V1nce

Are you running to Eurocup rules? If not there are loads of not Tamiya options... CLICK ME Mini tyres are a real can of worms! Then there’s the question of inserts… If you’re running the car low you’ll have camber which when combined with toe will wear the inside of tyres out at an accelerated rate. You could replace the front upper arms with adjusters (like the M03R/M05pro rear) to correct the camber if wear is that much of a problem.

I know these shells have been discounted from this thread, but Modelsport now stocks them at a reasonable £29. Those Euro prices are really scary.

No the M03M doesn't use a 950 bearing, but its hubs use smaller bearings then the M03. Hub bearings for the FWD minis go something like this... M03 = 1150 M03R = 1050 M03M = 1050 M05 = 1150 M05 Pro = 1150 Front / 1050 Rear (Uses M03R rear hubs just for confussion) IIRC you'll need some TA04 king pins (50882) too. The Racing Cooper has a completely different C Hub to that found on the M03M kits.

I took the M05 racing on carpet last Friday. Once it stopped falling apart, ruining 2 heats (assembly problems glue everything! LOL), I found it much easier car to drive consistently when compared to the M03. I started the night running the front and rear end at about 5mm, it was turning up its own *******. Raising the rear end a few mm sorted this. I also found I could go full throttle through the circuits fast sweeping corners where the M03 had grip roll problems especially when running a Lipo in the M03. I still had roll issues under braking in 1 of the slow speed corners, which is probably more my fault then the chassis. I've got into a nasty habit of carrying to much speed into a corner, braking and turning at the same time. (Stupid lazy rolls are where the Fiat 500 is a massive plus. 90% of the time it rights itself!) The M05 feels solid in the corners and inspired confidence where as I was always expecting the M03 to turn turtle at every corner. Interestingly, but probably not surprisingly, the shift of weight balance to the rear of the chassis seems to hampered acceleration. I found I was getting wheel spin off the line and out of slow corners. Stiffer springs at the rear or softer front tyres… Hummm This was the first club back after the hall had been closed for 6 weeks. I expected to be massively rusty; however I picked up a second place on the grid and second place in the B final. Not to bad considering the level of skill at the club and my 6 month noobieness Having said that I've won the last 3 pre break B finals and made the A once with the M03, but that’s probably more down to the fact there’s more set-ups to copy for the M03 then the M05. Next week I’ll play with some controller and chassis setting. I’m sure I can go faster with the M05.

I've turned the list of items into this... So for £36 + your old M03 you can build a M05. After a few tests runs I'd suggest adding 3Racing's Front Shock Tower (M05-03/LB). It’s only a couple of quid for correct front end geometry.

You can modify a M03 for off road use. In fact off road mini racing looks like a laugh... RC Mini have a article covering the modification READ ME If you can use a M03, I can’t see why you couldn’t use a M05. Having said all that if you wish to compete, the DF03RA is probably a more suitable option.

I wasn't really thinking about doing it quite so soon, but this thread spured me into action. Now I'll have to join the M05 development curve at the club (where I race the M03). LOL Great service from RCBearings ... Order placed late Friday afternoon ... Bearings arrived Saturday morning!

That was a rhetorical why At first glance it appears that Tamiya have just added these parts to existing sprues to make a conversion slightly more expensive. However, they've had a bit of a play with the F parts (back to the 1150 bearings used on early M03's) and thou containing mostly the same items the layout of C parts has change to incorporate the M04 as irenL points out. I reckon you can get away with using 50850 (M04 posts), avoiding the M05 C parts, but the cost difference vrs spare part ratio is so low I'd go for the C Parts. I've just set myself the challenge of converting my spare M03 to M05 PRO spec for less then £50! (+shipping) I'm ratting the dampers, UJ shafts, gearbox joints, gears, servo saver, bearings, rear axles and electronics from the M03. Just ordered the following... RC Mart 1 x Tamiya (#50882) King Pin Set For TA04 (Won't need these if you have a M03M) 1 x Tamiya (#50797) 5mm Short Adjust 1 x 3Racing (#3RAC-HTS30/LB) Servo Saver Horn-single Hole- Light Blu (Pointless bling) 1 x Tamiya (#53642) 5mm Alu. Ball Connector (BU) (Pointless bling) 1 x 3Racing (#M05-22/LB) Steering Servo Linkage 95mm For M05 1 x Tamiya (#51393) M-05 F Parts (Upright) 1 x Tamiya (#51392) M-05 D Parts (Damper Stay) 1 x Tamiya (#51391) M-05 C Parts (Suspension Arm) 1 x Tamiya (#51390) M-05 B Parts (Steering Wiper) 1 x Tamiya (#51389) M-05 A Parts (Chassis) 1 x Tamiya (#54148) DB01 Steering Post (Remove the slop) Ebay 1 x Tamiya (#50579) 3x10mm Step Screw (5 Pcs.) (I'll probably have a pair of these going spare once finished) RCBearings.co.uk 4 x Tamiya Bearing Part Number 850 (steering) So far that’s £36.60 +Shipping

Just costed up converting 1 of my M03's. U'll need every sprue! I reckon you can still do it for £30ish including shipping from RC Mart or Stella. If only Tamiya wasn't so canny with those front body mounts you wouldn't need sprue C same goes for F6! Why Tamiya? Why!!!!

Yes I race on carpet and it does clog with carpet fiber. I normally clean the fan out every couple of weeks, however I have never dismantled the fan to clean the internals. Its is a good point so I've just open the fan. It was pretty clean inside, but I gave it a blast with the air duster... A again it failed on test.

Hello, The fan which sits on top of my Ezrun 35A ESC bite the dust yesterday afternoon, ruining my evenings racing in the process. There is no rotation from the fan, not even a kick when the ESC is switched on. The Centre of the fan gets very hot very quickly and rotation by hand feels stiff. There is no other problem with the either the motor or the ESC. Both function as expected, so its just the fan that’s dead. Fully charged batteries reading at 8.2V powering a fan that the manufacture rates for 5Vdc 0.12A max 7.2V explains the problem. (not to sure whether to worry about that reading from a 7.4v MiHM battery :S) Over powering the fan could also explain why it sounded like a jet engine now and again. So this is my own problem to sort and this is where I need help... Ok I've brought a similar 25x25x10 fan from 3Racing. However I couldn’t find a tech spec for this fan so I'm guessing it’s going to require an identical voltage and current draw (it’s probably the same fan!). After doing a bit of research I’ve got a few ideas that I’d like some help with... - Directly replace the Ezrun fan, and then replace this one when it pops in a few weeks. Yup killed the original fan like that, stupid idea... Next! - Take the positive power for the fan from ESC's receiver power out. The ESC provides the receiver with 6Vdc so why not tap into that. Could this damage my ESC or receiver? It worries me that the manufacture didn’t think of this when they designed the product if it was completely safe. - Buy a BEC or draw power from my Futaba R603FF's 3rd channel. - Buy a 12Vdc Fan as recommended in the Ezrun manual for running batteries above 7.2Vdc. Any ideas where to source a suitable 12V replacement in the UK? What is a most suitable option?