Is this a M05? If so, definitely check the entire steering linkage starting from worn servo saver. Next would be give slight more toe out on the front, stiffen springs one notch on all 4 corners. That worked for me. :)

Great info overall Granpa!

It's funny looking back at my progression in rc racing for mini and the questions I see asked here. Started off asking what's the best car and what hopups I need. Then copying setup and tuning ideas from rcmini.net. Next where do I get a fast silver can (now it's a brushless motor). Then working on shocks, drive train, tires, etc.

Now for me it's really just about driving and hitting the best line possible as mini has become the slowest class (speed wise) vs the 7 other classes I race up here in my neck of the woods. It's also the funnest yet most challenging class I run. Fun because generally a majority of even the fast guys don't take it too serious like they do Touring Cars or Pan Cars and challenging cause when you start racing with guys where everyone is almost on the same lap, one mistake and you're done especially since we got a spec motor where the power plant is pretty much the same between everyone. The Modified classes are an exception but the fun part is strapping on a motor which obviously is too fast for me to control and hope my car finishes in one piece. Yeehaw!

Our club is on hiatus till October so this is the closest thing to racing I'll get for awhile. Also, I'm interested in working on setup this coming season as the most tuning I've done during races the last 4 years is usually turning droops screws during race meets as I generally run all the classes offered at each event and have no time for setup changes. Sauce, charge, race, marshal, repeat.

Some other questions of interest:

One other point you made it in past I read was you believe that car tuning is less important on carpet vs asphalt. Could you elaborate?

Also, what's the ideal weight bias front vs back in your mini if you even check that.

Do you balance out left and right balance with weights? Or do you use the lift one side of the car at the centre point (front or rear) and turn the opposite springs clockwise / counter clockwise trick?

Our minimum weight is at 1200g. We've got guys who get it to within 1 gram over. I'm at 1330g. Do you think that makes a difference?

I kinda like this bench racing and a good coffee in the morning sure gets the brain cells firing,

Ivan

ps. On a side note has anyone ever figured out who Bert is (guys on rctech long enough know who I'm talking about), raced with him or have any video of him racing? When someone has the answer for everything, I would like to see if he can actually wheel a car around a track. Just one lap will do.

Okay that explains a lot then my son and his friend waited up for me last night to get off duty and were watching it on tv when I got in and I caught most of the game
Those NRL blokes look like a tough bunch! I wouldn't want to mess with those Aussie Rules Guys either!!!
Thanks!!!
Now to get some sleep!
Back to Net

Now for me it's really just about driving and hitting the best line possible as mini has become the slowest class (speed wise) vs the 7 other classes I race up here in my neck of the woods. It's also the funnest yet most challenging class I run. Fun because generally a majority of even the fast guys don't take it too serious like they do Touring Cars or Pan Cars and challenging cause when you start racing with guys where everyone is almost on the same lap, one mistake and you're done especially since we got a spec motor where the power plant is pretty much the same between everyone. The Modified classes are an exception but the fun part is strapping on a motor which obviously is too fast for me to control and hope my car finishes in one piece. Yeehaw!"


I feel the same way!!!

It's a little like American football, but for men.

It's common for the sages in our hobby to pronounce "it's a combination of driver, car, and motor" that leads to racing success. I was in my mid 60s when I started in this hobby so soon realized the driver part was going to be severely limited. It had to come from the car or the motor or a combination of both, so motors came first. What many on this thread do not know is that my real area of expertise is Silvercan motors. Chassis tuning is next, but of the "good" chassis tuners, I'm the only one who posts on this thread. Correct that to of the good chassis tuners I know personally.

Chassis tuning has evolved in that it was believed that 80% was tires. This was forwarded by Tony and the rc-mini website. So there were dozens of different combinations of tires. Not disputing the validity of this idea in the open tire series. However, in the TCS world, we have a Spec tire so we had to do it with tuning the chassis. I feel that any series interested in reducing costs should go the spec tire route.

I feel that lo-grip asphalt is much more difficult primarily for that reason, low grip. First we have to set the car up so that we have grip then we have to find the rest of it. Much harder than if you started with grip to begin with. Many pavement guys don't like carpet cause the set up approaches seem to be different although they are the same. you're just starting from the halfway point on carpet. The other difficulty is that where you're trying to reduce some things, we've spent most of our chassis tuning lives trying to increase them. Weight transfer being the most prominent thing.

No, I don't make any attempt to balance L/R weighting primarily due to the fact that the track I run on favors the left off set weight of the stock weight distribution. All Minis are "tweaked, so I do adjust for tweak. I don't have a tweak station so use the center lift, adjust shock collar method.

My M03 weighs in at 1325 right now and will be at closer to 1350 when I'm done. Trying to get the car to minimum weight is nuts. For me, they just don't handle under 1300 or so, on lo-grip asphalt. Yeah, I know, the Japanese Mini guys chop up their chassis ad leave the hoops off along with the electronics platforms. Actually, I believe they do this to front weight their chassis and still stay close to 1250 which I believe is a reasonable minimum weight on carpet, but don't know for sure.

I see much comment on your pickup body, but I think it's a great choice. Seems like it would have neutral handling properties. Just stay away from the Alpha and Abarth bodies for racing.

This is fun for me cause we're discussing ideas and concepts and not out "gunning" for the other guys hide by proving him wrong. We don't have to be in agreement in this discussion. I have some ideas on why certain things work and why others don't, but they aren't inscribed in stone. Like you said, it tickles the little grey cells.

OUCH:eek:

Seems to me that there's a Monkey that's going to incur the rath of an Angry Little Lawn Gnome:D

When your Pink Flamingos start disappearing, you'll know why!

Man I wish I could get some sleep, too many things going on here

Do you guys weight your car with or without the battery?
With the tcs' we run I weigh in with the battery and I'm limited to a specific battery
We have in our stock for the minis to make the weight

Last year a guy posted a video of Bertsv87. I'd love to see it again. Believe me you will make your mind about him after one corner. Literally.

No, it's a little like American and Canadian football played by pygmies. Those guys are pretty small and slow. Brave though.

Well, he'd better put on all his pads.

Great conversation going with Bonecrusher and Granpa. Ones of the best I've seen in a very long time. Ivan's car/driver balance leans towards driver. The car is not as scienced out as some, but is nicely balanced and fast but, if I were driving it, it would lose.

Bert...oh Bert. Just pops in, says something ridiculous then disappears, like a fart in the wind. Fun fact: He's the only other person I've ever blocked.

Deleted..

Alot of fun behind my back....lol...
I mostly read now, not much posting since I went through the same Rc learning curve, and now I start beating a lot of folks with my newly improved m03.1...

Find that if you could. Would love to see it.

Hey Bert,

Never had any interaction with you. Just enjoying your barbs on the other threads with other rctech members. I've only ever heard how great you're kicking butt with your shaft driven TC4 with some low turn motor that can beat all other cars. I just want to see it.

And if you're beating folks now with you're newly improved M03.1, I want to see that too. Also, if you could tell me why it's a M03.1, that would also be interesting to read.

No disrespect, just need to see it to believe it.

Ivan

Keep asking questions, it's the only way to learn.

Too kind as always Jim. My car just works. For the non-believers you need to see and feel it to believe it. I don't need to nit pick with it to gain that extra whatever. I'm just super happy to have a clean race and try to hit my lines and not tap a single board in the process. I prefer also to race with faster drivers, it's the only way to learn either I could be driving a better line, or i need a major setup change (if i'm getting killed on corner speed) or even race psychology on how to keep calm. There's a reason i'm always yacking on the driver's stand, cause keeps it completely not serious.

Fart in the wind....:lol::lol::lol:

Ivan