Intro
I have been seeking a 1/10th 4wd buggy for some time now, however most have not suited my personal preference due to many factors. Recently there has been a change to chassis layouts in this class. Most tracks I run on are loose, dusty and often bumpy. The TM4 is one of a few that appealed to me because of it having the motor and battery toward the rear of the car, gear diffs with the option of a third centre gear diff and easily accessed parts locally.

The kit has suspension what you expect to find on a competition 4wd buggy. Losi style front spindles and standard turnbuckle rear suspension. Big bore shocks all round. It includes front and rear oil filled gear diffs with a centre slipper setup. CVD shafts throughout which have captured pins by means of a clip, all of which are pre built. Everything screws onto an aluminium chassis with carbon fibre front and rear top plates to match the carbon fibre shock towers. This car is for shorty LiPo packs only! Be aware, I was as it suited my needs and battery stocks.

The Build
The first thing I want to say is that the TM4 fit and finish was quite good albeit a few issues. The fit and finish indicate a solid design and production accuracy. One fitment issue I did have was with the front suspension hanger interfering with the chassis side pods. A simple scalloping of the side pods gave clearance for the hanger. Also the centre top plate did allow the bearings to have slight vertical play causing the slipper and spur unit to move a little. As a quick fix I placed some tape onto the bottom of the top plate to stop the bearing movement. This gave a much more efficient spur and pinion gear mesh. One of the differential sun gears had two missing teeth but a quick call to my supplier and a new one was sent.

A variety of materials are used throughout the kit. The plastic seems a good mix between stiffness (often more brittle) and flexibility (resilient). The carbon fibre components are nicely machined with the shock towers looking quite thick and strong. I must mention the glorious looking orange anodised aluminium parts. They are not just bling, they serve a strength purpose. On a side note, whilst driving the sun regularly glinted off the rear suspension hanger making it look like a LED shining. Cool. I was impressed with the anodised aluminium chassis. Strong and low C or G weight will be a benefit just like the few holes that greatly decrease the ingress of dirt. I was not happy with all of the 1.5mm hex items in this kit because they did not seem to be a nice fit for all (Yes more than one tried) my 1.5mm drivers. I did not think the sway bar ball cups were well molded.

The instructions where pretty standard but clear. Full size screw diagrams and part number labels throughout with your usual arrows pointing to where your parts from each parts bag go. A parts list with images is found in the back of the booklet along with an exploded diagram. There is no standard setup in the instructions, just a blank setup sheet and settings given during the build. The turnbuckle lengths given were off by a long way as was the slipper setting. Since this is a kit for experienced racers and with the posting online of setups by companies and drivers being a common practice, I suspect a standard setup sheet is not deemed necessary. I personally would prefer one.

The TM4 has all the adjustments I want and most others will want and need. I have always wanted a 10th buggy with droop screws and the TM4 fulfils that want. It comes with all the rear suspension carriers inserts, medium springs and 1.2mm sway bars, 400# shock oil, 3000# and 7000# diff oil.

There is plenty of room to fit modern electronics. The Speed controller having the option of being placed behind the motor at the back or up front opposite the steering servo.

Summary
The drive train felt free upon completion and the suspension felt plush if a little stiff after the regular push and poke of bench testing that we all do.

The TM4 was a smooth and easy build. Small issues did not stop the enjoyment of building this kit. It has many excellent qualities in materials and design and I did not regret the purchase. Thanks to Matt, a part of Team C Australia, for suppling the kit.

After completing the build I had high expectations of how it would perform even though my club track is notorious for not being kind to 1/10th buggies. The club is predominantly an 8th scale domain. We shall see.

The Drive
To get this machine running I raided my Yokomo BMax2 of it's LRP Comp Team ESC and mated it to a Tamiya Transpeed 7.5 motor (I believe this is a rebadged LRP motor) and installed a 20t pinion. I threw on some worn AKA Impacts and was set.

To test the electronics I did a quick run on a run down synthetic turf tennis court with a lot of surface sand. Most of it yielded very high grip but also had some slippery sections. I suspected the stiff feeling suspension would be OK. Much to my surprise the car handled quite well, not touring car like but closer than one expected. The car showed slight signs of corner entry push and a loose rear if punched out of corners. Driven smoothly it was calm and nimble.

The motor and ESC were a little hot but left it for the club meet. My thoughts regarding how stiff the suspension felt and how well it handled on the test surface had me concerned for the weekends racing.

Conditions at the club track (CASCADE in Whyalla South Australia) were some of the most dry, slippery and bumpy I have experienced for many years at this facility. It is predominantly an 8th scale off road track which takes a beating - The Fast Foord Firing vid posted is on the same track.

So with trepidation I put the car on the track and did some casual laps to get a feel for the car. The steering being sharp enough to get me into tank slappers until I was used to the handling. Initial impressions were that it was a lot less looser than I expected on such a dusty track, was extremely stable over the bumps and ruts, and had the aforementioned slight push entering corners. I thought it had potential.

Next battery I began to push harder and take on the jumps as I was beginning to feel comfortable with the car. I had to make sure the car was lined up or positioned correctly to do the jumps sections due to the loose nature of the track. When done right this car took to the jump sections with relish. Nice.

My third battery was on a freshly watered track. Instantly the game changed. All or close to full rip was applied with the car lapping up the bumpy, high speed sweepers. The ruts and bumps were a minor hindrance and the jump sections were taken with ease. Tight corners still showed hints of push on entry which did not detract at all. I am quite sure this comes from the ride height and droop settings I chose predicting the nature of the track. The car was a blast to drive, it did what I wanted it to do.

My final battery was back to dry conditions, but a lot of the loose dust was swept away by the 8th buggies and truggies. The handling traits of the car were consistent with previous runs, having slight push and being a little loose on exit if punched too hard but to a lesser degree. Once again it's stability came to the for. Blasting through the bumps and over the jump sections became part and parcel each lap. Impressive!

To sum up I have found this car to be a consistent handler and extremely stable. It is well built and designed. With no breakages, and running on an 8th scale, track it proved to be strong. This car definitely has the traits I wanted since it handles the track conditions I run on without drama. I am eager to try it on other tracks