Granpa

Hardly know where to start, but you've made a few assumptions that may be a little off. First, the battery that is most commonly used is the Peak 4200 45C stick pack. After several years of trial and error, this battery is the one that is most commonly seen. Cost? $30 at TQ racing and some other shops. This seems to be the best battery considering cost, performance, and longevity. Because it's a low priced Sport Pack, an occasional "dud" sneaks through.

Second, most of the guys have more than one battery. Two seems to be the minimum number. You'll see some that have "practice" packs and dedicated "race" packs. Personally, I have 4 practice packs and 2 race packs. The practice packs are older, retired race packs.

Third, your "cheapie" shorty pack may not be the best choice in the ultra competitive TCS Mini series or in any other ultra competitive Series. The best choice may turn out to be a $80+ standard length pack. What do you say then, my friend???? I'm not sure that the "shorty" packs will give you the best handling car. The venue you race at will have a lot to do with battery choice.

And as to the last point of no one has to buy a square pack, very true. However, most guys will, if that's what it takes to be competitive. Yes, I'm getting to point, old age and failing eyesight, being the determining factor, where my racing will be more of a social exercise. But, until then, I'll run over your grandmother to beat you in a race.

Dan

iTrader: (75)

Also to add, the more expensive packs these days are usually in excess of 320 grams usually. So that would negate the performance benefits (if any) over a "cheapie" pack.

I bought my shorty packs almost 2 years ago for $30. Stick pack lipos were still going for $25-30 at the time.

Dan

iTrader: (75)

Let the people run their expensive packs. I have $35 packs that perform just as good as my $100+ packs running in 17.5 sedan. Last time I spend such a premium on batteries with barely any performance benefit.

I can only imagine 21.5 and fixed gearing, its even less of an issue.

But saying increasing most racers battery budget by a factor of 3, thats just a load of BS. And whats the point in constantly bringing it up? It's already been done, the M05 V2 is being released, and majority are happy with the change. I know I am. Lets move on.

Clawhammers

err... I ain't happy with this new M05 V2....

coz I just spent almost $1,000 for M05 Gold and its hops ups from Rakuten Japan....

the parcel is still in the middle of inspection process by the customs in my country now...

It seems I chose the wrong timing to buy the kit

inpuressa

iTrader: (10)

I wouldn't be so bummed out. The gold edition comes with an exclusive suspension part that drastically changes the handling for the good. You can only get that part with this kit apparently. You can always convert the v2 when the parts come out, which isn't much. But I don't know how you can spend 1k on hop ups on a mini...

rccartips

iTrader: (3)

Mini is now 1/12 version of FF (fwd touring)... droop, square packs, camber tuning, shock positioning.

I love mini, raced it for over 15 years. But would immediately quit if it is about who spends most for power (i.e. $100+ packs).

Bring back the times where we could not adjust parameters... simple cheap fun class to attract new people to racing.

Granpa

Like in all things, time will tell. If the cheap $35 packs are so good, why do the more expensive packs even exist? Simple economics would rule out their existence.

You can imagine all you want, batteries are more important in Spec racing. If you can't change the gear ratio, or the motor, where is the next most obvious source of power??????

I bring the battery issue up cause I think it's going to change Mini racing for the worse. If you think I'm full of brown stuff, it matters not a whit. If the primary reason for even buying the kit is the ability to use square packs, don't bring it up?????

Qatmix

When racing all classes it's about trying to give yourself a competitive advantage. Fitting square or round packs makes no difference. There are always better batteries round or square.

It won't change mini racing, when we did it with M03's you could fit the latest / greatest Nimhs. It's a daft argument.

As noted the big expensive square packs only give a bit more power which can easily be negated with the extra weight and the fact that the fwd mini can only grip a certain amount.

I run spec class 17.5 and good lipos can be cheap, also there are more options, it's a better scenario than hunting for round packs. Mini's were a popular second car/class but once we got lipos etc they warned in popularity due to them not taking std square pacs. This update has piqued the interest of a load of guys again as we can just run these with 21.5's and no boost esc's.

The biggy for me is droop, easily one of the best set-up options on a car, and now much easier to do without having to rebuild shocks. This will give people an advantage as you can tweak it easily over the course of a race night along with the camber etc to optimise the handling of the car.

I'm getting one, been waiting for the mini to be appealing again

J-milz

iTrader: (42)

Crazy question. Can I just pick up the chassis for under $50 to convert my M05 to the version II? Any REAL benefits?

OVA

iTrader: (86)

if you are a good driver. Yes it can be benefits. other wise NO

monkeyracing

iTrader: (10)

Just curious - how did you spend $1000 on a kit that can be had for $130? I mean, buy the kit and a few "necessary" hop up and you'll still be under $300. Unless you went for top of the line ceramic bearings and a bunch of un-needed bling and are including the cost of, body, batteries, electronics and a radio system? A lot of people do that for some reason.

The only new thing is square packs. Everything else has been around since at least the M03. We've had long, misty eyed discussions about the good old days for years and one thing we know is that it's not going back to the way it was. I'd really like to see it, but since Tamiya are offering all this stuff out of the box, who's to say what "stock racing" is? Seriously, the only thing we allow that Tamiya doesn't offer in some form is an oil filled gear diff and the only hop up part on their list they've never offered in a kit is universals.

I would love for there to be a an all plastic, non-adjustable mini class again, but as a wise man (someone on here, actually) once said "It's only cheap until someone wants to win."

caltek1

iTrader: (38)

I am hoping the MO5 Version 2 is a step in the right direction, to rectifying the minor issues of the original kit. I think we have all made steps in weight distribution and setup to overcome these and most have the MO5 working extremely well.

In the Asian market the original MO5 has been modified to run square packs and lower the rear servo mount already. These cars have all worked extremely well at the tracks I have seen them used. For those who think the cars will not handle with more motor, these cars are modified with speed gear sets and run 27 tooth pinions and still work well.

At this time it is hard to form an opinion when I have never seen one on a track or read any feedback from someone having run the car. I expect it will take a little while to get optimised setups and yes it will take more tinkering to find what suits your driving style.

Personally I add weight to my MO5 to meet the weight limit of 1330 grams, plus to also get the power down.

Here in Australia when the MO5 was released we saw an influx of new mini drivers, who thought the car would be easier to setup and drive from the MO3. However this was shortlived as the car still required effort to get them to work well and do not drive like a TC. We quickly saw cheap MO5's for sale, so we will have to see if this car is the same.

Gone are the days of mini as being the starter car for a novice driver. They take finesse to drive and new drivers are disillusioned quickly when driving a mini.

I am sure the MO5 Version 2 will be a step in the right direction. I will just use my TC packs instead of the round LRP 4600 packs I have been using.

Great thing is most of the MO5 hop ups and tricks will work on this car. Yes the droop screws will give more tuning options, but may confuse some. Single piece arms will be a bonus, as will not having to run a counter weight. But alas the proof will be in the on track performance.

Regarding the option of using the gold MO5 suspension pins, I tried it and hated it. Car rolled too much and the suspension needed to be too soft. So glad to go back to a normal suspension setup.

Anyway, hope to have one of the new cars soon, so I can see if it is all hype or an improvement.

Bob,

Did the car get run at the track or was it just a show pony?

Regards,

Calvin.

Granpa

Calvin, it was built up kit without the electronics, but with a 21.5 motor installed. I believe it was Eric's personal car. His solution to the droop screw problem was very neat and hard to detect. It was done with a Tamiya part, but since I had no immediate plans for a kit, I don't remember.

It's a good looking chassis and seems more integrated than the original. You'll be happy with your purchase cause some of the details are better. Whether it's a significantly better performer??????????

Will be sending you a PM about some stuff we worked on this Saturday.

visuvius

iTrader: (4)

Sorry to interrupt the intense new mini and battery talk but can someone please link me to the part I need to mount a fan in my M05? I can't figure out how to properly get a fan over the motor and I'm not seeing a part on TQ.

monkeyracing

iTrader: (10)

M05 fan kit.

Bob, what part did Eric use from Tamiya? I'm in the process of cutting tiny squares from a double edged razor blade. Something less brittle might be better.