Tamiya Mini Cooper

[sofast]

anyone here have one, or am i the only one.

[drummer5]

Hey I started this foruma while ago, try a search if you wanna check it out.

Any-who I have a tamiya mini cooper that I love, and love to rally. I have a lrp f1 esc and a futaba mag sport radio and the rest is stock. Well here's a pic of it tearin' it up.

http://www.clikshow.com/rc/garages/405-drummer5/cooper-rally_1.jpg

[sofast]

Im putting a monster of touring 13 turn motor. And for the speed control im getting a super rooster reversible.

[greenmuse]

ive had my m03 for about 2 years now,it was my first on road car,as well as the car that got me back into rc'ing.its defintly my favorite car to drive,it takes so little to make it go fast.and its been tough as nails considering the abuse i put the little bugger through.
heres what its got:
tekin rebel esc
dynamite red seal bearings
robinson racing pinion 20t
tl01 stainless steel suspension shafts
carbon gear shafts
super mini shocks 50wt all round
p2k motor
hpi x pattern radials
integy alum castor,and steering blocks.
and i named the little car "rowan"after mr bean.yes my love for this little machine could be called eccentric.

[FootFall]

I dig my Mini. It also is what got me back into RCing. It's still box stock. I need to do the bearings thing and add a ESC and decent motor. But it's tons of fun to drive.

[sofast]

Where can i get some oil filled shocks? I dont like the ones that tamiya makes. I was thinking of tc3 shocks of hpi sport 2 shocks. Any help? Oh and im not geting the 13 turn motor im getting the 11 turn double.

[drummer5]

www.hobbyetc.com and then do a search by model and you'll see tamiya and they sell oil filled shocks for it, also 55mm tl01 shocks will fit it. You can also get a bunch of other alum stuff from them.

[sofast]

man those alum susp parts sure do look good. wish i had the money to buy them now. i am going to make the ultimate mini, so ill get those sometime.

[bluesy]

I just got my mini a couple of weeks ago. I won't be racing it as the only racing in my area is indoor carpet 1/12th scale. I sure like driving it, it's way more fun than my TC3. The only mod I've made (so far) is to put in an old Green Machine 2, a 2400 pack and a Novak Reactor ESC. The little beast really flies.

Here is a photo. Some of you may have seen it elsewhere on this BB, if so, ........sorry for the repeat. BTW the Union Jack on the roof was done with an airbrush and took about 8 hours to finish.

[bluesy]

Here is a better photo of the roof detail....:cool: :cool:

[bluesy]

Am I under the misunderstanding that the mini racing class for the TCS is for Front wheel drive????? I saw this photo of the winner in......ssshhhh....RC Car Dec 01..... and it looks to be Rear wheel drive..... If so, what is it??? Sorry to seem so dumb but I just started Minis and want as much info as I can get... :confused: :confused: :cool: :cool:

[raffaelli]

blusey just reverse the servos and drive it backwards!!!



anyone know any tricks to get the stock 54 motor to go fast?

[Camaro SS]

How much are those minis?

[Adam m]

There around a $90 give or take. Then theres all the hop ups you could get and the electronics. You should get the bearing kit when you build it and go have some fun. These little cars are a rip!
Adam

[Usagi]

These are some nice minis:D :p

[baileym]

Hey question for you guys.

What hop-ups are really need on this car? I know the usual ball-bearings, and electrics, but just to have some fun, what else will I need?

[Usagi]

rally tires to start. There are a few companies still making mini-tires:) .

[baileym]

www.geocities.com/matthew_w_bailey/mini

Here is the real deal

[raffaelli]

anyone know how to get teh 540 motor going faster?

[Usagi]

an old geen machine? wowjavascript:smilie(':D')
big grin

[raffaelli]

there is a mini where i race that is just crazy fast. i wonder what he is up to...how many turns are the 540 motors?

[Adam m]

First thing is If you don't have a mini, I would get the MO3 mini not the MO1. The MO3 is just a more solid design and there cheaper to. As for hop ups get bearings, and old filled shocks. Eather the plastic ones or alumium it really dosen't matter. It will give you the abillaity to play around will dampaning and spring rates. As for the 540 I don't remember what turn they are, but I know the more you brake them in the better they get. I have 1 540 that I have had for 5 years and it's my best one.
Adam

[raffaelli]

does the tcs series allow oil shocks?

[Adam m]

In the M class any Tamiya hop up is aloud. You can even use titanum screws if you wanted. If Tamiya still makes them.:)

[FTR]

any one selling a mini

[Camaro SS]

Originally posted by Adam m
There around a $90 give or take. Then theres all the hop ups you could get and the electronics. You should get the bearing kit when you build it and go have some fun. These little cars are a rip!
Adam


Do they come with all the electrionics?

[Camaro SS]

Originally posted by baileym
www.geocities.com/matthew_w_bailey/mini

Here is the real deal


Is that yours?
Nice:D

[Usagi]

Yes Tamiya still makes those screws, but alot of other companies makes them too. In differnt colors.

[Adam m]

For all your mini needs.

Click here (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p.pgm?Q=1&I=LXGA44&P=7#tech)

[Usagi]

I was a mini-z driver for a bunch of years. They where a ton fun, tamiya really hit the button mini racing in 1990`s. Now days people just don`t driven as much.:(

[baileym]

Originally posted by Camaro SS



Is that yours?
Nice:D

Yep that is mine, but it is a piece of junk like all mini's. They break down all the time.

[Usagi]

WHen did you sater racing the Mini?

[bluesy]

I hate to repeat a question.... but does anyone know what Rear Wheel Drive vehicle is:::::>

[Usagi]

The power train is from rear of the car Spun from the rear wheel base.

[bluesy]

Usagi... do you mean that the chassis is just turned around. Do you think it steers from the rear as well. This chassis doesn't resemble the one in my Mini in any way. For starters, look at the front shock tower. The top shock mounts are way closer than mine. The steering is on the front of this vehicle not, as you suggested, in the rear (as it would be if you just turned the chassis end for end). Your suggestion just confuses me even further. Is it a M-02? MO3? MO4? very confused!!!!!!!!:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Usagi]

ok now i got you..........
M04 etc motor on theleftside rear
M03 is a front mounted motor leftside M02 is rear rightsided motor mount
M01 is a rear motor mount rightside(FiaT)
M01 mini-cooper is a ff mounted motor rightside

OMG I forgoten there are so many version of this little guy:)

[Adam m]

Now you guys got me confused.

OK, there are 4 different chasses:
MO1
MO2
MO3
MO4
Yes I know there are medium and long wheelbases, but that doesn’t change the chasses. There is only a spacer that goes in between the main chasses and rear chasses.

The MO1 and MO2 are interchangable. Yes you can put steering on the rear of the car. You could even do a dual motor, dual steering mini if you wanted. But the wheelbase will be little longer; the wheel wells on the mini cooper body won't fit. Don't ask how I know this.:rolleyes:
The MO3 is strictly a front driver as is the MO4 is a dedicated rear driver.
So did this help or make you more confused.
:rolleyes:

[Usagi]

I did not say that............ M0 series are MO series. They do have different racers AT times!

[Usagi]

too many mo series cars..... Best thing to is go tamiya site and check for yourself:o

[FTR]

yay i might get my own mo3

here what i have sofar from tower
LXGA44 Tamiya Rover Mini Cooper 1 89.99
LXNE07 Novak XXL 2 Channel AM Receiver 75MHz JR 1 49.99
LXAVJ2 Trinity P2k2 Pro Stock Motor 1 27.99
LL2025 Trinity Maxx Paxx Battery 1900 SCR (2) 1 44.99
LL3183 Novak Explorer II 1 51.99
LXTJ21 Trinity Golden No Solder Leads (Pair) 1 4.79
LXSG46 Associated TC3 Anodized Thrd Shock Kit (4) 1 49.99
LXTG87 Associated TC3 White Spring 40 lbs. 1 4.79



how does that sound i will be racing stock 1/12 indore concrete for winter

[FTR]

will the tc3 shocks work on the mo3

[Usagi]

Sure why not, I use HPI shocks and abfew other company types. just make sure the rebound is to your need.:)

[FTR]

well after more resurch i decided to srew it and go all out
HOW DOES THIS SOUND!!!!!?????!!!!!
LXGA44 Tamiya Rover Mini Cooper 1 89.99
LXNE07 Novak XXL 2 Channel AM Receiver 75MHz JR 1 49.99
LL2025 Trinity Maxx Paxx Battery 1900 SCR (2) 1 44.99
LXSG46 Associated TC3 Anodized Thrd Shock Kit (4) 1 49.99
LXSG39 Associated TC3 Green Spring 12.0 lbs. 2 4.79
LXKX39 W.S. Deans 2-Pin Ultra Plug 2 2.99
LXD109 DuraTrax Bearing 5x8 (2) 1 3.49
LXD122 DuraTrax Bearing 5x11 (10) 1 12.99
LXD121 DuraTrax Bearing 5x11 (2) 2 2.99
LL3151 Associated IPC Pro Sport 1 89.99
LXTJ21 Trinity Golden No Solder Leads (Pair) 1 4.79
LL3058 Trinity Chameleon 2 Pro Motor 1 34.99

the body will be lime green the top will be glossy white. then across the hood there will be a huge NOVAK decal

[Adam m]

sounds good. With that motor your going to be very fast, these are small little cars. This is of course after the front wheels stop spining. It should be a blast!

Injoy your little project and take your time building it, i think it's the best part.

[FTR]

i decided to screw the trinity leads and hard wire the motor to the esc .


i am aslo going to use deans connectors instead on the stock tamyia that come with the esc


this will be my fist tamyia do you have any tips for building?

front tires spinning you mean i will be able do do fwd burnouts
SHIBBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FTR]

will tires fit the cooper cause i don't want to do carpet i wanna do conncrete
http://www.towerhobbies.com/listings/listcttw.html

and i think i will get these batteries
http://www.towerhobbies.com/listings/listbatt.html

[Adam m]

This tire set up works very well for on road. If you put to much grip in the front you will be flipping every turn.try this (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?Q=1&I=LL2904&P=1)

For batterys any stick packs or flat packs will be good.

[FTR]

k thanks

[FTR]

dumb question how many shocks does the m03 have

[FTR]

is anyone positive that the team associated factory team shocks will fit

[Usagi]

Four

[bluesy]

I'll answer my own question..... after some net searching I found that the little yellow Miata previously posted rides on a M-04L chassis.:cool: :cool:

[Usagi]

Don`t you have a manual?

[bluesy]

Usagi... was the manual question for me? I have the manual for the only Mini Cooper I have.... the M03. I was just curious what the chassis was in the pix with the Miata in it as it was rear wheel drive and I thought the Mini class was only Front Wheel drive. Now I know that, with the M04L chassis, both styles of drive are welcome in the Mini class. The question was for curiosity only. I still think FWD is the coolest for this class. I would have also said that only cars like the MIni Cooper should be allowed in this class but remembering when the Real Mini's were racing they went up against anything in the sedan class including Mustangs, Corvettes and all other sedans of the times (mid 1960's to mid 1970's). They were very competitive against a ton of higher horsepower sedans because they were very nimble and pretty well matched horsepower to weight.

Thanks for your passion about minis....... I just wish they were more popular.....:cool: :cool:

[Usagi]

Yes Bluesy, I have a Miata manual for that one. I iwas just wondering if you needed a copy or not?

[bluesy]

Thanks, Usagi, I really don't need the manual for the M04L. I'll probably be looking for a Miata/BMW kit though. I really like the challenge of driving the Mini Cooper. It consistently wants to do rear end first loops when I hit the brakes. This thing is a blast to drive. :D :cool: :D :cool:

[Usagi]

ok, I thought I ask:)

[miniT3maxx]

hey,
ive got a few quick questions here.I ordered a Tamiya Mini Cooper, full bearings, and a Futaba 3pdf radio for Christmas.I want to set it up for Rally racing, just on loose dirt.Im gonna use the electronics out of my T3 which is a Novak Dually and a 3PDF radio.What are the best first hop-ups?
I was lookin at some oil shocks from the TA03 but they have to be the right size for rallying.If anybody here rally's than could i please have some setup info.Thanks!

[kensmith]

I am selling 2 mini coopers. I plan to post tonight, but will give you guys first crack at them. I will have pics later....but here is the listing:

Ken
ksmith@primavera.com

>>>

Two (2) Tamiya M-03 Mini Coopers (1/10 scale) electric:

1- Race ready with all the Hop-ups Tamiya makes for the M03 including full bearings.
Includes a Mini-Cooper body and an extra (mint...never run VW van body with unpainted surfboard).
Includes motor, no electrics.

2- Race ready but basically stock M03. Includes almost new tires, body in great
condition, and extra Mini-Cooper painted body. Includes motor, no electrics.

Set Includes one original box, one original manual, lots of extra tires, all extra parts for both cars (a bag full)
and pinion gears for both cars.

These cars are now collectors items as they are no longer in production by Tamiya, but parts availability is
still very good.

BONUS: will also include a new in original package pair of Tamiya tires (rare find!!!).

My local track eliminated this class, so would like to sell fast..... or trade for 1/12 scale onroad car.

Make me an offer! First reasonable offer will get this great deal.

Pics:

Email for fast response: ksmith@primavera.com
:D

[FTR]

get my cooper in 2 weeks i have decided on
LXGA44 Tamiya Rover Mini Cooper 1 89.99
LXNE07 Novak XXL 2 Channel AM Receiver 75MHz JR 1 49.99
LXD109 DuraTrax Bearing 5x8 (2) 1 3.49
LXD122 DuraTrax Bearing 5x11 (10) 1 12.99
LXD121 DuraTrax Bearing 5x11 (2) 2 2.99
LL3151 Associated IPC Pro Sport 1 89.99
LL2026 Trinity Time Warp 1900 Racing Pack 2 24.99
LL2904 HPI X-Pattern Radials Belted Mini 2 9.99
LXVB85 HPI Thrd Aluminum Shock Set 45-56mm 2 34.99
LXJY51 Trinity Formula 2000 Comm Drops 1 5.69
LL3063 Trinity Chameleon Pro Dyno Tuned Modified Motor 1 39.99
LL3087 Trinity Golden No Solder Leads (Pair) 1 4.79
LXKB57 Trinity 80 Weight Silicone Shock Oil 1 3.39




All this for only pne small pay ment of $446.23

then 6.99 for shipping and i for a 30 off coupon

so now i onyl par $423.22

[Usagi]

wow this turned into a selling room:D .

[RC Freak]

hey Jackson (minit3maxx), hope you enjoy the mini.

[RC Freak]

200. this is my 200 post. yeah. lol

[FTR]

when i asked my mom when if i could get it and when she hell yes i almost pissed my pant will i was pissing i had a huge grin on my face then my damn dog bit me. let me tell you it ait fun to piss and have your dog bit you!

[kensmith]

sorry guys didn't mean to turn this thread into 4sale lot, just thought I would give this group dibs on the MINI COOPER LOT. I have posted it in the for "Buy/Sell/Trade" section....have a look .....it is a lot of good racing equipment !!!
Thanks,
Ken:)

[Draxx]

I bought my wife a Mini for Xmas(who are we folling..I wanna play with it too) and aside from bearings, I am looking for suggestions on useful hop ups.It is just going to be a "thrash around"
car. I am alos interested in an in-expensive reversible ESC for it.Any help appreciated(I am a nitro guy, so not much experience with electric )

[Usagi]

you only needed a a would say is A futaba 230cr spped control. its cheap and it last. I own one and I very very happy with it.

[Usagi]

Take a look over here if you want a M04 Tamiya graphite chassy.........:) :) :) :) :) :)
Its cool!

[Draxx]

Well, I got my wifes cooper together and running in stock form(with bearings)...the ESC is on backorder. It scoots along pretty good, but it seems like the front wheels spend as much time spinning as moving the car.It suprises me with the stock motor. Is this something getting rid of the Mech. speed control will help with? It is fun, but smoother power and brakes would be more fun...

[miniT3maxx]

Just got my mini running last night too. With a 23 turn single Rush, it's spinnin the wheels like crazy. I have a Novak Reactor on order, with a set of TL01 alum. shocks too. If anyone has a good general set up to go bye, please respond. Thanks!

[baileym]

That I am aware of, about the only thing to really adjust on the stock M03 is the tires. If you move to other shocks, or a ball diff, then you start to get more set-up options. In stock form, just enjoy driving the heck out of it.

[Draxx]

I am thinking about going with a different pinion
so it has alittle less low end(hooks up on pavement better) and a little better top end speed.If I recall, I need a bigger(i.e. more teeth) pinion to accomplish this.If I am wrong, please coorect me. It is blast to play with and as predicted in an earlier post, I play with it alot more than my wife I bought it for:p

[baileym]

You are correct about the pinion, but just be careful. This will cause the motor to get warmer, since it has a harder time accelerating the car. Don't change more than one or two teeth at a time.

[Draxx]

Thanks....I figured I would get the 22 and 23 teeth set(vs. 20 tooth stock pinion)

[baileym]

That should work fine. Just monitor the motor temp. It is too warm to touch, after a run, then you need readjust. This shouldn't be a problem with the stock motor, but it may be if you decide down the road to replace it with a faster motor.

[baileym]

As for the spinning the tires problem, the ESC will smooth it out some, but in the end, you still have a really fast car that doesn't have much weight.

The real problem is that when you hit the gas, the weight naturally shifts to the rear suspension due to inertia. This lowers the downforce on the front where the power is.

[Draxx]

I did put an ESC in and it helped alittle.But I see your point about the weight shifting back.That
is no doubt why it accelerates smoother backwards.
Definently a change from my nitro truck, but gogs of fun, none the less(and a lot less clean up!!!).

[Draxx]

Finally got the body painted and setup..here is an attempt to attch a pic of it done...

[cnroman]

Here's my baby. We ran 10 min heats/mains, using 540 motors, 2000 batteries and all Tamiya hop-ups.

Novak Racer ESC
Full bearings
Motor heat sink
Tamiya Low Friction Aluminum shocks
Tuned Springs
Carbon gear shaft
Swaybars
Tamiya Slicks & HPI X-Patterns
:D

[bluesy]

Draxx.... that is a simple but very sweet body. What brand of paint did you use to get that close to British Racing Green?

cn..... what a cool looking mini. Kind of a cross between the oldies and a NASCAR beast. Could you please include some of the details regarding the completion of your body.

I just ordered 2 Tamiya bodies from my lhs today and I'm looking for ideas. I particularly want to paint one in BRG (see above) and fitting it out in a mid 1960's style. But I am really impressed with the last mini by cn.....

:cool: :cool:

[Draxx]

My wife wanted her mini in B. racing green and after looking around, I found Tamiya
"Green", code PC-9.I got in at tower(http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p.pgm?Q=1&I=LXGR35&P=7).

Cnroman, what springs are you using? I am definently thing about new springs and eventually shocks.

[sofast]

hey im wanting to race my mo3, think i have a chance against a tc3 and other kinds of tc?
my car has the following equipment

dually esc
zircon 9t double
ball bearing's
hpi x pattern tires

[Draxx]

Has anyone here run the stock motor with different pinions and if so did it make a notable difference in top speed or acceleration(depending on the pinion used)?

[sofast]

Did everyone forget about the mini?

[Draxx]

Nope, I have been enjoying my "wifes mini" since I got it for her. I stuck an 18 tooth pinion on it to improve low end pick up and a set of hpi springs and have a great time scooting up and down the street with it.

Although I really enjoy my nitro truck, it is nice it have a quiet, low maintence vehicle to play with once in awhile.

[sofast]

What do you guys do to keep the dirt, small rocks ect... from getting in the motor?? Ive been just running it with the cooling hole toward the ground, and recently runed my motor from the debree..... I thought about puting a kind of lexan flap (like a mud flap) on the motor in front of the hole. What do you think?

[Draxx]

I have had to shake a few pebbles out of my motor from running on dirty pavement. The lexan
flap might work, but I would be concerned with overheating.Maybe try siliconing or gluing a
piece of fine screen over the slots to keep out small rocks, pebbles ect. I imagine that the round pieces of screen for your kitchen faucet would work and would be cheaply had at any hardware store.Just a thought.

[sofast]

Originally posted by Draxx
gluing a piece of fine screen over the slots to keep out small rocks, pebbles ect. I imagine that the round pieces of screen for your kitchen faucet would work and would be cheaply had at any hardware store.

Hey, thanks I never even thought about putting a screen over it:)

[Draxx]

No problem..if you try it, let me know how it works out. :)

[Izzy]

I love my Mini Cooper! I only have an esc for it, otherwise it's all stock and I can get around 40 or 50 min. of run time! Anyone else able to get this out of thier car?

[Babblefish]

I know this is a Mini Cooper forum, but I thought some of you might be interested in my mini volks. The chassis is an first generation M. The wheels are standard sized 26mm HPI.

http://home.earthlink.net/~wjang/_uimages/MiscPhotos/MiniVolks.JPG

[CarterTG]

Pretty cool to see there's still an interest in Tamiya's M-0x series cars. I TRIED to swear off this hobby AGES ago, but their M04L M roadster dragged me back in. Good to be back! :)

To elaborate on Bluesy's question, that Miata shell came from Tamiya kit #58180 originally setup with a M-02M chassis. One of the Miata enthusiasts did a write-up on it at
www.miata.net/products/ptm/ptm9708.html (http://www.miata.net/products/ptm/ptm9708.html)
http://www.miata.net/products/ptm/tamiya1.jpg (http://www.miata.net/products/ptm/ptm9708.html)

I guess the yellow Miata pic verifies that the body post locations are the same between an M-02M and M-04L. Has anyone compared the body post locations between the Mini Cooper M-03 and the M-04L?

[Mason Copeland]

Are there other bodies besides the Mini Cooper available for the Mini?

[Mason Copeland]

And just how mini is the Mini? Any comparison shots with a 1/10 scale etc.?

[r.c.dealer]

The chassis is designed for smaller cars. The cars are 1/10 scale.

[Mason Copeland]

:confused: :confused:

[r.c.dealer]

The cars are 1/10 scale. The chassis was designed for small scars like the mini cooper, VW bug new and old, miata, and other small cars. In 1/10 scale those cars are smaller than larger 1/10 scale cars just like 1/1 version full scale evrsions of the cars.

[CarterTG]

Tamiya's Mini Cooper body sits on their M-03 chassis.

The breakdown of the 1:10th scale M-series chassis (not to be confused with 1:28th MiniZ and 1:18 HPI Micro) goes like this:

M-01 (58163 Mini Cooper Monte Carlo)
wheelbase 210mm
track 134mm

M-02 (58158 Fiat Abarth Corsa, 58168 Alpine A110, 58175 Honda S800)
wheelbase 210mm
track 134mm

M-02M (58180 Mazda Eunos/Miata, 58187 Alfa Giulia)
wheelbase 225mm
track 134mm

M-02L (58202 Mercedes SLK, 58197 Porsche Boxster, 58208 Porsche 911 Carrera, 58173 Old Beetle)
wheelbase 239mm
track 138mm

M-03 (58211 Mini Cooper Racing, 58234 Suzuki Wagon R)
wheelbase 210mm
track 138mm

M-03L (58265 Toyota bB)
wheelbase 239mm
track 138mm

M-04L (58240 BMW M roadster, 58236 Honda S2000)
wheelbase 239mm
track 140mm

Tamiya once printed out a brochure the briefly described their chassis dimensions. Based on some of the info from it, the front-wheel-drive M-03 chassis is a direct fit for these body shells:

Mini Cooper Rover (50567)
Mini Cooper Monte Carlo (50671)
Mini Cooper Racing (50795)
Fiat Abarth Corsa (50667)
Suzuki Wagon R (not listed for US sales)

The other versatile chassis is the rear-wheel-drive M-04L as it accepts bodies like:

BMW M roadster (50848)
Mercedes SLK (50756)
Porsche Boxster (50754)
Porsche 911 Carrera (50774)
Honda S2000 (50836)
Old Beetle (50696)

[Chas]

I ran a my first parking lot race with Mini Cooper this weekend. Before the race I put in a P2K2 with the the stock 20 tooth gear. The car was way to slow on the straight away. i would like to up the pinon to a 21 or 22 but the motor mount is not adjustable to a larger gear. Besides drilling holes in the chassis and hoping the gear teeth mesh properly, does anyone have an idea how to set up an adjustable motor mount on these cars for quick gear swaps?

[furbie]

Has anyone found a sight that has setups for these little cars? We race them on asphalt and I'm getting my butt beat by all the other ones. I've tried tires, dipped motors, and dampers and still no success. Any help would be appreciated.

[Cube]

The suspension setup for my M03 is stock springs up front, with gold(really soft) springs in rear, stock friction dampers.

To get a lower CoG, try to cram your Rx in the back compartment, I took the casing off then wrapped it in duct tape, then put soft foam around it.

[ecatbox]

i think they made an optional aluminum motor mount that allowed bigger pinions (ITEM 53241 (OP241) M-Chassis Alu.Motor Heat Sink)

carter - awesome rundown of the different chassis, you did omit the coolest M-02L car though, the beetle...mine is still waiting to be built (until my destroyed TL01 gets out of storage so i can cannibalize it)

heres a very handy page that shows all the parts AND a very neat cross reference thing

www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcitem/rcitem.htm

edit: sorry, should have checked...the motor mount apparently only works up until the M03, no great loss as they seem to be all gone anyway

[CarterTG]

Changes made. Thanks Bukake. Forgot about the Beetles even though I saw it in-person at the 1999 Chicago Hobby Show. It's a shame they discontinued the kit so quickly.

For those considering other body shells, maybe it'd be helpful to share measurements of the body posts. On my M-04L chassis, the front posts are 70mm apart and the front-to-rear post distance is about 252mm.

M-02, M-03 folks?

[ecatbox]

on the M-02L i get 70mm wide front and rear, and more like 220mm front to rear...measured off the body (and not terribly precisely at that)...i will get some better measurements for you when i start getting it together...

also, the "new beetle" is a fwd car, so i'm guessing it used/uses some version of the M-03 chassis

edit: strange that the tamiya site says you can fit the s2000 and boxter M-04L bodies on the M02-L but not the other way around...but it does say that "SP689" is required to fit the s2000 body to the M-02L, which i find is the "alpine a110 E" plastic parts (including body mounts)...hmmm

www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcitem/parts/rc21.htm

[Cube]

You can use some M02 bodies on an M04, just take away the subchassis thing on the right:
http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/rc_s2000/s2000_3.jpeg

[Unobjectionable]

cool, thank you for the info...an M04L old beetle would be pretty sweet

[t3dude]

i know this isnt the right place to buy one but my brother has 120 bucks and he wants a mini. if any of yall have one that you are trying to sell and it is fully ready to run batt,motor,tx,rx, the works. tonynalli@yahoo.com email me if you have one. thanks

[CarterTG]

...my brother has 120 bucks and he wants a mini.

As of this post, if you use the keywords Tamiya Cooper on eBay, there's a white 1st Gen Mini Monte Carlo with what looks like the M-01 chassis. 12 bids, 5 days left to go and at $49... if it sells for not much more than that, you can score a new/warranteed Futaba Pistol Grip from Tower for around $43, a duratrax 1500mah battery for $10 and stay within budget.

If you can't find it, try using Item #1744143067

Good luck!

[tomdav]

Is there a difference between the Manta ray ball dif and the TA03?
Does one work better.

Tom

[Interceptor]

I think I'm gonna get a Celica pretty soon. I used to have one of the original minis, and man was that little car fun. Anyone try using the M Chassis motor? It is very fast.

I wonder if tamiya will come out with a model of the new mini cooper.

[furbie]

According to my lhs they're coming out with a new Mini Cooper kit and body. I don't know if there using the M03 chassis or a new one. Also another note, does anyone here know how to speed the stock Tamiya motors up without opening the end bell? We race them in "Stock" kit form and some of them are really fast and make me wonder how they are so fast. Any help or web sights would be great.

[Interceptor]

RCCA did an article on that a while back, I think it was
1. seat the brushes using a glass of water
2. break in the bushings using special stuff
3. lube
4. Comm drops (some people don't care for these)

[CarterTG]

TamiyaUSA's own website officially mentions that a New Mini Cooper will be coming out. When exactly? Dunno.

However, it's already been given a model number: 58295

According to the New Products list from the 2002 Shizouka Hobby Show, it's chassis designation is the M-03L. Which indicates it's the same front-wheel drive M03 chassis of the current 58211 Cooper, but with a plastic extender to lengthen the wheelbase. This makes sense since the full-size (BMW) Mini Cooper is a bit longer than the older ones. Kudos to Tamiya for the attention-to-scale.

What's not mentioned yet is whether the 58295 kit will be the Mini Cooper S version.

I hope Tamiya is also in the process of using their M04L chassis to crank out a kit based on the BMW Z4...

[Albertt]

Just finished building a Mini Cooper for my girlfriend. It was a piece of cake due to Tamiya's great instructions. I installed ball bearings in place of the plastic bushings and used a P2K stock motor instead of the RS540. After running the car with an old Futaba ESC, I noticed a few things:

1. The handling was imprecise and the cars seemed to bounce around. A lot of bump steer was in effect. I attributed this to the friction damped shocks. So, I dug around in the spare parts box (both mine a friend's) and dug out the stock plastic oil filled shocks that came with my TA04. After bolting them on, I realized that the body of the shock was too long. This gave the suspension almost no travel at all. My question - Are there plastic shocks (read "cheap") that have shorter bodies...as short as the stock friction damped shocks? I would like to get the suspension trael back so that I could lower the car's preload to enhance handling.

2. I also mananged to dig out of the ol' spare parts box a ball diff from my TL01. It had no outdrives attached to it, so I used the outdrives that came with the M03's gear diffs. Immediately I noticed that these outdrives seemed to stick out a bit too much...for the dogbone axles were almost bottomed out inside at the upper ranges of travel. are there different outdrives that should be used?

3. Finally, while driving it last night, I picked up the car and hit the throttle. I steered all the way to one side and then the other and noticed that near full steering lock, the car would chatter and vibrate. I believe that it has to do with the dogbones and their inability to transmit the torque at such an extreme angle. But, in my TA04, which also has dogbones, this problem is not present. On her transmitter, the Futaba Magnum Junior, there is no dual-rate adjustment, so I cannot reduce the steering travel. Has anyone else noticed this problem on their M03? Before I plop down the dough, would universals really solve this problem? Could this vibration/chattering be ralated to problem #2...the outdrives extending too far outwards?

Thanks and sorry for the long post...
AL

[CarterTG]

I don't have an M03, but have been tinkering with an M04L... there's a good number of parts that are shared between the two...

1. The stock coil-over shocks are REALLY bad. It's as if they start working worse and worse the moment after you assemble them. You're correct, the M-chassis cars need a smaller shock. Tamiya offers two choices, either buy them by the pair under #53155 Low Friction Aluminum Damper, or buy an entire set of four as #53280. They're the proper size and feature the correct mounting holes. I tried to see if a set of Associated shocks would fit, by the time I assembled and installed it, I found the fit wasn't optimal.. my suspension travel got stifled about 15% and the mounting holes were excessively large for the Tamiya mounting screws. My advice, stay with the Tamiya stuff. The oil filled shocks DID offer some more suspension consistency though. In combination with this, you'll want to play around with Tamiya's different coil-over springs to give the car the proper amount of preload sag.

2. When I replaced my stock bevel-gear diff with the TA03 Ball Diff kit #53267, I'm fairly sure I remember that the outdrive axle cups were indeed different. The Manta Ray Diff kit #53070 should also work if the TA03 ones aren't in stock. Getting the proper outdrives ought to fix problem #3.

Integy and GPM make aluminum suspension parts for the M03... it might firm up some of the slop in the stock setup. The only US source I'm aware of for Hong-Kong based GPM parts is through HobbyEtc.com (http://www.hobbyetc.com)

Anyone with Integy or GPM parts care to chime in about how good/bad these parts are?

[Albertt]

I went to the Tamiya site showing the parts for the M-chassis:

http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcitem/parts/mini251.htm

Along with the aluminum shocks (part numbers 53155 and 53280 that you cited) I see the CVA dampers. These are also oil filled and are what my TA04 came with shown in the pic:

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/58261ta04_pro/ta04_pro_5.jpg

Shouldn't the CVAs and aluminum shock be the interchageable? I put my CVAs on her car and they seemed to long...wouldn't the aluminum versions be too long as well? My temporary fix was to put on some HPI shocks...which are a little shorter, but still do not afford enough suspension travel for my tastes.

As for the outdrive axle cups, the ball diff I put in was the Manta Ray Diff kit #53070...I had two in my TL01. I guess I will dig around and see if I can't find the "shorter" splined axle cups. Do you know if they sell them separate.

Thanks again for all your help...
AL

[CarterTG]

On my M04L, the front and rear shock mount holes measure around 2-1/8" apart.

There's a pair of plastic Tamiya oil shocks #50746 described as CVA Super Mini Shocks. The 2001 RC Guide shows that it's supposed to be compatible with the M03 and M04L even though the shock's specs say they are 2.5" long. From this, I gather that the shocks are supposed to be partially compressed before installing.

Keep in mind that the M-chassis cars aren't rally cars... so even if the shocks limit their full suspension travel, it shouldn't be a concern. Lots of other on-road cars have a lot less suspension travel by comparison.

As for buying sub-parts from a diff kit, I don't think it's do-able... maybe someone in the B/S/T forum might have a busted ball diff kit with salvageable outdrives.

[Albertt]

I was able to find the two separate outdrive part numbers.

ITEM 53217 (OP217) Hard Joint Cup(for Ball Diff) (http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcitem/parts/mini191.htm)

ITEM 53218 (OP218) Hard Joint Cup(for Gear Diff) (http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcitem/parts/mini192.htm)

Just in case anyone else runs into the same issue.

AL

[Dongskie Pinoy]

Originally posted by raffaelli
anyone know how to get teh 540 motor going faster?

Hold the comm (in the part where the wires are held to the comm) with a very thin long-nosed pliers... at least it must enter the vents.

hold the motor shaft (where the pinion is placed) with a vise-grip, and twist the shaft clockwise...

[newracer]

anybody figured out what piece is needed to make the M03 into the M03L for the new Cooper body?

[furbie]

It should be coming out about the same time they release the M0L here. RC Boys have been selling the piece for about a year now and you can find them on ebay for around $7-$9 and they fit between the 2 halves. Haven't really heard if the car is as stable as a short, but time will tell. Might get to use my '67 Bug body for a change :p

[newracer]

I have seen the RCboys one but want the Tamiya part to keep my car TCS legal

[Dongskie Pinoy]

Anymore pics of your M-Chassis cars?

I'm planning to get one because I drove my friend's M-03 Cooper and it was so fun to drive..

[Albertt]

It's a fun little car. My advice, get the new Mini Cooper by Tamiya on the M03-L chassis. This way, you can always remove the two chassis extensions and run the old Mini body as well.

[Mustang GT]

Is there a chassis shortener so I could shorten my MO-2 old beetle to put a mini cooper body on it?:confused:

[Dongskie Pinoy]

Originally posted by tomdav
Is there a difference between the Manta ray ball dif and the TA03?
Does one work better.

Tom

The Manta Ray Ball-Diff and the TA-03 Ball-Diff serves the same function, Limited Slip Differential

The only difference is weight. The TA-03 Ball-Diff is way lighter than the Manta-Ray BD..

Good Luck!

[Dongskie Pinoy]

In which case, I've noticed that the M-Chassis cars run better with the Ball-Diffs instead of the stock Gear-Diffs... but of course the gear diffs weigh less that the ball-diffs...

If at the moment you cannot afford a ball-diff... simply pack your gear-diff with plenty of greas to make it thick.. the thick grease will act as a clutch that will lessen the differential rotation of the two axle loads.

:)

[Albertt]

"If at the moment you cannot afford a ball-diff... simply pack your gear-diff with plenty of greas to make it thick.. the thick grease will act as a clutch that will lessen the differential rotation of the two axle loads."

I've used Kyosho's #30000 Diff Grease before to gain the effect...worked quite well.

[TEM]

Can someone please give me the low down on what chassis is what, cause there are so many of them!, M01, 2, 3, 4, L?, what?... Which is the one to get; what hopups are recommended, etc.., etc... Thanks!

[Albertt]

http://www.tamiya.at/chassis.htm

To break it down...the M01 and M02 are basically the same chassis, except the M01 is front wheel drive and the M02 is rear wheel drive. The M03 is a newer front wheel drive platform is actually just a shorter and narrower FF02. The M04 is a rear wheel drive platform.

I believe that the M04 has a longer wheelbase than the M01, M02 and M03, but there is a chassis extended version of the M03...the M03L. Performance wise, I'd say that the M03 and M04 are superior to the M01 and M02. Whether you like front wheel drive or rear wheel drive will affect your decision. Typical touring car bodies will NOT fit any of the M-chassis cars.

Try Tamiya's website for upgrades:
http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcitem/rcitem.htm

[RCBuddha]

Albertt,

I recenly got a hold of a HPI VW Micro Bus and a HPI Pajero body for the Mini Cooper. I have an MO1L which is the VW Bug kit. My question is: Was there only one other size besides the MO1L? I know the Original cooper was the MO1, but was there any other variants besides the MO1? Which size MO1 do the above bodies fit? I can't seem to remember what length chassis the bodies fit....Thanks,

Buddha

[Albertt]

From what I have been able to find, there was no other variation of the M01 chassis besides the M01-L. Also, I don't know much about HPI bodies. If I were in your boat, I would contact HPI-USA and ask their tech about the wheelbase and width of the HPI bodies you refer to. Then, measure your M01-L and see if the HPI bodies would fit. Slight variations in wheelbase (1 to 3mm) can be dealt with by trimming the wheelwells offset and if your M01-L is too narrow, you might be able to use wheel spacers at the hubs.

Sorry I wasn't of much help.

AL

[tomdav]

I had to convert back to the m0-4l because of the Tsc finals rule change.


tom

[CarterTG]

Originally posted by TEM
Can someone please give me the low down on what chassis is what, cause there are so many of them!, M01, 2, 3, 4, L?,

If you read the earlier posts, you'll see that a chassis wheelbase reference is covered pretty well.

M01 and M03 are front-wheel-drive
M02 and M04 are rear-wheel-drive

The successive order of numbers indicate an evolution towards a better chassis (M04 is more refined than M02)

Whether it has an "L" or "M" or NO LETTER at the end simply indicates Tamiya might have added a plastic chassis extender to increase the wheelbase.

Since the upcoming BMW Mini Cooper is a front-wheel-drive car, Tamiya's not gonna stick it on a rear-wheel-drive M04L chassis. They go back to their last evolved front-drive sub-1:10th chassis, the M03.

This an all the other chassis in Tamiya's lineup are charted very well in their 2002 RC Guide Book

[sosidge]

I've decided to join the world of M03 modding.

Do you know whether the TL01 adjustable arm set will fit on the mini - I guess you'd need different turnbuckles/threaded rods, but apart from that?

Oh, and in reference to the note about wheelbase extension above, RcBoyz extender goes out to 225mm wheelbase (for mid-wheelbase bodies/certain HPI shells). The Tamiya M03L spacer goes out to 239mm.

[trakhak]

I have a MO1 Cooper from way back in the day and just thought about doing a rally version, seeing that what was made the real Mini famous. Does anybody know of a rally tire in this size,preferably spikes and soft??? Thanx

[Jimmy33]

Are these little machines easy to build?

[Albertt]

Sosidge:
Do you know whether the TL01 adjustable arm set will fit on the mini - I guess you'd need different turnbuckles/threaded rods, but apart from that?
You will need shorter threaded rods. I think it would be easier and cheaper to just buy threaded rods and ball joints (which you might have to trim shorter) from your LHS instead of trying piece something together from Tamiya.

Trakhak: Sorry, I'm not sure there is anything of an off-road nature for the minis.

Jimmy33:
Are these little machines easy to build?
Cake. The M03, like the FF02, is simplicity in itself.

[sosidge]

yeah, I did some measurements, and the upper ams on the front of the M03 are 24mm overall - that means I need to trim some ball cups down to 11 or 12mm (which is shorter than you think, and fit some threaded rod - thing is, I'm pretty happy with the camber angles at the moment, I'll wait for more tyre wear before I make the mod.

[R/C Chile]

Hi;

I know that the stock pinion (20t) is for a stock motor, but what about de 18t and the 16t pinions?, i.e. 20t pinion -> stock to 19 turns; 18t pinion -> 17 to 14 turns & 16t pinion -> 13 and lower.

Please, any help on which motor use with which pinion.

Thank's a lot

Matias
www.rcchile.cl

[crono man]

hey guys does a saddle pack(the type you see in the pic) fit in the mini-cooper?

thanks:)

[crono man]

one more question..does the rear ball diff of a mantaray fit on the m03 chassis?

[sosidge]

Saddle packs won't fit, unless you cut up the chassis slightly to re-shape the slot (which has round edges to accept stick packs) - the ends of the cells are also exposed, so they're prone to damage in a saddle formation.

I just bought a cheap stick to run mine with.

Manta Ray ball diff will fit in the car.

[SARacer]

I want a Suzuki Wagon R really badly but i can't find any info about it on these sites. Does anyone have any cool paintjob pics for that car?
What upgrades shouldi get first?

[sosidge]

I don't know how widely Tamiya distributed the Wagon R kit/body - could have been Japan only.

HPI made a Wagon R body that you might be able to find in old shop stock somewhere.

First upgrades for a Tamiya Mini? Ballraces, an electronic speed controller, and oil filled shocks.

Further down the list would be a ball diff, universal joints, and the rear toe-in hub carriers.

[M03racer]

hi guys

i finally decided to register and start posting

well how is everybody
I have had my mini cooper for about a year and a half now and it is my favorite car i own. It is so much fun trying to get it to handle well and racing with such evenly matched cars. Ill be using my friend's digital camera this weekend so i can post some pics of the body i just painted.

just in case anyone wants to know my set-up, i am using is:

Front:
blue springs
60wt shock fluid
swaybar (until i get my ball diff)
about 2 degrees of toe in
ride height: 4mm

Rear:
red springs
40wt shock fluid
ride height: 5mm

[maX energ]

im brand new here...i never realized how many people race and bash these M-0* chassis cars...i had my M-03 mini cooper racing in drifting status, now thats its back to complete stock with NO hop-ups and i am 300 dollars richer im gonna hop it up and make it my own M-03 R. haha did you guys see the thing on the tamiya homepage about the M-03L racing car. it has all the set-ups and seggested hop-ups. do you guys know if i could convert my M-03 into a M-03L it looks like theres this 1 inch long peice added right where the opening for the battery is. could anyone help me?

[sosidge]

You could fit that chassis piece, it's the only difference between the cars, but I can't find it's part number, or know whether it's available seperately - if you really want the part, try emailing Tamiya USA about it.

[Cychalen]

What was I thinking when I posted this?
Sorry about the mistake. I will be more careful the next time I say something.
Thanks to sosidge for pointing that out.

[Cychalen]

Deleted.

[sosidge]

the ebay route isn't a tamiya part, and won't make the chassis an "L".

I don't think the M04 part is the right one either.

[TRF Drive Hard]

Hey guys... i have a M-04L with the BMW roadster... actually i have 2 M-04L kits, the other is the Honda S2000... the other kit is in pieces and i have to find the parts to assemble them back together... anywhooo i just got done running my car with the modified "long arm suspension" using tl01 arms front and rear... works great... the only prob i have is that is has too much "drive" in the rear... i have to ease on the throttle before gunning it... i end up doing donuts instead... and it has a stock 540 silver can motor... pretty fast for a 2wd car... it was cold and i didnt have the right tires for the weather... i was just testing to see how she handled... i was thinking of getting treads for the rear so i can ride in the snow... what do you think?:confused:?

[SARacer]

I got my suzuki wagon R for christmas
I can only build it after christmas and only after I get ballbearings and a heatsink. I think i could maybe post pics later. It looks cool.

[Cychalen]

I would like to know if it is possible to put a M chassis body on a Wild Willy 2. I want to get a Fiat Abarth body (M02) on my WW2. I got the idea when I saw this. (http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~cad01380/goburin1.html)
I know that there will be some drilling involved, but what else do I need to do? Anyone tried this before?

[newracer]

that is awesome, you should be able to do it pretty easy, just drill the holes in the right place, you might need to replace the front body posts for ones that go straight up first though

I might have to try that WW2/MO3 combo.

[SARacer]

will the long arm suspension kit fit on the MO3?

[TRF Drive Hard]

You could try with the tl01 arms... but you could still try with the LAS... hmm i have to try that on my M04L...

[SARacer]

my bad....tlo1 long arm kit.
Will the TLO1 long arm suspension kit fit the the MO3 chassis with the mini body?

[SARacer]

is there a special long arm kit for the mo3?

[TRF Drive Hard]

Hmmm... i wasnt trying to correct you:D long arm sus still the same i guess:D

[TRF Drive Hard]

Originally posted by SARacer
is there a special long arm kit for the mo3?

The onlt LAS made was for the tl01 and tb01

[Cychalen]

The previous 6 posts were a bit confusing. :confused:
Anyway, here (http://www.tam.ne.jp/nic/minirally/rally_e.html) is something about the M03 rally. Really cool.
I am ordering a Fiat Abarth body for my WW2 tonight. :p

[SARacer]

that's a cool site
hmmm, now i'm thinking of making a mo3 buggy conversion thing with the tlo1 long arm suspension kit.

[TRF Drive Hard]

Hey that was awesome... crap Cy, dont make me buy a m03 now:D that rally stuff looks cool:cool:

[SARacer]

what do the toe in rear hubs do?

[Cychalen]

Why do you want a M03 if you have 2 M04? Oh! I forgot. You have to get them all.:D
Sooner or later I will get a M chassis too, but my 1st step is getting the body. :p

[TRF Drive Hard]

Increase the toe-in on the rear tires / \ like that

[TRF Drive Hard]

Originally posted by Cychalen
Why do you want a M03 if you have 2 M04? Oh! I forgot. You have to get them all.:D
Sooner or later I will get a M chassis too, but my 1st step is getting the body. :p

Well the m04l is ok... bit i always wanted a m03... been looking at Integy and i was thinking of getting all the optional parts to make a "TRF" m03:p

[SARacer]

what kinda stuff does integy make?
whats their site?

[TRF Drive Hard]

www.integy.com

[Cychalen]

... been looking at Integy and i was thinking of getting all the optional parts to make a "TRF" m03
If the parts are from Integy then it is not a TRF (Tamiya Racing Factory), but Ted Racing Factory.

[sosidge]

The TL01 long arm suspension kit should fit on the M03 - you'll need longer TL01 driveshafts though. It'll push the car out to the TL01 width, which is about 185mm, instead of the mini's 165-ish. So standard bodies won't fit.

The toe-in rear blocks increase the car's stability.

[TRF Drive Hard]

Originally posted by Cychalen
If the parts are from Integy then it is not a TRF (Tamiya Racing Factory), but Ted Racing Factory.

I use the term "TRF" just to signify the "enhancement" of the chassis kit... and ya i have used "Ted's Racing Factory" before:D has a nice ring to it;)

[SARacer]

are there any bodies that will fit a 185mm mini mo3?

[SARacer]

will this fit?on the mo3?

ITEM 53378 (OP378)
TG10 Alu. Front Hub Carrier

[Cychalen]

The widest body that I know for M-03 (210mm wheelbase) is the Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR Berlina Corsa. But it is only 168mm wide.

[SARacer]

how about the tg10 front things posted on page 7? Does anybody know if it fits?

[sosidge]

The TG10 front Hub carrier won't fit.

[TRF Drive Hard]

Originally posted by Cychalen
The widest body that I know for M-03 (210mm wheelbase) is the Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR Berlina Corsa. But it is only 168mm wide.

Hey Cy, got a pic of this body you talkin bout?:)

[Cychalen]

Here (http://www.kimshobby.co.kr/images/product/kimshobby//owdupload/58158.jpg) is the picture.

[TRF Drive Hard]

Do they still make that or is it hard to find?

[Cychalen]

It was first released in 95/7/19 and it is not longer in production. I think it is hard to find.

[TRF Drive Hard]

If i was gonna get a m03 i wanna might get that body... might be good for a rally;)

[Cychalen]

Now you tell me if you want this body. It comes with everything you see here. :D
Note: Wheels are not included.

[TRF Drive Hard]

Whoa ha man that is sweet... do you think you can order me one up?:confused:

[Cychalen]

TA03 Drive Hard, check your e-mail.
I think another cool M chassis body for rally is ROVER MINI COOPER 94 MONTE-CARLO (http://www.kimshobby.co.kr/images/product/kimshobby//owdupload/58163.jpg) .
Those fog lights give it a rally look.

[TRF Drive Hard]

I like that Fiat better... has a "beetle" look to it... although it does look pretty cool;)

[Cychalen]

There is an old beetle too for the M02-L.
Here (http://www.rchobby.kiev.ua/auto/img/58173.jpg)

[TRF Drive Hard]

Ya i saw that one too... not crazy about it... doesnt have that racey/rally look:p

[redneck]

i just made a deal for my fourth mini copper
now i have
4- M03
1- Mo4l

and thinking about ordering 2 MO3L

[Cychalen]

Is MO3 really that good? I see many people planning on getting one.
The new BMW Mini Cooper comes with the M-03L chassis. Is this the one to get?

Another question.
Is this a M chassis?

[redneck]

thats a TLO1 not a mini

[Ian Dunn]

Hey, I have a M04-L and M03-L...I should have some pics up soon.

[joshb]

Hi Guys,

Well I've become completely obsessed with my Tamiya Mini Cooper M03-L. Currently I'm beginning to Hop it up and so have I have -

* Full Ball bearing set
* Tamiya Carbon Gear Shaft
* Tamiya M03 Motor Heat sink
* Tamiya M-Chasis Universals Shaft Ser
* Tamiya Sports Tuned Motor (I have to stay in 540 range for racing)

- Running S3003 Servo, LRP Sprinter ESC, Futaba Junior Tech Transmitter.

Can anyone recommend some more good Tamiya Hop ups for my Mini that will help improve performance and speed. I'm open to any idea's :D

I'm really enjoying my Mini and hope to race Next season at My local track.

Thanks,

Josh :)


PS: I'm starting my own mini site @ www.rcgo.net :)

[redneck]

the aluminum stering blocks are worth the money
did you see the write on tamiya america site on the racing MO3L
follow that and your laughing

[joshb]

Hi,

Yes I did read up on that Article and was kind of following it through. Thanks for the info.. I will stick to that Article for hop ups :)

Anyone else who is interested can read the article at:

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/rc/setuptips/builtowin.html


Cheers,

Josh :)

[joshb]

Hi Guys,

I'm running a Tamiya Mini M03-L.

It appears that when I throttle the car and turn at the same I appear to get a rather loud grinding sound coming from the car. This sound does not come when running straight. When this happens the car's performance drops, and so doe's the speed.

I was told by some other members to Install the Tamiya Universal set which I have done, and I'm still experiencing this grinding noise when the car is turning.

The noise comes from the Gear shaft, and it happens whenever turning and throttling...

Can anyone offer me so other advice?

Many thanks,

Josh.

[redneck]

did you insert a o ring in the drive cup before you instaled the dog bone
that holds the cup to the gear box i had the same problem whn i instaled my last ball diff i forgot to put in the o ring and got grinding noise to

if that oring is not universals wont work right either

3mm o ring

[Cychalen]

I always had the idea that you do not need to put o-rings when you use universal shafts, because they do not move like regular drive shafts do.
I found out that the suspension travel is also affected if too many o-rings are inserted in the gearbox joint. Can someone confirm this?

[redneck]

i had the problem when i used the tao3 ball diff to see if it is the problem put an exacto knife behind the drive cup with a little presure and turn the wheels by hand if the cup comes out of the diff put an o ring in the cup i have a mini that didnt need them but from what joshb was saying it sounds like his problem

[redneck]

we have been using orings to save tamiya gearboxs ever since the frog and its exploding gearboxes

[Cychalen]

Thanks for the confirmation.

[redneck]

i just put the tao3 ball diff in my mo4L and the stock drive cups where to long and the tao3 drive cups need the orings but either way i am taking the ball diff out of my mo4l slows me down to much im getting killed on raceday

[Cychalen]

I sliced the o-ring that I used in my TB01 in half because a full o-ring was too much. You may want to try half a o-ring.

[redneck]

has any one else noticed how much the ball diffs slow the car i had to drop two pinion sizes because of heat problems im gong back to gear diff to get some more speed

[redneck]

did you try the knife thing

[redneck]

Cychalen

what tamiya cars do you have

[Cychalen]

In the order that I got them. TA04-R, TXT-1, WW2, TB01 and maybe a M03-L in the near future. I already bought 2 M chassis bodies in advance.:D
I am interested in a TB Evo III now.

[redneck]

1 tao4 ss
3 mini cooper just sold the fourth one i had
1 s2000 mo4l
1 tlo1
1 grass hopper

how do you like your txt i almost ordered one but my wife caught me

[sosidge]

There's no reason at all for a ball diff to slow the car down, unless you've installed it wrong. If anything, it should help speed because it's lighter than the gear diff. Check that the opposite wheel rotates smoothly, but with some resistance, when you turn the diff. There shouldn't be any slip if you build the diff with the right spacers inside.

The o-ring will help to hold the outdrive cup in place as well as stopping the driveshafts from popping out. I don't have the Tamiya Universals, but if they foul the o-ring at any point in the suspension travel (check by removing the shock and seeing if the suspension arms movement is restricted), remove the o-ring.

joshb - from your other post it sounds possibly like your drivetrain has some binding in it - with the motor out, the car should roll very freely - the wheels should also spin for a decent time if you disconnect the driveshafts (i.e by taking off the upper arm) - if not, you have a problem. Your next upgrade should be some oil-filled shocks - either the Tamiya CVA's or one of the various aluminium tamiya shock sets. The mini needs quite a lot of spacers to be put inside the shocks to get them to the same length (or slightly shorter) than the original shocks.

[redneck]

the ball diff is heavier than the gear diff alot more metal in the ball diff if you dont belive me get out the scale

[Cychalen]

I wrote some comments and what I have in my TXT here. (http://www.radiocontrolzone.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96576&perpage=25&pagenumber=8)

My TA04 was slow because the ball differential was not tight enough for the surface I was running, but I did not know that. In the end the whole differential became loose and the car did not even move. :o

[redneck]

i have the tao3 and manta ray ball diffs
i dont remember the weights but the
gear diff is the lightest
tao3 diff is in the middle
and
manta ray diff is the heavest
i wish i still had the weights recorded but i dont when i change the diff i will post the weights on the gear and tao3 diffs im not going to weight the manta ray diff because it works for the reason i bought it to slow down my sons mo3 a little more

[redneck]

i just munched my gear dffs in my tao4 way to much traction and torque but wow the hole shots were wild

[joshb]

Hi Guys,

I tried a few differen't things last night to no avail.

What I did notice when observing the car closely was that when accelerating and turning, the drive cups seem to come out of the diff slightly, Im talking no more then maybe 1/2mm but they were sitting very slightly out.

Im not sure if I was using 3mm O'rings but what I did do was install 2x O'rings in each drive cup and re-installed the univeral set, but still to no avail Im getting the noise.

The reason I used two was to make sure it was tight. Maybe I should have only used one...

Still.. No matter what, when accelerating and turning, I'm getting the grinding noise still. It kind of sounds like possible the gear shaft is is slipping when turning.

Maybe it's simply the O'Ring issue, but my conclusion is that somehow the drive cups are coming out, or slipping in the gear shaft..

Any more idea's? Still reckon a 3mm O'ring in the drive cups?

Cheers for all the help :)

Josh
The Little Aussie Battler...
:confused:

[redneck]

sounds like the damage has already been done check your drive cup shafts and bevil gears more then likly going to be the drive cups

[maX energ]

M-03 RALLY?! haha checck this page out!! it gives you alot of info to setup your mini for rally..
www.tam.ne.jp/nic/minirally/rally_e.html i hope the link works..
its amazing what some people will think of next...haha

[maX energ]

hey what happened to the tl-01's little couisin?..i made mine into full mini rally fun!, its not hard at all!, all i need to get her back up and running is futaba rx crystals and i just gotta put my rx and esc in and put in an "ok" motor

[SARacer]

Are the bmw mini copper's lower suspension arms one piece?
Has anyone tried Integy's aluminum suspension arms for the mo3?
How about Integy's speed tune gear set for the mo3?

[TRF Drive Hard]

Originally posted by SARacer
Are the bmw mini copper's lower suspension arms one piece?
Has anyone tried Integy's aluminum suspension arms for the mo3?
How about Integy's speed tune gear set for the mo3?

The lower arms are 2-piece... held together by one screw in the front, 2 in the rear... Integy got some nice stuff... i have a full blown ta03 with Integy parts... so imagine a m03 that way, but would you run it or make it a shelf queen?:D

edit: hmm i was referring to the M04L chassis... but the integy parts are one piece;)

[SARacer]

i wanna race it. My track has a Tamiya Front Wheel Drive class. Who doesn't want a race car that looks cool? Mine has to look cool. :D

Will standard Tamiya Oil (they are kinda long) fit on the mo3? How much suspension travel will it have?

[SARacer]

I meant oil shocks....

[maX energ]

i used the CVA super mini shocks before on my M-03, now i use the Low Friction Aluminum Damper Set part # 53155, its like 15 a pair for the CVA super minis (plastic, oil filled) and like 30 a pair for the aluminum low friction ones. no matter whict ones you get i seggest the on-road tuned spring set, it comes with 2 soft (red), 2 yellow (medium), and 2 blue (stiff). i hope that helped :)

[SARacer]

hey guys,

i finally got my new suzuki wagon r up and running. (I got it for christmas so i built it on christmas day in 1 hour.!!) I have some questions.

When the wheels are turned, and i accelarate at the same time, both the front suspension arms vibrate really badly...Why.

Also, my 540 motor that came with the kit gets really hot after a while.

Any help will be fine

Thanks,

Pics will be here soon.... :)

[sosidge]

Assuming you've assembled the car correctly, the wheel vibration is a combination of using full lock with the dogbone driveshafts, and the enormous amount of play in the suspension - if you have a transmitter with steering rates you can turn them down a bit.

Motors do get hot when you run them - gear mesh is fairly foolproof on the mini, so the only things I can think of are some binding in the transmission (I hope you built the car with bearings straight away!), or maybe a faulty motor (unlikely).

[Cychalen]

Get universal shafts and o-rings. They will remove some vibration and slop.
Universal shafts should come with every kit. :(

[SARacer]

before i built the car i bought universals and a full set of ball bearings to build it in. The drive cups on the diff have o-rings in them.

I did have that same problem in my old TA02.

Could the overheating be becasue the motor isn't broken in yet?

[SARacer]

oh yeah, i also took the motor out to see if the gears were bindind or anything really but i found nothing?

[Prinler]

Anyone Selling a Mini cooper? And where does one get parts for this... Looking to get a ball diff. Full Barring Kit, got the shocks, carbon shaft, And Brushless. Anything im missing?

[Cychalen]

I have a M03-L body (239mm wheelbase, ) and I want to use it with my TA03-FS (237mm wheelbase). Will I have difficulty fitting the body? Anyone tried this before? I want to know before I go out and buy Mini wheels.

[sosidge]

TA-03 is too wide, and the F probably has too much front overhang for the mini body.

[Cychalen]

I know that it is too wide. Besides this, what other problem will I encounter?
Thanks for helping.

[Cychalen]

I also know that I will have to drill new body holes.

[ZipDrive]

OK so i really want a mini....


SO tell mbe about Mo3L verses Mo4L??


Tamiya website put more emphassis on mo3l on new mini....

feeling thoughts...pros cons?

[SARacer]

the mo3 is easier to drive because it's front wheel drive

the mo4 is faster than the mo3 because its rear wheel drive. It is more challenging to drive.

they almost have the same type of drivetrain

[ZipDrive]

ok I am getting M03L....sounds like more fun


Sumthing different to play with

[SARacer]

here is my mo3

[Prinler]

Is anyone willing to Sell or trade there Mini cooper?

[Papanoel]

SARacer.......where did u get that body?

[SARacer]

It is a Suzuki Wagon R
I am not sure if it is avaliable in the US.
The kit has been discontinued

[CarterTG]

Tamiya never released the #58234 Suzuki R nor the #58265 Toyota Bb (yeah, that's two Bs) in the US, most likely because the fullsize versions don't reach the states either. With the looks of the two, I'd seriously doubt these rolling breadboxes would pass the US Dept of Transporation's crash-test requirements.

I'm staying in Hong Kong for a while and have spotted several cruising the streets. With all the congestion, the ones here aren't about to be involved in any high-speed crashes anytime soon.

Just two hours before this post, I was wandering the MongKok district's hobby shops. I'm 90% certain I saw both full kits sitting on a shelf or two.

Every now and then, I'll find one or the other posted NIB on eBay.

TamiyaClub.com has the two models listed. Now that the site's picture of the box jogged my memory, I'm 100% certain I saw both sitting on shelf. I respectfully decline to report what they were selling for. :D :) :D

[Cychalen]

CarterTG. Never post HK prices publicly. People will blame you for the rest of their lifes. :D

I think 58196 Honda S-MX Low Down (M01-M) is another one that never reached the USA.

[ZipDrive]

Unfortuenlty i lost this auction....

http://**************/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2565&item=3106225334&rd=1

http://ebay3.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_0e76a2e7dfe4a4c7dd31e8845c1435cc/i-3.JPG

But this is only one i have ever see....
Is that a metal Chassis?
Seller would not reply....

u guys seen this b4?

[Cychalen]

I think that's a 58211 Rover Mini Cooper Racing.
http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/rc/electric/110scale/mchassis/58211.html

[utieh]

it s the original grey abs chassis for the m03 .(m04 is black)

[redneck]

it is a mo3 i have 3 of them

[Cychalen]

58211 Rover Mini Cooper Racing & 58234 Suzuki wagon R RR are the only 2 cars with M03 chassis. That's why you don't see it often.

[sosidge]

The RCBoyz chassis extender (available on ebay USA) is a great bit of kit for extending the M03 to 225mm wheelbase - it lets you use the 225mm HPI shells (hard to find now) - but I've found that it's not quite up to the rigours of racing. When you take a hard hit, you can end up with a car that's shaped like a banana, when one of the extenders fails where it is screwed to the front of the chassis. It's forgiveable though because it's not an original Tamiya part.

Here's a couple of tip for toughening it up...

1. When I first installed the extender, hairline cracks developed when I screwed the it in to the front of the chassis. I think the two tongues at the front of the extender have their holes moulded slightly too small. If you open the holes out a fraction with a small round file, you should be able to get the screws in without cracks developing.

2. The amount of plastic on those tongues is quite limited - whereas the Tamiya chassis screws in to about 8mm of plastic, the extender has only 2mm of plastic. What I've now done is to bolt the extender in.

The first note is that the mechanical speed controller mount on the rear half of the chassis blocks off putting a nut on the upper screw on the car's right hand side. To get round this, you can either cut off the MSC mount, or use the standard tapping screw in that hole.

To fit the bolts, first I opened out the holes in the tongues enough for a 3mm machine screw (around 10mm long) to pass through. Since my extender was already damaged, I then used a little strong epoxy glue to bond a washer onto the inside of the tongue, for the screw to pass through. You may be able to get away without the epoxy, but I would definitely use the washer.

After the epoxy had set, I then fitted the chassis extender as normal, using M3 Nyloc nuts on the end of the machine screws. These are quite tricky to access, but long-nose pliers did the job of holding them in place as I tightened them up.

Hopefully this pic will help a little - it shows the nut on the end of one screw - it also shows how I now have no screw mounting near the MSC mount because the extender has disintegrated from 2 big impacts...

[sosidge]

On a further note - some surprising performances by the M03 at my local club last night.

It's a small, indoor, slippy floor club - and low grip isn't great for the mini because it struggles really badly for traction.

In my first heat (in with the 4wd touring cars, against ok drivers), I came last but one - the car I beat was the worst driver in the heat. 1st got 30 laps, i got 28 - fastest car of the round got 32.

Second heat, I put the steering rates up to 100% which greatly improved my ability to negotiate the corners on power - the computer had me second, although there was some debate over missed laps - I think I really was second, although I may have been third at worst. I got 31 laps, 1st got 33, fastest in round was 35.

Third heat, and the grip seemed to have come up a bit - would you believe it, I was running first for a bit after a couple of minutes, when the lead car crashed. Unfortunately, a little bit later when I'd been passed back into second, i got a heavy hit from a car I was lapping and ended up with the above mentioned banana chassis. Managed to keep the car lapping at an ok pace (just keep a little right hand steering down the straight!), until the loose chassis and another crash unplugged my battery connectors. Not fixable at the track, so time for home.

Not bad for an (upgraded) FWD mini with a silver can 540, against 4wd tourers running mods and competition stocks...

[Cychalen]

sosidge.
What are those gold plugs you are using?