Review: Team Associated TC6.1

Team Associated’s TC6, launched in 2010, was the next generation TC that had a game plan in mind…to win races. In 2011, it brought home quite a few victories, including a couple of ROAR Regional Championships! In addition to being a race winner, the TC6 also won RC Driver’s 2001 Voice Your Choice Award for the best Electric Touring Car. What could make this top tourer any better? How about updating it with the A-Team’s .1 treatment??? That’s exactly what they did, and I get to throw down with this TC with some of the best in the business.

AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT: Team Associated
WHO IT’S FOR: Intermediate to Advanced
HOW MUCH: $400
BUILD TYPE: Kit

FACTS
– The A-Team has taken a cue from their 1/8 scale buggy and added caster and toe inserts in their caster blocks and rear hubs. To change the caster or rear toe, simply replace with the appropriate numbered inserts.

– The TC6.1’s chassis has been narrowed to take full advantage of LiPo batteries and brushless motors. While the streamlined car looks great and has better weight distribution, mounting the electronics with a ‘Pro’ look can be a bit tedious.

– The TC6.1 does come with a heavy duty front spool that incorporates composite, replaceable outdrives. These outdrives are long wear and will take most of the abuse in the event of a crash. Good news, the outdrives are way less expensive than the CVA’s or spool unit.

– In the world of touring cars, I’ve always used a ball differential in the rear. While being super smooth, it does require maintenance every couple of races. To combat that, AE has included a lightweight rear gear differential with the TC6.1. I was a little weary about this, but after building it and running it, you’d never know it was a gear diff! Up side: extremely smooth and almost zero maintenance. Down side: you have to completely remove it, clean it out and replace the fluid to change its characteristics. Once you find the sweet spot, though, you shouldn’t need to ever replace it.

– AE has included their VCS3 shocks with the TC6.1. These bottom-load shocks feature hard-anodized, threaded bodies and a piston system that removes the use of e-clips. I can’t tell you how glad I am to get rid of those!

– The steering system on the TC6.1 has been updated as well. A multi-position bellcrank allows you to fine tune the Ackermann options, resulting in a much smoother reacting steering. New open-ended ballcups are also included that allow easy access to the ball studs.

– One of the biggest improvements on the TC6.1 is the anti-roll bar system. The H.D.R.C., or High Definition Roll Control, removes the traditional long, bent anti-roll bar and replaces it with a solid aluminum center member that rolls on a bearing surface. A pair of shorter side wires link to the suspension arms, controlling the roll stiffness. Different wire options are available for different handling characteristics.

ITEMS NEEDED
– Steering Servo
– Electronic Speed Control
– Brushless Motor
– Wheels and Tires
– Radio System
– Body

ITEMS USED
+ Team Associated XP DS1015 steering servo
+ LRP SXX Stock Spec V2 brushless speed Control
+ Reedy Sonic 17.5 Brushless Motor
+ Solaris Pre-mounted TC Slicks
+ Airtronics M11X
+ Protoform P37-R Lightweight Body

PROS
• New caster blocks and rear hubs with integrated inserts allow you to adjust caster and to angles without replacing a major piece
• New H.D.R.C system (High Definition Roll Control) is AE’s new anti-roll bar technology
• Aluminum front spool with beefy, replaceable plastic outdrives
• Low-maintenance, lightweight, fluid-filled rear gear differential
• Team Associated VCS3 shocks with hard-coat ed threaded bodies
• Super-slim chassis has been optimized for LiPo batteries
• Improved durability with the addition of offset arm mounts instead of shims
• Cross-compatibility with TC6 chassis components! Yay.

CONS
• Mounting the motor might be an issue with a spur gear other than the stock one
• No wheels

ON THE TRACK
STEERING – NEUTRAL
One thing I loved about the TC6.1 is the amount of steering it had. Built from the box setup, it is a little aggressive (read: twitchy) but not so much that the back end loses grip. I did the easy fix and turned the dual rate down slightly on my radio and it was game on. The TC6.1 carved a perfect corner as long as you stayed on top of it but did seem to lack a tiny bit of exit steering. I did have to pause my full-throttle pinning until the car was almost straight. A little tuning could cure this without losing too much entry steering.

ACCELERATION – EXCELLENT
From a standstill, the TC6.1 does not exhibit any bad traits when you pin the throttle. It launches hard and straight and gets up to speed in the blink of an eye. I thought the belts might have a bit too much slack in them but I never heard any skipping or slipping. Including the gear differential is, I’m sure, a major part in how the TC6.1 drives.

BRAKING – VERY GOOD
The Braking category is where I usually find a weak point, typically with the electronics. The LRP SXX TC-Spec brushless system, however, seemed to really shine in this department. On the high bite carpet track, the SXX brakes were excellent and fade free, even after 10-15 hard-driving laps. The negative points come from the actual TC6.1. Under heavy braking (and only occasionally), I could hear one of the belts skipping; most likely the front one. Rotating the front diff cam one or two notches should stretch that belt enough to fix the skipping.

SUSPENSION – EXCELLENT
It’s hard to rate the Suspension category based on the track conditions. Most tracks (especially carpet tracks) are flat, smooth and only have a few imperfections. Grip levels may vary from track to track, and that’s where this car excels. There is so much adjustability on the TC6.1 that you could easily lose yourself in a day of testing. Heck, you could lose yourself in a couple days of testing. The good thing is that the TC6.1 is pretty sensitive to making changes, meaning you won’t need to do much to decide if you are tuning yourself in or tuning yourself out.

DURABILITY – EXCELLENT
I’m a pretty good driver, so crash-testing a vehicle is sometimes only something I do on purpose. Since I don’t really have any first-hand knowledge of this, I can only say that this second generation TC6 will probably survive quite a few smacks into the wall.

THE LAST WORD
Initially, I was a bit unsure with the amount of parts the TC6.1 has as well as some of the updated parts that were included. The gear differential, plastic outdrives and ‘funky’ new anti-roll bar system all seems a little gimiky to me. Assembly was a bit more involved than some TC’s, but the updated parts were a welcome relief from the original TC6. The zero-maintenance set-it-and-forget-it gear diff works great and can handle some big power. The anti-roll bar system is fantastic as well, and is much easier to tune and set. Even the caster and rear hubs, with their replaceable inserts, make tuning these areas a breeze. I love racing TC but the amount of maintenance involved can sometimes be a drag. Team Associated has addressed this by making the TC6.1 easier to work on, easier to tune and easier to drive on the track. And in the complicated world of touring cars, these are the areas that will certainly get your attention.

LINKS
Team Associated, www.rc10.com, (949) 544-7500
LRP, distributed by Team Associated, www.rc10.com, (949) 544-7500
Reedy, distributed by Team Associated, www.rc10.com, (949) 544-7500
Airtronics, www.airtronics.net, (714) 964-0827
Protoform, www.racepf.com, (951) 849-9781
Solaris, www.solarisrp.com, solarisrp@yahoo.com
Kustom RC Graphics, kustomrcgraphics@aol.com