A journey into the world of 1:28

PN Racing Mini-Z RCP Slick Rear Tire 6º

2008-02-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

The PN Racing Mini-Z RCP Slick Rear Tire 6º are the latest rear tires from PN Racing. Out of the packaging, these tires look like hard shiny pieces of plastic. But you can feel how soft these tires are when you're mounting them on your wheels. They are so soft, they start to come off the wheel after a few sets of batteries on my stock car. I have to re-tape them more often than usual. They should perform better when glued. I ran a 30 minute practice race with these tires and they look like they're just broken in. Besides the grip, another thing I like about these tires are the sidewalls don't wear out as much as the kyosho 20º. Worn out sidewalls usually mean you will spin out at the end of the straightaway.

I'm back!

2008-02-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it been that long? I've been really busy lately mostly doing mini-z stuff lol! Anyway, continuing with my previous post, I've done 3 things (with the help of Grant) to make my car run right again. 1st is lowering the front, 2nd is removing the front lip on the 360 GTC body and 3rd was to shave off some material from the ML motor mount so it would not hit the chassis. My car ran ok but it was still not to my liking.

At that point I was ready to give up, but before I did, I wanted to try 1 last thing. To make my existing car a pan car. It was fast enough and I thought the spinning out problem might be solved by the increased downforce from the lola body as well as the wider offset wheels you can run with it. So, I took the plunge and I'm glad I did. It's so much fun driving the pan car especially when you have an NML Lightning SS powering your car through the straight! At first I was still having the spin out problem but that was solved when Philip (PN Racing) gave me a set of Kyosho 20s that were glued to his +3 offset wheels. Now it understeers a lot but I'll take that any day over spinning out. I just have to find the right setup for my driving style.

As soon as I decided to convert my car into a pan car, I started looking for another MR-02 to run in the stock class. As I was heading to the track, I get a phone call from Bing and he informed me that someone is selling a stock car at the track. I got there test drove the car and bought it along with a KO EX-10 Helios. I was so happy to drive a good handling car again.

Race Weekend

2008-01-14T23:45:00.000-08:00

What a crazy weekend, We did back to back track days at MPT. Driving almost 50 miles each way for 2 days. Did I say Mini-Zs are addicting? My car did not run right on saturday... wrong setup + a fast motor = frustration. On Sunday though, we changed and modified a lot of things on my car which made it run close to perfect (in my book) but, my gearing was too long. I was running the modified Speedy 05 that day. I'll post the changes on my car later.

My car wasn't running 100% at MPT so I couldn't really give a fair review on the atomic parts I got. So far though, I can say that the motor is pretty fast for being a stock motor. Even with a 10 tooth pinion, it still had a lot of torque and great top end. The disk damper system, which has not been sanded at that time, was as smooth as the sanded PN damper if not better. I just sanded the disks and the edges of the titanium plate tonight and will test it at kenon tomorrow.

New Motor

2008-01-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

The Atomic Stock R Evolution motor... I've been reading about this motor and people say it is the fastest stock motor available right now. I don't really need anything faster than my speedy 05 NML modified but I was intrigued by this motor. I got it just in time for a track day at MPT. MPT has a new bigger track layout, see picture 1. I was hoping I could run at MPT with the old layout just to see if I can improve my lap times with this new motor.

I just read that NML has made a motor I've been bugging him to design. I hope I could test this motor out soon.

Ball diff rebuilt, bearings cleaned and lubed, disk damper cleaned and lubed also... Just wating for the track to open.

Wear and tear

2008-01-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't been so lucky the past 2 times I was at the track. Last Tuesday, I broke the upper arm that holds the king pin. Fortunately for me, PN Racing makes a part to that fixes that problem while adding caster. I went with the PN Racing MR02 Alm 0.5 Degree Caster Tower Bar. I only went with a 0.5 because the stock settings were working for me and I didn't want to stray away from that too far. So far, I haven't really noticed a difference. Maybe I'll try a 1 or 2 dregrees later on.

I also inverted the front suspension limiters as you can see on the 2nd picture. Rod has been telling me do this for a while and it's about time I tried it.

Blingin' 94mm Titanium Damper Plate System

2008-01-07T23:41:00.000-08:00

I just replaced my PN multi length fiberglass disk damper system with a titanium one from atomic. Besides aesthetics, there's a reason why I replaced the PN piece. If you look at the lower picture, you can see the shaft that holds the disks, is positioned almost all the way to back of the hole. The atomic one on the other hand is positioned towards the center. This is because the PN disk damper is multi length so you can use the same disk damper system whether you run a 94 or 98mm wheelbase. The shaft lines up better on a 98mm wheelbase car though. The shaft on the PN damper was dented from hitting the fiberglass peice and made the rear suspension rough.

I also installed the Atomic Mini-Z MR-02 MM 2.8mm DPS Mount. The problem with disk dampers is it sits too low if you use the DPS mount that comes with it. Leaving the bottom spring compressed almost all the way and the top spring almost uncompressed.

I haven't tested the atomic disk damper system on the track yet but I can already tell this one is smoother than its already sanded PN counterpart. Can't wait to leave work tomorrow to test this out.

New Body

2008-01-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

Mr. NML has finished painting my Ferrari 360 GTC body. I know my car will come back with battle scars the first time I take it out so I decided to snap a few pics of it while it's fresh. I really liked the little details NML put on the car. I used black atomic dish wheels with my favorite offset.

Ok, enough with the looks, lets talk performance. This body for some reason feels more nimble and leans less than the few bodies I have tried. It also has bigger wheel wells so no rubbing occurs. At MPT, I was able to lower my lap time to 8.1XX. I wasn't able to back it up but I will surely try the next time I get a chance. Also, the unpainted bodies seem lower in the back than the autoscales. I had to move the body clips a few mm so the rear end won't drag when my tires are almost gone.

I found myself using the sanyo eneloop batteries more lately. I got my fastest lap at MPT with these batteries. While the orion 900s are faster, I feel I can drive more consistently with the eneloops.

New Track

2007-12-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

I was able to run at a different track last night. This was a fast track where average times are in the 9s for stock. I was also able to try a couple of new things. 1st, the kyosho 30s for the front. I'd say they're comparable to the PN 15s. I feel they grip a little bit less because I had to adjust my dual rate to give it a little bit more steering. Next, the new Orion 900 mAh. I have never tried a set of batteries that made my car noticeably faster until I ran these. Even the motor sounds different. My best time with eneloops was about an 8.8XX and my best time with the orions was 8.6XX. I'm still trying to get used to the speed with the orions so hopefully I can post better lap times in the future.

If you are using the duracell 15 minute charger, you would have to remove the orion wrapper from the battery. Don't worry there's another warping after that. Thanks to Grant for showing me this trick and to Matt for getting me a set of these batteries.

I'll be posting pictures tonight.

Back to kyosho

2007-12-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

I had another bad experience with PN wheels. Two of the front black wheels that I bought cracked again. This time I haven't even used them. The place where the bearing sits seem to be too tight. Philip was nice enough to take them back, great customer service if you ask me. I heard new PN wheels are in the works, hopefully those will be better. So for now, I have to run mismatched kyosho wheels. I can't stand the look but I have to run the offset that I like. So now, black atomic dish wheels are on its way to my address :).

Just an update on the tires... The kyosho 20s seem to be very consistent. They are almost gone but the grip has not dropped that much. I'll be buying kyosho 30s for the front tomorrow.

New found power

2007-12-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

I was able to drive the car a few more times since the last time I posted and I think I have the car behaving the way I want it to now. Since the 4562 upgrade, I have added a Kyosho ball diff and PN -1 degree knuckles (borrowed from Rod). The original plan was to run the 4652s only until we found stock fets but I don't think I can downgrade now. With great power comes great responsibility lol.

People at the track have been telling me that I need a ball diff. I really didn't pay attention to them since I felt that the stock diff was doing the job. Well, after having a hard time getting the car around the corners last saturday, I said (again) enough is enough. I bought a kyosho ball diff at PN before I left. I took me quite a good number of laps to get accustomed to it but after that, I had a grin from ear to ear. You can get on the throttle earlier around corners now, and usually, that equates to a faster lap time.

I have also been told to buy/try the Ferrari 360 GTC body. I have been using the supra body basically since I started. Well, I finally caved in and bought a white one (unpainted). It's in NML's paint shop right now getting the panda colors sprayed on. Since I can't use it yet, I tried bing's 360 GTC body last tuesday and all I can say is WOW!!! I never thought a body can change the car's handling characteristics. At least not on a mini-z. I looked like I pro out there when I had that body on my car lol. I can't describe how it's different but it seems to take corners better than my supra. I let a few of my friends drive it too and they were sold on that body.

Let me just tell you, Mini-Zs are very addicting. I basically went from a stock car to an all out racing MR02 in just a few months. Usually, I can hold off buying stuff for my RC longer than that. This is the best handling RC I have driven.

I want to thank Rod and Bing for getting me into this hobby. These 2 guys have given me a lot of parts and support. They even let me borrow parts so I can test it before I buy my own. I must say, mini-z guys in general are pretty cool but these 2 guys take the cake. Thanks guys!

4562 aren't just for audiophiles

2007-12-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

If there are 3 letters that would describe how I felt when I drove my car again after the fet upgrade... it would be O.M.G. I can't believe how much of a difference it made. There were a lot of people who asked what I got under the hood, I just smiled and told them it was the work of DR. NML. I didn't get to drive the car that night as much as I wanted because people kept asking to drive it lol. Overall, I'm pretty happy. I just have to learn how to drive the car again and set it up to handle the new found power.

4562s have been used in audio applications for a while now and I was surprised that the mini-z uses the same ones to increase power. Well, I guess my top 2 hobbies have something in common.

Fet Attack

2007-12-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

I had a chance to bring my car to the doctor and it was diagnosed as having a burnt fet. My motor is basically a speedy 05 but we swapped the speedy motor can with a ball bearing one. The commutator was also diamond tured. I want to upgrade to the newer 3010 fets but its pretty hard to come by. We might end up installing 4562s in the meantime. My car is going to go under the knife (or soldering iron) tonight. We shall see what happens.

Changes

2007-12-05T01:44:00.000-08:00

Since the last time I posted until now, I was looking for a setup that I can stay with and basically race with. My car was handling pretty good already after installing the disk damper but the tires I was using were not consistent enough for me. It seems like everytime I drive the car, I have to change my driving style or settings on the radio. I was using PN 15º up front and PN 8º in the rear. While racing last friday, I decided to try the kyosho 20º slick tires in the back and I was surprised at how sticky they were. I ran the 2 qualifying sessions with the PN 8s and ran in the B main with the kyoshos. The car was pushing like crazy because the rear tires were so sticky. Even then I still did better than qualifying.

I had a chance to run again at the PN track earlier tonight and wanted to make the steering response better. I remember when I ran +1 offset in the front and +2 in the back, the steering response was awesome. Since I'm running +1 all the way around now, I tried the 0 offset F50 rims up front. Steering response is back and the grip was still there. So I bought some black PN wheels before I left the track. I'm pretty happy with the car's performance and I hope the kyosho tires would hold up til the diff gear starts rubbing on the RCP. I don't really care about tire life as long as they would stay consistent from start to finish. This is how the car looks now.

The Airtronics M8 is another welcomed change. I went from the stock KT-5 to this and it has solved the problems I was having. 1st problem I had with the stock radio was the throttle. It seems to only go from full stop (idle) to full throttle and nothing in between. I can now pull the trigger halfway and my car would only go half as fast lol. This really helps me out a lot on the slow sections of the track. The other problem I had with the stock radio was the steering. The steering radius when going left is smaller than when going right. I can now adjust the steering end points with the M8 and my left and right steering radius is pretty much the same. I don't know if I'm suffering from the placebo effect but my car seems a lot easier to drive. Here's a pic of my new (to me) radio.

I was this close to calling it a good night but my car started acting up before the track closed. My car wouldn't go forward anymore. I checked the radio settings and pretty much everything else I can without opening the car but I don't see anything damaged or broken. Looks like I have to go visit dr Rod M.D.

Problem Solved

2007-11-21T01:25:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in my last post that I was having problems with my car spinning out. Tonight, I bought my 2nd set of PN Racing Mini-Z RCP Radial Rear Tire 8º and it instantly solved my problem but it presented another... the car wouldn't turn anymore. I had to adjust the steering dual rate almost to the max. That brought back some of the steering but there was still a lot of understeer. At this point, I was starting to enjoy driving it despite the understeer. It seems like it's time to get new front tires. I went with PN Racing Mini-Z RCP Slick Front Tire 15º this time instead of 20º to get a little more grip / steering. I didn't get a chance to test out the new front tires tonight though.
Sometimes, we forget the most important thing. In this case, it's tires.

New Setup

2007-11-19T22:39:00.000-08:00

My initial goal for this car is to stay as stock as possible for as long as I could. I pretty much kissed that goal goodbye when I installed the Speedy 05 motor. Like my friend said... the faster you go, the more setup your car has to be. Setting up a car usually means buying new parts. I did a few races with the stock setup and I wouldn't show you the results even if you paid me. After that, I said enough is enough and decided to buy a few PN parts.

1. PN Racing Mini-Z MR02 Silver ML Motor Mount
2. PN Racing MR02 Multi Length Disk Damper Set - Silver
3. PN Racing MR02 MM Graphite T-Bar Sets 4-6mm (3pcs)

The PN ML Motor Mount allows you to put your motor in the mid mount position and set your wheelbase to 94mm. ML means multi length, so you can run the same motor mount and set your wheelbase to 98mm.

There are 2 kinds of PN Multi Length Disk Damper, fiberglass and graphite. There seems to be a lot of racers using the fiberglass disk damper. It is said to be smoother than its graphite counterpart. The hardware that comes with it will allow you to run an oil shock. It also comes with 3 sets of springs.

Running 94mm wheelbase with the PN ML mount requires you to change the T bar to a mid mount T Bar if your car's previous configuration is RM. There are 3 in a pack, super soft 4mm, soft 5mm and medium 6mm.

As of now, my current suspension setup is as follows:

Front:
-PN Purple Springs (medium)
-PN 20 deg slicks
-Everything else is stock

Rear:
-PN 8 deg radials
-PN ML Motor Mount (94mm)
-PN Fiberglass Disk Damper (red top spring - green lower spring)
-PN Graphite T Bar (Medium = hardest in the pack)

As of now, my car handles really well compared to how it was before I installed these parts. I still have to do some fine tuning because the car oversteers sometimes. It could just be the tires but a few of my friends suggested I get a ball diff. Well, looks like there are more parts for me to buy in the future meaning more posts on this blog. Next upgrade... driving skills!!!

Update

2007-11-06T15:36:00.000-08:00

Just installed my new wheels. I really liked the PN wheels but I managed to crack one of the rear wheels. I was able to acquire a set of kyosho Ferrari 360 GTC wheels from my friend for free. They also have the exact offset I was looking for. (+1N, +1W). While I was swapping the wheel bearings over, I noticed that it was so much easier to install the bearings on the kyosho wheels than the PN ones. Maybe that had something to do with the cracked wheel.

I also installed the PN Racing Mini-Z MR02 Front Racing Suspension Spring I bought last saturday. I installed the purple ones which felt closer to the stock springs than the rest of the springs that came with the kit. I wanted to start as close to stock as possible then adjust as necessary.

I'm going to PN again tonight to test out the car. If it is a race night, then I think I might have to race for the 1st time. I don't think I'm good enough to race but to me, it's all about having fun.

The spring rates for the PN springs are listed below.
Yellow - Preload lift 175g = Kyosho Yellow
White - Preload lift 140g
Purple - Preload lift 115g
Green - Preload lift 100g = Kyosho Green
Red - Preload lift 55g = Kyosho Red

New wheels, new offset

2007-11-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

If you guys remember, I got this car from my friend and he gave me the opportunity to choose the body and the wheels. I ended up with a supra body and ferrari F50 wheels. At that time I didn't even realize these wheels have different offsets. The original supra wheels are 0 offset narrows in the front and 0 offset wide in the rear. The F50 wheels on the other hand are 0 offset in the front and +2 in the rear. When I first ran the car (box stock), I really didn't have a problem with the wheels being too wide in the rear but when I installed the speedy 05 motor, the problem became apparent. Basically, the car hops in turns. I even managed to roll the car a few times. After that, I decided to run PN racing wheels. +1 in the front and +1 in the rear. I did install the front wheels first while running the F50 wheels in the back. I was surprised that a small change like this would make a difference I could feel. The steering became more responsive but the car still hops in turns. After installing the rear wheels, the car became more stable in turns. It would still hop but only if I get on the throttle too early.

The first picture shows you the PN Racing wheels, it also shows the crack on the rear wheel. I don't know how I managed to crack the wheel but I might be going back to a set of kyosho wheels with the same offset. The 2nd picture shows you the difference in offset.

PN Racing Speedy 05 Motor

2007-10-25T00:58:00.000-07:00

I wasn't really quite ready for a motor upgrade since I just got the hang of driving this little thing. Yesterday was only the 2nd time I drove the car and it just so happened that they changed the track layout! After my 1st set of batteries, I was actually spending more time on the track than backing up from hitting the wall. LOL! Then my friend decided to give me his old Speedy 05 motor, and the car turned into a different animal. It was harder to drive but more enjoyable since you have more power on tap. I will definitely run this motor for a while.

Smooth Operator

2007-10-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

As much as I'd like not to upgrade my mini z, there are a few things that must be done. Replacing the bearings is one of them. I bought the PN racing bearings that can be found here. It made my car run smoother and much quieter. There are 7 bearings in this pack and the pictures above will show you where you need to install these. 2 in each of the front wheels, 1 in the rear wheel (spur gear side) and 2 on the motor mount where the differential shaft goes through.

Another Supra

2007-10-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

No, no, I really don't like supras. Ok, maybe just a little. Here's a body I just got for running at the track. As you can see, it has already been used and has battle scars. Again, I'd like to thank Rod's Hobby Shop in studio city for this great body.

Batteries

2007-10-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

When it was time to choose batteries, I just went with a good brand with the highest possible milli-Amp/hour. So for my radio, I went with the duracell 2650 mAh. For the car, I went for the sanyo 1000 mAh. Since I don't have plans of racing yet, I just went for the batteries that would last longer. I will be running at PN again tomorrow with my new batteries :).

Free Upgrade

2007-10-22T23:08:00.000-07:00

First thing I noticed when I got my mini z was that the suspension wasn't smooth. The finish on the king pins in the front suspension was really rough. So I went to Rod's Hobby Shop and they sanded and polished the king pins for me. Yes, I know, it's something I can do myself but it was free! I am satisfied with the results. You can actually feel the difference when you push down on the car.

1st Upgrade

2007-10-17T23:53:00.000-07:00

Went to PN Racing yesterday and finally drove my mini z. First thing I did was to change the tires. Philip, the owner of PN Racing, suggested the 20º slicks for the front and the 8º Radials for the rear. He said this setup is good for beginners. I did not try the stock tires at all so I don't have a point of comparison. All I know is that the car handled really well, it's just point and shoot. From what I heard, these should have excellent tire life. My friends have been running them for a few months now.

My Car

2007-10-17T23:36:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post pictures of my car with 0 miles, everything still stock at this point. My friend sold me the car and he happens to have the body that I like. This is originally a Ferrari F50 kit as you can tell from the rims. Speaking of the body, when I took my car to the track, there were a few people who offered to take it off my hands but I decided to keep it.

The First Step

2007-10-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

I have been into RCs since I was 12. I always had the "the bigger the better" mentality. The Tamiya Clod Buster just came out, can you blame me? My 1st real or quality RC was the Kyosho Javelin. 12 years later, I got into nitro RCs,... monster trucks and sedans. Fast forward a few more years, I suddenly found myself driving a kyosho mini z. This is so different from what I'm used to. The bodies are already painted, decals already applied and best of all, it's very very detailed. It is much easier to drive (in stock form at least) and maintenance is close to nothing. It's very economical and I'm sure that appeals to everyone. The last thing I need is another money pit.

I'm starting this blog to document the modifications I'll be doing to my mini z, maybe some reviews and hopefully race results (when I become a better driver). I'm sure the modifications I'll be writing about have been done before. But hey, this is my blog and I'll document it anyway ;). I'll leave you with a picture of a Kyosho Javelin. The image was from vintagercweb.com