TAMIYASubaru Impreza 4 Wheel Drive WRX STi Team Arai Kit XV-01 TAM58528 Cars Elec Kit 1/10 On-Road

I've always liked the Tamiya rally kits. They have lots of detail and are easy to work on and tinker with. This kit came with everything you need to build the model. All it really needs is a ESC, Radio system and battery, which is still cheap, if you don't already have these basic parts laying around.The build experience was very satisfying, with well thought out instructions and well organized parts bags for the small screws and bits. It comes with some tools, but the Tamiya 300074085 RC Tool Kit is a must have. It includes quality drivers and if you don't use the screw driver from that set, you will probably strip some of them since it some weird size.The hardest set for me was the first one: assembling the differentials. There are pins that are recessed down at the bottom of the diff cup and getting them slid into position left me scratching my head, until I found a magnetic tipped driver in the tool kit. This let me guide it into the tight spot and into the pin hole with less eye crossing.For comparison, Ive used the TT01, which I modified to rally, and the Latrax 1/18 Rally, which I also modified to accept larger rally tires and raised suspension. This kit is way better than either of those 2. They are outdated and require all kinds of hop-ups to compete with this one. The biggest difference is the steering design, which has sealed bearings throughout. This makes steering ultra precise and with the front motor, drifting is smooth and easy to control on and off road, with no assists.The pros for this kit are:Well organized build setup, with very little extra gear needed to complete.Sealed bearings everywhere that counts.The chassis is amazing; its front engine layout is unique and makes sense for the type of driving its intended for. This was the selling point for me and made it a must haveCons;The motor included wont work with this kit; the shaft is too short and the grub screw doesn't have enough to hold onto.The chassis was designed for a small brushed ESC and a 6-7 cell NiMH battery with a Tamiya plug. This means that some modifications will be needed to run most common kits.Brushless systems and Lipo batteries will be too big and hot to be stowed in the compartments.The hole for connecting the battery to the ESC is narrow and wont work with larger plugs needed for high amperage power systems.I just upgraded my slash 4x4's ESC and motor, and the Titan 12T motor, although slightly to long, ripps while being smooth and controllable. My hard cased Lipo didn't fit in the battery compartment, so I used a 1/16 sized 7.4v 2200ma Lipo I had, and padded it in with some foam. I also had to double sided tape the ESC to the servo since the Slash's is too wide to go in the ESC/receiver compartment.All in all, this is the ultimate RC car. Compared to anything else, its the only true car chassis for real driving. Everything else on the market drives like the buggies they are based off of. The design and quality are almost perfect and if you can get it to work with the parts you want to use, it can really be amazing.Update; a hard cased lipid will fit in the battery compartment, but I had to add an extension cord to my charger so it’s cord would reach the battery’s plug. Since it only protrudes 2” from the chassis. The belt has had trouble staying on with the high power motor I’m using and I had to modify the tensioning pulley to allow it to take up more slack. I found a nice silty corner of my street to rip around and this car does amazing scale rally drifts with the supplied tires. I got some semi- slicks and it can high speed drift around sweeping corners easily there to.

Great kit. Easy enough to put together if you've ever put together other kits. Stock motor is appropriate for scale driving. Motor in the front gives great rear lightness to swing the back around corners. The weak link for me was the rear suspension mounts. The first time you slide sideways and bump the rear wheels, the rods pop out. When you buy this (buy it!) also purchase the Yeah racing aluminum 1XJ and 1XM parts. Also the new paint for the lexan body that is low VOC is just horrible. Just flakes off even with proper body prep. Absolute blast to drive!

Loved taking the time to build this during quarantine. Also enjoying it at the local park after it was done. Engine that comes with it could use a little bit more power, but overall a great buy!

Very easy to build, put in a brushless system and high speed servo and it rips

Tamiya makes some of the best models. Definitely recommend them for any builder.

Good quality!

Sti

meets my expectations for a stock rc car. Easily accepted upgrades.