Ah, the humble silver can. I'm breaking one in for the first time in a few years. It's hooked up with a piece of fuel tubing to an RV bathroom fan motor that spins very slowly. I'd guess it's running about 600rpm at 5v right now. Just need to oil and check the comm every hour or so. Wheee!

Good grief, DO NOT pack a Tamiya Mini gear diff with grease. Nothing good can happen or will happen. You tighten up diff action by adding extra shims and various incantations or magic spells. Building a snug to tight gear diff is an art form and is mastered by very few. There are many that think they've mastered the 'trick" to building a good gear diff, but they are delusional.

Thus, my recommendation has always been a TA03 ball diff. If you follow the directions that came with the diff, add antiwear grease to the diff balls, and loctite and tighten the diff screw all the way down, you'll have near perfect diff every time. There are a few tricks for these diffs, but most have been posted at one time or another and are pretty well known.

Can the TA03 Ball Diff fit directly into a 05 chassis?
I remember reading that one of the diffs or the chassis has to be modified
slightly to make it fit, or am I confusing myself?

Just drop it in bro

Mike, you should also check to make sure your speed control is actually hitting full speed- most have an indicator light that turns a different color or blinks when it reaches full throttle.

Seems simple, but a very experienced A-Main level driver (not me!) discovered this past weekend that this was the reason he was so slow. He'd somehow reduced the forward travel on his radio and was only getting part throttle at full trigger pull.

Wish you had come over to our pits this past weekend, we'd have fixed you right up!

What ball diff fits the m04?

Is there a 3 racing one that will work?


Why does tamiya make 3-4 different ball diffs that are labeled to work with the minis?

RCCARDR YGPMed!!!

BTW Our guy at our local shop mentioned that also
Im going to check that right now and make sure he does get full power when he hits the trigger!!!
Thanks for that!

Thanks Im going to see if my local shop has them in stock now!

It will come squishing from the outdrives making a mess. Good advice!

I'm not sure if you're being serious or sarcastic on this one. Built mine with shims 6 months ago and it's been an absolute gem since. No tricks or special prep, just careful assembly and adjustment. All the instructions, tips and tricks have been posted.

Yes. You'll need to use the bearing adapter parts from the kit to fit the bearings, but if you're running a gear diff, you already are!

TA03 is your best bet.

The 3Racing diffs for the 03/04 have been out of production for a few years, but weren't very good to start with.

The outdrive bearing size changed when the 05/06 came out. The 03/04 could use the TA03 or the Manta Ray diff. The 05/06 got dedicated ball diffs. The old bearing size was 5x10, the newer minis use s 10x15. Tamiya supplied bearing adapter cups with the 05/06 kits, because they come with the old style gears diffs, using the smaller bearings.

Just a little correction,
old bearing size has always been 5x11mm (Tamiya 1150 code), not to mislead anyone.;)

BR,
Matthias

hook a voltmeter up to the motor leads ;)

Must have been a senior moment!

Quite right. Thank you!

At the Nats 2 years ago, I'd purchased a new radio, set the throttle travel to 100 and reset the esc. Unfortunately, I discovered with this particular radio, throttle travel needed to be set at 150 the following weekend. Cost me nearly a second a lap. Won't mention the name of the radio cause it's a great radio, just stupidity on my part.

Also panic. I thought that old age had caught up with me big time and was ready to hang up racing altogether.

What tires should I run on a M04? S back M front seems to work with the m06 at my track...

I have a set of the long onroad springs from my f1. Should I use those, or should I go buy the 'short' set?