Review: Team Associated Factory Team SC10 4×4

I reviewed the original SC10 4×4 back in October of 2011 and thought it was a fantastic truck. Not only did it hit high marks in every category, but it became my default race truck. A couple months after its debut, nasty rumors started floating around about the SC10 4×4’s ‘long-term’ reliability. The engineering gurus over at Team Associated addressed those rumors, reconfigured the truck’s design slightly and added a few new tricks to the SC bag. The final result is a new and improved SC10 4×4 with the Factory Team label.

AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT: Team Associated
WHO IT’S FOR: Intermediate to advanced
HOW MUCH: $349.98
BUILD TYPE: Kit

FACTS
• The Factory Team SC10 4×4 utilizes the same modular chassis design as the standard SC10 4×4. The biggest difference is the location and mounting of the electronics and battery. With the new setup, the balance of the truck is better and, with the addition of the new carbon fiber battery strap, chassis flex has been greatly reduced.

• In addition to the carbon battery strap, a new Factory Team chassis brace that runs the length of the truck has been included. This is one of the biggest improvements with this SC10 4×4 and removes virtually all of the longitudinal flex in the truck.

• Team Associated slipped the VTS4 slipper into the Factory Team SC10 4×4. This new setup features variable torque, multiple plates and four drive surfaces to help harness any monster power you put in this truck. Oh, and it works with either the 32P or the 48P gears.

• As with all Factory Team vehicles, a whole bag of goodies are included with the FT SC10 4×4, too. To name a few, AE included a set of TiN coated shock shafts and hinge pins, blue aluminum clamping wheel hex adapters, front and rear anti-roll bars, lightweight diff outdrives and a complete blue aluminum screw set.

• The FT SC10 4×4 still appears to be a weighty beast, but in its new configuration (with additional parts) it rolls in at a tick under the weight of the standard SC10 4×4.

• Back are the huge, 13mm big-bore threaded shocks. These silky-smooth, bottom-load units can be built as emulsion or bladder-style shocks. This is a really cool option.

• Also back are the bulletproof gear differentials. Someone once told me that the term ‘bulletproof’ gets thrown around too much in reviews and in some cases I agree, but the SC10 4×4’s diffs are just that. Build them and forget them. They can easily handle anything you dish out.

PROS
+ Of course, all the Factory Team upgrade parts
+ Modular chassis design for easy maintenance
+ Silky smooth, big bore shocks
+ New VTS4 Slipper Clutch allows precise control of drivetrain slip
+ Relocated, centralized battery mounting to help with weight balance
+ New chassis stiffening rod helps a lot with chassis flex
+ Includes everything you need to tune the FT SC10 4×4

CONS
– Still requires a servo lead extender

BEHIND THE WHEEL
STEERING: Neutral
The one thing I liked about the standard SC10 4×4 was how aggressive the steering was for a 4WD truck. This Factory Team truck retains that aggressive behavior, but actually feels smoother around the track. Included with the FT version is a slightly different steering rack with new Ackermann settings; however I never got around to playing with these. The FT SC10 4×4 did have a slight mid-corner push, but I was fine with that since the entry and exit steering was fantastic.

ACCELERATION: Excellent
There is no lack of forward bite with this truck whatsoever! Bury the throttle and it just goes. I tested this truck on a dusty outdoor track so I actually had a chance to test out the new VTS4 slipper clutch. I set it a little looser than the manual stated and, while the truck did hesitate slightly under hard acceleration, it had enough giddy-up to clear any jump on the track. Some of that, I’m sure, was the AKA Cityblocks on all four corners of the truck. I can’t wait to see what this truck will do on a high-bite, indoor track!

BRAKING: Very Good
Not only is the LRP SXX V2 system wonderful in the “go” department, but on large, open tracks where the ESC has time to cool, the brakes are really good too. Unfortunately I did have a little trouble with the ESC. It’s not that I didn’t have plenty of braking power; it’s that I couldn’t get them to smooth out. This caused a little bit of anxiety as I flew into corners at break-neck speeds. If you’re one that likes to crush the brakes (like you crush the throttle), then you’ll like this ESC.

SUSPENSION: Excellent
I’m sticking to my guns about the SC10 4×4’s excellent suspension. The big-bore shocks are easy to build and work flawlessly over the un-prepared track I was running on. The arm mounts, shock towers and suspension arms are uber-thick and the inclusion of multiple anti-roll bars is a welcome treat. While everything might seem a little over-engineered, it’s that way for a reason. Zero flex lets the shocks do what they’re designed to do; plus, no one likes driving a noodle around the track.

JUMPING: Very Good
Our test track has a variety of jumps to try out; a large ‘air-time’ jump, a couple of fast floating jumps and a double-double-double section (or, if you were a hot shoe, you could triple-in and triple out). The FT SC10 4×4 made short work of the large jump. Once I got the timing down the truck was fast through this section. The same can be said for the pair of fast floating jumps on the track. Full throttle blasts had me skating just over the top and back on the ground where I could hold full throttle to the next corner. The triple-double section, however, was giving the SC10 some fits! I’m not sure if the ESC had boost set in it or the Reedy motor was just that punchy, but I had the hardest time getting any kind of rhythm through this section. I tried it as a double-double-double, but just couldn’t get through it. I figured if it was going to be that problematic, more throttle would be the key…so I tried it as a triple-triple. I could make this every so often but it still didn’t feel right. I’ll be heading back to the track soon with another set of tires and a fist full of tuning … I will conquer that section!

DURABILITY: Excellent
I gave the standard SC10 4×4 an “Excellent” score last time because, during my test sessions, I had zero problems with this truck. It even survived a buddy of mine taking it for a test run. (And he ain’t all that good at driving!) I gave the Factory Team version a bit of a pounding and guess what? You got it … no issues. I think the AE boys have put those rumors to rest about the long-term reliability of this truck.

THE LAST WORD
After a couple battery packs, I felt pretty comfortable wheeling the new Factory Team SC10 4×4 around the track. While not quite as tame as some of the other 4WD trucks out there, using a calm and cool driving style can net you some seriously fast laps. They didn’t seem fast, but after checking the lap times I was easily on pace with the fast guys from that track; and this was the first time driving the FT SC10 4×4. A little fine tuning (for my driving style) and hopefully I’ll be putting this truck in the winner’s circle.

LINKS
AKA raceaka.com, 951-677-2500
Futaba futaba-rc.com, 217-398-8970
Kustom RC Graphics kustomrcgraphics@aol.com
LRP teamassociated.com, 949-544-7500
Team Associated teamassociated.com, 949-544-7500
TrakPower trakpowerusa.com, 217-398-8970