Tamiya mini cooper
R/C Tech Elite Member
iTrader: (10)
hey guys, need advice for a must hop ups for making m05 into a great racing machine.
univ shaft
ball diff
alum steering set
alum front rear knuckle
alum motor mount
shock tower
any advice for making it better? or its just enough?
thx
univ shaft
ball diff
alum steering set
alum front rear knuckle
alum motor mount
shock tower
any advice for making it better? or its just enough?
thx
Tech Elite
I am still running about half a sec behind the fast guy on our out door parking lot track. He is faster on the corners, but I am faster on the straight. We are both using thee same motor, kill shot, same battery, venom, same tires, type a slicks. I am long wheelbase with a 06 cooper body, he is med with the JCW cooper body. I have the complete aluminum steering upgrade, tamiya shocks, m05 ball diff, carbon fiber front shock tower, high torque servo saver, futaba s9551 low profile servo, and full bearings of course. Please take a check my setup and let me know if you see anything that is costing me time in the corners. Track is a good sized, about 110x60 PVC, one long straight and mostly 180 and 90 degree corners, treated with soda\sugar traction compound. The last race I did notice I had quite a bit of chassis lean, I had to trim the front of the body to keep it from rubbing on the track.
Front
Losi 40wt shock oil, 3 piston, mounted to middle hole, floro red springs, 5mm ride height, 2 deg camber with the setting upper arms on the inside top hole, 1 deg toe out.
Rear
40wt shock oil, 3 hole piston, stock rear shock mount, 4.5 ride height, floro red springs, 2 deg camber, 1.5 deg aluminum toe in carrier, upper arms on lower inside hole.
I have a complete set of springs, floor and regular, and white springs that came with my v1 m05 pro, and sway bars. If I need the carbon fiber rear mount I will get it, this is my favorite class to race.
Front
Losi 40wt shock oil, 3 piston, mounted to middle hole, floro red springs, 5mm ride height, 2 deg camber with the setting upper arms on the inside top hole, 1 deg toe out.
Rear
40wt shock oil, 3 hole piston, stock rear shock mount, 4.5 ride height, floro red springs, 2 deg camber, 1.5 deg aluminum toe in carrier, upper arms on lower inside hole.
I have a complete set of springs, floor and regular, and white springs that came with my v1 m05 pro, and sway bars. If I need the carbon fiber rear mount I will get it, this is my favorite class to race.
Let me share with you the "worst" kept secret of the good, veteran Mini racers. You can pick up a lot of time with just minor adjustments to your set up. My car of choice is the M03. A 1/4 turn adjustment to the steering rods was worth almost 0.5 sec. I'll bet there's a second left in your car without doing any major changes.
Here's some stuff you can try. It's hard to be specific cause you don't mention if your car is loose or tight, quick steering or slow, stable or responsive, etc. Generally, Minis tend to do better with stiffer springs in back than in front. Try the neon blue springs in the rear. They also like rear roll bars. It's amazing how much time you can pick up with ride height changes, rear camber changes, toe out changes. Sorry, but these are the types of things you have to fiddle with to get the max out of your car.
You've got a decent base setup on your car. It seems that what the car needs is minor set up changes to fit you and the track.
Tech Master
iTrader: (93)
Bearings
Alum motor mount w/ the handlebar thingies and a fan
Any short spring set: old or new
Front shock tower
Universals
I didn't mention the ball diff (the diff is the most important) because you can use the gear diff and just fill it half way with putty.
The only important part of the entire steering hop ups for me is the
steering posts #54193 to prevent flexing. the rest of hop up steering stuff is eye candy
Tech Master
iTrader: (6)
Question on motor fans...
Does Tamiya rules limit you on how you mount your fan? Can't find anything on it.
Does Tamiya rules limit you on how you mount your fan? Can't find anything on it.
Tech Master
iTrader: (93)
no rules how to mount.
Fan rules are:
number of fans - two total
max size of fans - 30mm by 30mm?
Fan rules are:
number of fans - two total
max size of fans - 30mm by 30mm?
I'd change tires. But then, if they make you faster, he'll change tires and you'll be down 0.5 sec. again. Change to the S-Grips and use the premounts the TCS guys use---#1016. Learn how to doctor the sidewalls with cyano and you should pick up that time easily.
Let me share with you the "worst" kept secret of the good, veteran Mini racers. You can pick up a lot of time with just minor adjustments to your set up. My car of choice is the M03. A 1/4 turn adjustment to the steering rods was worth almost 0.5 sec. I'll bet there's a second left in your car without doing any major changes.
Here's some stuff you can try. It's hard to be specific cause you don't mention if your car is loose or tight, quick steering or slow, stable or responsive, etc. Generally, Minis tend to do better with stiffer springs in back than in front. Try the neon blue springs in the rear. They also like rear roll bars. It's amazing how much time you can pick up with ride height changes, rear camber changes, toe out changes. Sorry, but these are the types of things you have to fiddle with to get the max out of your car.
You've got a decent base setup on your car. It seems that what the car needs is minor set up changes to fit you and the track.
Let me share with you the "worst" kept secret of the good, veteran Mini racers. You can pick up a lot of time with just minor adjustments to your set up. My car of choice is the M03. A 1/4 turn adjustment to the steering rods was worth almost 0.5 sec. I'll bet there's a second left in your car without doing any major changes.
Here's some stuff you can try. It's hard to be specific cause you don't mention if your car is loose or tight, quick steering or slow, stable or responsive, etc. Generally, Minis tend to do better with stiffer springs in back than in front. Try the neon blue springs in the rear. They also like rear roll bars. It's amazing how much time you can pick up with ride height changes, rear camber changes, toe out changes. Sorry, but these are the types of things you have to fiddle with to get the max out of your car.
You've got a decent base setup on your car. It seems that what the car needs is minor set up changes to fit you and the track.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
It is hard to explain, my car turns on a dime, I like an aggressive steering car. In the corners it seems to loose power on the way out and the rear will step out easily. I think it is something minor, I think I may be over driving, and can't get the power back down after a corner. I do wear front tires on the inside edge very quickly.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
+ YouTube Video | |
+ YouTube Video | |
It is hard to explain, my car turns on a dime, I like an aggressive steering car. In the corners it seems to loose power on the way out and the rear will step out easily. I think it is something minor, I think I may be over driving, and can't get the power back down after a corner. I do wear front tires on the inside edge very quickly.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
Your longer wheelbase is not to your advantage either.
It is hard to explain, my car turns on a dime, I like an aggressive steering car. In the corners it seems to loose power on the way out and the rear will step out easily. I think it is something minor, I think I may be over driving, and can't get the power back down after a corner. I do wear front tires on the inside edge very quickly.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
btw, have you built the ball diff with anti-wear grease?
M03 or M05?
I just finished building an m05 (not pro), 100% stock except bearings and oil shocks. Then I got a great deal on 2 m03s. One is a shiny silver chassis with bearings and aluminum front/rear knuckles. Which should I go with and tune up for the track? Its concrete, new and kinda dusty so fairly low traction.
Tech Master
iTrader: (6)
Very nice! What option parts did you use there EricP?
Tech Elite
It is hard to explain, my car turns on a dime, I like an aggressive steering car. In the corners it seems to loose power on the way out and the rear will step out easily. I think it is something minor, I think I may be over driving, and can't get the power back down after a corner. I do wear front tires on the inside edge very quickly.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
I will try the stiffer rear springs and sway bars first on both ends then just rear.
Your car is skidding the front tires so you have to wait to get on the power. All minis in my experience push under power, but if your car is already scrubbing the tires the push will be exaggerated. when you apply power. You're wearing the front tires excessively cause your running your tires at a high slip angle in the corners. The slip angle being the amount the tires are angled to the direction of travel.
Some of the rear end problems you're having are the result of the front end, cause it's over powering the rear. In effect your car isn't balanced. The things you can do to the rear to help with the looseness are: replacing the 1.5 rear hubs with the stock 2.0 hubs, drop the rear ride height, add camber like 2.5 instead of 2.0, stiffer spring, softer spring, softer shock oil.
You can also do a lot with Tx adjustments. On a car like yours, I'd slow down the servo speed and cut down on the travel.
That's the simple stuff. The rest is in how you build the shocks and the diff.