I would widen the front end. 6mm hex hub, keep 4mm in the rear or even a 3.5mm hex hub rear. Hard inserts front and regular inserts rear. Also -3 toe in for the rear. Heavier battery also helps with traction.

Good tips thanks. I've raced M05/M07 in and outdoors for years with great success. I got my M08 within a couple of tenths of my M07 indoors but the one time I tried it outdoors on low grip bumpy tarmac it was horrific I do have loads of weight up front to get the steering and was running a shorty lipo. As a new challenge I think I might use it for outdoor this year and see how well I can get it going.

Has anyone have as issue building up an M08-r with the front caster block not being open. Where you put in the 3x3mm grub screw not being open. What would be the best way to open up the area where the grub screw goes?

drill bit

The holes aren't open on these cars. Lazy manufacturing from Tamiya. They tell you to drill them out in the manual.