It's all over the place. A lot depends on which version you're running. Your best bet is to come on out and see. There are a # of "gurus" out there that are very helpful. All you have to do is ask.

For example, up until a few months ago, almost all were running the SWB or the Rover Mini. Right now the mid chassis is the most popular amoung the veteran Mini guys and a few are running the LWB version. Now that the old, good 60d slicks are unavailable, S-Grips are the tire of choice with more different insert combinations than I could possibly remember.

The answer to your question is that there is no consensus, only a lot of different and differing opinions.

My set up from todays race

the car was AWSOME and totally prodictable

Gear diff with thin oil/grease added for smooth action

FRONT
Yellow short Spring
400 oil
3 hole piston
5mm under piston
1 bush in the top of the shock
full rebound
TRF dampers
M grip tyres
White Swift wheels
Kit inserts
top hole on inner upper arm mount
inner hole on upright (plastic)
3mm spacers on steering for toe out
4mm wheel hex's with 0.5mm spacer
6mm ride height

REAR
White short spring
400 oil
3 hole piston
5mm under piston
1 bush in top of the shock
full rebound
TRF dampers
S grip tyres
White swift wheels
Kit inserts
Adjustable upper arms with 2mm spacers between
5mm wheel hex's
6mm ride height

Mini body shell , no electrinics plates added
50g of lead added under Lipo and 20g on top of each side of the battery holder
Superglued the sidewalls of the tyres and the outer tread to stop grip rolls and smeared tyres all over all 4 tyres for about 30 mins before heat
Silvercan motor with a GM sx6 speedo ,
The car was really great to drive , prodictable and awsome corner speed and grip was high i like this car more then the old M03 chassis it has replaced :nod::sweat::nod::sweat:

Would u suggest getting the M03 or M05 for the aliso track?

M05 for me ;) ;)

Ok, first club day with the shiny new M05PRO.

Gotta unlearn M03 to my mind, went with soft front, firmish rear, same rubber on all 4 corners.

Thing was brilliant.

Some suggestion for the ball diff. Try removing one large cronical washer and tighten the diff more. it will act like a semi spool and it works sweet. Even legal in TAC.

i dont use the ball diff

it makes the car pull to the left on power

Questions regarding setup (Why I am asking is beyond me, I have not even started building my M-05 Pro :lol: )

First off, I notice a number of people run spacers under the shock piston. I assume this is to lower ride height. Is this for people using TRF shocks not specifically designed for the M chassis? I bought the Tamiya 54000 aluminum shocks specifically for the M cars, do people still run spacers with them?

I also noticed a lot of people put a bead of glue on the sidewalls to avoid traction roll. Is this legal for the Tamiya Championship series? I think its a great idea, but I do not want to get used to running my car that way if I cannot do so in the Tamiya series.

Thanks!

no problems let me try to answer them individually

the TRF dampers are all the same length even for the M chassis , there for you must limit the movement of the shock , we use them under the piston to limit droop (down movement of the shock)

then make sure you get ALL the air out of the shock , it is more difficult due to the spacers , i use 5mm in all shocks

did you order the short springs :confused::confused: you need these to get the ride height down

this is the best way to remove corner grip from the car and not loose grip in a straight line , i usually glue all 4 wheels sidewall then the outer tread on the front tyres , i have competed in the UK and the NL tamiya challanges and never had a problem with gluing sidewalls of tyres

Good luck and enjoy the races :)

I just finished building my M-05 Pro and I used other Tamiya aluminum dampers from my TA03F Pro. I just basically used the damper cap & housing, and used the rest of the parts from the kit, per manual. I'm also using MWB on mine with a Suzuki Swift 1600 body. I want to take it Tamiya track soon, but still have to paint the body. A bead of CA on the sidewalls huh? I was going to just seal the complete sidewall instead, like I always do on all my tires, but might try this. By the way, I'm also going to be using the kit tires & inserts.

most people ca the edges of the tire for carpet racing.for tamiya americia i did not ca any of my tire and the car worked really well.

yeah ONLY indoors on carpet do i superglue my sidewalls :)

Got my M05. What hop ups are needed right away? Dampers and bearings? Where's the best place to get cheap bearings?

If you have the regular M-05 kit, then you will need to replace the dampers & bearings. I've bought bearings from Avid RC for $1 each, and they have a few selections on bearings. Tamiya also sells the complete ball bearing set. The clamp type wheel adapters are also a nice hop-up, to prevent from losing the pin, when the wheels are removed. So much more, but it all depends on you.

only hopups i have on my M05 are the m chassis TRF shocks, alloy motor mount and ball bearings of course. Flourine coated pinion gear is a good part to get aswell, not a performance thing just lasts much longer than the original pinion.