Is Tamiya Making Tamiya Obsolete?

[viper2002]

Because of many recent sucesses attributed to the Tamiya touring cars I've been doing some research on some of them namely the 415 and Evo III.

It seems that as each year passes us by, an updated Tamiya car is introduced. As each edition comes and does, is the predecessor left in the dust? I would hate to speed $350+ for a Tamiya car and then a year later it become second rate. Is this true?

No complaints against Tamiya at all - I think they make some of the best touring cars but it makes me wonder....

Thanks

[TRF Drive Hard]

Not really dusted... at least i dont think... if you look around, tamiya has a wide range to tc kits varying from begginers to advance kits... imho, kits like the advance type are left for the expert racer... so it is left for tamiya to continue to improve on recent and past designs... while the beginner, intermediate, and high level kits are just as good for spec racing and the occasional club racing... so i wouldnt fear that 415 or the new evo4 to be outdated... i have 2 415's and to me, im content with what i have at the moment... i still look foward to obtaining an evo4 as of yet... but you know tamiya, they gots tricks up their sleeves... :D

[PeterV]

Tamiya finds a way to further hone each consecutive car, but sometimes the improvements are more about adjustability, durability, or simply following racing trends rather than sheer lap-time-reducing performance. And regardless of how the changes impact the car, the cars are already so good that the improvements of the newer, "better" model are hardly gargantuan when it comes to measureable gain. The truth is, you could have a 415 or the latest Evo, and if there's a guy at the track who has a TA04-R and the right set of tires, he'll still beat you as long as he has the skill to beat you. I've never driven any car that allowed me to finish any higher in the field than my skills deserved. If you want to buy any of the top-line Tamiya tourers, do so with confidence.