Tamiya M-07 Race Report and Carpet Set-up

The M07 is big news, and whilst our upcoming detailed build and review is coming soon, I have built mine and already given the car its debut race, so we wanted to give you the current lowdown.

Chassis

I loved racing the M-05 and whilst I have not been racing that class for a while, when the M-07 was announced the design impressed me so much, that I decided to grab one and give it a go.

Although the initial kit is very promising from stock, I decided to add a few modifications to tune the car to my liking

1. M-07 heatsink. This bolts to the stock motor mount & improves cooling of the motor
2. Carbon damper mounts front & rear. From racing my touring car, I like the option to adjusting the shock position to fine tune the setup
3. 5mm aluminum hex hubs. The clamp type design prevents the hex hub being removed with the wheel when being removed. The aluminum material is also a more positive fitment which is less prone to warping
4. TRF big bore dampers. The M-07 utilizes a damper longer than a standard m-chassis design. I have never been a fan of plastic dampers, so this was a necessary upgrade. They are equipped with a bigger bore, so holds more oil. Teflon pistons & rod guides & gold polished shock shafts provide a very smooth damper. Threaded bodies allow for easy ride height adjustment
5.  Aluminum steering bar. This provides a more positive steering feel
6. Stabilizer set. They should reduce roll from the car in the corners. I have yet to fit them, so I will try them out in the next few weeks

I have added some non-Tamiya parts which I felt necessary

1. Zen racing 15mm turnbuckles. I like the option of easy front toe & camber adjustment. You have to cut the original plastic ball cups down to make them fit
2. 3racing servo horn. Fits straight onto the hi-torque servo saver. Provides a more positive steering feel
3. Moodyfools titanium screw set. I do not like the self-tapping Philips head screws that come provided with a Tamiya kit. These are a machine thread with a 2mm hex fitting. They are super strong & help to reduce the overall weight of the chassis

Basic setup

Having watched a few M-07 chassis’ at my local club, I started with a base setup that I hoped would work. The only differences I made from the kit setup are the diff oil & springs. 100k (kit supplied oil) looked like too much under steer with this oil, so I built the diff with 50k. The kit supplied springs would not fit the new dampers as the stock springs are shorter & thinner. I have loads of TC springs, so the scope for spring changed has increased dramatically

Race night

I race every week at Bristol model car club on a Thursday evening. The tracks are always very technical as we utilize the space we have to use, a perfect test for an M-chassis!

For the race night, I fitted Schmizu treaded tyres (medium front, soft rear) & a HPI Honda Civic Type-R 225mm bodyshell.

Practice

I took the first few minutes with the car gently as it’s the debut night to run the car. I made sure it tracked straight & focused on putting some laps under its belt. The car drove really well so went into the 1st race with good spirits

There were only 3 mini’s competing (all M-07), there wasn’t going to be a full heat, but it was a nice night to debut the car, a relaxed heat for all of us

Although practice went well, the 1st qualifying heat didn’t go as planned. The back end would slide out on mid to high speed corners. I felt like the front end had too much grip & the rear couldn’t cope. As a result, I made a few mistakes & clipped a few barriers, costing me time. I reduced the rear droop & readjusted the ride height

For the remaining qualifying heats, I cleaned all the tyres & only applied additive to the rear tyres. This proved to be the best solution. The car wasn’t perfect, but I was happy that it drove well & I could focus on getting used to m-chassis driving & not clipping barriers.

I managed to take TQ as I was the only car to hit 24 laps. Unfortunately, 1 car dropped out of the final, but we had a 2 car final which was nice as I could just put laps in

Final

The only change I made was to fit a Ride Subaru BRZ bodyshell.

This looks more race focused as it sits a lot lower & has a big rear wing. The final went underway & I immediately felt a difference.

The rear end was very tight due to the rear wing. I reduced my lap time by 0.3 seconds. The car was also more consistent so, was able to improve my overall time

Conclusion

Having not raced minis for over 5 years, it was a very welcome return to the class. The M-07 is a great chassis, and it has lots of potential which I am looking forward to unlock.

Over the next few weeks, I will look to make bigger setup changes & see if I can improve my lap times & driving feel. I will aim to fit the stabilizer set at some stage & see how they affect the handling

Here is my Set-up