Fermoy Model Car Club ~ Munster RC Car Club

Setup Tips for Tamiya BMW Mini

From: www.tamiyausa.com

Build to Win - BMW Mini Building and Setup Guide by David Beale

So, the new season of TCS racing is fast approaching and your looking to build a new car for the series. You’ve decided to race the Mini class because it has always been a fun and competitive class; the epitome of close racing, tight lines and car setup. You’ve always had a soft spot for small British cars, and BMW’s nostalgic rendition of the Mini Cooper has stirred those old feelings. Well Tamiya, once again, is on your side. This summer they released the 1/10th scale R/C version of your dream car, the BMW Mini Cooper on the M03L chassis.

Tamiya BMW Mini Building and Setup Guide

Building a BMW Mini Cooper (58295) for TCS competition

The M03L chassis is the latest offering from Tamiya in their series of M0 chassis. The new chassis is longer than the previous Mini’s, hence the L in it’s designation. This equates to more stability for a classically twitchy car. It also means more room for your electronic equipment within the chassis. The best news is that since the chassis is very similar to the M03, all of the Hop-ups for it will still work! Tamiya offers a variety of Hop-Ups for the M03, which can turn your street basher into a TCS winning screamer.

Here’s how:

Differential

Building a differential for the mini starts with a TA03 Ball differential. The diff. parts should be assembled as per the Hop-up instructions. The only deviation from this should be in your choice of greases. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different greases to tune your car. Softer grease should help the car turn better on a tight course, while thicker grease should help the car “bite” more off the corners. For the M03L at the Tamiya America Test Track, I use Tamiya’s Anti-wear Grease, this provides a lot of lock-up for the differential. Tighten the differential until it stops, but do not apply excessive force. Make sure the diff. spins smoothly. A set of lightweight diff. balls will improve your chances of achieving smoothness. A differential that is set too loose will not only make the car slow and difficult to drive, but eventually will come apart.

Parts:
53267 - TA03 Ball Differential Set
53379 - Light Weight Diff. Balls
53439 - Anti-Wear Grease

Drive Train

A free drive train on the M03L is critical because of the relatively low power and restricted gearing (20T). Here are some important steps you can take to ensure that your Mini rolls as free as possible.

Installing Tamiya’s hollow carbon gear shafts will help to reduce weight in your drive train, thereby improving acceleration and handling.

Ball bearings: you must have these to race competitively. The rolling resistance of the car will be greatly reduced with a good set of bearings. Although Tamiya bearings are not required, in my experience Tamiya sealed ball bearings are the highest quality and will last much longer in your Mini. For an added performance advantage, remove the seals from the bearings and clean out the factory grease, then lube the bearings with light oil such as Tamiya’s Metal Bearing oil. Replace the seals. Periodically cleaning and re-oiling the bearings will extend their life an improve performance.

Do not grease your gears. I know this is contrary to Tamiya’s instructions, but we’re building a racecar here, right? Putting grease on the gear teeth in the Mini may make the gears last longer, but it adds drag to the drive train. Wear is the price you pay for speed. Be sure to replace the gears as soon as they become noisy or start to show excessive wear. The use of a good quality pinion that meshes well will make your gears last longer. Tamiya makes one for the F201 that is light and hard.

A set of universals in the M03L will also help drive line efficiency. This is especially true as you steer your Mini. The angles that universal can achieve are better than the standard dog bones and their use can reduce or eliminate dreaded wheel-hop in the Mini. Wheels that don’t stay in contact with road don’t provide the best acceleration. Lube the universals with light oil and be sure to keep them clean!

Parts:
53509 – HFC 0.6 Aluminum Pinion (20T)
53348 - M03 Ball Bearing Set
53390 - M03 Hollow Carbon Gear Shaft
53508 - Metal Bearing Lubricating Oil
53205 - M-Chassis Universal Shaft Set

Low Center-of-Gravity (C.G.)
Tamiya BMW Mini Building and Setup Guide

A nice thing about the new M03L is the middle chassis extension. It provides some much needed room for electronics in the Mini. Previously electronics either had to be placed on the top (high C.G.) or on the sides (likely to be damaged) of the chassis. I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep the C.G. of the car low. A car with a low center of gravity will have less body roll and will also be less likely to tip over. This is very desirable! I managed to mount a Novak Cyclone TC and Futaba FP-R113F receiver in my Mini. Shoe Goo is your best friend in this endeavor. Double-sided tape is unlikely to work, because of the unevenness in the bottom of the chassis. Be creative when mounting the electronics, but keep in mind that you should be able to get to the frequency crystal and be able to adjust your speed control.

Electronics

The electronics that you choose for your Mini are a matter of personal preference and I will list the electronics that I used for comparison purposes only.
-Servo: Futaba S9404
-ESC: Novak Cyclone TC
-Receiver: Futaba FP-R113F

Keep in mind that the Mini uses a direct link between the Servo and the steering. This means that the Mini’s servo does not have the leverage that can be achieved by other cars with bell-crank steering. It is therefore very important, for racing purposes, that the servo you choose has plenty of torque and speed.

To be competitive in a TCS race you must use and electronic speed control (ESC). Put simply; buy the best one you can afford. Size, weight, on resistance (low), ruggedness and smoothness are key features to look for.

I highly recommend running a good quality FM radio system. Most racers quickly find out how good their radio equipment is at a major race. Lots of transmitters means lots of radio noise and there is absolutely nothing worse than having radio problems at a race. Read your radio’s instruction manual carefully; most contain excellent tips for routing the wiring on your car to avoid interference.

Chassis Tuning

Before you begin tuning your chassis, be sure that all the parts on your car are in good condition. No parts on the car should be broken or binding (especially suspension arms). It’s amazing how many handling problems can be solved, simply replacing a bent suspension pin! Also, be sure that no parts on the car are excessively worn. Sloppy steering and suspension arms are typical trouble spots. Fortunately the M03L is well setup to begin with but there are a few chassis adjustments that can considerably improve the cars handling.

Steering

Use a high-torque servo saver to protect the investment you made in that expensive servo. If you choose the Tamiya unit install the longer of the two servo horns that are included in the kit. This most closely matches the length of the kit servo horn and reduces bump steer as much as possible. I installed Tamiya’s new Front Upright Set on my car for strength and steering response. These new uprights include two mounting holes for your tie-rods. The forward most holes provide quicker and tighter steering. Another nice feature to have on the steering are turnbuckles, which Tamiya has now made available in Titanium. These are stronger and lighter than the stock pieces and allow front toe to be adjusted quickly and easily. My car is set with a static front toe of 2 degree out. This setting allows the wheels to pull themselves to 0 degrees of toe under acceleration. Your car may differ, so to check this adjustment, set the toe and push inward on the forward most part of both front tires. With moderate pressure the wheels should both point straight ahead (0 toe). On the back of the car I use toe-in rear uprights for stability and control. The 2 degrees of toe-in that these provide make the car track straighter and keep the back end in line on turn-in.

Parts:
50473 - Hi-Torque Servo Saver
53523 - M03 Aluminum Front Upright Set
53527 - 3x32mm Titanium Turnbuckles
53345 – M03 Toe-In Rear Upright

Dampers

Dampers, the heart of your suspension and handling, are often over looked. Correctly building and adjusting your dampers can turn a good car into a great car. For the M03L, I recommend using the TRF Super Low Friction Damper Set. For clearance purposes these dampers must be used with the Adjustable ball end connectors. The 2mm spacer is required in this kit to provide the necessary clearances for the adjustable spring perch. Follow the damper directions, but when installing the internal spacers use four 3mm o-rings in each damper (front and rear). This will restrict excessive droop or down-travel in the suspension. I have found that this makes the car less sensitive to movements on and off the throttle making it easier to drive. Use the 3 hole Teflon pistons that come with the kit. The front dampers I filled with 600# Tamiya Silicone Damper Oil (approx. 60wt) and the rear dampers with 400# (approx. 40wt). Be sure to remove as many air bubbles as possible from the dampers before screwing down the cap. Measure the extended lengths of the shocks and thread the eyelets on until they are all equal lengths. My set-up is based on a damper length of 56.5mm (measured end-to-end).

Parts:
49198 - TRF Damper Set (Blue/4pcs.)
53488 - Adjustable Ball Connectors (*2 required)
53443 - Silicone Damper Oil Soft Set (#200,#300,#400)
53444 - Silicone Damper Oil Medium Set (#500,#600,#700)

Springs/Ride Height
Tamiya BMW Mini Building and Setup Guide

The Short Tuned Spring set is the best choice to setup the M03L. It allows the ride height to be lowered with out the need to excessively preload the springs. My setup uses the blue springs up front and the yellow springs in the rear. The threaded spring perches on the dampers should be adjusted to give you a ride height of approximately 3mm in the front and 6.5mm in the rear. Set-up should be performed with a battery, a motor and all electronics in the car. Use the lowest points on the front (just behind the axle) and the rear (very back) of the chassis to obtain correct measurements.

Parts:
53333 - Touring Car tuned Spring Set (Short)

Anti-roll Bars

Some people use them some don’t. In my opinion this is one of the best and easiest ways to tune your car. These can be quickly changed or removed to improve an ill-handling car. If the car pushes, try adding a stiffer rear bar and/or remove the front bar. If the car is loose, a stiffer front bar and/or remove the rear bar may be called for. My car has medium bars installed on the front and rear. In general the M03L is inherently more stable that the old M03, so you can run the car quite a bit stiffer in the rear (spring, shocks damping), without making the car loose.

Tires/Inserts
Tamiya BMW Mini Building and Setup Guide

With out a doubt 60D Type-A tires provide the maximum grip for the M03L on a prepared surface such as Tamiya America, and these are the tires I use there. Your track may not provide as much grip or may be dustier. If this is the case the 60D Super Grip Radial Tires may be more appropriate, these tires are generally more forgiving than slick tires. Some people even mix the tires front to rear to tune the car. Only testing and personal preference can determine your tire choice.

TCS National rules changed last year to allow any tire insert in competition. This makes choosing a tire insert an expensive and time consuming proposition. David Jun has written an article on this topic that is posted on the Tamiya America site and I recommend reading it. The only additional factor to consider when selecting inserts is rollout. Since the M03L has limited gearing (20 tooth pinion is basically the only choice for most tracks) it is to your benefit to make the front tires as hard as possible. This is equivalent to inflating a tire to its maximum pressure. Anyone who has ridden a bicycle knows that its easier to peddle a bike when the tires are pumped up. In addition the diameter of the tire is maximized; a bigger tire improves the overall gear ratio. All this means your Mini will be faster on those long straights. To achieve this I used a 24mm insert cut and taped to fit the diameter of the mini wheels and I also stuffed a foam insert in to the tire. It can be quite difficult to get all this material in the tire without bulges so practice it a few times before you glue the tire. Keep in mind this is only for the front tires. For the rear tires I mounted them more conventionally with just a foam insert. It should be pretty easy to tell which are fronts and which are rears by squeezing them but I recommend labeling them anyway.

Parts:
53340 - M Chassis 60D Reinforce Tires Type-A (*2 required)
53254 - 60D Super Grip Radial Tire (*Optional, 2 required)
50686 - 60D Inner Sponge Tire Set (Soft)
53435 - Medium Narrow (24mm) Shaper Insert (Hard)

Testing

The setup that I have provided here is a result of testing at the Tamiya America facility under specific track conditions. It is a good basic setup that has proven competitive with other Mini chassis. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments to the car and to try different options. I found that through out the day, small changes to car improved its performance. Remember that out door tracks are very dynamic and require constant changes to get the most out of a car.

Conclusion

Tamiya BMW Mini Building and Setup GuideWith the right Hop-Ups and careful construction, this is definitely a car that can win races. Drive train, chassis tuning, tires electronics are all important factors in making a well-rounded racecar. The M03L simple construction and fundamentally good handling are a good platform for this. Additionally, the Mini is a relatively cheap class to run and even a well hop-up car wont break the bank. I consider my Tamiya BMW Mini Cooper a great addition to my RC car stable

ALSO
MINI FOR DUMMIES

OK, this is the info you wanted. No pictures, no bullshit, just the facts.

We'll assume here that you want to build yourself a competitive race M03, and dont want to waste money on unnecessary items that wont make you go any faster. Follow our guide here for the simplest and fastest way to victory lane.



Stage 1 - The Basics - START HERE



Start with an M03M Suzuki Swift kit or a LWB 2006 Mini Cooper. They're the best overall value for money - No questions, its just the way it is. The M03R is more a show pony although it still has most of the good stuff anyway. If you want the full run-down check out our full review elsewhere.

Bearings - You'll need 2 - 8 x 5 (850) and 4 - 11 x 5 (1150) These are for the transmission. It comes with wheel hub bearings standard.

Shocks - 50746 Super Mini Oil shocks. Get them, you dont need alloy ones, these work just fine. And the kit oil is FINE!

Springs - 53333 Tuned Spring set, or the 53440 Tuned Spring set. You need them to enable you to drop the ride height far enough.

Thats it, you do not NEED anything else. Thats really all you need to go fast with a Mini.

Stage 2 - I have some cash left over still....



Diff - 53267 Ball Diff. You dont NEED it, but lots of people prefer it.

Unis - 53597 Assembly type Universals. These are pretty good. We like em.

Pinion - 53509 Hardened Pinion. Its tougher and doesnt 'go italic' like the standard one.

Shocks - 53571 TRF Shocks. They dont really make a difference on a Mini, but DAMN they look cool.



Stage 3 - My Granny died and left me some money on the proviso it was spent on my Mini



Roll Bars - 53343 Anti-Roll Bar set. Some swear by them, some at them. You choose.

Output Shafts - 53217/8 Hardened Output shafts. Last heaps longer than original.

Turnbuckles - 52527 Titanium Turnbuckles. For the steering. MUCH stronger.

Carbon Shaft - 53390 Carbon Gear Shaft. It's your money....They don't do a THING.
Heat Sink - 53344 Motor Heat Sink. Feel free to buy one, just don't actually think that it does anything.

M03 RACE SETUP



Racing, for us it's the lifeblood of our M03's. It's what keeps us going. But just how do you turn your M03 into a race winner? This, is what we do....



OK, first up, this is NOT a 5 minute fix. We can't just tell you things that will magically make your car an awesome competitor. But we will tell you the facts - no bullshit, just what works for us.

The absolute first thing you need to do is to read our M03 build-up story. Go on, read it now..I'll wait..

Done? Well there's your baseline set-up to start with. Follow that and you're already most of the way there.

There are only a small number of things that are critical to getting a mini to work well, and these are - suspension, tyres and...well that's it.

Starting with suspension, if you've followed our guide in the M03 Build-up then you're probably pretty close now. Need more guidance? The 'events' section (it's over on the left, have a look now) usually has the complete setup for the top 3 drivers at the end of the story. Check some of them out, copy them if you like. What you're trying to do is establish your baseline setup. Find one that works - then leave it.

Yes, we mean it, LEAVE IT. Despite what people will tell you, you do NOT need to make constant suspension changes to your car all the time. Once you've found something that you like, don't play with it. I changed the setup on ONE of my three race cars only ONCE in the last 12 months.

No changes? Why so? Because by far the better way to tune for conditions is to change tyres... It's a different track yes, or maybe a different temperature? That doesn't mean that the geometry and the damping etc that you had before suddenly doesn't work! Your problem on the new track is more than likely GRIP, not suspension.

This is where tyre tuning comes in. For us, more often than not we run the same combination everywhere. For us it's Powers or Spice 36's, front and rear. But...sometimes they don't cut it. When that happens we reach for a softer rear first. Usually Spice 28's solve the problem. But these are just examples. Tyres are SUCH a difficult area. Most of our running is on outdoor bitumen or asphalt tracks, and these tyres work for us. What you're looking for isn't the best possible grip, it's BALANCE that you're after. You need to find a setup that will give your car the best balance between front and rear. Even if the ultimate grip isn't the best, provided your car is balanced then it'll feel good to drive.

If you're running to something like TCS rules, then your options are more limited. But even within the Tamiya range there are still choices to be made. For instance, when we run on carpet, we leave our suspension the same, we just change our tyres. Usually M grips or S grips, or a combination of the two works for us.

If tyre tuning doesn't work, then, and only then, do you start playing with your suspension. When it comes to that point, ALWAYS try ride height adjustments first. Often a 1mm change at either end can work well. One of my own cars just wouldn't turn enough for my liking, and tyre tuning wasn't doing the trick. I raised the rear 1mm - problem solved. In short, tyres and suspension (allied with ride height) are your main focus areas. Get them right and 90% of your problems are solved.

Of course sometimes even those options don't help. In that case, don't forget your old friend, the lead weight. if you're running Lipos you probably already have some in your car. But the tuning possibilities of the lead weight are enormous. Some strategically placed weight on your car can transform an unruly vehicle in an instant. Even as little as 20 gms makes a difference.

Steering - well this one can impact on an M03 more than you realise. Under power, the front wheels of an M03 will pull inward, creating toe-in. Now this is rarely much of an issue, but if your car is setup with toe-in to start with, more is a bad idea. Ideally you want the front end as neutral as possible. A brand new car can have the wheels set parallel, but as the car wears you may need to fine-tune the steering links accordingly. Toe out is a trick you only use when you really need more turn-in. It works, but will also make the car a lot more nervous in a straight line.

Possibly THE most important thing on your M03 is....you. No other factor impacts on the performance as much you do yourself. Assuming your track has computer lap timing, the read-outs probably have what our system calls a 'consistency' factor. In other words, the computer compares each one of your laps to all the others and ranks them. For us, a consistency factor in the order of .2 is what we're searching for. That sort of performance means that each lap we do is within a few tenths of all the others. THIS is the single most important factor in racing. Can you do this? Or are you a 2.4 rating? You absolutely need to get this part of your racing sorted first.

It doesn't matter if you can do a single lap a whole second quicker than anyone else, if every other one you do is over a 3 second range! Work on that consistency.

Examples? Early 2008, I handed my own car over to local Modified Touring Car Hotshot Andy Cooke to drive in one race. I'd been going quite well all day and was happy enough with my performance. After 3 laps Cookie was already quicker than me, and ended up OVER A SECOND A LAP QUICKER!! What does that mean to you? It's just proof positive that you can gain a LOT more through your driving than you'll EVER get through hours of setup. Back to my original premise again - Find a basic setup that works for you - and LEAVE IT.

Another example - Late '08 and Jay at the Metro Masters. His car was toast, 2 of the shocks had almost no oil in them and he was all over the place, he hadn't driven for 4 months. By the end of the meeting, he came second - still with that POS car. He didn't stuff around all day playing with setup - hell he didn't even fill the shocks up again! In his words 'I waited for the track to come to me' But what that really means is that he just drove the wringer off the car as it was. More proof that the vast majority of improvement with a mini, comes from YOU....

Bodies - You'll hear a lot of talk from people about how 'this body steers better than this one' etc, etc. OK, listen up people - It's rubbish. It's simply not true. Yes, it makes a difference on Touring Cars, but they go a lot faster than minis do.

At the sort of speeds (most) minis run, the aerodynamic effect is so small as to be virtually undetectable, and certainly not enough that we can notice it. It's not an opinion, it's fact, and backed up by lots and lots of testing on our part, as well as learned opinion from aerodynamic experts. So don't worry too much that your mate has a 'slipperier' shell than you. Stick your old VW Bus shell on and go and whip him!

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