunder tiger sparrowhawk dx. it is shaft driven, i have never had any problems except what gokemidoro said about the motor getting hotter than belt driven cars. but its not that bad, with a good heatsink it would be properly sorted. i also really like the sprint 2 and have seen them put out some good shows. i have never seen a ta05 running though so i cant comment about it. althought from what i have searched off the sites, it is a very reliable car too. the only thing i can offer is that with the sparrowhawk ive never had problems putting on road tyres without touching the diff although an upgrade of the motor would certainly help with speed as its not as powerful as u'd want a 'touring' car. 

kstmRYD

Sprint 2 vs TA05 - I have both, drifted both for long time, hands down TA05 performance wise and parts availability and available hop ups. Sprint 2 is no slouch but it does not come close to TA05 in balance and smooth drive line power transmission.

jmarzello

Well thanks for all of the input. As of right now I think I'm leaning more towards the Sprint2 just because it falls in my budget better. It sounds like the TA05 is a better car all around but the VDF version I found was like $350 which would be OK except that's without motor/ESC/Radio/etc. I don't mind paying a little more but this will set me back well over $500. Anyone able to point me in the direction of a cheaper TA05 VDF or drift setup?

No one even touched on the idea of the TT01, is this car not as good as the Sprint2? I know it's a little cheaper with a price tag sub $200 but isn't the model like 6+ years old?

gokemidoro

It's not the age of the design, but it's simplicity. If you are a tinkerer, you will not be satisfied with it for long. It does have a following, and a long list of option parts, however.

My suggestion is to pick a model that is the highest quality you can afford. As with all things, you generally get what you pay for. Higher priced drift chassis also perform better, meaning you don't need to do as much, to get it to drift well, for the amount of money you invest.
The majority of my drift chassis are well over $500, and surprisingly enough, after all the mods made to my Sprint 2, to get it to drift well, costs as much as the higher priced chassis!

You could try the TA05R, with the IFS setup. The kit is affordable, and though you will still need electronics, it is a quality model, and will drift well with relatively few mods.

kstmRYD

this guy is selling a TA05 in nice shape with a shell for $150 - you can stick an EZRun brushless combo in it for another $100, this would be a much better setup than the sprint.

I'm not sure if you have to register on the forum in order to view the for sale post
http://www.hyperdrift.com/forum/view...hp?f=14&t=4733