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Tamiya America Tamiya Mini Cooper Racing Fwd M03 1/10 R/C

Tamiya America Tamiya Mini Cooper Racing Fwd M03 1/10 R/C
Overall Rating: Product Rating: 4.0
Lowest Price: $99.99
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Tamiya M03 - Good for beginners and experienced racers.

by thaphillips - Written: Aug 20 '08 (Updated Aug 20 '08)

Product Rating: Product Rating: 4.0
Durability:  
Pros: Inexpensive to operate, maintenance is very minimal, handles well, does not require many hop up's.

Cons: Only a few stores in the USA offer parts. May have to order parts online.

The Bottom Line: A great way to teach your child to be mechanically inclined. It's also a lot of fun to race for children and adults.
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thaphillips's Full Review: Tamiya America Tamiya Mini Cooper Racing Fwd M03 1...
Anyone who has been in the radio controlled car scene is probably familiar with the company Tamiya. They were one of the first companies to produce hobby grade remote control cars. Tamiya is also one of the few companies too have collectible RC cars. The Tamiya M03 (Mini) is already a classic.

The M03 comes either as a kit or a ready to run (RTR). I suggest ordering the kit form. By assembling the vehicle from a kit you will gain valuable insight on how the vehicle is constructed. Parts will break when you run the car. If you assembled the car yourself it will be less intimidating when you need to repair it. Plus half the fun comes from assembling the kit yourself. If you decide to go the kit route you will also need to buy an electronic speed controller (ESC) and a radio transmitter and receiver. The ready to run (RTR) will come with these items included. Both the kit and the RTR will require a battery and charger.

The Tamiya M03 is a great car for both beginner and experienced drivers. Many clubs across the world have a racing class designed specifically for this vehicle. The "Mini" racing class is usually considered to be a very inexpensive class to race. The kit does not require a lot of hop up's (upgraded parts) to be race worthy. The car is in fact very competitive right out of the box. For those who are not into the racing scene, this kit is a great "basher" and you will not have alot of parts break on it.



If you choose to buy hop up's for the car, I would suggest these four first.

1) Tires - Ride and RP both make very good racing slicks for this kit. The tires are the most direct way to improve your lap time.

2) Two Degree Toe In Rear Uprights - These make the care more stable and easy to drive. Plus they are very inexpensive.

3) Ball Bearings - They improve the efficency of the gear box. If you use the stock plastic bushings, you will eventually replace them anyways.

4) Oil Filled CVA Shocks or Tamiya TRF Shocks - The CVA's are alot cheaper, but the TRF's are a lot flashier. Unless you are really fast you will not notice a difference between the two shocks. Either set are an improvement over the non-oil shocks that come with the kit. They also let you fine tune the handling by using diffrent viscosity oils.




Now lets get down to how the car drives and handles. It is a front wheel drive (FWD) so it will not be as fast through the corners as some of the 4WD cars. Many people have also reported "traction roll". This is where the back tires give to much grip and it causes the vehicle to roll. I have not experienced this problem. I have been very happy with the performance of my Mini. I noticed it does tend to run better with more weight. So there is no need to buy light weight parts. I have been racing it all summer and have been happy to report minimal parts breakage.

You should buy this vehicle if you are just getting started in RC, looking for an inexpensive race class, or just love Mini's. Do not expect this vehicle to keep up with 4WD touring sedans. Also you may wind up having to buy parts for this vehicle online. There are not alot of stores in the USA that stock parts for this vehicle. I have no problem ordering parts online at Ebay.

I would give this car 5 starts if it was not for the parts issue.



Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 99
Type of Toy: Radio Control
Age Range of Child: Whole Family

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