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Post by mattsedgley on Oct 26, 2008 19:17:07 GMT
OK so a long time ago in a month far far away, before I was an instant expert at touring cars, i picked myself up a little tamiya mini, well the swift to be more precise.
Anyways, i had reasonable sucess with it but, after a time i seemed to plateu... Do any of you cool mini driving people feel like sharing some trade secrets? what do you gear at ( i understand theres two gearing options)? Ball diff? Spool?? Stiff diff? roll bars?? no roll bars? TRF shocks? standard?
matt ;D ;D
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Post by TryHard on Oct 27, 2008 11:13:54 GMT
hey matt, mines not exactly spec, but here we go... Shimmed diff TRF shocks, with o-rings internally to limit travel (IIRC, they have 3 on each shaft). 60wt oil front, 40wt rear, white front springs, red or yellow rears. Stiff front anti roll bar. Also using the M03r rear hubs (1.5°) with a 1mm shim on the upper arm to reduce the amount of rear camber. Also made up some front adjustable upper links to take out a load of the front camber... it's FWD, so front traction is pretty key! at the very least, means the front tyres wear properly  I can go into more detail on that if you like  Of course, it's only issue at the moment is the buggered front chassis... how did that happen??? |
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Post by catapult on Oct 27, 2008 20:50:16 GMT
thanks for sorting the steering on mine matt. diff wise ta03 ball diff not the manta ray ball diff that one strips drive shaft splines,hollow carbon gear shafts
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Post by Simon Crabb on Oct 27, 2008 22:10:47 GMT
Oil filled shocks. The Tamiya plastic ones are often good enough. Firm low suspension, use spacers inside the shocks, so the wishbones are roughly horizontal at 'full droop'. 60wt oil all round. Front and rear anti-roll bars.
Firm up the servo with decent alloy servo posts, and a brace, it all flexes a bit. Decent servo saver. I use the kit one with the rings from a hi-torque one around it.
Front ball diff. No rear diff. (Private joke.) Gearbox built with hardly any grease so it spins forever.
Rear hop-up toe in uprights.
Alloy front hubs dont flex or bend or break.
Front UJs.
20T pinion.
I've got the carbon hollow shafts in the gearbox, but I'm still working out how they help, as they don't rotate!
S-grips up front, m-grips rear.
I think the biggest thing is getting the suspension working well, tyres that work, and steering that works, and is set correctly without any excessive play, so it steers when you want it to, not when it wants to!
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Post by Mark Townsend on Oct 28, 2008 9:14:53 GMT
Aly steering knuckles, ball races, plastic shocks from a TA05. Everything else is kit. Tyres are the ubiquitous M and S grips. 4 year old 540 from my first M03 4 year old cells need replacing and I don't want to have to buy old Nimhs again. After all, everyone wants lipo for TC why not for minis, the Orion 2400 come in at around £30 and even the expensive £40 Demons are shaped and have 4000 capacity. Surely the arguments for beginners and lipo, everyone used in TC are still valid for minis? Simons ingenious tray means he can switch from TC to mini with a lipo pack easily. That halves the number of cells you need if you do both classes. Granted last year we turned down the lipo option because of safety worries and availability issues. I feel they've been resolved with several manufacturers making the shaped lipo packs that will work very well in the minis, and people are generally quite sensible with lipos. You could always run the mini in a lipo sack to be safe  |
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Post by TryHard on Oct 28, 2008 9:20:39 GMT
I forgot to mention as well... double stuffed front tyres, especially with Tamiya 60D's (Type A's, M's or S-grips) work a treat. Take a medium/hard touring car moulded insert, cut it and remove some material to make it fit the internal diameter of the tyres, then take a soft foam insert for mini tyres, and stuff that in the tyre as well.
Really helps to keep the front tyres keep there shape better.
I'll agree with Simon, getting the right tyres on the car is pretty key, as in all honesty, there is very limited adjust for other settings. And given the limited suspension travel on a mini, shock setup is not as crucial either (although springs are).
Ed
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Post by MonkeyNuts on Oct 28, 2008 19:01:26 GMT
In my opinion i would disagree with the double stuffing of front tires on the mini, when i tried this with a couple of different compounds of tires (Kits and M's i think) and found that it reduced the amount of grip produced, but they did last longer. Tires are definetly the key thou, indoors i use Kit's at the front and M-Grip rear, occasionly i might use A's at the rear instead. There may not seem to be as much setting up to do on a Mini, but there is. You can get a Mini going well pretty much out of the box, but to get them going very quick it takes some setting up and preparation Better of going for TRF shocks, yes the normal Tamiya CVA's are good enough for a mini, but with TRF's you can precisely adjust the right height, which will help alot. I have never run a mini really low to ground, no lower than 4mm - but it does have to be firm. Tamiya TRF Short White Springs are the ones to have (#53633) at the front. With Regards to diffs, either will do i have run them all, Gear, TA03 and Manta Ray - none seem to make any difference, you will just have a bit more adjustment with a Ball Diff that's all. HTH Liam, |
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Post by Martin S on Oct 28, 2008 19:10:22 GMT
Good mini setup information can me found here incl Lipos and lead weight: tinyurl.com/6ebjay |
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Post by Simon Crabb on Oct 28, 2008 19:52:51 GMT
And the other thing you need in an M03 - a reversing speedo! Essential I say!
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Post by herebemonsters on Nov 25, 2008 12:43:58 GMT
Ditching the MSC seemed to work for me last night!
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Post by Simon Crabb on Nov 25, 2008 13:56:08 GMT
That'd help! M03s usually come with electronic speedos anyway?
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Post by herebemonsters on Nov 25, 2008 17:36:55 GMT
That'd help! M03s usually come with electronic speedos anyway? Yeah, I thought that as well, although mine appears to be one of the first ever M03s. Silver chassis, old Acoms servos and it was bought from Beatties! Hi, btw. My name is Benji, I live in Southampton and have been to Bransgore a couple of times to race my little Mini. First time racing (well, racing scale cars that is), so still learning the basics. I was going to post an introduction thread to ask for some more info about the club, but it seemed a bit "look at me, look at me". |
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Post by mattsedgley on Nov 25, 2008 22:15:58 GMT
depending on who you ask - they'll say i do that also! still second overall on monday's not to shabby!
We've got our AGM and a bit of fun racing tomorrow night.. so your welcome to pop down and chat/ pick up tips... there should be upwards of 20 minis.. hopefully 40 ish bods!
take a look on realityracing.info or shmcc.org for directions - we'll get that mini sorted no problems! AGM kicks off at 7ish so feel free to pop down and listen.. or pop down later 8 - 8.30 to see what its all about and perhaps have a blast with your retro beast!
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Post by TryHard on Nov 25, 2008 22:38:28 GMT
did I hear there is racing tomorrow night as well... hmm... Mini's fixed, was going to come to the AGM anyway.... hmmm... Only issue is tyres (got none suitable  )... hmmm |
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Post by mattsedgley on Nov 25, 2008 23:06:00 GMT
ed i've got Ms n Ss unmounted you can have those n buy me some back whenever if that helps!
Matt
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Post by TryHard on Nov 25, 2008 23:19:22 GMT
Your a star matt... I now need some wheels.
However, I may have found the Mahoosive oversteer issue... quite possible I had a white spring on the front right, and a yellow on the front left... opps. I blame you for that matt, forcing me to rebuild the play thing.
Oh, and one last bit... if you don't like blue, I would run away from my mini now... hehe.
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Post by mattsedgley on Nov 25, 2008 23:26:35 GMT
hahaha Ed the techspert makes a mistake! never!! i'll bring em with me tomorrow Terry www.realityracing.info/ has rims for 4.99 |
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Post by Simon Crabb on Dec 1, 2008 23:03:09 GMT
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Post by herebemonsters on Dec 10, 2008 19:53:11 GMT
It does just basically say "buy all the hop-ups". I much prefer the previous mentioned guide! |
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Post by TryHard on Dec 10, 2008 21:22:28 GMT
Bear in mind it's for the tamiya TCS racing... For club level, really all I would go with is oil shocks, and maybe extra springs... and the toe-in rear hubs if you don't have em And my new shell has arrived... along with some M-Grips, and the blue alloy servo saver... tis NICE! Ed |
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Post by Simon Crabb on Dec 10, 2008 21:31:51 GMT
The alloy servo saver front is in Racer mag this month, it's BIG NEWS!
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Post by MonkeyNuts on Dec 10, 2008 21:31:55 GMT
Also i would add that other hop-ups such as roll bars, and the M03-R front and rear hubs make the car lot more tune'able so its easier to get the car dialled in better. Ceramic wheel bearings and ball diff bearings help alot as well, the car will run alot free'er and smoother with them. That alloy Servo Saver thing looks so good on the car, got it on mine already Liam |
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Post by Simon Crabb on Dec 11, 2008 15:12:09 GMT
I just turned my M03 into a rally M03... A set of shocks with no spacers inside for maximum travel, a set of rally block tyres (touring car sized ones cut down), and a bash guard.
Simple. and easy to swap back to carpet, change the shocks, change the tyres and that's it.
It's no off-roader but it's a hoot for a bit of not-so-smooth bashing, and it looks cool with those tyres!
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Post by MonkeyNuts on Feb 7, 2009 20:24:41 GMT
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Post by Simon Crabb on Feb 8, 2009 0:43:07 GMT
Sweet. Though, you could just take out the M spacer to get more bodyshell choice - I don't like the Swift much to be honest!
I've been emailing with a supplier that does both the new and old 500 for the short wheelbase too, as well as a Renault 5 turbo, and a normal mini. Good value too, think just under £20 over here, though would need to order 5 or 10 to get that sort of price.
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Post by jamietraylor on Apr 20, 2009 20:12:08 GMT
Im after a ball diff for my mini which one is the one to go for?
Also does the medium wheelbase mini handle alot different?
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Post by MonkeyNuts on Apr 20, 2009 21:07:47 GMT
The Medium wheelbase car doesnt seem to handle much different to the SWB, but the long wheelbase (BMW Mini) does seem to be alot more stable than the SWB and MWB. I used the Long wheelbase at Eastbourne in the Tamiya Cup at the weekend at it handles really well. I would consider going for the Long wheelbase instead of the MWB.
If you go for a Ball diff go for the TA03 Ball Diff, not the Manta Ray one. The TA03 one is alot lighter and seems to last better - also be sure to use ceramic bearings inside it too. I have run the Mini inside and outside and see obvious difference between a gear diff and ball diff. I run with the standard gear diff and i have no problems at all. It's up to you though.
HTH
Liam
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I can go into more detail on that if you like 
)... hmmm