Sheffield RC Racing - Vibe TC Challenge

: Written by: SRC Steve; Created: 03 February 2026

Vibe TC Challenge Round 4 Debrief - Dave

Thanks to the support of Schumacher RC, we got our hands on a brand-new Schumacher Vibe Touring Car and set out to answer a simple question:

Over five rounds at our Killamarsh track, we ran the Vibe TC Challenge, with one driver per meeting taking responsibility for preparing, racing, and reporting back on the car.

Team Feedback on the Vibe Vibe Recommended Setup Team Results and Setups Who Won the Challenge?

How the Vibe TC Challenge Worked

One meeting, one driver – each team member prepared and raced the Vibe
The car ran JustStock electronics and a control body shell
After each round, the car was passed to the next racer
At the end of the championship, all setups are revealed
The community gets to vote for the best overall driver/setup combo 🎉

The challenge was designed to:

Introduce our team in a fun and open way
Show that you don’t need the most expensive kit to enjoy club racing
Highlight the Vibe TC as a strong platform for racers of all abilities

After five rounds of FPL Championship racing, here’s what we learned.

Schumacher Vibe TC Cars

Overall Chassis Feedback

Steve Baggley

Steve was hugely impressed with the value for money and the amount of modern design trickled down into the Vibe.

He particularly liked the layout — simple jobs like pinion changes or diff removal are quicker and easier than on many cars, which is a massive plus for beginners. Even the lower-cost materials felt well manufactured.

Weaknesses were hard to find. A diff leak was a known issue with a fix already available. The lack of roll bars could be seen as a downside, and some plastic parts may wear faster — but overall, the chassis left a very strong impression.

Chris Ratcliffe

Chris found the Vibe well balanced and much stronger than it looks. The car responded well to setup changes without feeling overwhelming.

His main struggle was rear grip on the standard setup. Although he eventually improved the balance, it came a little too late in the meeting to fully capitalise.

James Herring

James described the Vibe as very easy to work on and resilient, with no breakages across his meeting.

Considering how budget-friendly the setup was, the lap times were more than respectable. The main limitation he noticed was the lack of roll bars — in fast direction changes, the car could feel a little “boat-like.”

Tom Berry

Tom felt the base setup wasn’t really aimed at high-grip conditions, but borrowing ideas from the Schumacher Neon paid off as the night progressed.

He did notice the lower arms beginning to deform slightly once grip came up, affecting geometry. However, Schumacher’s affordable carbon arm upgrade addresses this.

Tom also praised the traditional geometry layout, noting that it makes the Vibe very user-friendly — and in his opinion, capable of competing at the sharp end.

Dave Underwood

Although Dave’s challenge entry was voided, his on-track running still provided valuable insight.

The car looked planted, calm, and predictable. Running new tyres appeared to cost lap time, meaning the car didn’t lap quite as fast as it looked — but overall it appeared very comfortable and well balanced.

Recommended Setup Direction

Across all five drivers, several clear trends emerged:

Softer rear springs worked best
- Black 2.6 rear springs replaced the kit Orange 2.7
James softened the front for more aggression
Steve achieved similar results through geometry changes
Tom experimented with hex widths to calm the rear
Faster lap times came with 5–6K diff oil, though the team recommends starting at 4–5K
All drivers agreed roll bars would significantly improve predictability

Below you’ll find all individual setups, plus our recommended indoor club racing baseline.

Team SRC Recommended Schumacher Vibe Setup For Killamarsh Raceway

Driver Results & Setups Sheets

Here is a table showing each team drivers best times. As track conditions changed each week we have compared the times to Matt Hipwell who was very fast and consistent throughout the whole championship.