Phalen’s Garage

Review: Hot Bodies TCX

WORDS: Tony Phalen
PHOTOS: Wayne Phalen
PAINT: Tony Phalen

The TCX is Hot Bodies latest and greatest addition to their Touring Car lineup. Based off of the Championship-winning TC platform, the TCX takes the next step by redesigning certain areas of the car to optimize performance. Being an on-road geek at heart (and loving my HB TC), I was excited to drive the ‘next generation’ and see if all the hype was warranted.

AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT: Hot Bodies
WHO IT’S FOR: Intermediate to Advanced
HOW MUCH: $470
PART NUMBER: 68700
BUILD TYPE: Kit
VEHICLE TYPE: 1/10 4WD electric on-road touring car kit

PROS & CONS
+ LiPo ready chassis
+ Clean, lightweight design
+ Includes a Spool (locked diff) in the front, ball differential in the rear
+ Precision aluminum parts wrapped in high quality carbon fiber
+ Motor moved 4.5mm closer to the center of the chassis for better weight distribution
+ Fully symmetrical top deck has multiple chassis flex options built in
+ Full range of tuning options
- Narrower chassis makes mounting the electronics a bit tricky
- Servo saver built into the servo horn

Authors Opinion: The TCX is one red hot TC that is packed to the gills with performance features. Even if you’re not a fan of all the purple, my suggestion is to get over it. The competition winning your race certainly did.

Star rating (1-5) = 4

FACTS
-The TCX features a fully symmetrical, one-piece top deck. This design ensures equal flex over the entire car from left to right, front to back. It is also fully adjustable, having four different setting from soft to hard. Adjusting this is as easy as adding or removing screws in the top deck.

-The front and rear bulkheads are 3mm narrower than any of the previous HB cars. This allows for a long top link which helps the car drive through the corners.

-The suspension is pulled from the HB TC. The smart, reversible lower a-arms are carried over as are the droop screw and turnbuckles. The same suspension tuning options are available on the TCX, too.

-The drive belts have been reversed so they run down the right side of the car instead of the left. This re-design allows the motor and electronics to be moved closer to the center of the chassis, improving balance and weight distribution.

-The TCX comes equipped with a front locked spool and a rear ball differential. The spool is lightweight, 3-piece design that eliminates any front differential action, enhancing braking action and increasing front drive. This is pretty much standard in the industry.

ITEMS USED
- HPI Flux Q-Base Brushless ESC- 104924
- Tekin Redline 17.5 Brushless Motor- TT2251
- Hot Bodies DSJ-1SS Digital Servo- 67991
- Thunder Power 65C 5300mAh Pro Race LiPo Battery- TP5300-2SPR65
- Hot Bodies Subaru Impreza Type A Body- 61737
- Airtronics M11x- AIR90480
- Solaris Pre-mounted Tires- S-TSHGS3W

ON THE TRACK
STEERING Understeer Neutral Oversteer
The steering on the TCX is very predictable. The kit setting is good but could be a bit more aggressive for me. Using what I learned from my HB TC, I made a few adjustments and wah-lah, the TCX was carving its way around the track like a sharp knife through a Thanksgiving turkey.

ACCELERATION Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent
Like any onroad car, acceleration is not just about power but a complete combination of the entire car. The suspension has to be spot on, belts nice and tight (no skipping), gearing correct and absolutely no tweak in the chassis. Out of the box, the TCX covers all these bases, allowing the Thunder Power/HPI Q-Base/Tekin power package to do its thing…which it does VERY well.

BRAKING Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent
This is my first outing with HPI’s Q-Base ESC. It does a fantastic job in the brakes department and, while it does seem to run a bit warm, the included fan unit keeps the heat in check. While the TCX tracks nice and straight under hard braking, the front spool causes a slight push. Unfortunately this is an inherit trait of the spool.

SUSPENSION Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent
Wonderful. Fabulous. Silky smooth. Extremely tuneable. All very good descriptions of the TCX suspension. The TCX includes ‘fine tuning’ adjustments; holes very close together on the towers to ‘fine tune’ the setting. The suspension arms are also reversible, with staggered holes for more adjustment.

DURABILITY Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent
I had a chance to run about 50 hard laps around the test track. The only issue I had was the servo saver that is integrated into the servo horn. Somehow the internal spring popped out of position and caused the steering to be erratic. I popped it back into place and it held the rest of the day. In my opinion this is an odd inclusion for a high-level TC.

THE LAST WORD
The TCX is impressively fast around the track. It’s easy to work on, responds well to tuning changes and its crisp handling instills quite a bit of confidence the more you drive it. There’s no wonder why Factory HB driver Atsushi Hara has won quite a few races with it already. Well, that and the fact that he’s a heck of a driver. But besides that, it’s definitely worth a look if you are in the market for a new, top-of-the-line Touring Car.

LINKS
HPI, hpiracing.com, (949) 753-1099
Hot Bodies, hotbodiesonline.com, (949) 753-1099
Tekin, teamtekin.com, (208) 634-5559
Thunder Power, thunderpowerrc.com, (702) 228-8883
Airtronics, airtronics.net, (714) 964-0827
Solaris, distributed by TOP Racing, topracingusa.com, (650) 583-8898

Review: Hot Bodies TCX Chassis Shot

BONUS CONTENT >

COOL FACTS
-The Hot Bodies TCX comes in kit form. This allows you to build it how you like (I would suggest starting with the kit setup) and choose whatever electronics, tires and body you like.

-I’m not a big fan of the color, but all of the purple aluminum parts look pretty cool against the carbon fiber chassis. Both of the aluminum and carbon parts are of the highest quality and don’t require any hand fitment.

-If you’ve owned the previous Hot Bodies TC, you’ll be happy to know that the suspension components will work on the TCX. This is a good thing if you have any spares lying around.

-The top deck has multiple chassis flex options built in. This means that by simply adding or removing the screws holding down the top deck, you can change the flex characteristics of the car. Softer translates to more grip in the rear, stiffer provides a more agile car.

TOOLS & ACCESSORIES INCLUDED
+ Hex wrenches
+ Turnbuckle wrench

ITEMS NEEDED TO RUN THIS CAR
• 1/10 scale brushless speed controller and motor
• Steering servo
• 7.4v Lipo racing pack
• Radio transmitter and receiver
• Touring car body
• Wheels and tires

SPECS & TUNING OPTIONS
Hot Bodies TCX

DIMENSIONS
Length: 14.4” (365mm)
Width: 7.5” (190mm)
Wheelbase: 10.1”-10.3” (258mm- 262mm)
Weight: 47.6oz (1350g)

Suspension
Shock positions: 7 front tower, 8 rear tower, 4 front arms, 5 rear arms
Camber: Adjustable turnbuckle
Roll: Ball stud mounting height shock towers
Wheelbase: Spacers included
Ride height: Threaded shocks
Misc: Anti squat, Anti dive, Track width

Steering
Toe: Adjustable turnbuckles

Chassis
Type: Flat, milled
Material: Carbon Fiber
Thickness: 2.5mm
Misc: Flex of chassis can be altered by removing screws

Drivetrain
Type: Dual Belt
Differential: Front spool, rear ball
Gear ratio: Optional pinion gears
Bearings: Full set of metal shielded

MAINTENANCE AND TUNING TIPS
- Before you run the TCX, check the ride height and tweak. You may want to do this after a hard crash, too. This will help keep the cars handling at its best.
- Onroad cars are pretty finicky when it comes to the suspension. It’s not a bad idea the rebuild the shocks every couple race days and check for any binding in the suspension.
- If the rear differential has a gritty feeling to it, it’s time for a rebuild. Keeping the rear diff in tip-top shape will help the handling more than you know!

[as seen in: RC Driver Magazine]