if the m03m front suspension is really from the ta04, then maybe there are caster blocks available for it? ..just thinking out loud, i never had a ta04.

Well, the 03M design is based on the TA04/LWS, but are not physically compatible..

I order all of my bodies from Champ ... my outlaw mini race body is a NorthCraft Skyline GTR .... I like it and it has a good handling

Two other bodis that interest me are :

Chevron Model "Monster M". It's a cooper with the wing ..

And also this :



It's Yaris or Toyota Vitz in Japan.

I will take my m03 pics later

The 53226 can be swap A-B or B-A (the C-hubs been marked A and B) depend on the car .... minimanintaiwan is right.
See the back cover ... for FWD it's negative caster and for RWD it's positive caster .. for 4WD sure it should be positive...

Check my reference here ....

Caster Angle Basic

then see the advance caster angle info ...

Happy reading ....

There are actually many good bodies out there. but for minis it seems Tamiya don't make that much.... I think we can ask them (to Tamiya or HPI) to re-release their mini bodies .....

But for currently available bodies, I suggest to see other manufacturers especially ABChobby, active hobby also North Craft and Chevron models.

thanks akuhon! saw the active hobby site too in the yaris body. hmm.. now i'm torn between the yaris and the jazz.

Yaris is for playing / racing, and Jazz only for showing 'cause it has the lightbuckle.... IMO

Here's my mini race body ... the Northcraft skyline GT-R (comical edition a.k.a funny)...

akuhon, are you having problems with the foam tires coning towards the inner part of the tire? if you do, do you true them after how many runs/batt packs? thanks!

Yes.. that's one of the problem using the foam tires... the outer part worn so quick .... And it's getting worst if you use those 53226 option part ... but it handles lot better .... it's predictable.

About how many runs I can't exactly say. It's all depend on the track condition and the tire itself but mine usually true them after 3-4 packs of 3300 mah with stock 19T or 23T motor ..... My tires is Kawahara shore between 35-41 depend on weather.

I've been looking for adjustable upper arm for camber setting, but no luck so far ... I try to make one but the upper link is kinda too short ....
One possible thing is to make a new positioning hole for the upper link which attach to the chassis.. I did it and it works but it need to revamp the front part of the chassis...

I think only the knuckles ... the rest (suspension and hub) doesn;t give you any advantages ..

The only suspension set that resemble those TA04 is 53467 TL-01 / FF Long Suspension Arm ... one piece suspension arm (not a two-pieces / clamp shell design) also the front hub and front knuckles can be inter-changed with TA04 part ....

The Active Vitz has light buckets and mirrors also.

wow i just read the article you posted, i never heard before about negative caster, it looks like it is a good option for minis

but then i dont understnad why you said minimantaiwan is right ... ?¿

also i think the article misstake on the pictures, the supermarket trolley wheels shown when explaining FWD and RWD are swapped ... if i get it right ...

Negative caster is not a good idea.
Positive caster gives you something called camber rise. This is an increase in negative camber on the outside wheel as it turns. When your car turns and the chassis rolls, with camber rise (gain) hopefully you will end up with and large contact patch in the center of your tire for max grip. With negative caster your outside wheel will get positive camber (top of the wheel tipped outwards) as the wheel turns. You end up riding on the outer edge of the tire. To see what I mean take a look at offroad trucks and buggies. They have alot of positive caster. Look from the front straight back and turn the wheels. You'll see negative camber gain on the outside wheel. The Tamiya minis we run have positive caster. It comes from the kick-up built into the chassis. The shopping cart example does not work here. The pivot axis is still straight up and down (vertical). Its just that the wheel is offset back (trail). Theres no camber change. On RCs the pivot axis runs through the wheel. The stability in shopping cart is solely due to trail and not negative caster.

Akuhon:

Maybe this is why the outside of your foam tires wear out so fast. You're getting positive camber change running the C Hubs reversed.

the M03 M03m amd the m03L R all the same car the spacer is "M" mid size where thr L is long and the M03 has no spacer..

But the M03M has different knuckles and uprights. Suspension arms are all the same.