Product review- Tamiya M03M

[z-man280]

As Bashfest wound down, I was very surpirzed and honored to be awarded a Tamiya Suzuki Swift for Bashfest Coordinator, ( special thanks to RCE and Tom!)
so i felt the need to do a small review for ya...

doesnt it look cute?

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5090058Large.jpg


As with any Tamiya, the kit is first-rate, and all pieces fit like a glove. No one build them better.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080001Large.jpg

Building went smooth, and in no time, a chassis had appeared.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080007Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080006Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080008Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080012Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080015Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080021Large.jpg

Being a front motor/front drive chassis, there is no center shaft, or rear diff, so assembly took much less time.

[z-man280]

now on to paint.....

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080002Large.jpg

a no-brainer here, as i will duplicate the box. I broke out the trusty Paasche, and threw down some yellow. Backed in black to make the color "pop", and some decals later, i had myself a nice little rig.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080026Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080027Large.jpg

[Eli the rc guy]

Looks cool.

[z-man280]

performance-

the Swift comes with a 540 silver can and Tamiya's TEU-101BK ESC, so only a servo and receiver was needed. A trusty Futaba 3003 servo slid in, along with my old Magnum radio rx.

out-of-the-box, i was midly surprized at performance. Being my first FF platform, i knew i would see alot of on-throttle push, and i was right. However, a quick settling of the chassis was merely a throttle lift away. Off throttle, the little swift hooked well with the kit tires, and even stepped out the rear, showing the slightest hint of oversteer. Top speed was in the 15 mph range, and runtime was as expected,..10 mintues + easily with a standard sport pack.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080045Large.jpg

night testing is always fun, under the lights of my favorite parking lot, i drew a small crowd. Passing the radio around, it didnt take long for the little Swift to be a crowd favorite.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080048Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080056Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080057Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5080055Large.jpg

for those looking to jump into the mini sceen, this is a great starting point. The Swift builds easy, performs well, and with some minor tweeks, would be a favorite in my book on the small tracks.

I give this one 2 thumbs up!!!!!!


(special thanks to Matt for the cold soda, help in photo shoot, and in the build. My build table is open anytime!)





Ron

[suckfish]

good review ZMan.

[ABSDrifter]

haha it was a blast getting my hands greasy on that little car. though you didn't use all the pics but its ok...it is a great car. even fun to do reverse donughts in it. the handling was very nice. have a equal low center it had the weight in all the right areas. it is a peppy lil thing for a 20 turn but i was also rather impressed with the outcome of that car. build was simple and fast i think it would be a great little starter car and those lil FF cars are simple to handle and maintain. as long as you dont mind whiping rummer dust off the body after a good run on a pack...muahahahaha!!

2 Thumbs up!!!!

[4DMNYC]

Wow, you wasted no time getting that puppy together :D shweet!

[ABSDrifter]

Tom. Wazzzz up. no we didnt. assembled it last night in about 3 hours....but yea its a blast. and we wanted to show it off hehehe. its a cool little car.

[juntom10]

looks nice.. i want one :D

[PeterV]

Z, you need to join your boy Tom as an official RC Car Action contributor! Email me at peterv@airage.com to talk about it more (or you can email jointheteam@airage.com--that's the new-contrib address, and it goes to my in-box!)

ANYONE who thinks they could be good writers for RCCA is welcome to give it a shot--email me!

[4DMNYC]

It's official...RC Car Action kicks more butt than any other rc mag :cool: no doubt about it. ;)

Welcome aboard Ron :wave:

[Kden46]

Kewl review z-man!

I just got a Swift about a month ago to get into Mini racing here and just love it!

Any plans for upgrades?

[Blacktiger]

MMMMMM..... Little Caesars!

[whalebone]

Hay Ron we will have to line your swift up with my mutant mini cooper next year lol

[z-man280]

Z, you need to join your boy Tom as an official RC Car Action contributor! Email me at peterv@airage.com to talk about it more (or you can email jointheteam@airage.com--that's the new-contrib address, and it goes to my in-box!)

ANYONE who thinks they could be good writers for RCCA is welcome to give it a shot--email me!


um,........ :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :D wow!

Thank you Pete! this is such a great opportunity!!! E-mail sent!

Ron

[rccardude04]

I just recently put together the Mini Cooper version. I had the same experience you have. They're AWESOME little cars. Very bizarre to drive at first, but they're so much fun... lol.
Ron, you should be a writer :p
Wouldn't that be fun?
-Eric

[ABSDrifter]

Heck ya Ron good luck bro. that is a wonderful opportunity for you man. good luck and congrats if you get it!.

~matt~

[cpee]

ok ron now lets get to it light that sucker up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ya know who deep in the south!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[z-man280]

thought i would update this with final pics...despite the kit coming with yellow wing/mirrors, i felt black accented it better.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5130013Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5130016Large.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/z-man280/Suzuki%20Swift/P5130017Large.jpg

look for updates coming, as the little Swift is in dire need of a ball diff!!!! :p

[cnroman]

I have Minis, an M03 and M03L. Tons of fun! If you haven't 'Z-Man280' your first up-grade should be ball bearings.

[rccardude04]

LOL... I just ordered the ball diff for my Cooper as well as the girlfriend's.
It's kinda necessary isn't it?
I need to track down some oil shocks too but haven't had a chance to mess with it as of yet.
-Eric

[jamesbernatchez]

Z, you need to join your boy Tom as an official RC Car Action contributor! Email me at peterv@airage.com to talk about it more (or you can email jointheteam@airage.com--that's the new-contrib address, and it goes to my in-box!)

ANYONE who thinks they could be good writers for RCCA is welcome to give it a shot--email me!



Dont forget about me too :D The article I wrote is out in the July issue :teacher:


Nice Ron! I really like that little car. Looks like alot of fun.


James

[josh222]

Ball diffs make a huge difference with this thing, Bearings, Ball diff and oil shocks are a must :D Also try the HPI mini x parterns because they grip much better than the stock hard tamiya tires.

[z-man280]

i actually will be testing some new shocks soon....look for a review

[InspGadgt]

Hey Z...A funny thing happened to me yesterday...I'm the race director for our new electric on-road race out here and my guys did the same thing for me too! I got the exact same car from them as a thank you. An honor I'm not sure I deserve because they all put a lot of work into the race too but I'm very happy. I'll probably build it up stock but very soon it will get liberal application of 3Racing parts :) FYI I figured out that the stock ESC will fit lower in the chassis in the space where the front and back halves of the chassis bolt together. I'll be using an Atom in mine though and mounting both the ESC and the reciever low in the chassis to get the CG just a bit lower.

[rccardude04]

I have a full set of lights rigged up on my cooper... Brake lights and all (old school tamiya setup)
Now I just need some fog lights :D
-Eric

[rccardude04]

Just got to thinking... I wonder if I should put a resistor in there to keep it from nuking the ones that are "always on" from being on 7.2v...
There's 2 wired in series on there, so they're only getting probably 4v apiece though.
-Eric

[insomniac]

I've also found that putting a couple of O rings to limit the downtravel in the shocks will lower the ride height, which really helps this chassis.

[whalebone]

i actually will be testing some new shocks soon....look for a review
Hay Ron had the tamiya aluminum shock's on my cooper they don't work as well as they look.Trying out tc3 shock's on it right now

[z-man280]

thanks for the tip Jay...

i have a set of some kind being sent for review, so i will let ya know.

[whalebone]

I had the tamiya blue and chrome one's

[osteologation]

Just got to thinking... I wonder if I should put a resistor in there to keep it from nuking the ones that are "always on" from being on 7.2v...
There's 2 wired in series on there, so they're only getting probably 4v apiece though.
-Eric


series wiring doesn't reduce voltage. it increases resistance. they're still getting 7.2v.

[cnroman]

This is a very informative site for the M03. Lots of great info.


http://www.rc-mini.net

[Tamiya84]

Very Nice ron it doent suprise me though everything that comes of you're bench is nothink less then perfect

[z-man280]

Flattery will get you everywhere!!! how ya been Rob!!!?

[Tamiya84]

haha i havent been the same man u havent been on yahoo in ages... Its depressin, Its nice to know you're still making the mona lisa'S of RC. Hows Slidewayz holdin up.

[ABSDrifter]

his Slideways is lookin sweet as ever. and it runs real nice in acrual rubber. since that car only seen abs since it was assembled lol. but yea his car still makes people drool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rccardude04]

Wiring 2 LEDs in series makes the overall voltage remain the same, but each one gets half the voltage. The resistance will double (Half the current).
Parallel halves the resistance, keeps the voltage the same on both (7.2 apiece), and doubles the current of the system.

I put the ball diff in, and WOW! It'd be nice if it was adjustable but it made a HUGE difference.
Shocks will be here Tuesday. After that, swaybars :)
-Eric

[FESTER2004]

congrats Ron on the oppertunity to write for RCCA!Sweeet!also greta build up on your little swift there!