grimgard

I got the Tamiya Alpine A110 M05Ra Kit for Christmas and wanted to put a ESC & motor that had a little more kick than the stock electronics. I could go Brushless or brushed but I do not want to go to crazy and start to damage the gears. What would be a good substitute? Thanks. I will be running a 2s LIPO 7.4v I have my own LIPO cut off that hooks up to the batteries balancing port.

grimgard

What do you guys think about a 15T brushed motor? like the one that comes with the HPI mini trophy truck? or this? OFNA 550 Brushed Motor (12T) I am leaning towards brushed for the price and I probably wont strip the gears.

Casper06

I really doubt you would strip any gears in that thing. I have yet to strip a gear in any of my Tamiya's and I have a M04 with an 8.5 Novak in it that has run at 3s before.

lee172

Sidewinder 4600kv combo? i run it in my M-04 and its not as mad as you'd think..

grimgard

Got her all built and ended up using the stock motor and ESC. I am having an issue with steering. The steering seems to have some binding in it but I can't see where it is binding at. I am using a strong servo so I doubt that is the problem (Hi-Tek 5645mg digital servo) Any advice?

grimgard

Well let me explain the problem better. I took off the rod that connects the servo to the steering and there is no binding but when I drive the car (front wheel drive) the car will never be straight no matter if I center the servo horn, adjust the steering on my radio, my servo centers just fine, the steering rods are adjusted so my tires are straight forward, and my steering exp or set to zero as well as my EPA. I know how to make a RC go straight and I am at a loss as to why its acting funny. Nothing is loose...well to loose as tight as Tamiya steering gets.

gokemidoro

I have just completed an MO5Pro, and had the Castle Sidewinder in it, w/5700 Kv motor (yeah, overkill, I know) and the gears are good to go. I had to use it in another chassis, so in went the stock electronics, but another Sidewinder will find it's way back in, as soon as I have the bucks.

Have you tried putting shims under the bellcrank pivots? There's a lot of slop there, and it's the only place I can see where your problem may be. Traxxas makes shims ( .06) that will work fine. You may have to snug, then back off the screw(s) just a bit, to keep the bellcranks turningfree, but my MO5 tracks straight now.

How do you like the MO5? A little cockroach, isn't it?

grimgard

I managed to get my steering issues fixed by adding an extra o-ring to the outside front cups and adjusting my EPA so the tires wouldn't turn so far as well as steering and throttle EXPO and now it drives like a dream!
I noticed the DOG bones were ratteling and jamming in the cups when the steering was cranked all the way left or right. Adjusting the EPA fixed this and the extra o-ring seemed to help keep the front tires straight. Without them the tires had to much play in them and would wobble.

gokemidoro

Yah, found out the same as you did!

Did the same mods, too! I adjusted mine so it gets the most steering without rattling, but the dogbones still rub a little on the cups to the axles, but not enough to be a concern.

Yours must have been pretty bad, to make the car wander.

Still, though, not a bad little car......How you like it now?!

grimgard

I love it! I have another rally car that is 4WD (DF03ra Lancia Delta) and I prefer this one. You can't get any better than Tamiya for scale looks. That's what I love about these RC's they look so good.

Here is a video of my Lancia Delta if your interested [link]http://vimeo.com/12474956[/link] and here is a picture of my Alpine

gokemidoro

Know what you mean!!

Great vid, by the way!

This is what got me to go get an MO5! Like little cockroaches, they are!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-7cG...eature=related

I'm running a Suzuki Swift body right now, but am interested in the Alpine for it's detail.

Yah, the DF03RA is an excellent chassis. There are some idiosyncrasies with the steering (HPI Sprint 2 anyone?), but once modded with the front one-way and a few minor mods, like the Dark Impact body as a dust shield, I'm hearing it screams!
I may get one later this year, but for now, I'm having a blast with my little "cockroach!"

grimgard

My life for a clear Dark Impact body! Can't find one for the life of me! I do not run the DF03ra because so much dirt and rocks get jammed into the steering and tub I end up spending more time cleaning out rocks than running it. Great video! Thanks for sharing!

diabolic-mind

old thread i know, i just got a tamiya M05RA, love it, just wondering what my options are for a better motor or esc? i want it to be a little bit faster. love the car though, and i LOL'd at the cockroaches comment

grimgard

12T or 15T brushed motor with a Traxas ESC would work and could be bought on the cheap.

gokemidoro

Actually, to go anything hotter than 27T brushed will just introduce more "push" or understeer. The hotter it is, the more understeer there will be.The M05 just can't be adjusted well enough to remove it.I've actually gone to the ABC Hobby Grid ("Gambado" everywhere else but US). That particular FWD will blow the doors off an M05 all day. Unfortunately, it's only good for on-road, as it can't be adjusted high enough for Rally.The good thing about the Grid is, it can be fitted with a high power BL system, and work. That chassis has very little understeer.

diabolic-mind

i mainly drive it on blacktop parking lots, tried it in grass and it just gets stuck. not really looking to do rally with it, just some fast driving around the parking lot, and racing my buddies mini DT. i bought a 20 tooth pinion for it the other day which made a significant difference, and i also upgraded the wheel bushings to bearings, is the gearbox equiped with bearings or does it too have bushings? and would i notice a significant difference using bearings in the gearbox?

i discovered one flaw with the stock markings, on the motor mount holes the holes that it says to use for the 20 tooth pinion are wrong, i actually found that the perfect gear mesh was when i used the 18 tooth pinion holes. a little factory opps im assuming. any other things i should focus on upgrading if i do need bearings in the gearbox? id like to do it all at once while i have it pulled apart if possible. thanks for the info guys, its a great help!

gokemidoro

Unfortunately, the 20T pinion is the largest gearing change you can make to the M05, but consider that it is meant for fairly slow speeds to begin with (27T motors aren't known for a lot of speed).I assume you didn't build the chassis. It would be a good idea to find out if there are bushings and replace them with bearings. It won't increase speed any, but will make the M05 more reliable. Try another diff. The stock M05 diff can be shimmed, to get better action from it, but Tamiya makes a ball diff for the TA02 that is a direct fit. Just assemble it, and tighten it all the way down, and install. You'll see a marked improvement in the way it handles and corners. The ball diff is smoother than a shimmed M05 gear diff, too.Also consider getting aluminum steering components, too. Take a look at the M05 S-Spec. The closer you can get your steering to that, the better it will perform, as well. The S-Spec also has an aluminum heat sink that serves two purposes - it dissipates heat, and weights the right side of the chassis, as M05 chassis are notoriously light on that side, and it adversely affects handling.Consider Tamiya TRF shocks, too. They are the best in the business. No one makes shocks for on-road cars better. Then concentrate on tires. Stock Tamiya "M" class tires are O.K., but other companies make better. Use mediums up front, and soft compounds rear. It sounds counterintuitive, but works best that way.I played around with the M05 for a number of years and found it to be limited by it's design, so there are some things you will never get it to do, or a performance level it will never attain, but those mentioned above is where you should start. Try going to rcmini.net. Those guys are M03/M05 fanatics, and have a bunch of tips and hop-up ideas you can use.

diabolic-mind

no i didnt build it, i got it pre built, and honestly i do need to take it fully apart and start from scratch, i thought i read that it had bearings in it, just cant remember if it was the gearbox or the wheels, obviously though the wheels didnt have bearing in them as i replaced those. i also want to start over and do a full teardown and rebuild because the person that assembled it skipped alot of screws, and stripped alot of other. so i want to give it a proper assembly, i just want to put any internal parts in it that i will need.

not to bug you, but could you possibly link me to or give me the part numbers needed to get the bearings for the gearbox and for that diff you mentioned? i can get those ordered this week hopefully.

thanks for the info, i will check out rcmini.net right now, i dont expect alot out of it, but if running a brushed setup i could get it to do around 20-25mph, id be perfectly happy with that. i dont want a speed deamon, just something quick to drive around, sofar i am really enjoying the run times i am getting just running a 3300mah nimh pack. looking to go lipo soon after i upgrade the esc and motor and eventually going with a dsm radio setup in it too.

oh another thing i was wondering, the car itself is like 1/16th scale, however i see that it is considered a 1/10th scale, is this because it uses 1/10th scale reciever, esc, motor, and servo? with it next to my buddies 1/18th scale mini dt its only a bit bigger, so the scale has me all confused lol, thanks again for your help, its always nice when people are so willing to offer up info on here!

gokemidoro

I'll have to look them up. but everything I mentioned can be ordered from Tower Hobbies (at least the ones that are still in stock - TRF shocks are notoriously out-of-stock most of the time, no matter where you go). I'll post the place you can get the diff in a subsequent post....The bearings you can easily get from your LHS (they should stock them). You'll need 11X50 (4) and 8X50mm (2) for the inside of the M05. Going to LiPo will increase the M05's performance a little. Just get rid of that Molex plug (Tamiya) if it still uses one. Getting rid of that plug is where most of your performance gain will come from. Molex plugs are notorious for robbing speed and power, even from a brushed system!Yah.....rcmini.net is the place to get all info on your M05! There isn't another site with the kind of info rcmini.net provides!The "M" class of cars is actually 1/12th scale. HPI's Cup Racer and Switch (piece of junk) are what they call "True Ten," and can be considered that, when compared to 1/10th scale bodies. ABC Hobby bodies are 1/12th, and those bodies can fit the M05, too, if you want more body options. TQRC Racing, in Chino, CA have bodies for ABC cars that will fit the M05 (if your chassis is 210mm wheelbase). Check them out! Most "M" class bodies are copies of full-size mini and micro cars, so comparing them to 1/10th makes sense, as they are sized pretty closely, when put side-to-side. Forget the 1/16th designation.....Traxxas uses that, and it is somewhat erroneous, as Traxxas' cars are all over the place, scale-wise. Their Mustang Boss and Camaro bodies for the 1/16th MERV can be considered 1/16th, but the Revo and Summit bodies are more 1/18th to 1/19th scale.

gokemidoro

Okeydoke.....The Diff can be found here:http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXGJ30&P=SM If the link doesn't work, go to Tower, and type in LXGJ30 in their search engine, and it should take you right to it. It's for the TA03, NOT the TA02, as I erroneously stated earlier - sorry about that....It's kinda pricey, but worth the money, if you're looking for more performance out of your M05! EDIT: I just looked at the TQRC Racing newsletter I get (I shop there fairly regularly), and they have TRF shocks back in stock! If you are considering upgrading those, I suggest ordering from them (their prices are marginally better than Tower) as soon as possible, because items like that, as mentioned earlier, go out-of-stock FAST!You can also get Sweep Racing pre-mounted tires/wheels at TQRC as well. I recommend the SWP-MN33WS (fronts) and SWP-MN25WP (rears). They also have some Tamiya M05 aluminum parts in the Tamiya/mini section.

diabolic-mind

dude your the man! superb info right there! kudos! ill look into all of that and see what my budget allows me to get this week, i had a feeling that the stock tamiya plug was robbing some power, the wires for the battery and on the esc are so thick, and then in that plug its just two dinky little posts, thanks for confirming that suspision for me . i think ill probably end up getting bearing this week as my LHS most likely will have them in stock, glad you knew the exact sizes i need for my diff, ive read so many different sizes that i need for the gearbox that i didnt know which one to believe! one place i read for the gearbox i needed 5x11 and 5x10 bearings, which didnt sound right to me as the wheels use 5x11 bearings. thanks for the info, i def have a great starting point for getting this impressive little car going!

diabolic-mind

just to confirm, are you sure that is the right size and quantity needed for the bearings inside the gearbox? i ask because i see the bearing kits for the M05, and it comes with 12 of the 11X50 bearings and 6 of the 8X50 bearings, i already got the 8 11X50 bearings for the wheel hubs, which leaves 4 of the 8X50 bearings and then the 6 11X50 bearings. so basically there would be 4 extra 8X50 bearings and 4 extra 11X50 bearings, what would those extras be used for? sorry if this sounds confusing, just trying to get all the bearings i would need sorted out, id like to just replace all of them in one shot then i would have that peace of mind knowing that its done. sorry for being such a NOOB with this car, im familiar with rc, but these tamiya is a whole other ball game for me!

gokemidoro

I had the M05 manual in front of me, counting the number and type of bearings you'll need. As I could see, there are two 11X50 for the left side of the gear reduction shafts, two 8X50 for the right, one 11X50 for the diff pressed into the left chassis plate, and one 11X50 pressed into the right. So that's four 11X50's and two 8X50's. The extras? I don't know...... Keep 'em as spares, I guess.....I suggest you also download the M05 manual from the Tamiya America site. There's not much to it, because the M05 is a pretty simple kit, but it does provide the size info you'll need to replace parts. As an aside, I modded some my minis with 1/10th scale wheels and tires (52mm), in wide offsets (9 and 10mm), and used the Traxxas Ford Fiesta and Rally bodies for their 1/16th rally, and the Protoform Tornado body, which are wider than stock "M" class bodies. The look is definitely different, and with a wider track width, they also handle better, and are marginally faster, with the larger wheels.

diabolic-mind

nice, thank you! yeah i was on the tqrc racing site and seen the honda cr-x body for the m05 which i instantly fell in love with, i used to own a actual cr-x just like it, so i think i will probably get that body, i was in shock and aw when i seen it, and the fact that the cr-x is a front wheel drive car just like the m05 chassis was just a perk! cant wait for them to come back in stock, i already have a paint cheme picked out for it . headed down to the hobby shop shortly to get the diff bearings, oh and i figured out what the 4 extra smaller bearings were for, they are for the, not sure the exact name of them, but the two steering parts on top of the chassis that connect the servo to the bar that links to the steering lol. still get familar with this car, its been a treat to drive sofar. also picking up some deans plugs and switching out that battery plug, cant wait to see how she runs with a good plug, i also eliminated the banana plugs on the motor wire and soldered the esc wires directly to the motor, so no lose of current there, if there was any

gokemidoro

Yah, if you call TQRC, and ask them to get you one of those CR-X bodies, they may stock faster. I don't know.....If you consider buying more items, they may! The guy who runs the place during the week is Korean, and a little hard to understand, but a really nice guy! TQRC also has all the parts you might want for the M05. Take a peek at their "mini" section. Lotsa hop-ups, but you don't really need much, beyond the parts I mentioned. Those are the best parts to improve the performance of your M05. Yup....getting rid of those plugs between the motor and ESC will improve power just a teeny bit. The Dean's plugs will be an excellent mod, as you should see a marked improvement right away. Get LiPos, and it will be dramatic! Since you'll have those extra bearings, may as well consider getting an aluminum steering assembly. That will also improve the M05's manners CONSIDERABLY!