Review: Tamiya F104X1 Formula 1

Formula 1 in RC has started seeing quite a revival lately with a slew of new F1 cars hitting the market. With events like the Tamiya Championship Series and the UF1 Series, there is a place for F1 fanatics to go to live vicariously through their F1 heroes. Tamiya has been the dominate kit for some time now, and the release of the X1 is proof that they aren’t ready to let that title go. I’ve got my car ready, my tires glued and my body painted. Let’s see if Tamiya’s next-level X1 can put me in the winners circle.

AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT: Tamiya
WHO IT’S FOR: Everyone
HOW MUCH: $270
BUILD TYPE: Kit

FACTS
– Tamiya’s standard kingpin front suspension has remained the same. They have, however, added carbon reinforced front steering knuckles for less flex and better durability.

– A titanium-colored aluminum front camber plate is standard issue with the X1. This plate allows you to add from 1- 2.5 degrees of front camber to your car. Being aluminum, it won’t flex or elongate the mounting holes due to repeated crashes.

– Any 1/10 scale servo will fit, but you’ll have to cut the mounting ears off to do so. I would suggest dropping a servo in here you plan on keeping in here!

– The X1 will accommodate any long or short battery pack. I chose a shorty pack as it allows me to mount the electronics on the main chassis and not the sides. This translates into better handling as you won’t have anything hanging off the side of the chassis.

– Instead of having a friction plate that has to handle both front-to back and side-to-side duties, Tamiya has separated the action with the addition of a roll damper. This system is fantastic and allows you to really get a grip on the rear suspension.

– While the motor may be centralized, the drive portion of the rear axle is not. This can sometimes cause an unbalanced feel under acceleration. Tamiya added a bearing supported counterweight to the opposite side of the axle to help, well, counter it’s affects.

– There are no tires, wheels or body included with the X1. While this means more money to spend before you can get the X1 on the track, it allows you to purchase exactly what you want instead of having additional parts in the kit you won’t use. I went with Tamiya’s Ferrari F60 and a set of Pit Shimizu tires mounted on F104 wheels. This combo looks awesome and is unbeatable on the track!

ITEMS NEEDED
– Steering servo
– Electronic Speed Control
– Motor
– Two channel radio system
– Battery pack
– Body
– Wheels
– Tires

ITEMS USED
+ Savox SC-1258TG Servo
+ Tekin RS Brushless ESC
+ Airtronics M11x
+ XCeleron 3800mAh 60c ‘shorty’ LiPo
+ Tamiya Ferrari F60
+ Tamiya F104 wheels
+ Pit Shimizu tires
+ Paint by Brad at F1 Paint Lab

PROS
• Chassis is gorgeous with the titanium-colored parts
• Carbon reinforced parts for less flex
• High traction T-plate
• Black anodized TRF center damper
• Side damper replaces the standard friction plate design
• Extremely smooth ball differential
• Special counterweight on the rear axle to optimize balance and rear wheel traction

CONS
• Requires some disassembly to insert/remove battery
• No body, wheels or tires is a bummer, but it allows you to choose what you want

ON THE TRACK
STEERING – NEUTRAL
Be ready for aggressive. This car carves a corner like a hot knife through butter, and I think I could get more out of it! Not only is it aggressive, but the combo of Pit tires and the uber-fast Savox servo lets me put the X1 anywhere on the track I want.

ACCELERATION – VERY GOOD
Being a 2WD car, acceleration is not optimum, but, from a standstill, when the differential is set right and the tires are prepped and ready to go, this car can get up and boogy. Once rolling, it can shoot from corner to corner like a 4WD touring car. While a TC has four tires clawing the ground, the X1 is a lot lighter and requires a lot less power to get there. If you have an adjustable speed control (like the Tekin RS), you can adjust the acceleration curve to really help out.

BRAKING – GOOD
Definitely the downside of 2WD is the braking. When using the brakes with a RWD car, only the rears actually slow the car down. If your brakes are set too high, you could lock up the rears and you’ll be in donuts-ville in no time. Back your brakes off and learn to use the front tires to scrub off speed. Once mastered, you’ll be able to out-brake you opponents, giving you the advantage in the corners.

SUSPENSION – VERY GOOD
For something as basic as a kingpin coil and damper tube, the suspension is actually quite fantastic. Tamiya has done a good job with including the right parts with the X1 for maximum front and rear grip. Remember how I said this car has very aggressive steering? Well, it’s also got a ton of rear bite thanks to the ton of tuning adjustments on the chassis. Rear suspension still not soft enough? Try removing some of the chassis-to-top-plate standoffs. Need less chassis roll, add thicker side-damper fluid or a stiffer T-plate.

DURABILITY – EXCELLENT
I’ve run at least five races on carpet and a few on asphalt with the X1. This car has seen its share of disaster, traction rolling into the wall, going to wide, getting in the ‘marbles’ and plowing into the boards and an occasional flip when coming in contact with another open-wheel F1. Other than a slightly bent front upper arm and a broken rear wing panel, the F104X1 has done incredibly well in the parts department.

THE LAST WORD
I absolutely love the look of the F104X1. It looks so scale, especially when dialed in with a stellar realistic paint scheme. I can’t say enough about Brad’s paint work and the awesome details he included with the F60 body. But, I can also say that the F104X1 has not had an easy time on the track. I’ve beat it up and it’s survived; maybe because it’s so light and doesn’t have a lot of weight to tumble. Maybe it’s because the parts have been carbon reinforced and are just stronger. Or, maybe it’s because I have mad in-the-air skills to help it land on its feet. All I know is it’s continued to run and actually helped me win a few races. That’s fun in my book, and I’ll continue to run this car as long as there’s a class to do so.

LINKS
Tamiya, www.tamiyausa.com, (800) TAMIYA-A
Savox, www.savoxusa.com, (855) 76SAVOX
Tekin, www.teamtekin.com, (208) 634-5559
Airtronics, www.airtronics.net, (714) 964-0827
XCeleron, Distributed by Horizon, www.horizonhobby.com, (877) 504-0233
Pit Shimizu, www.tqrcracing.com, (909) 627-2800
F1 Paint Lab, www.f1rclab.com