Phalen’s Garage

Review: Tamiya F104 Pro

For years, Formula 1 (or F1) has been the most prestigious class in automotive racing. These purpose-built racing machines are constructed using carbon fiber, titanium, magnesium and other similar, ultra-lightweight materials. In addition, equipped with their 700bhp V8’s, super-sticky tires and aerodynamic bodies, these F1 cars are capable of over 220mph and can pull in excess of 5 G’s in some corners. Tamiya’s most recent F1 racer, the F104 Pro, includes some of these very same, high-end racing materials, including one of the best looking scale-replica bodies I have ever witnessed. Could this be RC’s latest & greatest entry to the prestigious F1 racing class? Let’s jump right in, buckle up and take a ride around the track to find out.

AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT Tamiya
WHO IT’S FOR Everyone
HOW FAST 30.65mph
PART NO. 58431
HOW MUCH $259.99

WHAT WE LIKED
• Carbon fiber and blue aluminum everywhere
• Three-piece body is FANTASTIC looking!
• Longitudinally-mounted battery
• Removing the tire without removing of slipper nut
• High-quality bearings throughout
• Pain-free assembly
• Typical Tamiya quality

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
• Cutting ears off the servo to mount
• All stick packs work great, some LiPos won’t

THE BOTTOM LINE
All the carbon fiber and blue aluminum give the F104 Pro a high-end, Formula 1 look. This car has excellent quality and great handling. A definite front runner to the prestigious F1 class! And it looks GOOOOOD!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• The F104 Pro uses a front suspension setup similar to that of a standard pan-car. Because of this, most pan-car front springs will work. For additional tuning, pick up a couple sets of springs from any of the popular pan-can aftermarket companies.

• The steering setup is simple and easy, but requires you to trim the mounting taps off of both sides of your servo. A smaller servo works best (Tamiya recommends their TSU-01 servo), but since this car is pretty light, you won’t need anything crazy to get it around the track. Just be aware that it might become a permanent addition to this car.

• The F104 Pro’s battery compartment is pretty slick. Remove 2 body clips, rotate the ESC-mounting plate slightly and out drops the battery. This setup works great for all stick packs and LiPos that have positive/negative leads, but those LiPos that have internal plugs are out of the question. You could do a little creative dremeling to make them work, but why would you? This car is just too beautiful to start hacking away at to get one of those batteries to work.

• The receiver and ESC mounting plates are pretty small, requiring small electronics. This allows Tamiya to create a super-realistic body with all the aerodynamic wings installed.

• One of my favorite features is the ‘hidden’ slipper adjustment nut. With previous F1 cars, you would have to remove the slipper adjustment nut if you wanted to remove the left rear wheel. With this ‘hidden’ setup, a setscrew holds a diff-cap in place that the tire attaches to. Removal of the tire is now like all standard RC cars (one nut), and if you remove the diff cap, you still have access to the slipper clutch.

• The spur and pinion gear have an 04 Module tooth pitch (as opposed to the normal Tamiya 06 Module tooth pitch). This tooth pitch means finer gear teeth, a design which allows a more minute ratio adjustment to improve acceleration and efficiency.

• Tamiya sent along the following option parts: Aluminum Horn for Hi-Torque Servo Saver, Low Friction Suspension Ball Set, Soft T-Bar, an Aluminum Motor Mount (right & left) and an Aluminum Pivot Post. While all these aren’t necessary, the Soft T-Bar will help keep the car in check, and the Aluminum Motor Mount set will help remove any unwanted heat from the motor.

NEEDED TO COMPLETE
Transmitter, receiver, steering servo, ESC, battery pack, paint for the body

WHAT WE USED
• Airtronics M11X transmitter w/92744 receiver—Item no. 751568, $440
• Airtronics 94452Z Digital Servo—Item no. 94452Z, $75
• Tekin FX ESC—Item no. TT1093, $140
• Reedy 3600Mah WolfPack Stick Pack—Item no. 695, $60

TOOLS INCLUDED
1.5mm, 2mm L-wrenches, Tamiya 4-way tool, turnbuckle wrench

TOOLS NEEDED
Needle-nose pliers, soldering iron, hobby knife, hole reamer, Lexan scissors, hex-wrench set, CA glue, dremel

HARDWARE TYPE
Phillips & metric hex

Tamiya F104 Pro
DIMENSIONS
LENGTH 16.14 in. (410mm)
WIDTH 7.09 in. (180mm)
WHEELBASE 10.63 in.(270mm)
WEIGHT ??? lb. (???g)

TUNING OPTIONS
• Camber—adjust front camber plate direction
• Toe—adjust turnbuckle length
• Front springs—standard replaceable pan-car-style front springs
• Rear springs—standard replaceable touring car spring
• Shock oil—use oil in a variety of viscosities
• Rear damping—grease on damper plate
• Front axle height—adjust shims at the front steering knuckle
• Bump-steer—add or subtract shims under the steering ball stud
• Traction control—‘hidden’ slipper clutch

RECOMMENDED ACCESSORIES
• Aluminum Horn for Hi-Torque Servo Saver—54159, $16
• Low Friction Suspension Ball Set—54161, $8
• Soft T-Bar—54165, $15
• Aluminum Motor Mount (right & left)—54166, $27
• Aluminum Pivot Post—54169, $22

COMPETITORS INCLUDE
HPI F10, Cross CF0108 Fire Force, MLP Motorsports MPF 109

PERFORMANCE SCORECARD
Test Venue: Parking Lot Race, Sunny Southern California
Conditions: Slightly prepared asphalt track

STEERING Understeer Neutral Oversteer
I thought for sure, with the foam tires on a parking lot surface, I would be drifting more than driving. Fact is this car is actually quite planted with only a hint of understeer. A slightly softer front spring (or heavier damper grease) and this little gem should turn on a dime. The Airtronics servo was the perfect choice for this car.

BRAKING Poor Fair Good Excellent
The Tekin FX-R Pro provides smooth, linear braking, perfect for 2wd cars. At the end of the straight was a long, sweeping turn into a tight hairpin that, if you got on the brakes a bit too hard, would make the F104 Pro a little unstable. After a couple laps, I finally got the hang of it and the FX-R rewarded me with strong, controllable, fade-free braking. This allowed me to use the hairpin as a perfect passing area. There’s nothing better than side-by-side racing with F1 cars!

ACCELERATION Poor Fair Good Excellent
The F104 Pro comes with Tamiya’s 540-J, closed-endbell motor. This motor has been around for quite awhile and comes in almost every Tamiya kit. While it doesn’t come close to producing anywhere near a real F1 cars 700bhp, it does provide plenty of power in this lightweight car to have some great, close racing action. The best part about this motor, in my opinion, is that it will last a LONG time and is pretty durable. It will handle quite a bit of abuse before you will need to upgrade.

SUSPENSION Poor Fair Good Excellent
As with most pan-cars, tires and suspension are everything. The stock tires worked surprisingly well on the prepared parking lot track, providing enough traction to actually drive the car pretty hard. The suspension is adjustable to suit your driving style, but remember to only make small adjustments. This car is pretty sensitive to tuning and changing too many things will make it a handful to drive. A quick tip on the rear suspension; if you need more rear grip, remove the damper grease on the rear damper plate. This will result in a sort of ‘floppy’ rear end which will greatly enhance rear traction.

DURABILITY Poor Fair Good Excellent
Thankfully I only had to test this once during the drive (locked wheels with another F1, sending me flying – the downside to open-wheel racing). The thick carbon fiber chassis and top plate are extremely strong and help keep everything under the body panels. The front arms are guarded by the very detailed front wing, and a cool looking diffuser protects the rear axle and spur gear from rear impacts; a very vulnerable spot on most pan-car-style racers.

THE LAST WORD
Tamiya has released several F1 cars over the years, each better than the last, and this time has definitely provided the industry with a top-of-the-line F1 car, both in performance and scale realism. This model-quality car would be at home on your mantelpiece or the center of attention at any track. Formula 1 Racing is still growing in the RC industry, so it’s good to see more people coming out with competitive F1 vehicles. Now I’m off to the track to hone my F1 driving skills. Look out Schumacher,,,,Phalen’s in town!

Links
Tamiya, www.tamiyausa.com
Reedy, Distributed by Team Associated, www.reedy.com
Airtronics, www.airtronics.net
Tekin, www.teamtekin.com

[as seen in: RC Driver Magazine]