Kyosho miniZ/F1 vs. HPI micro RS4

[Nitroaddict]

anyone have any knowledge of these? I'm still toying around with the idea of getting an electric to play with when i dont feel like getting dirty with my nitro. I really like the kyosho's scale appearence, but am worried about the ability to us them on anything but smooth surfaces. Also, like the micros, but am not sure of the performance....reviews? top speeds? runtimes?

 

[pseudorhombicubictahedron]

just looking at them you can tell in my opinion...i think its kinda like comparing a Radio Shack r/c car (the mini-z) to a REAL r/c car (the micro rs4)...no doubt the micro will out perform the mini-z in everything except runtime i think.

 

[RSfan8]

well from what I've read, the Micro RS4 is kinda useless unless your gonna race, because its too big for indoors, too small for outdoors.

on the otherhand, people say Mini Z are underpowered. i think you should wait for a Mini Z Overland, those are supposed to be awesome and powerful, and since its got the suspension and lots of clearence you may even be able to run it outside.

 

[Nitroaddict]

u think the micor rs4 is too small to run outside on concrete?

 

[pseudorhombicubictahedron]

here are some vids of it running outside.

 

[RSfan8]

I've never seen one run, as i said "from what I've read"

 

[Nitroaddict]

psued - i cannot see those vids, due to me being on a mac - but thatnks anyway - u say u have one - and are happy with it?

 

[pseudorhombicubictahedron]

nope never said i owned one, but i have seen them run before. can't say the same for a mini-z though...our lhs doesn't support them, so i guess I'm kinda biased..

 

[Nitroaddict]

I live next to one of the greatest hobby shops ever - so they have everything. What is your opinion on the micro RS4 - run times? they dont use a regular motor do they?

 

[pseudorhombicubictahedron]

I've only seen stock micros run with upgraded battery packs, they gennerally run around 10 minutes with the 1800 mah in them but it also depends on your driving style. the motor that is used in the micro is much smaller than a 540...so no they dont use regular motors.

 

[tokyotekki]

Our store specializes in Mini-Z cars, so I can give you a little info about them...

First off, Mini-Z's are underpowered compared to 1/10th cars, no comparison about that. They are made for more indoor and some outdoor racing, and in these fields they excel. In terms of body detailing, they are amazing. The Mini-Z's also have major capacity for hop-ups, from aftermarket upgrade motors and body parts to camber, castor, toe-in/out changes, rims, and everything else.

Stock speeds you're looking at are about 7-10 mph. Typical upgrade motors (around $20-$35) will get you up to about 25mph. There are special handwound motors available that can get you up to 40+mph, but personally I find it rather pointless to just hop your car up to maximum speed if you can't control it.

I usually tell our customers, if you want nothing but speed, go 1/10th instead, or hell get a real car But if it's decent speeds and great handling in a smaller space you're looking for, nothing compares to a Mini-Z so far...

Okay, also regarding your specific questions...

If you are going to be racing outdoors with a Mini-Z, make sure you just have good hard tires, rear mono-shock, roll shocks, and a good H-Plate. The Overlands are pretty cool, they try to climb anything in their path. We've had a number of customers take their Overlands off-roading with no difficulty. I also recommend the PN-Racing S02 or S03 high torque motors for that extra kick.

Runtimes vary. Average is about an hour to an hour and a half for a stock motor with alkaline batteries. The new 780mah and 800mah AAA NiMHs boost it up considerably. But on the average with an upgrade motor, you're looking at about 20-30 minutes, so most people that come to our free races at our track usually have 2-3 sets of batteries for the entire day.

The controller takes 8 AA batteries, and they last quite awhile, we have to change our demo controller batteries about once a month only...and that's with letting everyone use them to test out cars

 

[Nitroaddict]

wow - very informative - thanks for the insight tokyo!

 

[SilentHunterKellen]

Originally posted by pseudorhombicubictahedron
the motor that is used in the micro is much smaller than a 540...so no they dont use regular motors.

The motor is a size 180. I believe HPI makes a modified motor for the car.
[move]-Kellen[/move]

 

[pseudorhombicubictahedron]

so does team orion.

 

[Supernitro17]

i would go with the hpi. its a great car, they are VERY quick. they can hit about 30mph is the fastest I've heard, and thats fast for that little thing. never-the-less... they are quick fun little cars, i have one to play with in airports because during the school year i fly around a lot and i have a lot of downtime in the airports. people love it. and they run a long time, i think something like 40 minutes per charge

 

[SilentHunterKellen]

Yeah, sounds really fun. They are cheap too! About 99 for a kit w/o motor and radio or esc. The radio can just be your regular 2ch, and the HPI modified motor goes for about 20-30. Cheap for some quick fun. They also have upgrade parts so thats a real big plus.
[move]-Kellen[/move]

 

[Error401]

There is a special conversion kit for the micro rs4 that mounts a 540. A buddy of mine has one. This thing is ballistic on 6 cells, though the tires last about 2 packs. Mine is carbon and aluminum with the HPI 25T motor running 6 cells. It's pretty fast (~30 mph) and is a trip on really smooth surfaces (like gymnasium floors). Balls out powerslides galore.

 

[SilentHunterKellen]

Sounds Fun..Now if you could only get foams for the thing.
Error, you should get a Trinity modified motor and really make that thing fly!