M05R - A long awaited Tamiya Journey

[technics 2616]

( 2015-present )

 

I’ve been a TamiyaClub & Rctech site admirer, researcher and observer for decades.

Finally I thought it would be nice to document my journey and the various chassis I enjoy. This is as much for some viewers to casually scroll through my process and humble learnings as it is for me share and digitize my untold journey

 

1990s / Toronto

Growing up always I lusted after touring cars and particularly a Tamiya. Back in the day it was only grainy magazine photos and some Californian or Japanese address. It was always far out of reach, both the sun, rc tracks and the culture.  In 1993 I was lucky enough to get and build a Traxxas Stampede with my dad as a kid in Toronto, Canada.

 

Decades and many moves, continents, education, career, kids later I bought my first Tamiya. 

 

2015 / Melbourne 

Purchased through Gumtree Australia I got my hands on a well built and well used M05 13T spec racer. Having had zero prior experience with Tamiya m-chassis or any in depth knowledge anything rc related I began to learn and appreciate the tasteful and useful upgrades the car already had at time of purchase from what I could gather :

 

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Tamiya M05 Pro

Tamiya Alu M dampers 

Tamiya Alu Front and Rear hub carriers

Tamiya Alu steering assembly 

Tamiya Alu front suspension mount 

Tamiya Alu steering arm

 

Ball bearings 

3racing Gear Diff

Yeah racing driveshafts

Tamiya M chassis springs 

Sweep 36R tires

 

Hobbywing EZrun 13T / ESC combo

4200mAh 40C Lipo M chassis compatible

Futaba servo

NIB Colt 210mm Mini Cooper body ( Loved that it came with a untouched lexan too )

NIB full spare M05 chassis kit plastics ( Was very happy this was included, even if not used for quiet a while )

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It arrived, as quick as I could open the box I stuck in a spektrum receiver at the time bound it up to my radio and quickly hit the pounding hot Australian courtyard pavement learning how much of a blast and unique the driving experience was of a fwd m-chassis.

The power was ample, this thing moved but was not overkill. It had a quirky balance and a style of driving that needed a bit of planning. The cornering ability was incredible both off and on throttle.

The car was enjoyed thoroughly at lunch and afterwork courtyard racing with work colleagues. Once a month it was experienced untimed lapping at Templestowe raceway (TFTR) in VIC, Melbourne with work colleague. Incredible fun, if I could I would sleep there. ( First track I’ve seen IRL, life changing and affirming. ) 

 

With the modern “bmw era” Mini Cooper body I went with a one-make race series look you might see cutting through the apex on three wheels in the UK or Japan, something I am really passionate about, Group A, improved production, one make racing. AUX mounted lights are never a bad look in my book, I disassembled a 1/10 roof rack made for a crawler bought off eBay and fabricated a simple lamp tray from styrene for them to sit on.  I bought a set of Hot racing foam wheels in black off eBay on a whim, I was happy how they looked.

Family circumstances made the retreat back to Stockholm, Sweden a reality and everything was archived, wrapped up, boxed and courier express shipped where it stood in a storage unit. From 2016-2019, passion glowing red at the moment i can dive in again.

Best moment 

First sight

Too excited to wait to finish shell

Courtyard sprint with a workmate

Small repairs here and there

Front end of the shell I antipated a hinged clamshell static display of some sort, but didn´t end up taking it any further

[technics 2616]

2019

3 years have passed since i seen the chassis, buried at the bottom of life logistics and a storage unit I unwrapped the chassis one afternoon and started by just having it out on the shelf for display. Soon after I decided to get a new radio system to kick off the next chapter, a more permanent one. So I went with a Futaba T4PV that could store 40 receiver models. ( hint on what’s to come in near future ) I enjoyed a few street side bashing sessions and after one suddenly there was only a vibration sound under throttle but no forward movement. I started by thinking it was the differential, I disassembled the chassis and opened it up it was fine, as was the internal gearing.

Next up the motor, I gave it power and no go, it vibrated internally but no shaft movement of any kind. I started making a list of to do’s the more I looked the more I wanted to change. Most will know how this rabbit-hole goes and a few weeks later we had goodies arrive. 

Keeping it budget friendly and not very spec ( I’m far from starting to race, I don’t have a consistent enough schedule, or spare time ) at first I went with a 9T / 4300kv GoolRC ( catchy name..) brushless combo off eBay. Incredible value, the esc was not tiny. Nor was its sensorless startup forward movement / low speed cogging, but i enjoy learning and this was more then enough to continue the journey. I put in a new  equivalent sized Tamiya pinion that was already in there that wasn’t chewed up. I cleaned up the shocks and topped them off with oil no one ever uses, Tamiya kit oil. Or do they? 

Having not really finished the Mini Cooper body, ( I feel like a shell isn’t finished until it’s decently documented and photographed outdoors ) I tinker with it a bit and took it outdoors, better photos to follow but we are here right now.  Freshly packaged Sweep wheels and tires were glued together and I finally had something I felt was done visually.

I like having multiple projects / tasks going at any given moment as there’s always some delay or reason something doesn’t allow you to move forward so here I was already fitting up a new lexan body I had from RCMart - ABC Datsun 240Z fairlady 210mm.

Key items have arrived that I wanted before heading to the local track for the first time.  ( Along with a longer list of things i wanted to try out next )

Mylaps Transponder - RC4 Hybrid

Savox servo - 1257

TRF servo horn - 25T

Track Reflection -

Incredible fun, and incredible grip. This was my first onroad carpet experience. Addicting and challenging, i love having some accurate data recorded to know the laptimes however slow they might’ve been. It was really rewarding seeing laptimes, and speed for the first time. I´m the type that can enjoy improving alone, timed trails, so this was incredibly exciting and motivating. After this track session continued to plan and collect parts for a larger rebuild to make it my own.

[technics 2616]

[technics 2616]

[technics 2616]

Coming home that day I was full of motivation to continue to add the parts I had not had a chance yet to put in. One of the most common sights of any M05 owner, full chassis strip. ( or is it just me? 😃 ) 

I started with new internal gears from 3racing, New lightweight driveaxles from YeahRacing, A hollow carbon internal drive pin, and a newly built ball diff.

[technics 2616]

The result of these spicy improvements made the little m05 go into orbit, managed to hit 52km/h down the straight section at the indoor carpet track 😃

[technics 2616]

Time to disassemble!

Despite hitting some great speeds and being very dramatic and lively, the motor combo i was using never completely felt right. Although very fast the cheap, it was a sensorless cog hog at any speeds lower then time attack full send. 

Similarly the 3racing gearing was pretty rough, I learned I didn’t clip a set of tabs on the internal gears making them protrude further then they should which resulted in them chewing themselves. I managed to get several battery packs full of laps before this happened.

I pulled the car apart, replaced the main chassis components with fresh plastic from the parts tree I had as spares, put back in the Tamiya factory, gearing, new hinge pins, and dug into my electrics bin for what would be the next soul of the M05.

[technics 2616]

Parallel to the mechanical changes, I was motivated to make exterior aesthetic changes and made a new body to compliment the progress that’s taken place with the M05. I went with a Honda S800 Bodyset with a Mugen Nsx JTGC inspired livery. I am pretty happy how it turned out, and as you can tell it was already being used on the carpet track sporting some battle scars before I had a chance to take these photos.

[WillyChang 1814]

Great to hear you’re still having fun!

Sounds like you’re still in Europe though nowhere near Templestowe  

Haven't taken our M03/M05 spec racers out to TFTR since before (Melbourne=worlds longest) lockdown. 

Even till today that old HW 13T combo feels just perfect for M-chassis; SportTuned brushed equivalent. I’ve got 9Ts too but not as sweet at M speeds.
 

Of course we’ve tried even faster full-540size brushless but they feel even worse around a race track. Only good for top speed running around a velodrome. 
 

Freshened up my M03 recently with new chassis ... parts sure are getting scarce 

[technics 2616]

The chassis was rebuilt and was at its finest point here. New suspension pins, fresh Tamiya sized pinion, and a very nice brushless LRP esc and motor I had in the drawer. 
 

The GoolRC ( great name.. ) was sold, I still recommend it for the price but there’s certainly smoother stuff out there.

[technics 2616]

It was certainly smoother but lacked the same excitement. The main issue is being limited with gearing options. I at this point took a break from the m05 and let other projects take lead..

[technics 2616]

I skipped a lexan that took place about halfway through this timeline. It was a abc hobby datsun 240z in 210mm WB. I added wing mirrors from ABC hobby as well. Tried to replicate something you’d see in a “best motoring” episode I loved growing up watching.

[technics 2616]

The era we are in brings us very many options and incredible value / technology. I decided to evolve and progress with the Tamiya spirit, love for detail, scale, in a  similar yet different chassis.
 

I decided on a XPRESS XM1S fwd 210mm chassis to be the carrier of this evolution. I wanted to take my passion for Tamiya and TRF and apply it here.

I studied a pdf version of the manual carefully and went through items I could “add lightness” to. I ordered all hardware  in titanium by square Japan and and Tamiya/TRF Items I’ve become progressively more fluent with. 

[technics 2616]

I went ahead and weighed each item and tried to document the best I could with their stock counterparts. I ordered every hardware item individually. The square titanium is beautiful to handle, has a nice hex head… the rudimentary JIS hardware isn’t my thing, but that’s just me! Part of why I love Tamiya’s TRF offerings is the hardware you get to live with.

[technics 2616]

I found a neat set of wheels in Japan and it matched where I wanted to take this build. Toyota made a “one make race” version of this generation of Yaris / VITZ called MSB - Motor Sport Base. I really like this little underdog.

The chassis resembles a “open” modern touring car design. Completely open to spur and pinion sizes, motors etc. Sky’s the limit or at least it feels that way. It is of FRP material which is machined it is  very nice in my opinion. And at a cost of a m05 more or less mind you without a body, wheels, esc, motor etc.

[technics 2616]

Incredibly nicely detailed and rare find. In my opinion ABC hobby bodysets are either second to Tamiya or on par with quality and scale. 
 

I’ve been looking for them for a decade..