Any idea roughly how much power a sport-tuned motor draws from a battery over a 5 minute race, on a fairly short indoor track?

The club usually runs 3 heats than a final for each class, so I was hoping to get away with not having to charge either of the 3200mAh LiPo's at all during the evening, as there isn't much time between heats (~20 mins), and with having to marshall the next race & then get the car ready, I'd like to keep it all as simple as I can. I thought of using battery '1' for heats 1 & 3, and battery '2' for heat 2 and the final.

Would a 3200mAh LiPo be able to do ~10 minutes (5 mins running, 30-40 minute break, then another 5 mins running) with a sport-tuned motor, without the LiPo cutoff kicking in?

You can charge pack 1 in between heat 1 and 3, why would you not want to do that?

Yes. Figure 1200-1300 Mah for each 5 minute run, so you will only use about 2400-2600 Mah from each pack. All you'll be giving up is the slight advantage from higher ambient voltage at the very start (and most people burn that off with a couple of hot laps before the tone).

However, you should also be able to use a single pack if you put it on the charger immediately after your heat before you marshall. It probably won't peak, but it will put back most of what you pulled out of it.

Toon sounds like you guys are setting up a fun class but I would try and limit the class to one motor like the silver can 540 J motor or have two classes one for brushless and one silver can. The sport tuned motor may be something where you only run in a trophy race or national event the reason I say that is the silver can can be slower than the brushless and the sport tuned is faster than the brushless. These facts are based on all the motors being stock :sneaky:

I will do that if I can, but I'm not sure if I will have access to mains power for the charger (as the pits area is a corridor outside a school hall), and I don't have a 12V battery. I just wondered if I would be able make a pack last 2 races without recharging, if I find myself in that situation.


I'm not a club member yet (but will join for the 1st race meet of the season next week), but I have been along to see the setup. They have only been running the mini class for about a month, and so the entrant count is a bit low for now (most they've had is 5). But, once more minis are running, they may well split it into 2 classes, like novice/stock and experienced/brushless. Sport tuned is faster than 17.5 brushless!? I may have to use the silver can to start with then... :)

That's what I was thinking. Too many power options and someone will be complaining. We locally have shown the 17.5 and a good silver can are very very close. But the sport tuned is faster as is the 3300 Hobbywing.

The sport tuned is faster than the brushless because of the gearing. If you could gear bigger the brushless would be much faster. But with a set maximum gearing you can't use all that torque.

What is the difference in part #'s 53333 and 53440?

What springs should I run on my TRF shocks?


Also, what is the difference between 53205 and 53597? Which are better?

53333 these springs are shorter then the ones in 53440.

53205 is not rebuildable and 53597 is rebuildable. I have 53205 on my M03 and they work fine, but I think the 53597 are the better ones to get.

What springs will work with my TRF shocks?

Any of the Tamiya onroad springs will work on the TRF shocks. I like #53333 for the mini.

The thing about the M03 that's so cool is how everything comes down to the drivers' abilities. It's the only class I know where a mostly box-stock car can actually be faster than a fully blinged one. I also think the 540 motor rule has mostly to do with that.

The 3200 should do the 2 races with just a bit to spare. Why use one for heats 1&3, and the other for 2&4? I use mine in back to back races then swap for the second battery for the last 2. Hasn't bothered the batteries yet. I use Yeah racing 3200 lipo.

I run some practice, 2 qualifiers and 3 finals on only 2 3200 lipos.
I don't bother bringing a charger with me anymore, as I ride a motorbike and have to travel light (normally cable tie mini to the outside of my back pack, and yes it does look dumb!).
I seem to run faster as the night goes on so the voltage dropping really doesn't seem to matter.

I ran my M03L last night for the first time. I did really well in the first qualifier. The rest of the night results were good but personally it did not feel as smooth.

I was having trouble with traction rolling. Any tips on setup to help with that?

I am running stock 60D tires and I was using tire dope. I have blue springs up front and yellow springs in the rear. The shocks are the Super Mini oil shocks with spacers to make the shocks right at the 56mm in length as suggested on rc-mini.net.

Anyways what should I try for the traction rolling. Is it just poor driving technique? Or should the car be setup to have more turn-in and have the rear slide out a bit instead of so much traction as to roll?

edit: What effect would the transponder mounted from the roof have? Would it be noticable in causing traction rolls and should I put it down lower in the chassis? I did not remember having troubles during practice but it could just be poor driving in the heat of the racing.

k_h_d,

Not sure what your ride height is, but most here in Oz, run 5mmm at the front,measured at the front of the chassis,gives about 3mm under the motor and 5/6mm at the rear.

Make sure you turn your steering rate down on your radio. This should make the turning slower to react to your input. This will not affect your steering endpoints.

The weight of your mini can have a influence on the traction roll problems. If you are running Lipo's and do not add extra weight, the car traction roll.

You could also try stiffer springs at the front, so the car does not dip into the corner.

The main problem with offering advice, is that without seeing how you drive, it is only guess work on our part.

Try also using different tyres. I very rarely use 60D's and if I do they are used only on the front. I normally use Rides 3030 front,(hard insert) and spice 32's rear (Tamiya firm sponge insert).

For tuning I use tyres first, then springs then differnt shock oil. Swaybars can be used, which then allows you to run softer springs. The thing to remeber is that the swaybars can tweak on a mini. This will affect your handling.

I suggest you try one change at a time and work out what works for you.

I normally run a transponder on the front windshield on a mini, not on the roof.

Regards,

Calvin.