This may be a silly question, but, what is the preferred/ correct way to sauce the tires, full front and rear? I've never raced a FWD car.
Thanks

I agree with everyone else as I used a shorty and a full sized lipo. Hands down I went with

Team Orion:
2S "Carbon Pro" 4500mAh
100C Shorty Pack
(ORI14066)

Need advice guys. I have a couple of M03s I haven't' run for a few years and I will start running them again. I also have a BNIB M03 with the Swift body. Should I just open my new kit to get parts or will they soon become collectible since they are no longer in production? In which case, I should keep it new in box and just buy the parts I need to get my two other M03s running again? Thanks for the advice.

Keep it new in box and go buy the parts you need!!! That swift will always be worth more with the box closed than if you open it. I'd almost say throw it on eBay now and see what you get. There are plenty of Tamiya collectors out there that will give you more than what you paid for it. Just might take time before you find the right person.

Full rear. Always.

Front is a tuning option. Racing on carpet you may want to start with half (inside half) and adjust from there. Outside I think is normally full front, depends on the grip level.

Looks like I might be the odd man out!

IMO it depends on your set up, high RPM large tracks you can get away with the short packs. Generally most have run standard packs at Tamiya (in TCS trim), club races seem to have more short packs (with 55 tires).

Personally I tried both at TCS Nationals and couldn't get the short packs to hook up off the slower corners with the torque of the spec motor.

That said, for TCS regionals if you're going to make the trek south to Aliso Viejo you should be able to use a short pack as they are using 21.5 motors vs. the Tamiya 16T Spec at Nats.

my .02

Got it, thank you.

+1

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I bought 3 cup racers back when they were still in production (for $150 each). I kept two in the box and sold each for almost 3x what I paid for them!

Just picked up a Hobbywing Just Stock ESC for my M05. Other then initial set up and turn up the timing on the motor, do I need to change any of the settings or is it good to go out of the box?

Running an ORCA 21.5t @ 10° timing.

There are very few M03 only chassis parts and they're still fairly easy to get. Probably best just to buy a few parts trees and you'll be good for years.

main chassis pn 50792
susp arms, bumpers, body posts 50793

That's it. Everything else interchanges. The only other part you'll need, if you don't already have them, are some 32-33mm turnbuckles for the steering.

EricF
Make sure that before you sauce your tires that they are cleaned of any
track residue otherwise you'll just be wasting your time

EricF, I ran today @ HTG where the asphalt was sprayed down so the track was hooking very well without saucing... Really depends on the track

So after fitting the Tamiya ball diff for my m-05 and not really liking the way the car felt skittish and especially the way it pulled to the left. I tried getting the thing as tight as possible and ended up cracking the plastic collar, so now I have decided to use an aftermarket gear diff by 3racing.
After filling it with the supplied oil and getting zero anywhere, I delved in this forum and found several/most of you use 400,000 weight oil
My question is, how long does this oil last before it needs to be washed out and refilled and has anyone had any long term problems with this type of diff?
Thanks as always

Fill it and forget it. Check for leaks occasionally, but it's a pretty bullet proof item.

It's way too quiet in here.

I present to you the ultimate in frivolous, high-tech-lookin', but still cheap tire storage.

The carbon fiber Pringles can!



In case you didn't know, mini Pringles cans are awesome for storing mini and TC sized tires, once you get the chip stink out. I've been using them for years.