Mini Coopers
11-04-2002, 08:54 AM
#18
Regional Moderator
Originally posted by KINGZJ
This is a cool thread. Last night at the track I race at their were about 10 of those little buggers. I used to race one in tcs races and their are a ton of tricks to make them go faster and handle better. On carpet I used to run m-grip tires all around with the ta03 shocks and soft springs. The key to keep it from rolling over is to take some ca glue and put a layer of it on the sidewalls of the front tires. You can then go almost full throttle into a corner and if it starts to come over the glue slips it back onto is wheels again I know it sounds crazy but man it works. I would also break the tranny in with toothpastejust fill it up with toothpast and put a junky motor in and let it run for 12 hours or so then you have to clean it out really good (makes them quiet so they don't sound like a coffee grinder). Also the integy speed tune gears are the ticket as well they really help out. If you take a 1/8" drill bit and go through the holes for mounting a 20 tooth pinion you will be able to put a 21 on and no one will know helps on the straightaways. The best hoppup to purchase is the ball diff it will really pull you through the infield..........
This is a cool thread. Last night at the track I race at their were about 10 of those little buggers. I used to race one in tcs races and their are a ton of tricks to make them go faster and handle better. On carpet I used to run m-grip tires all around with the ta03 shocks and soft springs. The key to keep it from rolling over is to take some ca glue and put a layer of it on the sidewalls of the front tires. You can then go almost full throttle into a corner and if it starts to come over the glue slips it back onto is wheels again I know it sounds crazy but man it works. I would also break the tranny in with toothpastejust fill it up with toothpast and put a junky motor in and let it run for 12 hours or so then you have to clean it out really good (makes them quiet so they don't sound like a coffee grinder). Also the integy speed tune gears are the ticket as well they really help out. If you take a 1/8" drill bit and go through the holes for mounting a 20 tooth pinion you will be able to put a 21 on and no one will know helps on the straightaways. The best hoppup to purchase is the ball diff it will really pull you through the infield..........
11-06-2002, 04:37 PM
#20
Well I think I've got a decent carpet setup for the car, that uses "normal-tech" tuning, not "glue-on-the-sidewall" tuning!.
Mods on the car are as follows...
TA03 Low friction shocks
TA03 Ball Diff
Toe-in rear hubs
Fully Ballraced
GPM Universal joints
Rcboyz Chassis extender (225mm for HPI Golf shell, which has bigger wheel wells which fit full-size tourer wheels).
Shafts shimmed where appropriate, glue used to build up some bearing sockets/shaft holes where appropriate, to get rid of the traditional Tamiya play.
Home-made bump-steer mod - using Kyosho and Yokomo parts, combined with lots of spacers, I've raised the steering arms outboard mounting point by around 10mm, and also dropped the servo 1.5mm lower into the chassis, fitting turnbuckles.
Radio gear mounted on chassis sides, to rear.
Carpet setup...
Tyres - Jaco 24mm blues all round
Motor - Standard 540
Servo - Futaba 3003 (standard)
ESC - LRP Runner
Cells - Sanyo Race 2000 stick.
Pinion - 20
Front:
Shock length - 57mm (using internal spacers)
External spacers on shock shaft - 1mm
Spring - White (Extra Hard) from Hard on-road spring set 53440
Pre-load spacer - none
Oil - 80wt
Toe in - set to 0 at full suspension extension
Rear:
Shock length - 60mm
Ext spacers - 2mm
Spring - Yellow (medium) from 53440
Pre-load spacer - 2mm
Oil - 50wt
Ride height is approximately 10mm on typical touring tyres, and the suspension will not quite bottom out. Droop is around 2mm at the front and 3mm at the rear.
What I found is that the heavy spring, and maybe more importantly the heavy oil, stop the car over-reacting to the steering inputs. This makes it driveable, and almost "chuckable", without losing excessive amounts of corner speed if you misjudge the steering. I've also found that going too soft on the rear can make the car kick out in the bends, while losing on-power steering, more so than with a 4wd car.
Thing is, I've yet to find a good slippy-floor setup for the car - it can be a real beast if you lose the momentum or get knocked off line.
Pics to come/be linked to in the near future.
Mods on the car are as follows...
TA03 Low friction shocks
TA03 Ball Diff
Toe-in rear hubs
Fully Ballraced
GPM Universal joints
Rcboyz Chassis extender (225mm for HPI Golf shell, which has bigger wheel wells which fit full-size tourer wheels).
Shafts shimmed where appropriate, glue used to build up some bearing sockets/shaft holes where appropriate, to get rid of the traditional Tamiya play.
Home-made bump-steer mod - using Kyosho and Yokomo parts, combined with lots of spacers, I've raised the steering arms outboard mounting point by around 10mm, and also dropped the servo 1.5mm lower into the chassis, fitting turnbuckles.
Radio gear mounted on chassis sides, to rear.
Carpet setup...
Tyres - Jaco 24mm blues all round
Motor - Standard 540
Servo - Futaba 3003 (standard)
ESC - LRP Runner
Cells - Sanyo Race 2000 stick.
Pinion - 20
Front:
Shock length - 57mm (using internal spacers)
External spacers on shock shaft - 1mm
Spring - White (Extra Hard) from Hard on-road spring set 53440
Pre-load spacer - none
Oil - 80wt
Toe in - set to 0 at full suspension extension
Rear:
Shock length - 60mm
Ext spacers - 2mm
Spring - Yellow (medium) from 53440
Pre-load spacer - 2mm
Oil - 50wt
Ride height is approximately 10mm on typical touring tyres, and the suspension will not quite bottom out. Droop is around 2mm at the front and 3mm at the rear.
What I found is that the heavy spring, and maybe more importantly the heavy oil, stop the car over-reacting to the steering inputs. This makes it driveable, and almost "chuckable", without losing excessive amounts of corner speed if you misjudge the steering. I've also found that going too soft on the rear can make the car kick out in the bends, while losing on-power steering, more so than with a 4wd car.
Thing is, I've yet to find a good slippy-floor setup for the car - it can be a real beast if you lose the momentum or get knocked off line.
Pics to come/be linked to in the near future.
11-08-2002, 12:57 PM
#21
Ya that set up might work very well for you but it would never pass Tamiya tech at a tcs race. As we run this class in the states we use tamiya parts only along with tamiya tires. This keeps this class very fair and it is just plain fun. And it alows you to practice for the tcs races all year long. However if you are not into tcs or making a spec class racing then why would you even waste your time with a mini a touring car would be the way to go in that case. A touring car would most likely be cheaper.
Jesse
Jesse
11-08-2002, 03:29 PM
#22
Well, the only parts I'd have to change on the car for it to be TCS legal (they no longer run mini's in the Tamiya eurocup by the way) would be the universal joints (I wanted the tamiya ones, but the GPM one's were so cheap I couldn't say no), and my modified steering links/balls. Hopefully my shimming of the axles would get through tech.
Then I could just remove the chassis extender, fit the original body and some m-chassis tyres, and it'd be good to go.
I already have a touring car - the mini is a little project, to see how close to touring car pace I can get it to run - during practice on carpet I was beating the touring cars being driven by average to poor drivers in the Tamiya class - at my last slippy floor meeting, by best mini-lap was about a second off my best buggy lap (fastest touring car was about 2 seconds quicker), but consistency is the biggest problem I've had - the line between running a quick line, and overcooking the car, making it stand up and lose momentum, is pretty slim.
Then I could just remove the chassis extender, fit the original body and some m-chassis tyres, and it'd be good to go.
I already have a touring car - the mini is a little project, to see how close to touring car pace I can get it to run - during practice on carpet I was beating the touring cars being driven by average to poor drivers in the Tamiya class - at my last slippy floor meeting, by best mini-lap was about a second off my best buggy lap (fastest touring car was about 2 seconds quicker), but consistency is the biggest problem I've had - the line between running a quick line, and overcooking the car, making it stand up and lose momentum, is pretty slim.
11-09-2002, 02:38 AM
#23
Hi, just thought I'd get my two bits worth...
I just bought a M-03 Mini, and it flies...
I ran it down at the velodrome today, and everyone thought it was a four wheel drive tourer...
However, it is running touring car foam tires, a manta ray ball diff, and a 13 tripple motor...
It looked like this purple blur... But then I lost it and broke my front shock...
Normally I run this car with a Tamiya Sport Tuned Motor, And Smaller Touring car foam tyres, (Not as small as the HPI Mini tyres).
Anyway, this class is just starting to take off in Canberra again, and we all have a lot of fun...
I just bought a M-03 Mini, and it flies...
I ran it down at the velodrome today, and everyone thought it was a four wheel drive tourer...
However, it is running touring car foam tires, a manta ray ball diff, and a 13 tripple motor...
It looked like this purple blur... But then I lost it and broke my front shock...
Normally I run this car with a Tamiya Sport Tuned Motor, And Smaller Touring car foam tyres, (Not as small as the HPI Mini tyres).
Anyway, this class is just starting to take off in Canberra again, and we all have a lot of fun...
11-09-2002, 02:42 AM
#24
Oh yeah, and did I mention, one of the guys I race with, he got two M-03 mini's and made a four wheel steer mini... Apparently it turns on a dime, although I've yet to see it in action...
11-10-2002, 01:57 AM
#25
Sounds neat.At the club we usually race at we run them with kit stock motors and as little hop ups as possible to keep it fair right down the line.A lot of the TCS rules are in effect here with the exception of rubber.We are allowed to run the HPI mini tyres as well because of their long tread life and grip at the track we run at.
11-10-2002, 04:26 AM
#26
Yeah, our club rules allow you to upgrade to the Tamiya Black Sport Tuned Motor, and pretty much any upgrades.
Our track is indoors, on smooth conrete with about an inch of dust on it. You could run a Modified motor and only improve your time slightly. For example, in the modified 4wd tourers, the open class only use a 27 turn single motor... anything else is just too powerful.
Our class champion is strill running his mini in straight out of the box trim. He hasn't even changed his tyres.
Our track is indoors, on smooth conrete with about an inch of dust on it. You could run a Modified motor and only improve your time slightly. For example, in the modified 4wd tourers, the open class only use a 27 turn single motor... anything else is just too powerful.
Our class champion is strill running his mini in straight out of the box trim. He hasn't even changed his tyres.
11-10-2002, 07:21 AM
#28
Total shock length - including the top and bottom of the plastic ballcups.
05-23-2005, 02:28 PM
#30
Tech Adept
iTrader: (2)
So i am lookin to buy a used mini . i will be using it on carpet . I just wanted to know what the different chassis are . I would like to get the newest one possible so that i can still find parts for it when i crash . How much do they go for now ? I know this is a oldthread but what the hell .