84427 Tamiya TB Evo 6 MS Track test and Review
https://www.thercracer.com/2025/05/84427-tamiya-tb-evo-6-ms-track-test-and.html
Lately, I’ve been racing a medley of Tamiya tub cars, including the XM-01 and TT-01E, in our local class. Despite their distinct characteristics, they share a common bond: shaft-driven 4WD layouts. That theme guided my decision for a comeback in the 17.5 Blinky class, the perfect stage for the Justock G3. The verdict? It had to be a TB Evo.
Digging into my collection, I unearthed a well-used TB Evo 6 MS, long forgotten but bursting with potential. Released in 2016, this was Tamiya’s answer to the niggles of its predecessor, the TB Evo 6.
The original TB EVO 6 had an innovative design but suffered from a finicky spur mount, which plagued that cars drivetrains with issues. Many racers resorted to the Exotek EXO SIX conversion for reliability, sacrificing some of the car’s quirky charm.
The TB Evo 6 MS was released two years after the TB Evo 6. It was a bit of a surprise for most Tamiya fans. Luckily the designers must have felt that there was more to explore with their innovative drive train concept.
There are two big changes with this chassis. The most important for reliability is the revised motor mount design. The spur is now held with a very long main shaft. This ensures that it is very stable when under load with brushless motors. The result is a very unique looking motor mount. Tamiya also changed the prop shaft (20% lighter) and tweaked the bearing holders that hold the prop shafts. The result is a very smooth and precise drive train.
Obviously this odd motor mount is because of the fact that Tamiya has moved away from convention and mounted the motor laterally along the chassis. This is to optimise the torque displacement that you will normally get from the more standard shaft drive layout. (Torque Steer). The negatives are that the motor does stick out a fair bit, but it will be fun to see how this car feels on the track when running a modern high torque brushless motor. (Note, Tamiya has had a similar layout in the TA01, TL-01 etc etc). This however is the only time they have made a high end version of that concept.
The other main change from the original EVO 6 is the aluminium chassis. This is the first TRF Tamiya to come with an aluminium chassis in the kit. This is quite a big deal as the aluminium chassis is a fair bit stiffer, again helping the drivetrain to stay more aligned.
The thing is, the TB Evo 6 MS seemed to just slip out. TB-Evo's are always the more niche TRF chassis line, but the launch seemed muted, and even at the time there was very little buzz about it. With many of the shaft racers buying the kit pretty much to be able to then fit the EXO 6 conversion.
With this in mind, it's always been my intention to give this chassis a run, but as is normal, other things got in the way...
A quick inspection on the chassis shows that it does have some wear on the drivetrain. The most noticeable issue were the main bevel gears on the motor mount. These had become quite worn and one of the teeth was badly damaged. I didn't have much time to tinker with the chassis or order parts, but I had some 22059 Metal bevel gears in my spares pile and these were a direct swap. The front spool cups were quite worn, but despite not having any spares on hand (This was happening the night before the race event). I thought I would just run the car anyway.
The electrics were mounted, I popped it on the set-up station and packed the car away, interested to see how it would perform the next day.
A quick inspection on the chassis shows that it does have some wear on the drivetrain. The most noticeable issue were the main bevel gears on the motor mount. These had become quite worn and one of the teeth was badly damaged. I didn't have much time to tinker with the chassis or order parts, but I had some 22059 Metal bevel gears in my spares pile and these were a direct swap. The front spool cups were quite worn, but despite not having any spares on hand (This was happening the night before the race event). I thought I would just run the car anyway.
The electrics were mounted, I popped it on the set-up station and packed the car away, interested to see how it would perform the next day.
AT THE TRACK
The first qualifier was really just about me getting the car to go in a straight line. Once it started to be compliant I gently pushed harder and harder. The rear diff was quite stiff (I hadn't changed the oil) and it was very keen to lead into the corners, but the rear end was coming loose when on throttle on the sweeper. I adjusted how to take the corner and I managed to put in a decent run of laps in the end, close to the top runners.
At the end of the qualifying round I noticed how hot the motor was. This was to be expected but the main issue with the Motor mount is that there is very little available space to stick a fan unless you have a motor clamp. I didn't have one of those, so tried to arrange a 30mm fan to blow onto it.
Q2 instantly something felt wrong. Steering seemed to lag and I was having excessive lag on the throttle. The whole thing felt bad. I quickly pulled over and checked the plugs. I had loosened them when trying to squeeze in the fan. This seemed to fix the steering for a few laps, but it would still happen from time to time. The rear end was still loose if I took the corner in the optimum fashion so I also had to look at that.
Q2 instantly something felt wrong. Steering seemed to lag and I was having excessive lag on the throttle. The whole thing felt bad. I quickly pulled over and checked the plugs. I had loosened them when trying to squeeze in the fan. This seemed to fix the steering for a few laps, but it would still happen from time to time. The rear end was still loose if I took the corner in the optimum fashion so I also had to look at that.
After the race I ensured the servo and esc plugs were fully seated in the car. I also changed the upper shock positions to tweak the cornering characteristics.. I was low in the overall rankings because I hadn't had a clear qualifier so the pressure was starting to mount.
Q3 started off well. The car felt good and the set-up change had worked well. I was chasing the current top ranked racer and keeping them in my sites. There were still some issues with the throttle. It felt like the motor was cogging. It was fine once I was moving, but at parts of the lap where I had to brake hard, it would pause before launching away. Still even with this impeding my overall progress I was on for a very good time.. before I then took out a hub!
The TB Evo 6 uses the TRF 418 suspension, and anyone that raced Tamiya's in that era will have PTSD when they see the C-Hubs. They had a propensity to snap if you even looked at them in a funny way. I seemed to get on ok with them most of the time, but I would still suffer from the occasional failure.
Luckily I was prepared for this to happen so I had a set of the 51293 hubs from the TRF416 to swap over once the break eventually happened.
I was getting nervous now, only one qualifier left and I was still way down the pecking order. My club does FTD qualifying, so I just had to hope I would get a clear run in my final qualifier.
In anticipation of this last attempt, I rebound the receiver, redid the endpoints on the esc and also changed the brake settings to 75% as I was still a little nervous about the 64dp gearing giving up if I clipped a barrier.
Q3 started off well. The car felt good and the set-up change had worked well. I was chasing the current top ranked racer and keeping them in my sites. There were still some issues with the throttle. It felt like the motor was cogging. It was fine once I was moving, but at parts of the lap where I had to brake hard, it would pause before launching away. Still even with this impeding my overall progress I was on for a very good time.. before I then took out a hub!
Luckily I was prepared for this to happen so I had a set of the 51293 hubs from the TRF416 to swap over once the break eventually happened.
I was getting nervous now, only one qualifier left and I was still way down the pecking order. My club does FTD qualifying, so I just had to hope I would get a clear run in my final qualifier.
In anticipation of this last attempt, I rebound the receiver, redid the endpoints on the esc and also changed the brake settings to 75% as I was still a little nervous about the 64dp gearing giving up if I clipped a barrier.
I launched away on the tone in Q4. I needed a clean run.. And I got it. The car felt great, it was so easy to drive and the throttle response was superb. This is to be expected with a shaft drive car, but it really did feel very flat, even when mashing the throttle fully forward away from the apex.
The car as a whole felt very flat and very controlled around the corners. The steering was nice and precise, I could load the front tyres with heavy braking to throw it around the tight hairpin and it would just eat up the rest of the corners. The sweeper was a doddle and this ensured I carried good speed onto the main straight. The chassis was handling very well indeed for a first night's racing.
The only issue was still the motor feeling like it was cogging a little, I was able to compensate by carrying more corner speed as I was becoming more familiar with the handling, but it was annoying as I knew it would cost me some time.
As it turned out, that didn't matter as that full and final run earned me FTD and pole position in the A-Final. I had managed to turn it around, but that was mainly because the TB Evo 6 MS was so easy to drive.
The car as a whole felt very flat and very controlled around the corners. The steering was nice and precise, I could load the front tyres with heavy braking to throw it around the tight hairpin and it would just eat up the rest of the corners. The sweeper was a doddle and this ensured I carried good speed onto the main straight. The chassis was handling very well indeed for a first night's racing.
The only issue was still the motor feeling like it was cogging a little, I was able to compensate by carrying more corner speed as I was becoming more familiar with the handling, but it was annoying as I knew it would cost me some time.
As it turned out, that didn't matter as that full and final run earned me FTD and pole position in the A-Final. I had managed to turn it around, but that was mainly because the TB Evo 6 MS was so easy to drive.
In anticipation for the final I checked the sensor cable plugs, they seemed fine but I just unplugged the lead and plugged it in again (It works for computers mostly). I think it may be the motor itself, as I had just picked it up from my used motor pile.
The final was good. I soon got a good lead and I just had to maintain it. This was partly due to my main rival having to leave early. I used this race to get a better feel for the car. I was really enjoying every lap. The TB Evo 6 Ms was very responsive, and despite it being a late night I didn't feel particularly taxed when pushing it around the track. I took the win, but more importantly I was really enjoying what this chassis could offer, and it's made me excited to race it again
The final was good. I soon got a good lead and I just had to maintain it. This was partly due to my main rival having to leave early. I used this race to get a better feel for the car. I was really enjoying every lap. The TB Evo 6 Ms was very responsive, and despite it being a late night I didn't feel particularly taxed when pushing it around the track. I took the win, but more importantly I was really enjoying what this chassis could offer, and it's made me excited to race it again
Overall
I had no expectations on how the TB EVO 6 MS would perform, and I can say that I was surprised at how easy it was to drive from the get go.
I only made some small changes to the set-up but the chassis response was exactly as intended. It feels like the chassis has quite a big set-up window as it is so neutral and easy to control. The drive train had no issues with gears stripping, despite some collisions with the boards, and other than the C-Hubs it seems to be quite a strong and reliable car.
The exciting thing is that there are a few simple things I can to do improve this car. Swapping out the suspension to the TRF420 style will bring more corner speed and strength. Replacing the worn spool outdrives and checking the drive shafts will only aid throttle response further.
I'm not about to say that this car is cutting edge, my TRF421 is faster all the way through the corner, but this car does offer a lot more than I was expecting. This thing in 2016 on a carpet would have been superb, and even now it has proven to me that it's going to be a fun club race car.. It's such a shame there was so little race info on this car when it was released, it would have been great to have seen some of the factory drivers give it a run out.
Me.. well I have racing this Sunday, and I know which car I am packing to race :) I just need to decide whether to invest in some updates or consign it back to the collection as an unforgotten gem? What do you think I should do?
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