traxxas history?

[longboardnj]

traxxas history.... sledgehammer is one of my favs... I know the off road race stuff was cool(wish i bought my friends blue eagle ) but what i really would like to see run is a street sport... i just thought it was a real cool set up... anyone ever have one or see it in action http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/streetsport/trx_streetsport.htm

[Mr. ED]

If you want to do anything along those lines, just stick with the body. Underneath is just an old cat hiding; bit the same as a grasshopper.

[purpletimbo]

Similar idea
http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/spirit/trx_spirit.htm
Basically a Bandit with big wheels and a Truck shell, drove remarkably well though, I had fun before I sold it

[markt311]

Tires were hard as a rock too. That was when Traxxas started the test drive program.

[longboardnj]

If you want to do anything along those lines, just stick with the body. Underneath is just an old cat hiding; bit the same as a grasshopper.

this was the common mistake with the street sport ..people thought it was a spirit with a car body... the spirit was a cat setup for onroad (grasshopper like transmission), the street sport was its own car with direct drive pinion to spur/diff like a track master trans..

[Mr. ED]

Ah, you're right, I didn't look close enough at the picture to notice it wasn't the spirit in the first link.

The street sport I saw first in Germany; at graupner who were distributing some traxxas models. They were selling it with the bodies that were all the hype on the european market: DTM style, not the nascar style one in the link.
I never realised they were direct drive, kind of reminds me of trinity's reflex oval racer: enclosed directdrive transmission with the moter behind the gearbox, 2WD and strong inclined shocks. Not an expert in any way, but looks like it could have been an economical clay oval machine (given you 'd need to find a way to shift the weight a bit to one side )

[SRTracer121]

yeah i imagine it would make a sweet dirt oval car if the track was a hardpacked, glass smooth surface and it was a spec class

my track would eat them alive, even upsets the 5th scalers

[JK Racing]

I've been reading quite a bit on the Traxxas "race" cars and havent found why the TRX1 was superior to the TRX3 or TCP.

Anyone have thoughts on that? Wasnt the TCP billed as "Total Competition Package", or something along those lines?

[markt311]

I've been reading quite a bit on the Traxxas "race" cars and havent found why the TRX1 was superior to the TRX3 or TCP.

Anyone have thoughts on that? Wasnt the TCP billed as "Total Competition Package", or something along those lines?

The TRX-1 was the first competition buggy Traxxas put out. Circa 1991-92. It had it's flaws though,
1. the wheelbase was too long for american tracks, it was pretty good on high bite Euro tracks though.
2. the front suspension arms were shared with the blue eagle ls and were just too long compared to the rear end, it made for a very pushy race car.
3. the graphite plate cars were proving to be inconsistent on the race track, Losi moved away from plate chassis cars because of the cost and race performace of new materials.


The TRX-3 was the next evolution of the Traxxas racing buggy. They took the time to really get a refined design. That is why they skipped the TRX-2, Traxxas made so many prototypes and improvements that they felt they had skipped to the next number on the evolution of the car.

The TCP or Total Competition Package was really an amazing way to offer a race buggy. During all the testing of the TRX3 Traxxas tried different length front shocks, 3 different length front arms, slider VS universal-joint dogbone driveshafts and several other things. Obviously some things that work well on a loamy topsoil track don't work as well as on a hard packed clay track. The original TRX-3 was a compromise to work well on most tracks. The TCP put all those extras in one box.

To compete with the more mainstream companies with an established racing pedigree Traxxas knew they would have to step up and offer the racers something more for choosing a car other than AE or Losi. So they came up with the TCP, put all these extra tuning parts in the kit and let the racers build it the way they want.

If my memory serves me right the TCP included:
*2 pair of fr suspension arms, long and short
*2 pair of fr shocks long and medium length
*the option of uj driveshafts or the traxxas sliders
*2 sets of wheels, this was when 2.2" tires were new, so they included the conventional 2.0" rear and 2.1" front wheels, as well as a set of 2.2" wheels

It was really a new way of looking at how to market a kit to hardcore racers, This was around the same time Losi came out with the CR kit. The movement was to make a car race worthy out of the box. Before that when you bought a kit you almost immediatly had to purchase a few hop ups for just about every car to make them durable and competitive.



That's about all I can remember right now, I hope that sheds some light on the short lived racing history of Traxxas' racing buggy's. The trucks are a whole different chapter. People love to bash on Traxxas for being a cheap toy company, but there was a time when they were giving Losi and AE a run for their money. The racing scene faded a little and they moved to RTR's and sport racers. But most of the engineering is still seen on the cars they still offer. A little outdated now, but still Traxxas puts out fun, durable cars.

[JK Racing]

In the early 90's I was approached by Cliff (dont remember his last name) of C&M Racing to be a driver for Traxxas. He showed me a couple graphite chassis'd cars (assuming TRX1 or 3) and a fiberglass car (TCP?). I remember filling out a few pages of paperwork and never heard anything back. I was heavy into dirt oval at the time, no one was running a Traxxas car on the roundy round.

I've been eyeballing them for almost a year now, and just wondering if when I get one should I attempt to make it track worthy and let it fly. Seems part support isnt that big of an issue.

[markt311]

The TRX3 and TCP are pretty much the same car. If it was a double deck chassis car, it was a TRX-3/TCP. The TRX-1 was a graphite plate chassis car with no upper deck.

When I first started racing the local indoor track had about 5 locals running for Traxxas. They were pretty generous with a 50% sponsorship back then. I was offered a spot, but after 2 months with them they dropped the program entirely and I never heard from Chuck at Traxxas again. Then I discovered real cars and girls, needless to say I took a break from weekly racing for a few years

[Mr. ED]

Thanks for the fill-in Mark!
What a pitty Traxxas went with the easy solution for the TRX-3 in regard of the different widths of the front and rear bulkhead. Instead of widening the front they should have brought the hinge pins in closer together on the rear and use longer arms in the back The relative short arms all-around and widely spaced out hingepins are the most dated section (design wise) for the whole car. I guess it makes for an easier to drive and more predictable car... so that actually is not so bad.

[drbelleville]

Well I am always glad to see a thread continue to grow, especially this one. I had been a traxxas fan since the first "prototype" Pics (of the TRX-1) appeared in Car Action while I was a little kid in Europe. I was never able to get one while there, and actually raced my much modded RC10CE instead - while having the TRX-1 in the back of my mind.

Now thanks to some great members here I am able to piece one back together - slow process for me - but very gratifying.

Although they were not everyones favorite the TRX buggies hold a place dear to my R/C heart. As such I will have a clean shelfer, and also a runner that I plan to run at the local track (which is not so local).

Thank you everyone though on the input in this thread, it makes for great reading and offers some insight from those involved.

[vwjuice]

great contribution guys, now on to some constructive posts...

considering my srt wipes the floor with t4s all day long i dont think they are seconed rate at all. and neither do my victims

Traxxas started out building race vehicles and yes I have been beaten by a Srt with my Factory team T4. The Srt was just as smooth as my T4, but felt a lot more planted on the whoops section of the track.

They were sold to a different company and then they started creating rtr's seeing the income potential that rtr's bring. Tower hobbies was already selling ultimate combos with everything you need to get going. Kyosho imo started the whole rtr craze. Anyone remember the old "arr" vehicles? I had a Kyosho Raider ARR. Then an Outrage ARR. came built just add your electronics.

[vwjuice]

I raced my pede last summer. I brought it along for my daughter to drive around on the oval track while I was racing my T4. I broke an arm on my T4 and didn't have anymore spares and the nearest lhs was 20 miles away. I grabbed the pede, pulled all the shock preload spacers out, threw my T4 electrics in it and threw it on the track. I placed 3rd of 9 cars on the track with never having the truck on the track before. I wasn't allowed to race it again until they spec'd it after the last race that day. Due to the bigger tires I was getting a lot more bite out of the corners and clearing jumps that others were struggling with. I could have placed higher, but I screwed up on the big tabletop and the corner marshal didn't see it for about 30 seconds. It was just enough time for a couple guys to pass me. This winter I am going to install all the rpm arms and spindles, etc and go with lunsford turnbuckles and Pro-line 30's series bowties. Also put a new body on it cause the '57 Chevy Fleetside is anything but aerodynamic. I bet it will be a really good contender then.