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Who will win in the showdown between two of the most famous Tamiya chassis of all time? Let us find out together by taking a look at and discussing the two very popular Tamiya chassis: the TT-01 and the TT-02.
Summary
- The Tamiya TT Series Chassis
- The Tamiya TT-01 Chassis VS. The Tamiya TT-02 Chassis
- Watch the Video
The Tamiya TT Series Chassis
The Tamiya TT series chassis are very popular platforms used by European racing tracks, scale models, and rally cars. This chassis series is really popular with scale model builders and RC enthusiasts in general. There are a great number of people who had a TT Series as their first RC car, and for very good reason. A chassis from the TT series provides great performance at a reasonable price; these are great entry-levels that are worth checking out whether you are just starting your modelling journey or have been on the road for a long time.
The possibilities are endless with the TT chassis! The TT-01 and TT-02 have a lot of room for improvement, upgrades, and options. They are easily one of Tamiya’s most recognizable products, which might not catch our eyes as often but will always stay in the spotlight.
The Tamiya TT-01 Chassis
The TT-01 is the first of the TT chassis to be released in 2003. It might be a older kit now, but Tamiya still releases a consistent amount of these every year. It generally comes with a partially cut body with a sticker sheet. The 01 has more of a spring retainer and friction damper build style of shock absorber, so it does tend to be on the bouncier side. It comes with a standard Tamiya 540 torque-tuned motor, and will need a Speed controller, Servo, Radio and Receiver and a battery to run.
The TT-01 has a top deck that is really good in terms of chassis strength. It has an aluminium propeller joint and shaft set and is quite durable, this will take more than a few tumbles to break. The lower arms are designed to have a really wide pivot, making them quite rigid and stable, which is really great in terms of control. As far as slop goes in the steering, for a kit of its age, in my humble opinion, it is more than acceptable.
Remnants of the Past
You can see in the chassis’ construction some remnants of old RCs we no longer use today. The TT-01 still has holes for nickel-metal hydride batteries, which were common back in the day. Because of this, square-pack LiPos do not actually fit that well, so you do have a bit of modification to do. However, if you are an Aussie, the classes that run this chassis use a stick-style LiPo battery, which will work without any modifications.
The Tamiya TT-02 Chassis
The first TT-02 model came out in 2013, ten years after the TT-01 was released. You might be wondering: in those ten years, what changed? What did Tamiya do with the 02? Well, they just took some of the parts out and changed a few of the pieces. The TT-02 chassis is made of molded ABS plastic for greater durability. It has no front top deck, so it provides more flex and a little bit more traction, especially if you are using a standard damper unit.
The 02 comes with a competition-style, square-pack LiPo battery platform. It has a 540 Tamiya torque-tuned motor with the same running package as the TT-01: the same speed controller, 550 metal gear servo, and Futaba receiver. It is a really competent car with simple but great features.
The Tamiya TT-01 Chassis VS. The Tamiya TT-02 Chassis
The TT-02 has more free play than the TT-01 straight out of the box, you can see from the way the wheel moves around that it is all free play, whereas the TT-01 does not have nearly half of that. The older chassis has a battery platform that caters to nickel-metal hydride batteries, so you do need to modify it if you are working with a square-pack LiPo battery. On the other hand, the TT-02 comes with a square-pack LiPo battery platform, so no further modification is needed. Unlike the 01’s wide pivot points, the 02 has a much narrower pivot point that has a comparably lesser suspension rigidity. However in terms of durability, both are just as tough as the other.
What is the verdict?
All in all, both cars perform very well. They perform evenly on the track with the current motor configuration that is inside and outside of the kit. These chassis have nearly the same execution despite being 10 years apart. The gearing is almost identical, and the standard gears provided in this kit are really, really good.
The TT-0 body kits can fit in most of the main cars, so if you have been wanting an upgrade or if you want to put another body kit on the TT-01 or TT-02 chassis that you have on hand, you can go straight ahead with their standard hex-fitting wheels. Tamiya has always done a good job creating the basics of an RC, and the chassis is one of the few that they have a great recipe for. So do yourself a favour and get one of these chassis, because whether you currently need it or not, both the TT-01 and the TT-02 chassis will surely be worth the money.
Watch and learn!
Watch Brett as he walks you through two of the most popular chassis in the Tamiya collection and shows you the differences and similarities between each one. Join him as he explores both types and sees what each of them has to offer.
There you have it! The chassis is an integral part of an RC, so having the best one fitted into your body kit will surely give you the performance of a lifetime.
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