Rosso Torro - you are correct, the hyper minis are slower than the originals ... but they can be geared up by adding different pinions, the M03 and M05 are maxed out at a 20 tooth.
Right now I don't see any point in whacking a big pinion on the CF-R until it can match the lap times of the M03 & M05. Still, the testing has only just started with the CFR and Xevo, plenty of room for improvement

rccartips - yes, the M03 was fastest ... and a pleasure to drive

over gear - just looking at the CFR now, the tyre wear seems to be normal. Another idea was that the belt might be slipping, but I can't see any evidence of this. If it is slipping it won't be good news as there is no way to adjust the tension. I still thought it was the differential, but every time I check it the diff is as tight as it can be.

Tim what about binding? Or could you hear the motor spool up??

LOL... One thing to keep in mind that the M05 isn't balanced. I add about 8 grams of weight in the car to balance it out.

In my opinion having a car that is nice and stable over a car that is light but handles not as well is not the way to go.

In Japan there was no weight limit and you could modify the chassis(cut holes) however I ended up taking weight off and balancing using the shock collars. This worked reasonably well however I think I prefer the slightly heavier front end car.

2010 Big Fat Turkey Race Mini Cooper/M-Chassis A3 Main:

(720p HD available if you click through)

+ YouTube Video

Hey guys,

I was wondering if any of you know if this lipo would be compatible with the M03. Is 3C okay?

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXYKT6&P=FR

thanks

No problem, will fit straight in and 20c works just fine.

I have to agree, I removed the silver can & installed the ez run system .
Car was essentially lighter, had no steering turning into apex unless I crawled.
It drove me nuts. I then read elsewhere that the mini's run well at aprx 1300-1400 grams, I was way under at 966 grams. Put some weight along the battery tray and upfront on the bumper & pow! Found my turn in steering again!
My 3 cents...

I've been having good results running the Fiat 500 Abarth body on my M05, but it seems many racers prefer the Swift. Now that the Abarth has been around for a while, what's the consensus from the mini gurus?

Bodies definitely make a difference to handling.
I've been told the swift is better and i can believe that so i've never got around to trying the abarth.

Hi, nope, no binding, the drive train is very free. Off the line it just sounds like a normal mini (only quieter) with a bit of wheelspin. Might do some more testing on the weekend so hopefully can track down the problem.

Nice paint

In answer to your question, I've never had anything apart from the Abarth on the car so can't compare.

so i guess you need to replace the belt every time it stretches, thats pretty crappy!!

i might have to take a proper look at this cfr mini and see if i can recommend something to make it faster,

watching the video, it had very slow corner entry and exit speed.

I'll wager the problem with the CF-R was the weight distribution. If the motor is moved back, then the battery must be back too. Combine that with the short wheelbase and you end up with quite a lot less weight on the front tyres.

Either that or it is something with the front suspension setup. Springs/droop/binding/whatever. From the video, it looked like the CF-R front end was just "floating" on the track, whereas the Xevo was actually gripping.

Actually the Xevo looked really good... but I hope the rubbin' was for the sake of the video and not the way you actually race!

That is how they race in Victoria ... hack first

It was actually Tim knowing what was going to happen if he let me through there without a helping hand

Given it was the first day on the track - I didn't want to bend the Xevo, I broke it earlier in the day and didn't know what would happen!

I believe the others had a bet on how many laps it would last - Tim was in the box seat to 'help that along' HA!