Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Kyosho Mini-Z Racer 2.4 GHZ Auto-Select Frequency in the house!

After recycling some more money and hitting the track with my AM radio MR-015 Z I decided to upgrade to the 2.4 ghz radio seeing how convenient this option really is. There's no antenna; greater range; absolutely no glitching or jitter; up to 40 frequencies that the car and controller automatically find when powered on; no need for frequency crystals so one controller can be used with infinite number of 2.4 chassis.

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Here are my new chassis sets with a baggie of PN Racing ball bearings for the All-Wheel Drive MA-010 chassis. Total of $272 shipped. Managed a used controller from a friend for $20.

Since my AM car was a MR-015 configuration(basicly a Rear-wheel Drive), I decided to get the same 2.4 chassis to build onto my brief racing experience rather than start clean with a MR-02(15 has battery trays on the sides while 02 has batteries on the belly, so there's a different feel and weight transfer between the 2 setups; 15 can use more narrow bodies than the 02).

Since I had a boost of cash, I went ahead and got a hold of the cheap MA-010 chassis from TinyRC.com. Beauty of this besides the obvious gripping power is the wheel-independent suspension and quicker wheel installs than the MR chassis. The bearings on MA are in the wheel knuckles rather than in the wheels themselves, so swapping different sets only requires removing the lugnut. So why did I really get MA? Drifting! Unlike the MR chassis, MA can actually handle the plastic drifting tires just fine due to all wheels pulling the car. MR can be drifted, but requires hard rubber tires and much quicker, more precise, and speedy turns. MA can go sideways almost anywhere and at a fraction of the MR's required speed.

Here are 2 videos of each chassis in action, 2nd day of owning them both, and 2nd day of running the MA-010 in my life:




So why Mini-Z over say, a Xmod? Much higher control precision, very smooth feeling, VERY durable(for once a high price = superb quality), much more durabile and detailed bodies and 5x the selection and growing, and lastly ready availability of all replacement parts no matter how big or small at about $10 or less per part(s). Zs are a pleasure to drive out of the box and can defenetly race without any upgrades. Upgrades are made by Kyosho and other aftermarket companies like Atomic, PN Racing, 3Racing, GPM, and some others. Very well worth the money you'd spend on one unless you don't have space to run it, a club with a track to visit, or lastly money to buy a small track yourself.

To wrap this entry up, let me post my current custom bodies made from unpainted, unassembled kyosho sets:

Faith FD3S Mazdaspeed RX7
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NFS Prostreet inspired Race Queen Nissan Fairlady Z33
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