standard mini z

[barto_85]

hey, could someone post a video (if anyone has one) of their standard mini z. Or just tell me how fast they are/how fun they are standard.

[ph2t]

hmmm, someones got the bug…..:approve:

[barto_85]

yeah, i’m getting interested in these things again. still not sure if i’m gonna get one. just wanna know what they’re like without putting lots of money into them.

[merc-blue]

i can sell u 1 i got for sale if u decide u want 1

[barto_85]

ok, thanks mate, i’ll let you know if i decide to buy. Got any vid of it in action?

[trash]

I don’t like them standard… they are dull and boring. with the upgrades…. they are much more fun. I still got to find a ‘simple’ program that converts avi to mpg so that I can make them availble for download somewhere. avi are too big.

[barto_85]

oh ok, what upgrades are necessary for enjoyment, and what sort of maintenance needs to be done.

[Pork_Hunt]

where abouts are you barto?

[bithed]

…Stock is a great base to start with…to start with i changed the following, but to each his own i guess…

…FUNCTIONAL CHANGES…

…Stock kingpins to stainless steel…3-5 bucks…

…Stock antenna to Inner Antenna…20 bucks ?

…added rear damper…

…doubled up carbon suspension plates…stiffer than a…well you get the idea…10 bucks…

…TAMIYA Mini 4WD rear ‘FOAMIES’ tires…stick to the track like snot to a window a baby ! 5 bucks…

…PENDING…

…Titanium ball-diff; (doncha just LOVE that word;) TITANIUM 🙂 30 bucks…

…x-speed motor…10 bucks…

…front stabilizer…10 bucks…

…rechargeable batteries for chassis…20 bucks…

…FASHION CHANGES…

…Clear white chassis…10 bucks…

…black rim wire wheels; NON-inch up…20 bucks…

…silver disc brakes; changed from gold cos i was looking way too much like Mr. T…10 bucks

…PENDING FASHION changes…

…silver aluminium battery holders…

…silver aluminium bulk head…

…silver motor mount…

…Various body mods…

…blahblahblah…

…as much or as little as you want…plus the ever expanding line of other add ons and bodies…

[barto_85]

@pork hunt – hehe, i laugh everytime i see your name, and I’m in Brisbane.

@bithed – and thats all in USD right? doesn’t sound too bad actually. I’ll chat to ya if i think of getting one bithed.

[PandaBear]

Quote:

oh ok, what upgrades are necessary for enjoyment, and what sort of maintenance needs to be done.

If you’re only using it indoors, the stock motor is plenty fast
enough for just mucking around. Put in full bearings and get some
good *branded* NiMH batteries (alkalines can’t push the current)
and that’s really all that you need.

For most homes of usual size, its plenty fast indoors.

Its only when you start racing that you want to keep
improving the grip, handling, power etc etc etc… :smiley16:

[bithed]

…Bearings a BIG YES…coloured screws do nothing for me but i did convert my wheel nuts to black ones…

…Barto those prices are ‘about’…I dont pay retail for anything anymore 🙂

…I PERSONALLY prefer the MR-01 at this stage but there is a FUNKY new MR-02 NSX coming out…black and silver which kinda pushes my buttons…As PANDABEAR states; Round the house is fine stock but you wanna get out there on the track and mix it up with your boys then you might want to start goofing off with solder and then it gets out of my league…I just potter around PanicToys with the crew and we are all such crappy drivers that we are all too worried about our paintwork to speed up much :clown:

[barto_85]

what does the “ready set” mean? if i was to buy a mini z, is that what I would buy?

[bithed]

…BARTO…yup thats what you want to start with…chassis…controller, and the body of the ready set you selected…

…’Contoller-less’ chassis and body sets ARE available and obviously the ‘Autoscale’ body-only sets, though they DO come with matching rims…

…BE AWARE that the channel / crystal set you get with your Readyset is NOT choosable…you will get any channel between 1-12…you get doubled with a friend one of you might have to swap crystals 🙂

…All you will need is batteries and you are ready to run RTR 🙂

[PandaBear]

Quote:

…BE AWARE that the channel / crystal set you get with your Readyset is NOT choosable…you will get any channel between 1-12:)

Not quite that… if you buy an entire *carton* (6pcs) of MiniZ,
Kyosho will supply ONE (2,4,6,8,10,12) of each freq in that carton.

But when buying one off the shelf, it would make sense to check
the freq of the thing before you leave unless you really don’t
care what freq it is on.

They are all on 27MHz; xtal change is easy but the car does
need “low profile” xtals. Most of mine (old, standard type)
are “high” and they protrude dangerously out too much at
the bottom.

Have yet to see any factory-supplied freqs on ‘odd’ numbers (splits)
but I have seen Kyosho selling spare MiniZ xtals like that.

[bithed]

…Hmm…PANDA…interesting point you bring up…Thanks for filling in those gaps in my info…

…You are also correct in saying that ODD numbered ‘xtals’ can be purchased aftermarket…

…So PANDA you really notice the difference with NiMh’s? Might just have to pick up some of those with a charger…

[Pork_Hunt]

Nimhs are the absolute king of batteries, if it wasn’t against God’s own law I’d make em me wife!

Yeah thanks Barto, if you were in Melbourne, and could get here, I was gunna offer you a drive of my LXX scale racer (I love her so).

[dgs73]

Pandabear- how easily are those 6-packs of crystal sets picked up, and do you have any idea of cost?? Love to get a set…

[bithed]

…PANDA can you get them in AUS? You need a set just let me know and I will pick one up 🙂 You too DGS…Mailing you now buddy…

[PandaBear]

Quote:

…So PANDA you really notice the difference with NiMh’s? Might just have to pick up some of those with a charger…

yup!!

NiMH can definitely pump more current than alkalines, something
to do with lower internal resistance. And they’ll last longer too.
Alkalines hold their 1.5V for only a short while (higher spd) but
they soon drop to ~1.2V like the NiMH. NiMH’s voltage stay plateau’d
at 1.2V for most of the charge, only dips down when near dead.

I’m using ENERGIZER’s NiMH 750mAh AAAs, they’re great.
Lasts 20-30 mins per charge… before attention-span fails.

For general use, I just charge them in a slow/overnight charger
or just buy the Energizer one – its compact and good value too.

If you want a bit more speed (read higher voltage), same NiMH cells
can be quick-charged if you have a good peakcharger than can do NiMH.
Peak Charge them at 0.5A or 1A even, and if you use the batteries
as *soon* as they’ve peaked, you’ll get ~10% more speed & punch.
(But you MUST have a good NiMH-capable peak charger to do this.)

[PandaBear]

Quote:

Pandabear- how easily are those 6-packs of crystal sets picked up, and do you have any idea of cost?? Love to get a set…

no, don’t think they sell them in SIX packs.
Have seen them individually (RX & TX pairs) only.

BH:-
Not sure if Oz LHS stock the Kyosho-branded xtals here, but
any-brand AM xtals are usually around the A$20/pr mark.

[trash]

Sorry for being out of the loop for a few days.

You’re right bithed. The absolute first upgrade should be bearings !!

As for xtals, any set of 27Mhz xtals will work.
(provided they are the right cut and IF.)
I can’t remember the IF freq, but I’d guess it was 455KHz. You can order custom made xtals from Hy-Q or cheaper from “bright star crystals”
in victoria.

On my mini-Z, I got an RTR out of the box in Hong Kong. I took it to the local indoor race track and was rather amazed that my new car sucked !
With help from the locals, I got the upgrades…

first New Bearings… very important.
next was Carbon H plate kit.
Aluminium Ball Diff
Rear piston suspension
Rear roll suspension
Motor Heat sink
Turbo 01 motor + ESC

Aluminium Front Rack
Front Suspension Springs

New mags – makes it look pretty

To top it off I use the genuine Kyosho Tyres
20 and 30 deg, though I leave the orignals on for concrete.

The batteries are Sanyo AAA 800mAh’s.
Top shelf stuff. After hearing 5 different people recomend them, I had to have them. I didn’t regret it.

There is still a few things which could be improved. But I’d say if you have the money, go the fully worked car else you’ll have fun spending a lot of small amounts over time. 🙂

[Pork_Hunt]

I got the Jaycar 800mAh Nimh’s and as you can tell, I can’t fault them.

[VR-4]

if you guys need xtalls radioshack has a set of6 for $20 for xmods that work.

if you can get a xmod get those there alot better than a mini z i just did the fets on my xmod and put a plasma dash in it with the 4wd conversion and it eats my mini z alive and only coust $50 usd 1/2 the price of a mini z.

[Pork_Hunt]

VR-4, is that your 24 fet super happy fun Mini z?

[trash]

VR4 must be in usa, I’m not sure if tandy still sell CB xtals anymore, they used to sell them as a pair here, one TX and one RX. You should also be able to use the marine 27Mhz xtals, though they are little off frequency.

[VR-4]

Yeah im from the us you should be able to import the xtall set for not much.

Yeah i still got my 24 fet monster but i really dont drive it any more ive ben workng on my xmod becouse it handles alot better and no dought a nicer car.

[jamiekulhanek]

Panda i have found that the NiMHs out perform the Alko’s in all areas, including top speed.

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