djohnson20

im new and lookin 4 a rtr nitro rc boat and i been looking around everynight to find a rtr nitro rc tunnel. if there are not any im just gonna go with the thundercat 31 by proboat. but i would really rather have a rtr nitro tunnel boat instead of a catamaran

danman aus

whats the difference between tunnel and catamaran? is it the thing im building in the "post water cooled heads" a tunnel boat?
cheers,dan

ob nut

My Feedback: (1)

The only nitro RTR tunnel out there is not worth the money. This is the Dolphin fleebay special. If you want to throw money away, please just send it to me

Cats and tunnels share a middle "tunnel" section, that is about it. Cat's run an inboard while a true tunnel will run outboard only.

danman aus

academy make an outboard tunnel boat with a flex drive to the prop. see the thread called "water colled heads" and see the boat ive built. my friend has a few sittin in his shed if you cant find any in the states. havent hit the water yet,let ya know how it goes
cheers,da.

Jan_the_man

Get in touch with James at www.ovalexpressracing.com , he probably will be able to make you up a RTR tunnel kit of your choice , maybe a Aquacraft Top Speed 2 with an OS 21 outboard. He can do a complete boat for you as far as I know. Other than that you wont get a decent running RTR tunnel boat kit off the shelf. Not for Thundercat prices in any case. You want a nice tunnel you gotta splash the cash.

In my opinion you should try build one yourself. With the TS2 and OS combo , it goes together quite nicely , then just add a decent radio setup of your choice. In any boat the secrets to speed are in the setup , whether it is a RTR Thundercat or a tunnel you built yourself . The pro drivers on this site are your best source of info here.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

You beat me to this recommendation. The TS2 was the easiest non-RTR boat I've ever put together. Very straight forward assembly and went together quickly.

korkka

Here mate, http://www.fusionhobbies.com/Thunder...p/tt5212fy.htm , try google for " thunder tiger bandit rtr " you might find some more options and more locally...

Above recommendations do deserve the attention though... But this will get you going for a while atleast, did it to a friend of me anyway.

Cheers!

Jan_the_man

I recently came accross the Thunder Tiger boat RTR for the 3.5 class . Havent seen or heard much about it her in the forums. How does the boat perform? You can buy the TT Bandit hull only for about the same price as the TS2. The TT motor setup looks to be less expensive than the OS xm21 but how does it compare?

It also looks to me like the have to versions hulls available. One in Fiberglass and one in ABS. it seems to be that the Bandit is FiberGlass and the Falcon is ABS plastic.

topfuel4430

After seeing the bandit perform in Sweden a few weeks ago, I would say the bandit and TS2 are pretty close in the peformance department. The bandit set-up is a great way to get into the hobby, no doubt about it. The Thunder Tiger does not perform as well as the OS engine, but its not a bad combo.

If you will just be playing around at the pond with friends, the TS2/OS or the Bandit/Thunder Tiger will be great choices. If you are planning on racing, shoot me an email and we can discuss some better (but more expensive) options.

~James

fast9

djohnson20- My 2 cents is that is you are brand new to nitro boats do not start with a tunnel. They can be a real pain to set up correctly. Start with a cat or a Miss Vegas or SuperVee that is easier to tune and set up. Once you get a feel for things you can go for a tunnel if you are still up for it. I have seen guys that a fairly experienced boaters buy tunnels and then park them after they have beat there brains out trying to make them run and handle correctly. If you know an experienced tunnel guy who will actually go to the pond with you, then you might start with one. Otherwise I'd start with something else.

fastnitrofiberglass

there is a truly rtr tunnel hull it is around $540 it's a thunder tiger they make the fastest outboard. the link is below.


http://www.fusionhobbies.com/Thunder...p/tt5212fr.htm

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Got any results to back up this claim?

fastnitrofiberglass

As a matter of factly yes.
K&B SX (their fastest 3.5): Power 1.3hp. Rpm: 25,000

O.S. 21 xm Power: 1.3hp. Rpm: 25,000

Thunder Tiger Pro 21m (included on this boat) Power: 2.1hp. Rpm: 38,000

Sources:

http://leadingedgehobbies.com/oscomm...roducts_id=592

http://www.rcuniverse.com/pgarchive/...e_Outboard.htm

http://www.mecoa.com/kb/marine/marine_outboard.htm

All the serious tunnel racers and the 20 yr. expierenced rc boater at my hobby shop all agree. That although heavier the Thunder Tiger outperforms all other stock unmodified engines on the market. Even The Classic ole K&B can't keep up.

TheRealDeal

Well,,,,,I kinda like like this motor,
http://hyperprod.bizhosting.com/3_5_...d_motor_1.html

but if you go out to the races,you will see alot of CMB's walking in K&B and O.S. shoe's,,

kinda tells ya what is realy the fastest outboard !!

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Oh, you meant fastest on paper! Now I understand. In case you didn't realize this, engine manufacturer's HP and RPM claims vary from conservative to wildly overstated. I suspect you're seeing some of this in the above numbers.
IF the TT engine truly had such a big power and RPM advantage, one would think it would be setting records all over the world. Is this happening? What engine does hold the current Sport 20 tunnel records? One would also think that ALL THE SERIOUS tunnel racers in this country and others would be using this engine. Is this the case?

f16man

ABSOLUTELY NOT, I havehad the thunder tiger engines apart on my work bench and when I saw the port work it was a joke compared to a performance engine like a mac, cmb, rossi,os ect. I guess its like when I was a youngster all the kids around the block said the guy down the street had the fastest car in town, it was a 1957 oldsmobile with 3 twos and the old slushamatic, well my brother heard of this and drove over to this guys house with his 66 gto with 3 twos and a four speed and the tall tales about power and speed stoped very shortly after the little ride my brother took him for,, he he he.

f16man

HEY Jerry hows about I send you up one of those fire breethin TT's and you can test for us on one of your hulls.

ryan_t888

The TT engines suck, I would take an O.S. anyday over the TT. I can also easily keep up with a TT engine with my old K&B.

Ryan

topfuel4430

Lol.... come on Ryan, dont hold back, tell us how you really feel.

I wont say the TT sucks, but it certainly needs some major improvement, and they may be getting just that if they listen to Jorgen. To state that a TT is the "fastest" engine compared to an OS or K&B clearly comes from someone who believes everything they hear/read, and has not actually tested with the engines in question as many of us have. Without a doubt, NOT the fastest engine.

With that being said, the Thunder Tigers attempt of a RTR bandit 3.5 hull is a welcome addition in my opinion. It will do and already has been doing exactly what it was designed to do.... GET PEOPLE INTO THE HOBBY, just like the TS 2 did, and just like the next generation of the Auqacrcaft tunnel (RTR) will do.

If you are looking to get into the hobby of outboard tunnels with GOOD equipment the first time, go with an OS XM engine, decent 2 channel FM radio, Hi torque steering servo, and a good hull. The TS2 will fit the bill just fine and lets be honest, for 89 bucks, you cant beat what you get. But if you want a very forgiving, well made and RACE proven tunnel, go with the HTB 260 or 290. There are many hulls available that are on a similar level to the HTB, however for many of them, you have to "know" the right people, or be pretty good at building a wood boat, which is also another good option. The Leecraft boat is another good fiberglass boat to consider.

~James

danman aus

this isnt rtr but its good fun for little effort.
supreme F1 hull,academy 15 all for a carton of beer! swap radio gear from old car i got layin around,few mods here and there and im on the lake! likes to stand with its nose to the sky with WOT take off,still has more engineering to smooth bugs out but all good fun.

cheers,dan

ryan_t888

The guy who owned that previously must of been a car/buggy guy. Specially with that muffler aiming for the moon. I would also get rid of that entire snorkel tubing. It's not needed over water.

Ryan

danman aus

was finding that with the air filter and 90° elbow connected straight onto the carby it was getting water splashed into it and hydraulic locking the engine. that was my idea to get the filter away from the water. you are correct,did get it from a buggy guy! like i say,still got some engineering to do,like changing header/pipe etc,but this comes with time and money

cheers,dan