Best Front Wheel Drive?

[Gates Mini Racing 0]

Hi guys,

Call me crazy perhaps, but I think for sheer driving "Fun" My frotn wheel drives, M03/FF01, have offered the most laughs when driving, so I was wondering. What is the best Front wheel drive chassis out there? I am guessing the TA03-F will be up there amongst the most popular.... I am Thinking of getting another Front wheel drive (or maybe just hopping up the FF01) for some serious mad fun.

So what gets your vote?

Mike

[Tipsy 7]

Hi Mike,

The TA03-F was not a front wheel drive car. It is 4WD with the motor mounted at the front.

I think the M03 has been great fun, particularly at the TC meets with 6 or 7 other M03 "lunatics" to race against.

Paul

[SJoerD 2]

I personally like my hopped-up M-01 chassis a lot. Also my FF-01 with FRP conversion is a great car to run as well. I really prefer the FF-01 over the FF-02, as the FF-01 has a ball diff and oil dampers from standard (AFAIK) and it has the ability to be converted to a double deck chassis'd racer! []

I also have a hopped-up TA-03FS which is also great - it handles very well. Even when the rear pulley fell off (I had pretty much only FWD) it still went lieka rocket - I hardly noticed at first! It still handled very much the same though, it really behaves a lot like a FWD car with the traction of a 4WD! [8D]

[WillyChang 1814]

quote:

Originally posted by Gates Mini Racing

What is the best Front wheel drive chassis out there?

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M03!

ps: M03 shares its chassis frame with FF02.

Older FF01 (aka "FF") is based on the TA02.

[wriggleandgiggle 0]

FF-01s are great until you hit a kerb, the M03-FF02 seem pretty strong to me, you can fit a ball diff to them of course, I've got one tucked away with loads of hop ups and is a total blast to drive.

[jozza 1]

I've got M03 and M01, I would vote for the M03 as it's a very stable chassis, and tough too. The M01 is fun to drive when it works, but seems a lot more susceptible to being damaged.

[Lordcroker 0]

In my opinion the FF-01 is the best because it has proper shocks, ball diff and the motor is IN FRONT of the driving wheels which greatly improves traction.

The bathtub design keeps the radio gear and battery clean and you can access the gearbox for servicing/regreasing without taking the entire car apart.

I regard the M-03 as a sealed for life unit...mine certainly won't be seeing any more grease during it's life!

[minijosh 0]

The FF01 has a ball diff? I might take mine apart to see. I didn't know that.[?]

[Lordcroker 0]

Yep, my old Mondeo certainly had a ball diff as standard []...best not to take it apart though as it will prbably start slipping if you do []

[mr_pushrod 5]

I'd agree, my Clio does and I was under the impression all other FF-01s did.

[SJoerD 2]

Yup, as I said before, the FF-01 has a ball diff from standard - it's one of the 'Manta Ray' type quite commonly used around the time the FF-01 was produced. []

[BalmyBaldwin 0]

Well I've only got one front wheeled drive car - the FF02... I love this car, it drives beautifully, and when you've got the hang of driving FWD the cornering is fantastic. The only problem I have with the car is that it is a little "light Weight" I know this is supposed to be an advantage, but sometimes I get the impression that it isn't fully glued to the ground.

Incidentally, I have found the car to be incredibly reliable, and at Snetterton last year I ran about 10 batteries through it continuously (It was the only car of mine that was still working!) with no problems developing at all (apart from a big hole in the body work caused by crashing into a ramp)

[Gates Mini Racing 0]

quote:Originally posted by Lordcroker

I regard the M-03 as a sealed for life unit...mine certainly won't be seeing any more grease during it's life!

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I know what you mean, the Mini is a real pain in this respect, especially if you have the staibiliser set fitted (and in my case, bull bars.) I love the mini as you can chuck it around and pretty much thrash it to death. But I find that dirt gets in around the motor, and having to disasemble the whole car for greasing is rather annoying, unlike the FF01, which has 2 main covers, and yep a ball diff and oil shocks as standard. (not bad for the £65 i paid for it[])

I have to admit, I really do like my FF01 Mondeo, it was my first Tamiya, and I love the way it drives and corners. I like the idea of an FRP Chassis. My original chasssis sadly is in a poor state... The front seemed to catch on everything, so I made an Ali skid, sparks yay! but it handled all the abuse I threw at it, so my hats off to Tamiya, it is still in one piece and running with original everything (well apart from grease lol)[]

I completely forgot TA03 F was 4WD... Derrr...how stupid am I lol....

I like the idea of an FF02, a longer wider Mini with presumably less roll....

Cheers for your thoughts

Mike

[mud4fun 1696]

I loved my FF01, sorry I sold it now as it was a rugged little beast and was a great laugh to drive hard. I fitted a new shape mini shell to it and big tyres and it handles just like a mini - great up until mid corner when it would suddenly let go and slide into a kerb []

Yes, mine had a ball diff fitted as standard. I tightened it right up to give better traction on our loose dirt track and fitted big buggy size wheels and pin spikes. Had a tendancy to roll (don't all mini's) but it was fun all the same []

I've got an M03 chassis at the moment but I don't like it. Doesn't seem to have that fun factor of the FF01.

The stock M03 chassis as used on the mini cooper is too small and narrow. It gets really annoying as it spends most of its time on its roof. I swapped in TL01 suspension parts to give it a wider track, lowered the suspension and that cured most of the problems. You have to trim the shell alot to get the turning circle though.

Like I've said many times before - Tamiya actually got worse at designing cars after the early 90's. The FF01 was easy to work on, only took a few minutes to swap a diff or adjust it etc. The M03 is a right pain and you might as well go home.

This all in one chassis/gearbox idea as used on the TL01 is just awful and the guy that designed it wants shooting. Having to virtually rebuild the car for routine maintenance is not funny. It may well save a few grammes but at the end of the day who cares? 99.99% of TL01/M03's are runners/bashers not racers so why such a god awful design?