Tamiya mini cooper
Tech Adept

anyone knows where i can get a Spec-R gear diff for an M05? It has to be Spec-R.
Tech Master
iTrader: (14)

Hey everyone.
A bunch of us at my local club have started to bring back mini racing from the dead in our area. This fun class is bringing in all skills and we’re having a blast getting our cars ready for when we can race again.
Some have opted to go the newer chassis route (M07 / 08) but quite a few 03,04,05’s making their way to being set up. We’re running a Blinky 21.5 with 2cell lipo’s and they seam to be the perfect speed for our track.
Being in the hobby for a while - and a passed TCS racer I had a m05 v2 that I wanted to prepare. We race on black carpet so the car can get tippy with too much grip. To compensate this I’ve modded my 05 to ARS and also longer mounting for the rear upper link. Wanted to share..... the car handles awesome like this and offers a lot more tuning flexibility.


A bunch of us at my local club have started to bring back mini racing from the dead in our area. This fun class is bringing in all skills and we’re having a blast getting our cars ready for when we can race again.
Some have opted to go the newer chassis route (M07 / 08) but quite a few 03,04,05’s making their way to being set up. We’re running a Blinky 21.5 with 2cell lipo’s and they seam to be the perfect speed for our track.
Being in the hobby for a while - and a passed TCS racer I had a m05 v2 that I wanted to prepare. We race on black carpet so the car can get tippy with too much grip. To compensate this I’ve modded my 05 to ARS and also longer mounting for the rear upper link. Wanted to share..... the car handles awesome like this and offers a lot more tuning flexibility.



That is fantastic! I never would have thought of it.

Figured I would throw some hype in this thread it's been a minute. I have had 2 other M05's in the past first one being the base kit and the second a V II R kit. The M05 was my first M chassis and I have grown fond of it no matter the era we are in. I had a M07 after the first two M05's and that car was great no complaints but I ended up selling all of them as they were sitting more than being used.
Couple months back I decided once again to buy a M05 V2. Friend of mine had a V2 pro band new in box so I jumped on it. I applied all my Tc building tricks and shimmed everything on the arms, hubs, links etc. I wanted to bring this V2 Pro into the current Era with my voodoo & get a nice set up for Black carpet. Has the key hop ups but still missing a few which I plan to finish it off with (Alum steering, Arm pins, Alum hubs etc). Like duckman said a few of us locals have been ripping Mini for some fun & it's a good mix between M05,M07,M08's with our buddy bringing some older M03/M04's out for some laps. The M05 V2 can still rip & compete at the top! It's been fun bringing this dated chassis kit up to speed once more, & enjoying every lap these M-kits have to offer. Tamiya's never die they only get faster 😉
The Set up
-Tamiya 50mm M-chassis Shocks
-Tamiya Servo saver
-Tamiya Alum steering link
-Tamiya Alum rear axles
-Tamiya Alum battery holders
-Tamiya low friction step screws
-Tamiya Carbon rear tower
-Tamiya Alum steering posts
-Tamiya Sway bar set
-Tamiya MX5 Miata lid
-3 Racing Gear diff (1 mill)
-Xray T4 21 Carbon body height stopper used for Fan mount
-Orca R32X Esc
-Orca Blitreme 1 21.5
-Orca 6000 LCG Pack
I will update when I do the next tear down for a rebuild + more upgrades




Couple months back I decided once again to buy a M05 V2. Friend of mine had a V2 pro band new in box so I jumped on it. I applied all my Tc building tricks and shimmed everything on the arms, hubs, links etc. I wanted to bring this V2 Pro into the current Era with my voodoo & get a nice set up for Black carpet. Has the key hop ups but still missing a few which I plan to finish it off with (Alum steering, Arm pins, Alum hubs etc). Like duckman said a few of us locals have been ripping Mini for some fun & it's a good mix between M05,M07,M08's with our buddy bringing some older M03/M04's out for some laps. The M05 V2 can still rip & compete at the top! It's been fun bringing this dated chassis kit up to speed once more, & enjoying every lap these M-kits have to offer. Tamiya's never die they only get faster 😉
The Set up
-Tamiya 50mm M-chassis Shocks
-Tamiya Servo saver
-Tamiya Alum steering link
-Tamiya Alum rear axles
-Tamiya Alum battery holders
-Tamiya low friction step screws
-Tamiya Carbon rear tower
-Tamiya Alum steering posts
-Tamiya Sway bar set
-Tamiya MX5 Miata lid
-3 Racing Gear diff (1 mill)
-Xray T4 21 Carbon body height stopper used for Fan mount
-Orca R32X Esc
-Orca Blitreme 1 21.5
-Orca 6000 LCG Pack
I will update when I do the next tear down for a rebuild + more upgrades






Finally finished my other Monte Carlo body today since I started it in 2015? LOL..
This is on my hopped up M01. I've not built the Xpress yet..

This is on my hopped up M01. I've not built the Xpress yet..

Tech Initiate

That is awesone!

Thanks, I was away from RC for a couple of years and recently noticed these Cooper bodies cost a fortune! I'm glad I still have like 5 fresh ones I bought long time ago. Going to keep them locked up in my time capsule for later use. LOL
Raman - I love my TOP Sabre Mini's too!
Raman - I love my TOP Sabre Mini's too!

I really wish Tamiya would do a re release of coopers!

Very unlikely to happen as Tamiya no longer have the licence and I can only assume the cost of renewal is too much for them to consider.
Which is a shame because there is a big market for Minis and all things BMW.
Which is a shame because there is a big market for Minis and all things BMW.

I have a M01 NIB I bought from a guy a few months ago for only $300. I wasn't sure if he was aware that they usually go for double that price, but I just took it off his hands and placed in my NIB collection.
Tech Adept
iTrader: (2)

Been racing my m04 and something never quite sat quite right with me about how the servo is mounted.
I followed instructions and used one of the self tapping screws and a washer on the servo to mount it to the little servo mounting block.

But the screw is way smaller diameter than the hole in the servo ear. Basically if I don't crank it down really hard it is at risk of moving and becoming misaligned. This has happened already once where one screw backed out a tiny bit and left the servo free to move a lot in each direction.
I would use the rubber grommets that come with the servo to take up the space but the instructions do not show this and also when I did try the rubber grommets the self tapping screw is not long enough. I tried with a longer self tapping screw with the grommets, the thickness of the rubber made the servo sit too low in the chassis so the arm was contacting the chassis.
Do other servos use a smaller mounting hole? I've not seen this dimension listed on the servos specifications. Is there something else I'm missing?

The servo is a spectrum z590.
Thanks
I followed instructions and used one of the self tapping screws and a washer on the servo to mount it to the little servo mounting block.

But the screw is way smaller diameter than the hole in the servo ear. Basically if I don't crank it down really hard it is at risk of moving and becoming misaligned. This has happened already once where one screw backed out a tiny bit and left the servo free to move a lot in each direction.
I would use the rubber grommets that come with the servo to take up the space but the instructions do not show this and also when I did try the rubber grommets the self tapping screw is not long enough. I tried with a longer self tapping screw with the grommets, the thickness of the rubber made the servo sit too low in the chassis so the arm was contacting the chassis.
Do other servos use a smaller mounting hole? I've not seen this dimension listed on the servos specifications. Is there something else I'm missing?

The servo is a spectrum z590.
Thanks

Been racing my m04 and something never quite sat quite right with me about how the servo is mounted.
I followed instructions and used one of the self tapping screws and a washer on the servo to mount it to the little servo mounting block.

But the screw is way smaller diameter than the hole in the servo ear. Basically if I don't crank it down really hard it is at risk of moving and becoming misaligned. This has happened already once where one screw backed out a tiny bit and left the servo free to move a lot in each direction.
I would use the rubber grommets that come with the servo to take up the space but the instructions do not show this and also when I did try the rubber grommets the self tapping screw is not long enough. I tried with a longer self tapping screw with the grommets, the thickness of the rubber made the servo sit too low in the chassis so the arm was contacting the chassis.
Do other servos use a smaller mounting hole? I've not seen this dimension listed on the servos specifications. Is there something else I'm missing?

The servo is a spectrum z590.
Thanks
I followed instructions and used one of the self tapping screws and a washer on the servo to mount it to the little servo mounting block.

But the screw is way smaller diameter than the hole in the servo ear. Basically if I don't crank it down really hard it is at risk of moving and becoming misaligned. This has happened already once where one screw backed out a tiny bit and left the servo free to move a lot in each direction.
I would use the rubber grommets that come with the servo to take up the space but the instructions do not show this and also when I did try the rubber grommets the self tapping screw is not long enough. I tried with a longer self tapping screw with the grommets, the thickness of the rubber made the servo sit too low in the chassis so the arm was contacting the chassis.
Do other servos use a smaller mounting hole? I've not seen this dimension listed on the servos specifications. Is there something else I'm missing?

The servo is a spectrum z590.
Thanks
1up Racing ServoLock screws.


You can also get generic "servo washers" that do the same job and are a lot cheaper.
These are a fairly recent invention but make mounting a servo so much more reliable.
These are a fairly recent invention but make mounting a servo so much more reliable.
Tech Adept
iTrader: (2)


and then just find a flat head self tapping m3 screw to go with them.