TamTech Gear Porsche 935 Martini bodyshell

Of course, not much to say about it apart from that I like it very much. However, I wanted to show you its mounting system since it is both invisible and interesting. To prove it, here's the fixation system from the outside of the body:

I told you: invisible, that means you don't see it . In fact, you can guess where it is at the front when you look very closely, but I couldn't manage to make it appear on photos. The body mount system is hidden under the Martini sticker and a little depression can hardly be seen when looking against the light. At the rear, you can guess the body mounts are located under the rear wing since you noticed them through the rear window.

Now let's see from the inside of the bodyshell:

At the front, the system is made of a double sided taped part on the inner bonnet reinforced by two screws passing through the body. These two screws are hidden under the Martini stickers on the other side of the body. At the rear, the system is slightly different: the screws are hidden under the rear wing which is double sided taped onto the visible side of the body.

In both cases however, the body mount system is exactly the opposite of the one usually found on kits: here, the body mounts are part of the bodyshell and not part of the chassis.

So the consequence is that the retention system is now located onto the chassis:

The result is a truly invisible body mount system that preserve the bodyshell beauty. The price to pay for this is a not so obvious access to the body clips, especially at the rear: the body clip needs to be inserted (or removed) by plunging fingers through the chassis down to the bodyshell. This is a delicate operation that requires some time, but it is feasible.

First runs

Embracing the opportunity to have a run between two rain showers, I headed to the track to test this Tamtech chassis at last, and to admire the beautiful bodyshell into its natural environment.

After plugging everything and performing the last checks, it's time to smoothly pull the trigger. "Smoothly" means it is not recommended to go trigger happy before you "feel" how the model handles. In fact, there's no risk here: thanks to the incredible TamTech Sport Tuned motor power, tires can't suffer any wear. After the first moment of surprise, I first thought about the slipper being too loose. But I quickly realized the car started up like a snail having a nap. Anyway, the car finally got to the beginning of the opposite straight line. Once there, the tragedy began: despite a very intense concentration, in between two yawns, the straight line turned into a terrible fight against a sound sleep while waiting for the next corner to come.

The TamTech Sport Tuned motor is asthmatic, weak and exciting like a Derrick episode: no signs of torque but no top speed either. This Sport Tuned motor is neither Sport or Tuned, may be not even a motor in the commonly admitted meaning... unless you would feed it with 220V tension (which may lead to other problems ). Of course, don't even try this.

The solution is to install another motor like my friend Teamneogordini did on its TamTech Porsche 934: the Graupner Speed 300 in its 6V version perfectly suits and delivers performances at the chassis' level of expectations. The bonus is the stock ESC handles it perfectly but the Hi-Grip Slick tires are a must since the stock ones can no longer offer enough grip.

Extrapolated to 7.2V, the Graupner Speed 300 characteristics should more or less provides twice the Sport Tuned power: answer on the track once I have installed it.

Nevertheless, action shots look pretty impressive:

I swear, these are not photoshoped pictures! The first one looks like it was shot at high speed, but it only looks like. On the second photo, the driver looks like he is chasing the pole position on the start grille: the photo is a little blurry but this is due to my limited photograph talents, not to the speed. But the photo focuses a problem with the suspension: it should never work that much on an on-road model, especially at low speed. To get a better idea, the suspension works almost like a Traxxas Slash's at full speed in a mine field. More photos to show the problem:

Again, my camera is very good at rendering the speed . But it shows the suspension is way too soft at the rear. Yet, I followed the dampers instruction sheet and there are not so many solutions left since TamTech CVAs don't come with alternative pistons or stiffer springs. To artificially solve the problem, I added as much pre-tension spacers I could. Here too, answer on the track at the next run.

It is not easy to conclude under these circumstances, even if the chassis seems very promising and handles very well. I still don't really like this chassis but I have to admit I am impressed by its quality and several design elements. The promises only foreseen due to a motor that doesn't honor its Sport Tuned name deserve a confirmation by installing a true motor. But I know something for sure: the bodyshell turns this model into a jewel when it is running. The photos hardly show how beautiful it is when it runs.

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