Review: Yeah Racing Transformula F103 Conversion

Formula 1 is the highest form of racing in the world. The speed, the handling and the incredible sound give most auto racing enthusiasts goosebumps! I’m one of those nuts but, since I don’t have access to a full-scale F1 car, I can only live vicariously through those guys. Thankfully, the RC world has a couple 1:10th scale offerings that allow me to experience the thrills of F1 without the risk of hitting a wall at over 150MPH.

THE CAR

Yeah Racing has just released a chassis conversion for the Tamiya F103 called the Transformula. This conversion kit allows you to build up your F103 in one of two chassis layouts; the standard T-bar setup or a more advanced dual side-link design. This kit comes with a carbon fiber chassis and top deck/battery plate, fiberglass T-bar, a pair of aluminum servo stays, a beautiful aluminum 4-piece rear pod and a small bag of miscellaneous screws and spacers to put it all together. Depending on the chassis layout you choose, you are required to purchase a few additional parts to complete the kit (yeah, I know, but it IS a conversion). Yeah Racing does, however, provide a list of what’s required. For the conversion platform, I chose Tamiya’s new F103 Lotus. The awesome old-skool Lotus body brings back memories of when F1 was ruled by men that could drive 1000hp land-missiles without the aid of traction control. (Remember, I’m living vicariously through them!). To provide my ‘1000hp’, I installed Tekin’s RS ESC, a 13.5 Redline motor and a Reedy 5000mAh 7.4V LiPo battery pack. For steering, I chose the Savox SC-1267MG servo.

This servo has plenty of torque to keep the F103 on its line and, thankfully, adds a little extra weight to the front end. To utilize the F103’s ball diff (and switch to 64P gears), I added 3Racing’s Tamiya Diff Housing and 64P POM Gear Ring. Finally, to hold it all together, I strapped in my trusty Futaba 4PKS radio system. Initially, I built the Transformula using the dual side-link setup but, once completed, found that my Reedy battery would not fit in its designated location. It seems that my standard-size servo was a bit too long and caused some battery fitment issues. Instead of digging up a new servo, I decided to revert back to the T-bar setup and give it a go.

THE DRIVE

For testing, I took the Lotus to West Coast RC Raceway in La Mirada, California. This gorgeous indoor facility houses both a huge off-road and stunning asphalt track. This was also the first leg of the 2011 UF1 8-race Formula 1 Series. Two classes were being offered; Spec F1 and Open F1. I signed up for the Open F1 class not only because the Transformula fell into those rules, but also because the competition would be greater and I wanted to really test this car out. I bolted on a set of Tamiya rubber tires and started my practice session. The car felt really good other than a little push (which surprised me for a 2WD car). I made a few suspension tweaks (there’s not a lot of adjustment on these cars) and went out for round one of qualifying. During this run, I found that the F1 still had quite a bit of rear grip that continued to make it plow through the corners. For round two, I decided to switch to a set of foam tires (seeing as the top two drivers were running them) and the results were a little better; a third place finish. Due to time constraints, we didn’t get to run our third round, but I can guarantee that the Transformula was heading in the right direction and could of had me running with the leaders in that round!

GALLERY

LINKS

Transformula, distributed by RCMart – http://www.RCMart.com
Tamiya – http://www.TamiyaUSA.com
Tekin – http://www.TeamTekin.com
Reedy, distributed by Team Associated – http://www.RC10.com
Futaba – http://www.Futaba-RC.com
3Racing, distributed by HKS Hobby – http://www.HKSHobby.com
West Coast RC Raceway – http://www.WCRCR.com