Test and Reviews

RC8 PRO TEAM

Intro

We all know TEAM ASSOCIATED from its 1:10 scale cars with electric or combustion powered engines.
Many years ago TEAM ASSOCIATED produced already a 1:8 scale ON ROAD car.
But now in 2007 they entered the 1:8 scale OFF ROAD scene with a brand new design.
The car called RC8 was announced at the beginning of 2007.
TEAM ASSOCIATED is since 2006 owned by Thunder Tiger TAIWAN and both are companies who stand behind their product for high quality.
This has caused the release of the RC8 to be postponed a few times.
Development and test leader Richard Saxton (USA) is not so easily satisfied when it comes down to reliability but with this car he now is very happy.
Thanks to the cooperation of Richard Saxton and TT Taiwan/Europe we were provided with a kit for review.

But there it comes!
This is kit is a FACOTRY RACE ROLLER (FRR).
What does this mean?
The car comes 90% preassembled in race trim with many hardcore options already installed.
This means you only have to perform a few steps to get it RACE READY.
Now some of you may say we need a kit we like to build ourselves to be sure the car is race proof.
We can see that in some cases when we talk about Ready To Run cars in the past this is true.
But quality control and dedication at TEAM ASSOCIATED is so high that these FACTORY RACE ROLLER cars do not need your attention when it comes checking for thread locked parts which are common to be the bottleneck for problems..
All screws bolts and nuts in this car use METRIC values.
Radio system, tyres/foams and engine/muffler are not included.

What is so different about this car?

Legenda
Blue colored text are highlighting positive things
Red colored text are highlighted things that might be changed from the factory
Magenta colored text are remarks that need your attention

	To be honest it looks like any current mass production buggy using the known six drive shafts drive line. But things under the hood are refined. As Associated is currently owned by Thunder Tiger they could use the knowledge and parts from the Thunder Tiger S3 and ST-1 that proved their quality in the past years.
	So one thing that you will not see from the outside easily, is the used gear ratio in the drive train. Truggys require a higher gear ratio to keep the larger weight in action. The Thunder Tiger ST-1 truggy used 10/43 as pinion/crown gear ratio. The Thunder Tiger S3 buggy used 13/43 as pinion/crown gear Buggys can use lower final gear ratio so if you combine the truggy high ration 10/43 gears then you can lower the clutch bell/main gear on a buggy. The main gear of the front and rear differential are helicoidally cut for smoother action and less friction.
	So if you put the  gears from the ST-1 truggy  in the RC8 buggy you get a 16/44 drive ratio between clutch bell and main gear as standard. All differentials com pre filled with Front 7000 Cts Middle 5000 Cts Rear 3000 Cts
	Here the standard 16 tooth clutch bell with an inner diameter of 33 mm using 5x4x10 mm clutch bell bearings. Now you will ask what is so special about it? Due to the larger number of teeth on the clutch bell the fit (gear mesh) of the teeth from the clutch bell onto the main gear is improved and so the efficiency of the lifespan of both. Also clutch bearings will be less stressed due to this. When can we expect helicoidally main gears and clutch bells?
	The center brake unit are using a Free Floating Caliper system running in a 3 mm carbon fiber top plate. In simple words this means the brake actuators are limited by plastic inserts to only work in one direction to prevent brake drag when the throttle is opened.
	Also both brake rods are located for easy maintenance and adjustment on top of the center differential top plate.
	The center differential holder is a split version for easy maintenance.
	The brake discs are made of plastic inner piece that is molded together with aluminum and Ferodo.
	The rear chassis brace to reduce chassis flex. Parts of the  3 mm thick 7075 chassis are lightened to reduce chassis weight  by milling known Associated short cuts like AE and RC8
	The front chassis brace to reduce chassis flex. A servo saver with the adjustment nut at the bottom of the chassis. With a design with the nut at the top it is less prone to dust and easier to adjust. The servo saver / steering system runs on ball bearings The front and rear shock absorber stands are not made of aluminum as is standard with all other current cars. No, you get 4 mm thick graphite carbon versions.
	At the rear the CVD is captured by an rubber booth to prevent extra wear on the CVD and the ball bearing. With the red spacers you can adjust the wheelbase of the car. Downside is they are no C-clip versions like with other brands so you can change wheelbase quickly.
	The wheel nut has a nylon insert to prevent unwanted runaways of the nut from the wheel adapter.
	All drive shafts are of the CVD version. The center drive shafts are equipped with an extra ring to prevent the pin to come out when for what ever reason the screw that holds it comes loose. The motor mount base plate use 6 instead of the normal 4 screws. When you remove this motor mount base plate the gear meshing will not be changed. Ashamed there is no option made to use 4 mm nylon nut locks fixed or clamped to the plates so you do not need to use thread lock on these screws.
	The steering rack is made of 3 mm carbon fiber. All left/right thread turn buckles are standard and colored in FACTORY TEAM BLUE.
	The fuel tank has an large integrated splash board. The tank can be removed quickly for maintenance by simple small-clips. Incorporated in the left mud guard is a part to capture the fuel and pressure lines.
	The fuel tank is mounted on these simple silicone rubbers to reduce vibrations.
	Inside the grey colored fuel tank is a large bronze stone fuel filter.
	The dual stage air filter with a tear drop shape so it can be fitted snugly under the low profile body.
	The nose of the body is a separate part and is fixed with a simple screw. The shock absorbers are in more lay down position then current other buggies.
	All 4 shock absorbers are made form hard  coated aluminum. The shock shaft are 4 mm thick and are having a golden coating! Rubber harmonic dust boots are standard too. With the kit come 2 extra sets of pistons in 2 x 1.4 and 2 x 1.5 mm. The 2 x 1,6 mm are standard equipped.
	The shocks are standard filled with silicone oil. Front AE 50WT (600Cts) Rear AE 40WT (500Cts) They have all a pretty large air pressure rebound. The shocks cant be compressed fully. The space left that con not be compressed is taken up by the rubber dust boots and the spring cup. So if you are running this shock without dust boots take care it can damage the shock bladder.
	The shock bladder for compensating the volume of the shock shaft going into the shock body. It is an other design as we are used too.
	All hinge pins are captured and use bushings to adjust for example the anti- squat settings. Optional bushings are supplied wit the kit for change of anti squat and toe in. The hinge pin holders front and rear are made from stamped aluminum. Make sure you add a small 3 mm washer to prevent the hinge pins to come out. All screws used on the carbon fiber shock towers use conical washers.
	The steering block is made from die cast molded aluminum. The front CVD is protected by the steering block carrier. The screws that prevent the outer hinge pins need an extra small 3 mm washer too.
	The metal bushing where the 4 mm screw goes through  has a special triangle shape. This locks the bushing to the steering block when the screw is fully threaded.
	The bushing that comes on top and bottom of the steering knuckle. Take care bottom and top are different in heigth.
	The front CVD pin is secured by the large inner ball bearing.
	The 3 shoe scissor spring style clutch uses lightened aluminum shoes with 1.0 mm springs. The springs can be (de)-mounted without special tools.

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But lets see what is in the box first when it arrives! :-)

	The kit comes in a nice full colored carton.
	There are two seals at both sides of the carton box to be sure the box was not opened.
	The first view on your new Factory Race Roller. Under the white colored inner carton are all other parts you need for assembling the car further.
	The user manual will guide you through the finishing of the car. The cover is full color but it is black/white at inside.
	All steps are nicely mentioned to finish up the car.
	The part list.
	All parts are coded and easy to identify.
	All bags with the parts you need to finish up the car are nicely labeled.
	The bag with the radio tray parts and air filter All labeled bags refer to the steps of the manual.
	The included tools.
	The motor mount, clutch and fuel line.
	Two bags with parts to adjust the set up of the car. Even extra pistons are included.
	The large included decal sheet.
	A 90% precut body with spray cover film. The holes for the body posts are already cut out and the rear one already made oval to prevent tear down due to chassis flex.

Read the manual closely first a few times and then follow our steps to complete the car.

Extra tip before you start!

Although the kit comes with L-shape hexagon tools we recommend to use proper machined hexagon tools with hardened tips as shown in the picture below.
The 2 mm head hexagon screws in a car are more sensitive to strip when not used with correct fitting tool when they are threaded first time into the plastic parts.
The kit supplied L-shape tools will work but lifetime will be less on the screws head and your hands.

Enjoy this review

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The car is provided by

The muffler is provided by


The VXR LI-PO receiver battery system is provided by
RC-Connect

option parts provided by
King Headz