Avante Mk.III Nero Advanced Pack Guide
The Avante Mk.III Nero (MS Chassis) Advanced Pack is item 18662, Mini 4WD PRO Series No.62 — the "AdPack" version of the standard Avante Mk.III Nero kit (item 18627). Where the standard kit hands you an unmodified MS chassis and expects you to buy rollers, dampers and a faster motor separately, the Advanced Pack ships those parts already specified. It is not a different car; it is the same Avante Mk.III Nero body and MS platform, sold with a race-oriented parts list chosen by Tamiya instead of by you. Knowing exactly what that list contains — and what it does not change about the underlying chassis — is what separates treating "Advanced" as a shortcut from treating it as a starting configuration you still have to understand.
What is in the box
Tamiya's own product listing for 18662 documents the following contents. Treat this as the reference configuration; always cross-check the instruction sheet in your own box, since running production can carry minor part revisions.
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Item No. / Series | 18662, Mini 4WD PRO Series No.62 |
| Chassis | MS Chassis, ABS (red), three-piece nose/center/tail split |
| Assembled dimensions | 155mm (L) x 104mm (W) x 42mm (H) |
| Motor | Light-Dash Motor PRO (double-shaft) |
| Gear ratio | 3.7:1, high-speed EX gear set |
| Tires / wheels | Super-hard, small-diameter, low-profile tires (black); fin-spoke wheels (red) |
| Rollers | Low-friction plastic rollers, 13mm, x6 |
| Mass dampers | Side mass dampers, cylindrical, 4.2g x2; slimline mass dampers, φ7 x 5.5mm, 1.5g x2 |
| Brake sponges | Blue and white, 2mm thickness |
| Hardware | 2mm cap screws, 25mm x2 and 30mm x2 (Tamiya states roughly 50% greater rigidity than standard screws) |
| Body | ABS, tinted; A-parts in white; metallic stickers, rubber body catch |
| Included tools | Spanner and wrench |
The MS chassis underneath the "Advanced" label
Everything above sits on the MS Chassis platform, which Tamiya's chassis catalog describes as a direct-drive, double-shaft midship layout split into nose, center and tail units, with batteries flanking the central motor for balance. That three-piece construction matches this pack's own box copy, confirming the Advanced Pack is not a variant chassis — it is the standard MS platform with a specific parts loadout on top. General MS geometry, wheelbase, tread figures and unit-swap compatibility are covered in the MS chassis parts compatibility guide, which is the place to check whether a part from another MS kit fits this one rather than duplicating those figures here. What is specific to 18662 is the loadout: a 3.7:1 EX gear set and Light-Dash Motor PRO, in place of whatever ratio and motor a bare MS kit would ship with.
Motor and gearing: why 3.7:1 with Light-Dash PRO
Light-Dash Motor PRO is the double-shaft counterpart to the standard-chassis Light-Dash motor, sitting toward the lower-current end of the PRO ladder — a step up from the Tuned-series PRO motors (Torque-Tuned 2 PRO, Atomic-Tuned 2 PRO, Rev-Tuned 2 PRO) but well below Hyper-Dash PRO or Mach-Dash PRO in RPM and current draw. It suits a kit meant to run reliably out of the box rather than chase maximum straight-line speed on day one. The included 3.7:1 EX gear set is numerically lower than the roughly 4:1 ratio general MS documentation lists as a baseline, which biases the drivetrain toward higher top speed and lower torque multiplication than a 4:1 setup on the same motor — so this pack leans slightly toward speed out of the box, and a builder chasing torque for a hilly or technical section has room to swap in a different EX ratio without touching anything else. For the full ladder Light-Dash PRO sits within, see the motors guide; for pairing a ratio change with the right motor, see motor and gear ratio matching.
Mass dampers, brake sponges and hardware: built to be tuned, not finished
The two damper types included — 4.2g cylindrical side units and 1.5g slimline units — are a starting configuration, not a fixed one. Mass dampers absorb landing and impact energy through their own inertia rather than through a spring, so their weight and mounting position are exactly the variables a builder adjusts once the base setup is proven on a real track; the included pair is a reasonable default rather than a value tuned to your specific course. The 2mm blue-and-white brake sponges are similarly a baseline — a starting braking bias, and a consumable commonly swapped in thickness or compound as a car's speed and track layout change. The 2mm cap screws are worth noting because Tamiya flags their added rigidity over standard screws, which matters most at roller and stay mounting points, where flex under repeated impact is what actually degrades a mass damper's effectiveness over a race weekend. For how to select damper weight and placement once you have logged some runs, see the dedicated mass dampers guide.
Race legality: what to check before you enter
Two rules matter most here. First, official regulations state that Mini 4WD PRO machines — which this is — may only run kit-included motors or motors specifically designated for the PRO range; the Light-Dash Motor PRO in the box qualifies, but swapping to a non-designated motor takes the car off that permitted list. Second, current Stock Class regulations prohibit cutting or shaving the chassis and drilling new screw holes, while additional parts are restricted to genuine Tamiya Mini 4WD, R/C Mini 4WD and Dangun Racer parts — a rule that does not exempt a premium "Advanced" box. Neither rule set makes this kit automatically race-legal or automatically more restricted than a standard kit; it is legal exactly to the extent its parts, and any changes made, fall inside current regulations. Regulations change over time, and local or club events often run their own variations (commonly called BMAX) on top of them, so treat the official Mini 4WD Race Regulations and Stock Class Regulations as the reference to recheck near race day, and the organiser's technical inspection as the final word — see the official rules and technical inspection checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Advanced Pack a different car from the standard Avante Mk.III Nero kit?
No. Both use the same MS chassis platform and the same Avante Mk.III Nero body. The Advanced Pack (18662) differs in its included loadout — the 3.7:1 EX gear set, Light-Dash Motor PRO, mass dampers, low-friction rollers and reinforced-rigidity screws — not in the underlying car.
Can I fit a faster PRO motor and still race it stock-class legal?
Only if the replacement motor is itself on the currently permitted list for PRO machines or Stock Class, with no chassis cutting, drilling or unapproved-part changes alongside it. Confirm the specific motor against current official regulations before racing, not against a general assumption that "PRO-compatible" means "always legal."
Do the two mass damper sizes need to both stay fitted?
No — dampers are a tuning choice, and regulations treat damper weight and placement as an adjustable variable rather than a fixed spec, provided the parts used remain genuine Tamiya Mini 4WD parts and the chassis is not altered beyond what regulations permit.