Elite vs. ARC

[JerryLH3]

I tried to post this on the RCCA board earlier today, but, well, whatever.

Anyhow, people had again broached the subject of Elite vs. ARC detail, and I thought I'd take some pictures along with a list of all the differences.

Elite vs ARC pictures by jerrylh3 - Photobucket

If you take a look at the pictures in that album, you'll see I have also added some captions to point out some of the differences.

However, this list still stands as well (I made this list in another post a couple of months ago).

Features on an Elite that an ARC is lacking:

Hood and Decklid tethers and braces
Roof Flap tethers
Working rear suspension
Panhard bar on rear axle
Plumbing to differential cooler
Radio wire from dash to steering wheel
More molded in wires on ignition boxes (however, in my comparison pictures, you'll see the detail painting is better on the ARC, which doesn't make sense)
Open Air inlet on cowl
Detailed oil plumbing to engine sump
Roll bar padding painted black on Elites, ARCs are the same gray color as the roll cage
Support pieces on either side of windshield attached to roll cage

As I've said before, while the detail may have dropped on Elites, they are still more detailed than an ARC. Is it worth the difference in price? That's for each buyer to decide.

[ODSpice14]

The reason Ive decided to mostly buy ARC pieces is I buy Stewarts stuff so its a Impala. On the Impala on the track the lower grill is decaled on. On the Elite it is a metal or maybe plastic insert instead of the decal being reproduced so it looks unrealistic and not accurate.

[morphius7777]

It's not enough differences now for me to justify buying Elites new from RCCA.

[jeeper]

Im sticking with elites in most cases because as a collector, I want the best product. Even if its not as good as it once was, it still is the best

[07jackd07]

Just a couple of years ago this was an easier decision to make if you wanted the best piece for your collection. Now the ARCs are getting more detail while the Elites have stayed the same for years or are dropping detail. You can't get every car in Elite either, so you have to settle for the ARC when it's available.

[ODSpice14]

Next year Im gonna just get ARC's unless its a race win or an RCCA exclusive. Might do one regular scheme if Smoke has something thats really cool though. Its just getting hard for me to keep up with all the Smoke, TSR, and John Force racing stuff that I buy.