anybody have use for a TCS loaded M03? battery, speedo bodies all steering upgrades extra super mini's etc. drop me a PM. just sittin on shelf.

doc and doc only, have use for a spare fantom dyno? lookin for a good home for it, dont have a big PS anymore nor time to fiddle with it.

R

Married w/ children so free time is at a premium.
I also crash alot
Are there any decent pre-painted, pre-cut bodies out there for the M-05? I spend hours (yeah, I'm slow) masking, painting, cutting, applying decals, only to smack a curb on the first lap. Any suggestions would be very appreciated.
SoCal

I think Tamiya offer a lot of their bodies pre-painted. they come from the XB series

They are much more likely to crack than clear ones.
But they do look really, really good though!

Granpa, Mango, Calvin & others....
Update.
All sorted. Culprits were badly worn tires and a frt sway bar binding....

More testing tmr to confirm but seems a lot better 2day.
Setup:
Front
1 deg camber, Outter hole on Opt Shk Tower, #400 oil, 3 hole piston, 55mm long shock, Blue springs, 3mm rebound, 1.5mm spacing for Toe-out, no swaybar, 4.5mm ride height.

Rear
1 deg camber, #400 oil, 3 hole piston, 55mm long shock, Yellow springs, 3mm rebound, 2 deg Toe-in, no swaybar, 5.0mm ride height.

General
MWB, TRF Mini Shocks, Tires 60D Super Grips, Esc on opposite side, Manta Ray Diff-packed tight with AWGrease.



Thanks again, much appreciated....

Just picked up my m-06, and was curious to see if there is an aluminum steering knuckle for it. With everything thats included in the kit, I'm shocked to see the plastic steering knuckles. I'm pretty new to the cooper seen, so I apologize if this is a dumb question.

The M-05 and M-06 (alloy) knuckles are the same. M-03R will fit, too. I've fit an old set of M-03/TL-01 knuckles to mine by using the older (larger) uprights.

It's just a matter of a quick test fit and figuring out the details.

Jim

Glad to hear that. From your set up it looks like your track is similar to ours in grip level if that's what's working with S-Grips. With that assumption, there are a couple of things you can try.

1. Try a rear sway bar cause it looks like you went to the yellows to control the back end. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but it'll help you "roll" thru the mid and hi speed corners better. That and blue springs will keep the car a little "flatter"

2. You might start experimenting with the "rake"---- front to rear ride ht--- acts a bit like a droop adjustment on a TC. Can't tell much from your ride ht measurements cause the bottom of a Mini isn't flat so it depends on where you measured

3. Take the anti wear grease out of the diff cause it serves no purpose and will leak out and give you the most gadawful mess you've ever seen. You can pack a gear diff with stuff and that will change the diff action, but not a ball diff. Just put a tiny amount on each ball and cinch the screw down tight and that will give you tight diff that's smooth. If it loosens just rebuild and the "tightness" will come back.

Dialed! Thanks for the info.

My LHS has been telling me that there wont be any more M03's made. anyone know if this is true? they seem readily available online still

Does anyone here ever take apart the bearings and clean the greese out of them and put in a lighter oil? and if so, what oil?

Maybe not complete cars, but I've heard the parts supply will keep rolling for some time yet.

Jim

I don't take the shields off anymore. I just soak them nitro cleaner. I use Slick 7 Glidex synthetic bearing lube but I think any light bearing oil will work. You just want to take the drag from grease out.

It's raining here so have another week to complete my projects so decided to check and see what was happening. I saw this post and another and decided to weigh in. It's very common to degrease the bearings thru one means or another, the most common being to soak them in motor or brake cleaner and blowing them out. Actually a commendable idea.

There are some things that you have to be careful of tho. There are a number of places you can get sealed bearings for a buck. Being naturally thrifty (cheap) I succumbed to temptation and purchased quite a few. Much to my chagrin, I made the following discovery. When you soak these bearings, the seals swell and create a lot of drag. NOT saying they all do this, but all the samples I had did. For now these bearings are just used as wheel bearings and are adequate. I don't clean etc, just put them in and run till they run rough.

My present thinking on bearings is this. I've gone back to metal shielded bearings and clean them more frequently. Both Acer racing and Boca bearings sell a quality bearing that won't break the bank. If you're really anal about this, you can remove the shield from one side and, of course put it on the inside.

Haven't done the ceramic bearing bit. Something in me rebels at the idea of spending more for the bearings than I did for the whole kit'

I had bearings that became gritty when degreased. I often find that it's best to just run the bearings. The excess grease will be forced out of the races as you run them. The bearings will become very smooth and free turning eventually, much smoother than those I flushed out.