GreatScott's TF2 Reboot

[joeR6]

Originally Posted by tokdl

Agree completely here... I was, and still am a really big fan of the TF2, but with that being said, I've put up with my fair share, and probably way more broken parts and heart ache than others would care to deal with, with the few kits that I have. I've learned the hard way; having to carry my TF2 half way back from a trail run due to something really silly. But after all that, I still have them, and the experience that comes with working with them for so long, has made me be able to make them all that much more reliable. You either love them, or you're disappointed in them. I really love them because I can build, pretty much what ever project I chose around that platform. Now with that being said, I decided to try my hand at something completely new, the TRX4 Bronco. My first Traxxas, and I'm blown away... the TF2's are slowly starting to gather more and more dust now. This will prove to be an interesting year.

Thanks for the input. I started the other way - with a TRX-4 and am still blown away. I have about 5 RCs at the moment and the TRX4 gets used the most. I think i'll just be disappointed in the TF2 so i will probably hold off on buying one for now.

Perhaps the TF3 isn't too far off in the distance??

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by joeR6

Thanks for the input. I started the other way - with a TRX-4 and am still blown away. I have about 5 RCs at the moment and the TRX4 gets used the most. I think i'll just be disappointed in the TF2 so i will probably hold off on buying one for now.

Perhaps the TF3 isn't too far off in the distance??

With all of the REALLY cool parts on this rig, it still kills me that it performs so badly. For what it is, what it does, and what has to be done to it by the customer, I think it is way overpriced. A $400 kit should, if assembled properly, run like silk over the rocks and not need another $300 for axles to get it to perform properly.

To RC4WD's credit, they did produce this thread:

Team RC4WD Guide to the TF2

But, its very existence tells me that they know what a trail-turd this truck is. And it tells me that they know what the problems are, but are so sure it will sell, they'll leave it up to the customers to fix their problems. Don't get me wrong on this, I have owned a lot of RCs by just about every maker out there, and not one has be perfect (or 100% to my liking) right out of the box, they all need a bit of massaging to get them to run the way I want them to. But, to have to cut, slice, dice and replace parts for a kit this expensive to get any kind of reasonable performance out of it is just too much to ask the customer to do, in my humble opinion.

With that, it is seriously hard to be the scale looks of a properly built TF2. The rails, transmission/transfer case and body are very nice, but the rest of the truck needs work to justify the price. Again, my opinion...

[Ironhide13]

Originally Posted by Greatscott

With all of the REALLY cool parts on this rig, it still kills me that it performs so badly. For what it is, what it does, and what has to be done to it by the customer, I think it is way overpriced. A $400 kit should, if assembled properly, run like silk over the rocks and not need another $300 for axles to get it to perform properly.

To RC4WD's credit, they did produce this thread:

Team RC4WD Guide to the TF2

But, its very existence tells me that they know what a trail-turd this truck is. And it tells me that they know what the problems are, but are so sure it will sell, they'll leave it up to the customers to fix their problems. Don't get me wrong on this, I have owned a lot of RCs by just about every maker out there, and not one has be perfect (or 100% to my liking) right out of the box, they all need a bit of massaging to get them to run the way I want them to. But, to have to cut, slice, dice and replace parts for a kit this expensive to get any kind of reasonable performance out of it is just too much to ask the customer to do, in my humble opinion.

With that, it is seriously hard to be the scale looks of a properly built TF2. The rails, transmission/transfer case and body are very nice, but the rest of the truck needs work to justify the price. Again, my opinion...

I don't think it's quite fair to compare leaf sprung trucks to link trucks. I think a better comparasion might be the Gelande to the SCX10 and the TRX4. But then, I'm still a noob at all this, so take it with 1/2 a grain of salt, a dash of lime, and wash down with tequila if you wish.

That said, I think RC4WD does leave a lot to be desired about quality and product support/replacement part availability.

[Shinchu]

I dont think it's fair at all to compare a tf2 to a trx4 and here is why:

Tf2 = scale accuracy
Trx4 = all out performance

For everything you say the tf2 cant do, I can counter saying something is lacking scalewise on the trx4.
Interior? Scale drivetrain? Ever pop the hood on a trx4?

Two different kits with similar use but different approaches.

If you want I would be more than willing to take any unwanted tf2's and they would have a great home full of love and care

[bent_hinge_pin]

Originally Posted by Shinchu

I dont think it's fair at all to compare a tf2 to a trx4 and here is why:

Tf2 = scale accuracy
Trx4 = all out performance

For everything you say the tf2 cant do, I can counter saying something is lacking scalewise on the trx4.
Interior? Scale drivetrain? Ever pop the hood on a trx4?

Two different kits with similar use but different approaches.

If you want I would be more than willing to take any unwanted tf2's and they would have a great home full of love and care

This is right on

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[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by Ironhide13

I don't think it's quite fair to compare leaf sprung trucks to link trucks. I think a better comparasion might be the Gelande to the SCX10 and the TRX4. But then, I'm still a noob at all this, so take it with 1/2 a grain of salt, a dash of lime, and wash down with tequila if you wish.

That said, I think RC4WD does leave a lot to be desired about quality and product support/replacement part availability.

Originally Posted by Shinchu

I dont think it's fair at all to compare a tf2 to a trx4 and here is why:

Tf2 = scale accuracy
Trx4 = all out performance

For everything you say the tf2 cant do, I can counter saying something is lacking scalewise on the trx4.
Interior? Scale drivetrain? Ever pop the hood on a trx4?

Two different kits with similar use but different approaches.

If you want I would be more than willing to take any unwanted tf2's and they would have a great home full of love and care

It is very fair to say that the TF2 and the TRX4 are really different trucks and built for different things. But, in my last post, I was just looking at the value of the TF2 as a kit, and had not mentioned the TRX4 at all. The gist of it was that for the price, there should not be so many problems. And really, the point of my last post was this:

Originally Posted by Greatscott

A $400 kit should, if assembled properly, run like silk over the rocks and not need another $300 for axles to get it to perform properly.

[bent_hinge_pin]

Originally Posted by Greatscott

It is very fair to say that the TF2 and the TRX4 are really different trucks and built for different things. But, in my last post, I was just looking at the value of the TF2 as a kit, and had not mentioned the TRX4 at all. The gist of it was that for the price, there should not be so many problems. And really, my first sentence really is what I wanted to say.

Would you say the scale justifies the price?. I for one love my tf2 rtr but for a $500 rc i think a few things could have been a little better such as the rtr electronics and the servo and the poorly shimmed axle gears and the very wacky shock sprung leaf springs but still is my favorite crawler and the tiny useless driveshafts. I love the scaleness of it and was torn between the trx 4 and the tf2. The. Trx portals just dont seem right on a trail truck its not a unimog...

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[Shinchu]

A more fair comparison would be a tf2 kit to a gcm cmax. Compare prices there. Don't forget tmx or bowhouse axles for the cmax total price.
I might compare prices later myself just to see since I think that's a really fair comparison.

And I dont think any scale focus truck will crawl over rocks like silk. Can a 1:1 leafed truck do it?
And what's wrong with the yota2 axles? Why would you need to replace them?

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by Shinchu

A more fair comparison would be a tf2 kit to a gcm cmax. Compare prices there. Don't forget tmx or bowhouse axles for the cmax total price.
I might compare prices later myself just to see since I think that's a really fair comparison.

And I dont think any scale focus truck will crawl over rocks like silk. Can a 1:1 leafed truck do it?
And what's wrong with the yota2 axles? Why would you need to replace them?

The biggest problem with them is the very poor turning radius. There are some tricks for getting more steering out of them, but it comes down to bad design. The best cure is to get a different set of axles, which means getting two sets.

To quantify all of this, I am also looking at the TF2 as a C1 comp rig, and not just as a scale RC to bounce around the woods with. Right out of the box it has over 50 scale points, and with just a little bit of trivial work, will max out at sixty points very easily. But, the terrible turning radius, along with other debilitating performance issues make it terrible in competition. After doing all of the suspension mods, replacing the drive shafts, dropping the motor, along with some other tweaks, it still is a poor performer on the tight technical C1 courses. The cure, replacing the axles, and the go-to set is $300.

I have realized that perhaps I am expecting too much performance out of this rig, which is one of the reasons why I sold it (the one before it as well). For C1 comps I am using my SCX10 with the XR10 steering mod, while it maxes out at around 40 points, it preforms very well on both the trail and in comps.

[bent_hinge_pin]

Originally Posted by Shinchu

A more fair comparison would be a tf2 kit to a gcm cmax. Compare prices there. Don't forget tmx or bowhouse axles for the cmax total price.
I might compare prices later myself just to see since I think that's a really fair comparison.

And I dont think any scale focus truck will crawl over rocks like silk. Can a 1:1 leafed truck do it?
And what's wrong with the yota2 axles? Why would you need to replace them?

They dont need replaced just to be assembled correctly. I shimmed them Way over power it and it failed. Was my fault. Not the axles iam not exactly ez on my rc

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[bent_hinge_pin]

Originally Posted by Greatscott

The biggest problem with them is the very poor turning radius. There are some tricks for getting more steering out of them, but it comes down to bad design. The best cure is to get a different set of axles, which means getting two sets.

To quantify all of this, I am also looking at the TF2 as a C1 comp rig, and not just as a scale RC to bounce around the woods with. Right out of the box it has over 50 scale points, and with just a little bit of trivial work, will max out at sixty points very easily. But, the terrible turning radius, along with other debilitating performance issues make it terrible in competition. After doing all of the suspension mods, replacing the drive shafts, dropping the motor, along with some other tweaks, it still is a poor performer on the tight technical C1 courses. The cure, replacing the axles, and the go-to set is $300.

I have realized that perhaps I am expecting too much performance out of this rig, which is one of the reasons why I sold it (the one before it as well). For C1 comps I am using my SCX10 with the XR10 steering mod, while it maxes out at around 40 points, it preforms very well on both the trail and in comps.

I too am floored by how much bad design was integrated into the tf2 being a comp crawler tho may be asking a bit much from it i went three link and 4 link blew up the rear diff and the front diff had started to skip i wish the rc4wd blackwell x1 axles where a bit wider and i would shell out the 250 for em but now i am looking at getting sc10 ii axles for it for durability reasons i also want to run a 3665 4300kv brushless and turn it into a formula off road rig.

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[Shinchu]

Great Scott I think your closing statement sums it up nicely.
The tf2 isn't really intended for competition. I mean you can, just not right out of the box. This really is more focused on scale than performance. While other trucks like scx10 are more performance, less scale.
Buy the one that is more for what is a higher priority to you and have fun.

[Ironhide13]

Originally Posted by Greatscott

It is very fair to say that the TF2 and the TRX4 are really different trucks and built for different things. But, in my last post, I was just looking at the value of the TF2 as a kit, and had not mentioned the TRX4 at all. The gist of it was that for the price, there should not be so many problems. And really, the point of my last post was this:

Originally Posted by Shinchu

Great Scott I think your closing statement sums it up nicely.
The tf2 isn't really intended for competition. I mean you can, just not right out of the box. This really is more focused on scale than performance. While other trucks like scx10 are more performance, less scale.
Buy the one that is more for what is a higher priority to you and have fun.

This brings to mind the old adage, "something's only worth what the next person is willing to pay for it." Some of us are willing to pay out the ass for scale looks, others will make it rain for more performance.
Either way, we're all just looking for what appeals to us most at the given moment. I started in this hobby only last year with a Slash, not long after that got a SCX10 II, and just a month or so ago, decided to pull the trigger on a TF2.

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by Ironhide13

This brings to mind the old adage, "something's only worth what the next person is willing to pay for it." Some of us are willing to pay out the ass for scale looks, others will make it rain for more performance.
Either way, we're all just looking for what appeals to us most at the given moment. I started in this hobby only last year with a Slash, not long after that got a SCX10 II, and just a month or so ago, decided to pull the trigger on a TF2.

Stop while you still can brother, RC is more addictive than crystal meth and costs twice as much. It all starts out innocently enough, you just get on RC, to play with on the weekends, then another catches your eye, and before you know it you are buying out Ikea for your RC shelving system...

[Ironhide13]

Originally Posted by Greatscott

Stop while you still can brother, RC is more addictive than crystal meth and costs twice as much. It all starts out innocently enough, you just get on RC, to play with on the weekends, then another catches your eye, and before you know it you are buying out Ikea for your RC shelving system...

It's a little too late for that, brother... I've already started with a wire shelving system from Lowe's to hold my 2 Slashes, my SCX10, the TF2, and all the totes and bins holding all the spare parts! And I think I've got the worst version of the fever: I like building and tinkering on the RCs better than actually driving them...
That just means when I get to a stopping point building one, I'm gonna want another to build!