Review – Thunder Tiger ST-1

Sep 292006

Words and photos: Sylvain Lafrance

On september 21st, the postman called me…. There was a parcel for me from USA… California (I wished I had ordered sun cause it’s getting cold here…). This is my Thunder Tiger ST-1. After having paid 86$ for customs, he let me go with the big box ! As soon as I arrived to my house I opened the box and here’s my first impressions on my new truggy…

st1_box

Thunder Tiger included those items with the ST-1

Top view of the Thunder Tiger ST-1

A closer look to the ST-1

Once I installed the wheels on the ST-1 I began to inspect the truggy. I first noticed how low and wide the ST-1 stands, the body is low and gives to the truck a nice stadium look. In fact, the ST-1 has the most beautiful body of all truggies available on the market. All parts fit perfectly, no loose. The suspension components are HUGE and will take a lot of abuse.

Those “S” shaped braces will absorb any hard impact.

On the front end, two aluminum shocks are used for damping. They are covered with black rubber “socks” to keep the 3.5mm shock’s shaft clean of any dirty and debris. Front shock tower has many shock mounting holes for better suspension adjustment. Pivot ball suspension and huge a-arms will keep the ST-1 chassis flat and the front wheels in the good direction. The upper arm will flex in case of a front impact but will resist to any bumps or hard landing. The included spring loaded steering servo saver will protect the S2008MG (metal gear) steering servo from any damage. CVA’s are standard, you can install the included 3.5mm front sway bar if you need more stability.

Everything is HEAVY DUTY here…

To keep the ST-1 on the track, Thunder Tiger included medium compound race tires mounted on 17mm 8 spoke chrome wheels

Like any other truggies, a 3 diff setup is used, all diffs are all filled with grease and they all sit lower on the chassis to help CG. A 50T metal spur gear transfers power to the front and rear sealed diffs through CVA’s. Two thick no fading, oil-resistant fiber disks brake will quickly stop the ST-1. A S2008MG servo is used for throttle and brake purpose. Transponder mount is included.

st1_center_diff

A 150cc fuel with spill guard and a two chamber aluminum tuned pipe.

The ST-1 is powered by a Thunder Tiger PRO-28BX-R engine. This .28 engine is the biggest allowed in the truggy class. The pullstart is standard and Thunder Tiger includes a handled shaft starter and an additional back plate (not pictured). The carburator is 2 needles with dual element air filter. A throttle return spring prevents the carburator to still opened in case of a dead humppack or any throttle linkage failure.

This big red head will keep the .28 engine cool.

Receiver and humppack are protected by this large radio box. The on/off switch is easy to reach even with the body on.

High quality material is also used for the rear end, hubs carriers are supported by big arms and turnbuckles. A 3.5mm sway bar is already installed. You can adjust wheelbase by adding or removing spacers. Once again, all CVA’s are used and all components are huge.

3.5mm sway bar, easy access to the rear diff and many upper link mounting holes.

Captured hinge pins, shock protective boots, heavy duty parts, CVA’s.

The chassis is 3mm 7075 aluminum with radiused edges and front kick-up to prevent any flexing. Chassis have been milled to sit the front, rear and center diffs lower to help CG. Flywheel is easy to reach for any starter box. Mud guards will keep dirt and debris out of the chassis.

A clean 3mm chassis, I wonder how long it will still that clean !

Looks like Thunder Tiger did a great job with the ST-1, every parts fit together tightly, no loose, plus they are huge and they will resist to any abuse. With a ground clearance of 48mm, a low CG and a wide stance, a weight under 9lbs, the ST-1 will be like a cat on burlap at the track.

I always had great success with Thunder Tiger engines over the past years. The .28 engine is the the same has the one used in the Monster GT 4.60SE so I know the stock engine will be powerful enough to compete with other truggies. Aluminum shocks, sway bars, shocks towers with multiple mounting positions, CVA’s EVERYWHERE are just sign of the ST-1 race attitude.

With years, the XP2 radio has became a standard for all Thunder Tiger and Team Associated’s RTR’s cars and trucks. It’s a little “plastic toy” look but the radio has all trims you need to adjust your throttle, brake and steering, including an end point adjustment.

At first look, nothing wrong with the ST-1. Great job from the design team to the assembling people.

Next step… Track test…(Read??? the track test here)

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