In July 2012 Tamiya released the F104 Pro Version 2. This is a very good car. All earlier F104 family releases from Tamiya used a T-bar or T-plate connection between the main chassis and the rear pod (which houses the motor, differential and rear axle). The Version 2 instead uses a pillow ball link rear suspension (similar to a 1/12th scale pan car). The car is very robust and in campaigning a v2 from July 2012 - June 2013 we have experienced very few breakages and all were inexpensive plastic parts. 183mm wide, post 2000 bodies.

In June 2013 Tamiya released their TRF 101 kit which takes over from the F104 v2 as their top end F1 kit. The F104 v2 remains a proven and very reliable chassis.

Photos

Videos

• Episode #1 Chassis Overview (above)
• Episode #2 Building Tips
• Episode #3 Hop Up Options
• Episode #4 Radio Install
• Episode #5 Terminology
• Episode #6 Setup Sheet Explained 

Setup Sheets

Setup Articles

• Link setup - by rcf1blog (Rob King)
• Droop - by rcf1blog (Rob King)
• Rob King - comments on carpet setups - 28.08.2012
• Rob King - ackerman for carpet - 12.09.2012

Related F104 v2 Articles

• RSector High Traction System Review
• Our own Rob Barcikowski's v2 page
• Spring rates listed
• World Record set using F104 v2

Recommended F104 v2 Hop Ups

Taimya USA provides a nice introduction to the various hop-ups in their article: Detailed explanation by Fred Medel of Tamiya USA

We recommend:

• Aluminium Motor Mount (54166) - the plastic motor mount deforms when motor mount screws are over-tightened. However, if they are not tightened sufficiently the motor can move in a crash and subsequently strip the spur gear. Higher powered motors (17.5 or more) can cause the rear pod to "hop" under full power acceleration from a standing start with the plastic mount. As a bonus the aluminium hop up looks cool and also assists to dissipate motor heat.
• Aluminium roll damper (54413) - this can be used to tune front / rear grip by changing the grease on the damper. This is much easier than changing the shock oil in the supplied roll damper. If you always race at the same track with similar conditions then don't buy this. If you visit different tracks and would like the ease of changing the roll damper action easily then this is a useful item.
• 2mm C-Rings (84171) - these are alternatives to the E-clips used to secure the top and bottom of the king pins and are much easier to get on and off. $1.50 well spent!