M08 Excitement

[Big Jon 684]

With the advent of  truly high-performance M chassis, particularly the M08, I'm hoping that Tamiya releases some really good kits. I'd like a proper Lancia Stratos, with correct fat tires and wheels, and a Renault R5 Turbo that does the body set justice. There are quite a few RWD cars that deserve kits on a good chassis, like a Dino, or a Boxter, an M Coupe, Pontiac Fiero (!), Opel GT, even an Escort.

[Honza 931]

If Tamiya continues with current tactics, there won't be any M08 kit with body. Racing level kits (TB05, TA07, M07 and some hopped up TT02) are produced as chassis only kits.

[Badcrumble 4201]

MX-5 and Giulia bodysets are available, I think you can get the Beetle too.

It would be great if the R5 Turbo appeared as a re-release. Or the old Z4?

It seems as though new would need to fit on TT01/TT02 too as @Honza stated.

 

[Honza 931]

21 hours ago, Badcrumble said:

It seems as though new would need to fit on TT01/TT02 too as @Honza stated.

There will be new kits with bodies. But they will be based on entry-level M05/M06, instead of M07/M08

M08 is not succesor of M06. It's different class, the difference is same as between TT02 and TB05.

[Badcrumble 4201]

3 hours ago, Honza said:

There will be new kits with bodies. But they will be based on entry-level M05/M06, instead of M07/M08

M08 is not succesor of M06. It's different class, the difference is same as between TT02 and TB05.

Oops, getting my classes mixed up! That’s what I meant!!

[Smokescreen38 64]

M08 Concept is back in stock at Tower Hobbies and they were running a coupon so I figured “what the badword?”   

I have a good servo and brushed esc that I believe will work.  What’s the hottest brushed motor that this 2WD chassis will handle without overwhelming the platform or breaking stuff?

I don’t plan on running in a class, just ripping around the local paved track, maybe some of the indoor carpet too. 
 

 

[Smokescreen38 64]

I ended up going with a cheap Yeah Racing 13T motor.  Maybe too many RPM/V but I like speed.  I hope it works out to be a good match.

 

 

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

Still awaiting parts in the snail mail....

 

 

[berman 5315]

Been eyeing up the M07 and M08, just want it for posterity, probably wouldn't use it much, like my other Mchassis cars 😄

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

The M08 was my first M-chassis RC.  All my other cars are 1/10.  

 These little cars are a joy to build - something like a cross between a tiny plastic model and a legit RC.

 

I have several spare hop ups for the M07 as they came in a hop up kit intended for the M07 chassis.  I did have to cut the droop adjustment tabs off the Yeah Racing rear arms to fit the M08 chassis.  The remainder of parts needed to complete the M08 look to be another 2 weeks in the mail.

 

As a result of lockdown boredom, I ordered a M07R and a few hop ups from domestic vendors.  With the spares from the M08 build and a Protoform Eropa M body, it will make a flashy ricer car to run around the school parking lot up my street.  Pictures to follow when stuff arrives later this week.

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

 

[TurnipJF 9180]

That is a lot of pretty carbon and blue bling! I have several of those pieces on the way for my own M-08 build, and would be interested in your opinion of how they work on a running car.

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

Regarding the build aspect, here's what I've noted thus far;

• If you use a 6 degree front suspension mount the Yeah Racing suspension arms hit the screws for the lower bumper mount.  The Tamiya arms may fit, but I didn't try them.  Confirmation will come when I get the TRF shocks.
• 1 droop adjustment tab on each of the rear suspension arms for both Tamia and Yeah Racing needs to be trimmed off.  There's a bump in the M08 chassis for the rear diff where the tab would be.  I used a water cooled tile saw and Dremmel flapwheel to leave a nice finish when I cut the Yeah Racing suspension arms.
• I believe that the M08 comes with "short dampers" based on Tamiya's list of hop ups and that there are 2 types of shock towers available.  Tamiya implies that the carbon shock towers that fit the short dampers are the direct replacement, where as the 2 that come in one package will only fit standard TRF shocks.  I'll find out when Hong Kong shipping resumes and my order leaves SF Express' warehouse.  (TRF short dampers, Lightly Tuned motor)
• M07 shock towers do not fit the M08.
• Tamiya intended to use low profile servos for the M07 and M08.  There's spacers for a standard servo but the tie rod angles are ugly.
• There's a little slop, maybe 0.3mm, in the Yeah Racing front C hub/suspension arm pivot.
• The sway bar tie rods need to be switched front to rear from the M07 sway bar kit to clear the axles on the M08.
• The button head screws in Yeah Racing steering kit need to be changed for the wafer head screws in the Tamiya kit or they will hit the ball cups. Follow Tamiya's instruction book.
• Get some extra axle 0.2mm shims if you use the Yeah Racing axles or Tamiya Rein freewheel axles.
• It costs less to buy the 2 kits of Yeah Racing M07 suspension and steering parts rather than simply buying the M07 parts that fit the M08.  If you buy a M07R and use the leftover parts from the kits, you will have 2 awesome M-chassis cars.

 

 

Now, I have a question for y'all.  I ordered a 27t J Johnson motor and TBLE-02s for the M07R.   I don't wanna go all Kevin Talbot style, but it's gotta be a fun car.  Will this be fast enough?   How may turns/kv is good for a M-Chassis without making it do traction roll overs in every corner?

 

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

 

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

They always look so nice until the wiring gets installed

I haven’t built a Tamiya kit in 18 years. What a joy it was to put together, but it happened so fast. Lockdown boredom will rear its head again shorty. 

[Finnsllc 917]

whats the blue bling cost for the chassis? Kit at tower is $173 usd  curious how much you guys are throwing in on top? and, tires?

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

15 minutes ago, Finnsllc said:

whats the blue bling cost for the chassis? Kit at tower is $173 usd  curious how much you guys are throwing in on top? and, tires?

Shhhhhh....the wife may hear......

[Finnsllc 917]

7 minutes ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

Shhhhhh....the wife may hear......

i get the joke, i had to change the paypal email to gmail so only i get the invoices. but seriusly i am curious as i would like to build a road car for myself. i like the F103GT but a M may work as well

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

Honestly, I have about 850 wrapped up in the M07R and M08 together.  That includes the Tamiya and Yeah Racing hops ups and electronics for both.

If you want a FF chassis, the M07R is a lovely chassis.

The M08 needs the aluminum steering rack at a minimum, according to the German M-chassis website.

I haven't driven either yet, but they are brilliantly engineered.

[Smokescreen38 64]

Does anyone know of a guide for setting up the suspension/alignment on this chassis? 

Good lord, this car is uncontrollable with the cheap YR 13T brushed motor and 2s. The car just spins out if I give it the slightest bit too much throttle and it spins out if I lift even slightest bit too much.  I've tried super soft slicks in the rear and medium slicks in the front and even that's not helping.   I have to imagine that something in my alignment specs is affecting this. 

FWIW, I am using a Hobbywing ESC that has programable settings for "punch," braking force, etc. and even dumbing things way down hasn't helped all that much. 

[TurnipJF 9180]

1 hour ago, Smokescreen38 said:

Does anyone know of a guide for setting up the suspension/alignment on this chassis? 

Good lord, this car is uncontrollable with the cheap YR 13T brushed motor and 2s. The car just spins out if I give it the slightest bit too much throttle and it spins out if I lift even slightest bit too much.  I've tried super soft slicks in the rear and medium slicks in the front and even that's not helping.   I have to imagine that something in my alignment specs is affecting this. 

FWIW, I am using a Hobbywing ESC that has programable settings for "punch," braking force, etc. and even dumbing things way down hasn't helped all that much. 

Have you deviated from the kit manual settings at all? I found that mine handles really sweetly with everything left almost exactly stock, at least as far as the angles are concerned. I added a degree of toe out on each side at the front, but otherwise everything is as per the manual.

As for tyres, I use S-grips at the back and normal kit 60D radials on the front with blue foams all round. I have got Yeah Racing's Shock Gear dampers with 3-hole pistons at the front and two-hole pistons at the back, filled with Tamiya soft yellow oil. The springs are kit standard.

The only area where the suspension differs significantly from stock is in terms of castor. I don't like the weak M-08 knuckles and castor inserts, so I use a 4 degree arm mount and the more robust zero degree M-07 knuckles instead. I don't know if this gives any handling advantages compared to the stock arrangement, but it makes everything stronger.

I mean, I can still make it spin out if I really provoke it, but it isn't trying to spin out at every slight throttle adjustment. And this is on 13.5 turn brushless with nothing turned down. Most of the time, it is so well mannered that one might think it is four-wheel drive.

[Smokescreen38 64]

8 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

Have you deviated from the kit manual settings at all? I found that mine handles really sweetly with everything left almost exactly stock, at least as far as the angles are concerned. I added a degree of toe out on each side at the front, but otherwise everything is as per the manual.

As for tyres, I use S-grips at the back and normal kit 60D radials on the front with blue foams all round. I have got Yeah Racing's Shock Gear dampers with 3-hole pistons at the front and two-hole pistons at the back, filled with Tamiya soft yellow oil. The springs are kit standard.

The only area where the suspension differs significantly from stock is in terms of castor. I don't like the weak M-08 knuckles and castor inserts, so I use a 4 degree arm mount and the more robust zero degree M-07 knuckles instead. I don't know if this gives any handling advantages compared to the stock arrangement, but it makes everything stronger.

I mean, I can still make it spin out if I really provoke it, but it isn't trying to spin out at every slight throttle adjustment. And this is on 13.5 turn brushless with nothing turned down. Most of the time, it is so well mannered that one might think it is four-wheel drive.

Thanks!  This gives me a lot of hope, especially since we're running similar KV power systems, yours likely being a bit quicker with fewer RPMs lost to the inefficiency of the old school brushed motor in my car.  So it's good to hear that the chassis should be able to handle this power level. 

Now that you mention it, I started tweaking the suspension from the kit manual settings while I was struggling on the original tires...so based on the experiences you shared, I think I should go back to square 1 now that I have the S Grips on the rear. I'll try adding 1 degree of toe out and go from there.  I'm noting your shock/spring setup too so I can try that next.   The knuckles sound like a good mod for durability even if they aren't a big factor.  

Thanks so much for sharing this info!! 

[TurnipJF 9180]

21 minutes ago, Smokescreen38 said:

Thanks so much for sharing this info!! 

No problem! Good luck, and please let us know how you get on.