Reviving the ageless Pred T1

[varkie]

Hi guys,

Anthony here from South Africa. Have been retired from racing 4 'bout 4 years and decided to play again, not old enough to lay down yet. Have netted aprox 5 national titles with the old T1 and fully believe she still got some kick. Had her out last weekend and considering I had been out for a while, managed to run the quickest time in practice. I'm taking her out this weekend to compete against the younger fellows in a club race and have all the confidence she'll kick "butt". I'm also going to convert her to the new X10 spec in touring form and also started on the TC3 gear conversion. Will keep you guys informed.
(PS. Great site!!!!)

[Cooper]

varkie, if you're transforming it to X10 spec, ask TTech if they want to sell you a complete X10 transmission pack, they might make you a deal!
OR
personally I would prefer the tamiya conversion, not only because I did it, just because metric gears in a metric designed car is better then Imperial gears in a metric designed car. you won't need to machine stuff, only be handy with a Dremel tool.

keep us updated, and pictures would be a nice thing!

[varkie]

Hi Cooper,
Thanx for the advice. Would appreciate some tips on the Tamiya conversion. Tried to enter your info posted but to no avail. Would like to show you my pics but don't know how to place it on this site.

[Cooper]

varkie, use www.tinypic.com to upload your pictures and put them between -tags to put them here.
I'll e-mail you the conversion (pm me your email adress).

Chris, can you update the link on the main page?

[chris burgess]

cooper said:

Chris, can you update the link on the main page?

Will do it tomorrow (Thursday) when i will have some spare time!

[varkie]

Hi Cooper,
Thanx for the info. Here's my effort to supply pic's. appologies if they don't come out correctly, first time and all that!! How do I get u my E-mail address without posting it in the forum?

[varkie]

PS. Just to try and throw a stone in the water. What are the chances that Ttech would consider bring out a X10 on-road touring version again! Do you guys think it could be competative???

[Cooper]

I've send you a 'personal message' you can reply on that.
I believe we have a topic somewhere regarding a new X10 Touring car.
The idea was there but is has been put in the freezer, some think it will be competitive, some say it won't. I think it was the best for ttech not to release one, too many manufacturers make very competitive touring cars.

[bigboss]

good to hear you're back into the racing scene.
I used to race on & off road in RSA a while back (1990-1993), mostly in the Pretoria "Joey"area.
where do you race in South Africa Anthony?

[pro4nut]

I wil only say it once more, i do race touring cars, i would not buy a ttech one.
Have just bought a new one though. Now run a Hot bodies Cyclone Hara edition, very pretty.

[bigboss]

Knowing what I know about the maintenance of the pred now as opposed to no knowledge at all when I got my Super-touring car & all the grief it entailed back then, I'd say YES to a new TC from T.Tech. Driving it properly, well, that a different matter all together, I'm good , I'm just not that good.


Oh yes, and why is this page soooo wide??

[varkie]

Hi Bigboss.
I see ur living in Isreal! Don't u miss the old country??. Am from Cape Town. Started in approx '92 off road with my two brothers. We went on 2 win a few reginals and 4 years later won my first nats on road and that year my title. Had been one of the top competitors for few years and decided to retire 2001 with 9 titles mainly with on road. Loved it and miss the good ol' days but sure I'm goin to have fun now.

To be honest with u, the pred had been my most challenging vehicle to build and set up, but hell, it was quick!!! I Still have all my old Preds ( 2x DTMi's and 2x T1's) and all still mint!
I would say and swear by the fact that the bigest legend of all time in R/C cars would unquestionably be the PREDATOR. It set the standard for all cars soon to follow. It was "the unfare advantage"

[varkie]

Pro4nut,,, Boet!!!!

Have u ever had a Pred on-road? If not, u gotta relax. I know it's hard for and individual such as yourself to come to grips with the belief that even today, a pred would kick a pro 4's butt, BIGTIME!!!

[pro4nut]

I have driven the on road pred so i have a basis for opinion. To make this clear i respect your opinion of the car and if ttech do make one i wish them all the best.

I will not 'bang on' too much though i would like to justify where i am coming from.

My concern is that the pred design lacks adjustment, which is very true of the design. Roll centre being the main concern. It is also shaft drive which having back to back tested the pro4 and the cyclone (with mod motors) i have found that a belt drive car gives a smoother power put down. So the drive train on a ttech chassis would be a big concern for me. I will say that i prefer shaft drive for superstock and stock running which is why i have one belt tourer and 2 shaft drive.

My other concern would be that if i had to sell the cars i could not directly compare the pred against any current competitive chassis. By this i mean that although i paid the origanol full price for the x10 buggy and about the same for the new cyclone i could not justify this for the tourer.

I actually enjoy discussion about the pred tourer do you want to start a thread on it?

I must admit to having a lot of respect for anyone who races the old car in the touring car class today.
What class do you run in?
Tarmac or carpet?

[varkie]

Tarmac but on foams,

We find it more cost effective, less complicated and more forgiving especially for the beginners. Only raging you 'bout the pro 4, but I do believe the car to be competetive. Had been comparing it to my TC3 and MR4BD and found it close. My only problem being no one way and I'm lacking a little steering. Unfortunatly the powers that be in SA had given up on Ttech and I'm battling to get parts locally. Don't mind the new thread, would be nice to get some more opinions.

Regs, Varkie