try these - http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/ite...oduct-id=53597 - they say for the M03, but they work on both chassis

The Tamiya set works well, With or with out the ball diff. I haven't had any issues. There are also a few other brands on rc-mart

Any m03 uni-shaft will fit find in m05. There're 2 versions from tamiya, one is black & another is sliver. Just make sure you get the black one as we believe they tend to last longer.

I have a DX3.0 as well as the el-cheapo.
The DX3.0 has had no issues except broken aerial hinge(a bit too easy to break)

Some spektrum's have onboard cmos/firmware batt. When this dies you have to send it in to an authorized service agent for replacement- this worries me a bit. Why they didnt make it user replaceable is anyones guess

Have a look at the cost of extra receivers before you buy anything.Not an issue if you only have 2 cars though..
Just why a RX needs to cost so much I dont know.
If the cheapo's 2.4G RX cost $7 and work perfectly & the brand name rx can cost $70 ++, are we just being ripped off??

No, the $70 companies have R&D, Engineering, Sales/Marketing, Advertising, and Customer Service departments, not to mention expensive professional employees, employee benefits, etc.

The $7 company takes the $70 company's product, copies it using lower-grade components and substandard manufacturing processes, then pays pennies to have it made.

Some of the $70 companies go out of business, other potential new ones decide not to enter the market, and thus innovation stagnates.

The consumer who thought he was winning by saving money loses in the end.

Regarding the Tamiya M-05 ball-diff:

Is it 'normal' to be able to adjust the diffs tension by rotating the front wheels in opposite directions? I can change the diff action from fully tight to fully loose by doing this, and I'm not sure if I've built it wrong or fitted it the wrong way around (looking at front of car, screw on left side, nut on right side).

I first ran the diff with the original screw/nut combo and it seemed to work OK for a few races, but I wanted it a bit tighter, and inevitably cracked the nuts plastic housing trying to tighten it. I then bought the TRF screw & nut, tightened the diff down, and it went completely loose 5 laps into the next race.

To be honest, right now I'm thinking about just going back to the TA03 balldiff, as you can make it as tight as you like, and with a bit of threadlock, it stays like that for good.

Which is exactly what we've done....

The M05 ball diff is...well umm...not great. And from where we stand, is not a good reliable unit. Too many issues to trust it fully in a race situation, and no real advantage to using it anyway.
TA03 ball diff = Bulletproof

Toon,

Welcome to the joys of the m05 ball diff....if you want to persist with this diff then you need to do this

replace the diff nut and screw with a trf 416 diff screw and nut.. Then loctite blue the thread... Leave it for 24 hours.. Then reapply the loctite and put the screw in the diff and tighten it up.. Leave that for 24 hours.. That should hold for a few races....

It seems tamiya screwed up this diff. Most people I know have either the ta-03 diff or a shimmed gear diff..

I still have the m05 diff.. However I have gotten taking it out down to ten minutes.

Cheers
Jason
"sent from my iPhone"

M05 ball-diff is suck! Used for only 2 lap with proper lock-thread & it came lose like nobody business. Gear-diff is million times better than the 05 Ball!

Sorry Guy's

I have to dissagree with your comments , i have run the ball diff in my M05 for about 4 months and after changing the balls to carbide , the screw , thrust bearing , nut and plastic holder , i have had NO problems

I rebuilt it just before the outdoor season and it was perfect , i have only had the bolt coming loose because i put the diff in the wrong way round , the screw needs to be on the left side of the car , and use a LOT of loctite , i never adjust it , and it is very tight !!!!!

I used a tightened gear diff for one race in my M03(ball diffs banned) and after one days racing with a silvercan it was mush !!! the ball diff is good , but the gear diff is less work if you leave it alone and dont space the looseness out of it

I used the manta ray ball diff (i believe this is what it was)... in my M03, there is no screw but I stripped out the splines on one side... does this sound normal??? I have used it for about 4 race days on carpet and 2 races.. on our opening day of outdoor....

overall just curious if this is something that just kinda happens or....??

Hi bro, you're using the 3racing ball-diff... What i have and mentioned in earlier post is Tamiya M05 ball-diff.

oooohhh ok


My bad

buy the 3Racing one it is great

This is normal for the Manta Ray ball diff in my experience.

In my experience the Manta Ray Diff, and the TA03 diff both strip the splines out. The last one I had to replace stripped the splines off the diff and the cups. I was hoping the new M-05 diff woud address this issue, and remedy this problem.

Is tamiya's engineers going to redesign the M05 diff again, or are there remedies to make the current M05 diff work with more aggressive racing??

I like the looks of the new design, and I'm disappointed to hear that it isn't working that great.

Thanks