288LikesTamiya mini cooper
10-06-2009, 07:58 AM
Just started racing mini's and having great success with an M03 (I'm old school and prefer the styling of the older Mini cooper). I have the "L" extension for longer tracks but not as much of a fan of the newer Mini body.
Question:
I'd like to try the medium extension, but it will not fit under the older style mini. Does Tamiya or someone else make a older style Mini that would fit with the medium chassis extension? The "clubman" style body or Mini Wagon come to mind?
Your help is appreciated...
Also...I'm not a fan of the Swift body...just looks out of sorts in a "mini" class.
Question:
I'd like to try the medium extension, but it will not fit under the older style mini. Does Tamiya or someone else make a older style Mini that would fit with the medium chassis extension? The "clubman" style body or Mini Wagon come to mind?
Your help is appreciated...
Also...I'm not a fan of the Swift body...just looks out of sorts in a "mini" class.
10-06-2009, 11:22 AM
Unfortunately Tamiya only had the short and long wheelbase configurations until they came up with the Swift and the M-03M bits..
I'm not sure if any 3rd party makes M-sized bodies.. mostly short from what I've seen.
I'd check out the Fiat Abarth that should be coming out down the road.. I know it's not Mini, but it certainly looks cool..
Here's an official list from RC-Mini.net that lists available bodies and their sizes..
http://www.rc-mini.net/joomla/index....d=46&Itemid=62
I'm not sure if any 3rd party makes M-sized bodies.. mostly short from what I've seen.
I'd check out the Fiat Abarth that should be coming out down the road.. I know it's not Mini, but it certainly looks cool..
Here's an official list from RC-Mini.net that lists available bodies and their sizes..
http://www.rc-mini.net/joomla/index....d=46&Itemid=62
10-06-2009, 11:59 AM
Has anyone tried putting some weight down in the bottom of the servo area?
Mount a low-profile servo on top of 3 to 5mm spacers, and switch the ball joint on the servo saver to point down to keep the steering shaft straight..
That should be a decent place, as it's L-R balanced no matter what..
Mount a low-profile servo on top of 3 to 5mm spacers, and switch the ball joint on the servo saver to point down to keep the steering shaft straight..
That should be a decent place, as it's L-R balanced no matter what..
10-06-2009, 03:52 PM
Has anyone tried putting some weight down in the bottom of the servo area?
Mount a low-profile servo on top of 3 to 5mm spacers, and switch the ball joint on the servo saver to point down to keep the steering shaft straight..
That should be a decent place, as it's L-R balanced no matter what..
Mount a low-profile servo on top of 3 to 5mm spacers, and switch the ball joint on the servo saver to point down to keep the steering shaft straight..
That should be a decent place, as it's L-R balanced no matter what..
10-07-2009, 07:57 AM
Personally i beg to differ. My 03 handles magnificently with alot of lead towards the back. My messing with it showed that the weight can be moved anywhere between the F and R axle line, but not outside it (like infront of the front axle and behind the rear) thats when i experienced the pendulum effect. James, id give it a try, but with the 05, ive found it needs more weight forward over the drive wheels. At our club, the 03's have a slight advantage due to having more front weight bias. My 05 is nicely balanced, but i put more weight central. Im going to try more weight forward to get it more drive out of it.
10-07-2009, 09:51 AM
Tech Initiate
I think theres a list of bodies including 3rd party on rcmini
10-07-2009, 09:56 AM
Personally i beg to differ. My 03 handles magnificently with alot of lead towards the back. My messing with it showed that the weight can be moved anywhere between the F and R axle line, but not outside it (like infront of the front axle and behind the rear) thats when i experienced the pendulum effect. James, id give it a try, but with the 05, ive found it needs more weight forward over the drive wheels. At our club, the 03's have a slight advantage due to having more front weight bias. My 05 is nicely balanced, but i put more weight central. Im going to try more weight forward to get it more drive out of it.
10-07-2009, 10:28 PM
Tech Initiate
I finally opened my m-05 pro kit up and looked at the instruction manual.
A few quick questions, all regarding lube (insert joke here,
)
1. In step #3, (assembling the gear diff), they show a newer anti-wear grease icon and mention apply grease whenever the mark is shown. Two steps later though they go back the more typical Tamiya tube icon/mark. Can I assume I should still use the same anti-wear grease?
2. I heard that some people dont bother with thwe grease on the outer teeth of the counter and spur gear. What are the advantages/disadvantages to this?
3. In steps 5 and 6, is the instructions really calling for anti-wear grease to be used on the plastic chassis? Did anyone actually do this? I assume its so the chassis halves slide together better, but since I have only looked at the manual I have to idea if the grease is actually necessary. Just trying to read ahead to avoid assembly issues later on.
Completely unrelated, are Deans plugs allowed in the Tamiya Championship series? Or do you need to run the bullet style connectors on the motor and tamiya style plug on battery packs in Tamiya events?
Thanks for the help!
A few quick questions, all regarding lube (insert joke here,
)1. In step #3, (assembling the gear diff), they show a newer anti-wear grease icon and mention apply grease whenever the mark is shown. Two steps later though they go back the more typical Tamiya tube icon/mark. Can I assume I should still use the same anti-wear grease?
2. I heard that some people dont bother with thwe grease on the outer teeth of the counter and spur gear. What are the advantages/disadvantages to this?
3. In steps 5 and 6, is the instructions really calling for anti-wear grease to be used on the plastic chassis? Did anyone actually do this? I assume its so the chassis halves slide together better, but since I have only looked at the manual I have to idea if the grease is actually necessary. Just trying to read ahead to avoid assembly issues later on.
Completely unrelated, are Deans plugs allowed in the Tamiya Championship series? Or do you need to run the bullet style connectors on the motor and tamiya style plug on battery packs in Tamiya events?
Thanks for the help!
Last edited by Tristar Racing; 10-07-2009 at 11:02 PM.
10-07-2009, 11:23 PM
Tristar Racing
Regards,
Calvin
1. In step #3, (assembling the gear diff), they show a newer anti-wear grease icon and mention apply grease whenever the mark is shown. Two steps later though they go back the more typical Tamiya tube icon/mark. Can I assume I should still use the same anti-wear grease? If you are going to use the gear diff then use the anti-wear grease. For a slightly tighter gear diff add an extra washer each side, if legal to do so.
2. I heard that some people dont bother with thwe grease on the outer teeth of the counter and spur gear. What are the advantages/disadvantages to this? I used Nulon Ezi Glide clear silicone lubricant on all of the diff parts. This is like a clear liquid and does not attract dirt and grit. Makes disassembly of the chassis easier. Ensure that you remove the excess plastic when you cut from the sprue and trim with a hobby knife. This will make it fit better.
3. In steps 5 and 6, is the instructions really calling for anti-wear grease to be used on the plastic chassis? Did anyone actually do this? I assume its so the chassis halves slide together better, but since I have only looked at the manual I have to idea if the grease is actually necessary. Just trying to read ahead to avoid assembly issues later on. I again sprayed these parts with the Nulon Ezi-Glide.
Completely unrelated, are Deans plugs allowed in the Tamiya Championship series? Or do you need to run the bullet style connectors on the motor and tamiya style plug on battery packs in Tamiya events? I apologise I do not know the TCS rules, so no comment.
2. I heard that some people dont bother with thwe grease on the outer teeth of the counter and spur gear. What are the advantages/disadvantages to this? I used Nulon Ezi Glide clear silicone lubricant on all of the diff parts. This is like a clear liquid and does not attract dirt and grit. Makes disassembly of the chassis easier. Ensure that you remove the excess plastic when you cut from the sprue and trim with a hobby knife. This will make it fit better.
3. In steps 5 and 6, is the instructions really calling for anti-wear grease to be used on the plastic chassis? Did anyone actually do this? I assume its so the chassis halves slide together better, but since I have only looked at the manual I have to idea if the grease is actually necessary. Just trying to read ahead to avoid assembly issues later on. I again sprayed these parts with the Nulon Ezi-Glide.
Completely unrelated, are Deans plugs allowed in the Tamiya Championship series? Or do you need to run the bullet style connectors on the motor and tamiya style plug on battery packs in Tamiya events? I apologise I do not know the TCS rules, so no comment.
Calvin
Last edited by caltek1; 10-07-2009 at 11:26 PM. Reason: xtra text
10-07-2009, 11:30 PM
axle182,
I think you will find that Rob was refering to the MO5 when he mentioned not to place the weight under the servo. We have found as you have, that the MO5 requires more weight towards the front to give better traction.
Regards,
Calvin.
I think you will find that Rob was refering to the MO5 when he mentioned not to place the weight under the servo. We have found as you have, that the MO5 requires more weight towards the front to give better traction.
Regards,
Calvin.
10-07-2009, 11:49 PM
Tech Adept
I put some lead under the servo on my M05 when I built it - don't know why it just seemed like a good idea at the time, I think my thinking was that a bit more chassis weight would get the rear tyres working more and maybe minimize the "instant-spin-out" tendencies my M03 suffered from. I started with 40g, went down to 20g and finally took it out altogether as I could not tell it made any difference at all.
This is not to say it is problem free - to be honest I am very disappointed with my M05. I have tried a shimmed diff, an open diff, a ball diff, kit shocks, TRF M-Chassis shocks, loads of different tyres and the thing still handles like a total cow, major pull to the right under any kind of power at all. And that is with a kit silvercan motor. Right now it's in the boot of my classic Mini and that is where it is staying until I have the motivation to have another look at it. I've gone back to my old sport-tuned powered friction damped M03 and am loving it all over again.
This is not to say it is problem free - to be honest I am very disappointed with my M05. I have tried a shimmed diff, an open diff, a ball diff, kit shocks, TRF M-Chassis shocks, loads of different tyres and the thing still handles like a total cow, major pull to the right under any kind of power at all. And that is with a kit silvercan motor. Right now it's in the boot of my classic Mini and that is where it is staying until I have the motivation to have another look at it. I've gone back to my old sport-tuned powered friction damped M03 and am loving it all over again.
10-08-2009, 12:06 AM
Mini35,
We had some problems initially with the MO5 pulling right or left under power. We did the same, shimmed the steering rack, the front upper arms etc and still had the same problem. Others were saying that the steering would not come back to centre and changed servo's etc.
I had the above problems and then decided to analyse the car, checking different parts. This is what I did. It may not solve all your problems but would be a starting point.
1. I disconnected the steering rack from the front knuckles.
2. Then checked the steering rack was not binding, whilst connected to the servo. This was good.
3. Checked left and right knuckle independently for binding. I found the car had tight steering in both knuckles.
4. I disconnected the outer hinge pin from the c hub and checked the movement of the knuckle within the c hub. This was free on each side.
5. I then removed the black "o" ring from each of the diff outdrives and replaced with a smaller silicon "o" ring.
6. I reconnectedthe c hub to the a arm and the steering was now free.
7. Rebuild car and test drive.
Hopefully this might help solve your problem. The other issue with the MO5 is the amount of steering the car has. I only had to breathe on the TX wheel and it went left or right faster than I wanted. Remedy was to slow the speed of the servo down and put in some negative curve and the car is so much easier to drive.
Others have reported that newly built tyres seem to help the car track straight also.
Regards,
Calvin.
We had some problems initially with the MO5 pulling right or left under power. We did the same, shimmed the steering rack, the front upper arms etc and still had the same problem. Others were saying that the steering would not come back to centre and changed servo's etc.
I had the above problems and then decided to analyse the car, checking different parts. This is what I did. It may not solve all your problems but would be a starting point.
1. I disconnected the steering rack from the front knuckles.
2. Then checked the steering rack was not binding, whilst connected to the servo. This was good.
3. Checked left and right knuckle independently for binding. I found the car had tight steering in both knuckles.
4. I disconnected the outer hinge pin from the c hub and checked the movement of the knuckle within the c hub. This was free on each side.
5. I then removed the black "o" ring from each of the diff outdrives and replaced with a smaller silicon "o" ring.
6. I reconnectedthe c hub to the a arm and the steering was now free.
7. Rebuild car and test drive.
Hopefully this might help solve your problem. The other issue with the MO5 is the amount of steering the car has. I only had to breathe on the TX wheel and it went left or right faster than I wanted. Remedy was to slow the speed of the servo down and put in some negative curve and the car is so much easier to drive.
Others have reported that newly built tyres seem to help the car track straight also.
Regards,
Calvin.
Last edited by caltek1; 10-08-2009 at 12:07 AM. Reason: revised text
10-08-2009, 03:14 AM
Mini 35,
Don't give up on the M05 just yet. There is an M05 test drive article up on http://www.rc-mini.net/joomla/index.php
Hopefully that can give you some more ideas to help your M05.
Tim
Don't give up on the M05 just yet. There is an M05 test drive article up on http://www.rc-mini.net/joomla/index.php
Hopefully that can give you some more ideas to help your M05.
Tim
10-08-2009, 03:48 AM
read the mini section here - http://www.tamiyausa.com/tcs/rules.php# - for exact wording...
I do know that at the TCS Nationals this year, they did hand-out motors per round, so you needed to have bullet connectors on your car - you couldn't take the motor to your pit, it had to be put in and removed while in tech
I've hardwired my motor the last time i ran my m03 in a tcs race, and didn't have any problems
10-08-2009, 06:30 AM
What's the consensus these days on using comm drops with their silver cans?
With the advent of Brushless, talk about them is all but gone, but we still use black and silver cans up here for our TCS races.
I still have a little bit of Zubak Speed juice, I think it does help a bit in the RPM department, but who knows..
Is Tribo still around?
With the advent of Brushless, talk about them is all but gone, but we still use black and silver cans up here for our TCS races.
I still have a little bit of Zubak Speed juice, I think it does help a bit in the RPM department, but who knows..
Is Tribo still around?