In this article we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of both belt and shaft driven RC cars. The cars we will use to compare are the TT-02 Type S and Schumacher Mission FT.
I have recently owned a few Tamiya TT-02’s and that kit is shaft driven. The layout is nice and basic whereby the motor drives a spur gear which is directly connected to a central propshaft. This then travels the full length of the car to the front and rear differentials which completes the drivetrain and makes for a nice simple 4wd system.
The chassis I am going to be comparing it to is my latest RC car, the Schumacher Mission. This new car obviously has very different driving characteristics to the Tamiya because it is front wheel drive, but I am talking purely about the drivetrain comparisons here and not the driving feel of each car.
The Schumacher chassis mounts the motor in a transverse position meaning the shaft faces across the car sideways, whereas the TT-02 has a longitudinal facing motor that means it faces front to back in the car. The motor in this car drives a spur gear in the same way, but that spur gear then has a pulley attached which drives a belt with teeth on it that stretches out directly to the differentials (only a front diff in this cars case, but 4wd belt driven cars are the same apart from having a second belt going to the rear diff also).
Belt drive advantages:
- Less transmission loss due to more direct drive to differentials.
- Smoother operation due to less moving parts/gears in the drivetrain.
- More reliable at high RPM due to previous reasons.
Shaft drive advantages:
- Easier to arrange wiring due to shaft being easier to avoid than belt/s.
- Stronger against stress in the drivetrain from impacts.
- Less likely to have debris causing issues such as stones.
- Much easier to conceal the drivetrain.
- Easier to maintain or do repairs if something fails.
My Verdict:
The belt vs shaft drive argument is something that has divided RC racing enthusiasts for a long time. As you can see above, there are more reasons on my list to have a shaft driven car and I do very much love them.
However if you don't mind a bit of a longer maintenance time when needed and you are fairly good at arranging your wiring neatly, then belt drive is simply better. I can honestly say that my Mission FT is a much better car than a Tamiya TT-02 Type S.
I still love both of them, but I have to admit which one is the beginner’s basher and which one is halfway to being a race car. It is VERY easy to tell from the first time you use both of them. While the Tamiya is still great fun, it is a bit noisy and the handling isn’t fantastic. The Schumacher has pinpoint handling and just glides along effortlessly - I would be very confident putting it up against a new TT-02 SRX that is over twice the price.
