Review: Hot Bodies TCX

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.

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.

ON THE TRACK

STEERING Neutral
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 Excellent
Like any on-road 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 Very Good
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 inherent trait of the spool.

SUSPENSION Excellent
Wonderful. Fabulous. Silky smooth. Extremely tuneable. All are 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 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.

GALLERY

LINKS

HPI, hpiracing.com
Hot Bodies, hotbodiesonline.com
Tekin, teamtekin.com
Thunder Power, thunderpowerrc.com
Airtronics, airtronics.net, (714) 964-0827
Solaris, distributed by TOP Racing, topracingusa.com