Tamiya Mini Rallying!

[jimmy]

Tamiya Mini Rally !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzIVRWAU150&mode=related&search=

I guess this must be in Japan, only they are this crazy. I would love to race in a class like this, me and vicky both have cars. My Mini has a sump guard and ive experimented with cut down off road tyres for it. Just wish there was somewhere to race!
:)

[Jimbo]

Hey Jimmy,
Spotted this as well, check http://www.rc-mini.net (http://www.rc-mini.net/) for more, apparently mini t tyres are the go on the mini wheels..

Wish for extra miney to have a go, got a mini ball diff sitting waiting!

Cheers,

James

[DCM]

thats ACE!!!

[PaulRotheram]

It's even funnier when drunk. i'd love to try them!

[xx4-nutter]

ha ha ha ha thats one of the best things ive seen in ages lol !

[simon]

Any RC club want to set up a tamiya mini rally race day next year??!!!!.....i'd be up for it!!!!!

cheers simon

[Tony Gray]

And Hello to all..

Seems that I'm the silly bugger thats behind rc-mini.net and sadly I also have to put my hand up for starting some of this Rally Mini nonsense too!

I gotta tell you the whole Rally Mini thing is some of the best fun we've EVER had. At the first meeting the entire track was ringed with people watching and pissing themselves with laughter - us included!

The cars are just NOT suited to this treatment but they are just so much fun... I leave my buggy at home now and just take my mini....

Tony

[simon]

Hi tony,

great site you have there!!!....just wondering are the HPI tyres 4565 easy to get where you are??..because in the UK they are very hard to get hold of...i have a few sets,and like you say,onroad they are hard to beat!!
cheers simon.

[jimmy]

yea excellent stuff. I used to give my mini hell, they can take a real bashing. My mini had a metal sump guard to stop the front of the gearbox from cracking when it scraped along the ground hitting stuff.

I'd be up for some mini rallying for sure

[Tony Gray]

We use lexan sump guards and they seem to do the job well enough. My own car has done 2 meetings and 2 full practice sessions so far and hasn't broken a thing. And even better, the Proline RC18 Mini Bowties still look as good as when they started!

As for the HPI X pattern onroad tyres, well they are available here in Oz, but the locally imported ones SUCK. For some reason (we dont know why) there seems to be a difference between the export quality tyres and the local (Jap only) ones.
So, we import our own tyres....

[jimmy]

What are the mini bowties like ? do they fit without modifications ?
I have toyed with 2WD front schumacher tyres, just cut a few rows out and glue back together and they are good. not driven with them yet. the side wall is a bit high compared to normal, so I guess it could have clearance issues.

[Tony Gray]

Buy em, glue em on (to normal mini rims) As easy as that. They go straight on. And you use the inserts that come with the tyres.
It really is that simple. We tried a lot of other tyres as well but these are just brilliant (for our conditions I hasten to add)

And for those who havent been to our website yet to see Rally Mini in action, go here..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrBk_FAb_Yw

Tony

[jimmy]

We dont really have any tracks like that but the pattern doesnt look bad so I might try some.
I'll post some photos of the schumacher tyres when Iv'e got a full set on the car

[Tony Gray]

In which case, here are some alternatives then...

[simon]

Hi Tony,
Have you tried the proline dirt hawg 1116 tyres???

Cheers simon.

[Tony Gray]

Not personally, but one of the other guys (Dave) has used them with some success. I think they'd be better for UK tracks than they are for here. Our tracks tend to be rock hard dirt so the tiny pins work better, well for me anyway.

[jimmy]

I was just looking at the Grahoo website again, I really wanna race my mini now. Might go find some alloy knuckles since they are about the only bit that breaks. Do you use the ball diff?

[Tony Gray]

None of us use the ball diffs. We stick to gear diffs with some seriously thick grease inside.
The reason? The only achilles heel of the M03 offroad is that dirt gets into the transmission and eats the gears alive (unless you seal it really well like I do) And you dont want to be replacing ball diffs all the time.
Plus...the limiting factor is grip more than anything else and to be honest none of us can tell the difference between a ball diff and a gear diff when we're rallying.

[jimmy]

When I used to run my M03 I noticed it would diff out a lot when turning and lose momentum. I guess thick grease (tamiya anti wear ??) would be just as good though.

[Tony Gray]

Offroad it doesnt make much difference either way Jimmy because the tyres are without doubt the main limiting factor in M03 rally. Even with Sport-tuned motors its wheelspin all the way.
The 'diffing-out' problem that you used to have is VERY apparent in on-road racing but can be minimised with better suspension setup.

[jimmy]

ahhh, yea most of my running has been on fairly smooth carparks where with the standard friction dampers it would just diff out like crazy.
See what you mean about the wheel spin
its been a long time since I ran the m03, maybe 4/5 years

[Tony Gray]

Time to revisit an old friend then Jimmy! And in a new environment too.

I knew that Clive and Terry at MRT have been geting enthused about Minis too. Maybe its time for Rally Mini over there! Its fun I can tell you now. And damn cheap to run too.

[jimmy]

I know a faster motor really doesnt help, I used to race (for fun) with a couple of other minis, mine with the normal 540 and one guy had a 13 turn - and he was slower.


but, what motors do you run?

[jimmy]

here is my mini - old photo but it looks exactly the same now

improvised block tyres (re cut into worn tamiya tyres)
rear shocks are standard friction things, but the front uses DELTA oil shocks, taken off an old yokomo dogfighter- no idea what the shocks are originally from - maybe a 12th scale.


http://www.oople.com/rc/mini01.jpg



Heres one of the steering knuckles... I couldnt afford alloy ones so beefed up the normal ones since these take a real pounding as Im sure you know - those long ball studs put a real twisting force on the ends.
http://www.oople.com/rc/ministeeringfix.jpg

[Tony Gray]

Low turn motors and Minis dont go together....

We use Tamiya Black Sport-tuned motors, its pretty much the 'standard' for Minis.

Your old one looks like a prime candidate for off-roading!

[sim]

Nice mod, Jimmy. I remember seeing it years ago but I totally forgot it was done on an M-03 because I didn't have one back then. If only I remembered, I wouldn't have bothered getting an aluminium one from dinball (Xpede brand).

Tony, really nice site. Loved the story about the 80kmh rocket mini.

[Tony Gray]

Thanks Sim!

Rocket Mini is now being rebuilt actually. Hopefully for a more controlled launch sometime before Xmas. It was easily one of the sillier things that we've done with a Mini.

Although the oval racing is probably my favourite of all.. Its just SOOOOOOOOOO fast!

[simon]

Hi Tony,
did you say that the guys from mrt were interested in mini rallying??....only they are just down the road from me!!

Cheers simon

[Tony Gray]

I believe that Clive and Terry have been talking to Aaron (one of the other guys behind rc-mini) about Minis in general.
Not sure about their interest on a rally level but apparently keen on a general mini level at the very least.

[terry.sc]

Hi guys
Some of you might recognise me from Tamiyaclub. (not the MRT Terry!)

We have a regular meet at Kidderminster and we already race minis off road there. Certainly the most popular race to run and to watch.
See this years video here http://www.tamiyaclub.com/moviecomment.asp?id=1629&uid=
Cut and shut Tamiya rally blocks seem to be the tyre of choice for loads of grip on the astroturf, setup copied from Grahoos website http://minirally.cool.ne.jp/ although the standard radials still worked well. I guess we'll have to try 1/18 tyres the next time.

They also jump rather well, if you ignore the landings on the nose.
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/moviecomment.asp?id=1631&uid=3836

[PaulRotheram]

I really need one of these, they look ACE

[Tony Gray]

M03's at the Off-Road Worlds next year then? Hey I'd be up for that!

[simon]

Hi Terry,
How often do you race the minis..and is it an all day meet..as there might be a few guys from kent who would like to come and have a go!!

Cheers simon

[terry.sc]

Simon a Tamiyaclub meet is all about running our vintage cars for fun, we rent the track for the whole weekend once a year and divide different classes of cars into 20 minute sessions, from Sand Scorchers through to the latest 4wds. Of course there's plenty of spare track time during the day as well. Usually you run a private race between you and your friends amongst everyone else as there is no lap counting so it makes it really fun. See other videos from Rich here http://www.tamiyaclub.com/movies.asp?id=3836&n=richytanimal&offset=10 to see what I mean.

Photos I took of the mini races are here
http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=47087&id=297
Not quite up to Jimmys standard, my digital camera has such a long delay I press the button and hope the car is still there when the shutter goes.:eh?:

[losidan]

i would love to have a go with these ...the vid is the dogs