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Tamiya mini cooper

Old 04-10-2014, 09:23 AM
  #20791  
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i'd love to see pics of the new M05 I love mine, but wouldn't be too upset getting a new version
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Old 04-10-2014, 09:35 AM
  #20792  
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Originally Posted by Qatmix
Whatever type batteries you use you can buy more expensive ones. Even oval racing now some guys spend £50+ on a set on Nimhs to get an advantage. Personally its good news that the M05 will be able to take the more affordable square packs as most guys here have them and it was always a blocker to run an M-class.

Isnt one of the charms of Mini racing that they cant exactly handle a lot of power etc, so chucking in a top of the range lipo is not going to make the difference that it would in TC.
Sure, that's true, but we no longer run Nimh batteries here. There are only a few round lipo hard cased batteries on the market. The Peak Powermax 4200 is pretty much standard fare locally and is $30 USA. Now that's affordable and for the most part, this battery is as good as any on the market here. We did not have a battery war, but it looks like we'll have one for a bit till it all gets sorted.

My understanding is that some clubs specify Nimh batteries for Minis in England. Idiotic when you consider that there are much less expensive lipo batteries that out perform your old nimhs and last 5X as long.

Sorry, but when you have Spec racing, batteries have a bigger impact than when you don't.
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Old 04-10-2014, 09:55 AM
  #20793  
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I see a few complaints about "Tamiya" making the class more expensive with new rules. Actually it is Tamiya USA who laid out the silly rules, Tamiya Japan run something totally different.

From what we have seen locally we would never have specced an open motor brushless class for Minis, restricted gearing means you have to restrict the motor too. So USA racers have my sympathy but it isn't Tamiya's fault you have been forced to wage a motor war.

Our Mini classes are cheap, square packs will probably make it cheaper for many and more accessible. I reckon the new chassis will breathe new life into the class, although I suspect we will continue to run brushed motors for a while yet.
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Old 04-10-2014, 10:24 AM
  #20794  
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Shame this chassis never took off:

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Old 04-10-2014, 10:33 AM
  #20795  
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Originally Posted by JiuHaWong
Shame this chassis never took off:

too many 'issues' with that chassis:

only able to fit 380-size motors
all batteries don't fit

but it would have been a cool class
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Old 04-10-2014, 10:33 AM
  #20796  
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GP Here is the article.
http://www.rc-mini.net/joomla/index....148&Itemid=151
Ive run my TC packs in my M06, back to back with my old 4200 Hobbywing round mini packs. I couldnt notice a single difference around the track with our spec motors and esc. Laptimes were very slightly slower with the TC packs due to a little extra weight which I thought was surprising, but i think its due to the fact, an M06 on carpet is an extremely fine line. You hit that balance between grip, steering, weight transfer etc, and its a rocket, you miss, its a dud. I think the extra weight of my TC pack played a role in the outcome, as I would have had to adjust some of the suspension to get the car back to the same balance. Only true tests are exact same parametres for each test. You change anything other than what your testing for, you have a flawed results. The batts would have to weigh the exact same, be charged the same, and be run in the same car with the same prep. Hard to do, when batteries have different weight.

I never did find a massive difference in packs in Stock TC either. Im still doing very well with my 2yo Orions I bought second hand. Ive tried new packs from a friend, and did notice a little more punch early on, but more heat too. for me its a clear trade off. I think when everything is balanced out, heat/gearing/chassis setup etc, there isnt much of a difference between batteries. More volts at any point, means more heat, so you reduce gearing in a TC and you reduce timing in mini.

Ive been through the pack of the month with Nimh like we all have, and HATED it. Nimh would charge to whatever volts you could stuff into them, and at a guess (from my limited understanding), the technology with the Lipos all maxing out at 4.2v per cell, which means every pack should at least start exactly the same. You have 8.4v to race with. Sure you have to factor in voltage drop, internal resistance etc over the length of a run, but you also add in variables like heat, grip level etc and you still cannot say with certainty that any advantage gained in slower voltage drop is always better. Some cases yes, but not all. There is a case for a lesser pack being an advantage (creates less heat, and usually is lighter!)

I could be wrong with you guys running the adjustable timing motors down there, but I would be hard pressed to beleive packs are all that. Setup, motor timing and a clean run will still be your biggest battle. GP, id let others buy the expensive packs, run your decent round packs against them, Id be surprised if your final position changes much at all. There are too many variables at play. We found the same goes for the change from brushed to BL. The fast guys are still fast, the slow guys are still slow. It didnt change a thing, and I doubt allowing square packs will either.

I was worried at the beginning of Lipo, watching the Mah and C ratings slowly increase, and I too thought its another Nimh craze. You MUST have the latest high rating battery. But im seriously past all that now, and my 5000mah TC packs are what I choose to run. I can easily afford some new high end 7500+packs, but I cannot see the reason. The day my Orions puff or stop balancing well, Ill get new packs. But even at that stage, Ill get the cheapest one. I think the current technology in rc batteries is great, you can find a pack to suit your budget.

I know racers suffer from the 'must have' syndrome, and will never believe that you dont need the mega $ equipment. I just choose not to race rc that way, and its paid off for me Sorry for the long rant, but hope it helps a bit!
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Old 04-10-2014, 10:36 AM
  #20797  
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Originally Posted by sosidge
I see a few complaints about "Tamiya" making the class more expensive with new rules. Actually it is Tamiya USA who laid out the silly rules, Tamiya Japan run something totally different.

From what we have seen locally we would never have specced an open motor brushless class for Minis, restricted gearing means you have to restrict the motor too. So USA racers have my sympathy but it isn't Tamiya's fault you have been forced to wage a motor war.

Our Mini classes are cheap, square packs will probably make it cheaper for many and more accessible. I reckon the new chassis will breathe new life into the class, although I suspect we will continue to run brushed motors for a while yet.
+1 I do feel sorry for the guys with this motor war. I think its crazy.
Western Canada is damn lucky we have a spec esc and motor (thanks Monkey!)
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Old 04-10-2014, 10:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Granpa
. . . . The first time someone starts using a 5000+ 90C pack and is faster, shortly thereafter, you will see more of those packs, until someone uses a 5600 pack. . . .
I guess that Mini racing is taken a lot more seriously where you are. For our local club racing, that doesn't even happen in the touring car classes.

Mini is just a fun class here. There is a mix of chassis (even had an M04 out there last week). We started running a mix of silver cans and brushless a couple of years ago with no problems. Last year we went to all brushless 21.5 motors with out of the box settings. (I think everyone had Novak motors of some sort) there was still the occasional silver can that would show up if someone was from out of the area or new. They were generally much faster than the brushless motors we were running.

I do get your point about brushless though. The problem was not that TCS went to brushless, it was that there were no restrictions on it. There was suddenly a big difference in motor speeds.

Now that our TCS race is over, we are back to out of the box timing settings and all is good again even with a mix of motor brands.

Back to the batteries, I can't imagine any of our local guys putting big money down for a battery for the mini class. I always run the cheapest one I can find that will fit in my chassis.
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Old 04-10-2014, 10:49 AM
  #20799  
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Just picked up a Tamiya TA05 M-four recently. It was a flop of a car from Tamiya but I'm just glad I paid no where close to what it cost new. Just going to mess around with it. It's like having the Delorean of RC's.

In regard to square packs, I run 17.5 TC as well. I noticed no real difference in terms of "punch" from my $33 5900mah 60C packs versus my $120+ 6900mah 100C packs. The last time I pay money for such "premium" packs. I imagine this to be less of an issue in 21.5, 2WD fixed gearing Tamiyas. In fact, I think the lighter pack guys will have the advantage (I notice this in racing 17.5 2WD buggy too). There will always be someone in the "inexpensive" class that will outspend others looking for that edge.

The move to square packs I have no issue with, but I do not agree with TCS USA rules for motors with open 21.5. I can't comment too much on what the motor rules should have been, but frankly, I think the Aussie guys got it right with the Hobbywing 13T EZRun system.
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Old 04-10-2014, 11:01 AM
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http://www.redrc.net/2013/08/t-o-p-s...uring-car-kit/

I think it would be cool to have a Tamiya car designed like the TOP car in the above link. You lose some of the "charm" but you gain a more "raceable" chassis that could utilize 21.5 better gearing-wise.
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Old 04-10-2014, 11:09 AM
  #20801  
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M-Four - there was a weird decision. The weird trickles down.

I'm trying to work out how they have moved the motor 4mm closer to the right and how it's affected everything else. There's only so much room to bulge out the side of the gearbox and if you move the gears over, it changes the relationship between the idler and diff. Easiest solution would be to modify the idler. I guess we'll see.

Last edited by monkeyracing; 04-10-2014 at 01:15 PM.
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Old 04-10-2014, 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by JiuHaWong
http://www.redrc.net/2013/08/t-o-p-s...uring-car-kit/

I think it would be cool to have a Tamiya car designed like the TOP car in the above link. You lose some of the "charm" but you gain a more "raceable" chassis that could utilize 21.5 better gearing-wise.
as long as its not deigned by there engineers, the steering broke from memory in the first 10 minutes of use
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Old 04-10-2014, 03:54 PM
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Cars like the Top are pretty cool, but then all you have is just another touring car. Every unique quality and challenge of Tamiya mini is lost.
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Old 04-10-2014, 04:03 PM
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It does take a certain 'something' to be able to wheel a Mini.
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Old 04-10-2014, 08:01 PM
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Originally Posted by AngryRog
It does take a certain 'something' to be able to wheel a Mini.
if you know what it is, let me know so i can add it to my CV

would love to be able to compete overseas to see how i stack up against other mini drivers.
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