Mine is between 1370-1380 with s regular pack

I guess that 18lbs of 1/8" lead sheet I've got could come in handy.

With nearly any m-chassis cars, the major limiting factor is wheelspin (if you're running anything more than a silver can).
More weight (especially over the front) gives you more mechanical grip which more than offsets any small losses due to the extra overall girth.
And if mounted low down in the chassis, it also helps keep the dreaded traction roll at bay.

I haven't checked the weight of my Mini for a while, but the way the scrutineers were having to use two hands to lift my Mini at the Vics, I think it's a bit tubby

I'm considering buying a kit Tamiya M05 but I don't want the Honda CR-V body that it comes with, how much are these worth to sell separately? They're quite a desirable bodyshell right?

You mean CRX? If so they still sell the CRX

Ye are all stick thin super models, my M05 ready to run is 1495g, more of a homely gal.

OK then, what is the HEAVIEST lipo we can stuff into an M05 II?

I'm sure there's a 10,000mah lump we could stuff in there.

On a related note, my M06 comes in at just over 1300g, with a 4200mah shorty. It's a porky little beast.

Never ran a shorty. Was wondering how it is compared to a regular pack? Most of them I saw in the TCS races had regular packs

Run a shorty and you can stuff the ESC in the back of the battery tray. BTW, a rear shock tower from an M03 makes an awesome battery strap. It's exactly the right size.

Need help with my M03 on black carpet. Does anyone have a setup for M03 on the new CRC carpet?

Here is where I am at so far:
I'm running a 2200kV motor (Skyrc/WCICS spec, roughly equivalent to a 21.5)
The upgrades it has are 3racing aluminum shocks, aluminum steering blocks carbon fibre servo stiffener, and carbon and aluminum battery holders.
It does have M05 chubs and steering blocks, and I'm not sure if that messes up the front suspension geometry but thats all we had for spare parts.
I have 40wt shock oil, 3 hole white pistons with yellow springs a front and rear.
The esc is mounted in the tail section as low as I can get it.
It has a 3racing solid axle insert in the diff.
Ride height is with the front and rear arms level.
S-Grips front and rear, with one tread glued on the front.
Body is Blitz RS1
Everything else is stock M03, doesn't even have a full set of bearings yet.

Current Handling: BAD
When getting on the brakes hard before a hairpin, the front end dives hard enough for the body to tuck into the carpet and flip the car over, even after raising the body 2 holes. Stiffer front springs made it even worse. I softened the front springs back to yellow but then just found the end bottoming out on the carpet.
The car doesn't want to traction roll, but when exiting the corner it doesn't seem to respond to steering input and keeps rotating. Its really really hard to get out of the corner on line. I wonder if this is because of the the bump steer or the spool, or both?

Ideas to try:
Adding weight to the front bumper to lower the CG and help reduce traction roll
Run an open stock gear diff
Run 2 extra washers to stiffen the stock gear diff
Any other ideas?

Is the servo not moving fast enough?
I noticed that because of the steering geometry, a servo with high torque and speed would help. It would also benefit from being paired with a large horn/servo saver, if that has not already been done.

See you next weekend Trevor

Elecsual, you didn't state on your setup what your shock lengths are built at.

In the scenario you describe about "being hard on the brakes", think about it from a weight transfer standpoint. The weight in that situation moves dramatically forward. It is dramatic in comparison, to say a touring car, which has a much lower CG and typically runs lower ride height than a Mini.

Anyways, a very effective tuning tool here would be to limit the amount of travel in the rear shocks. When on the brakes, once the weight transfers forward, the shorter the rear shocks...the less dramatic the weight transfer.

Based on recommendations on a few of the fast M-chassis guys here on RCTech, I've been running 57.5mm Front & 57mm Rear shock length. I measure mine from end-to-end (top of the shock cap to bottom of the shock end).

Also, don't underestimate small changes in ride height.

Hope that helps!

Thank you! -Love that tip. I have an M06 and I hate the way the stock plastic battery mount works ...I am going to try the tower method as I think I have an extra tower in my parts bin.