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View Full Version : mr-03ve 50th anniversary jscc blue - review


herman
2014.08.18, 04:43 AM
greetings folks... well... i finally gave in and got a brushless mr03ve chassis...

while i was in hk (last july), i was pretty fortunate enough to pick up kyosho's 50th anniversary jscc blue edition...

i later found out that kyosho came out with two versions of their 50th anniversary mr03ve... basically, one version is black (black colored chassis), and the other version is blue (chassis, motor mount, t bar, knuckles, wheel nuts... and well basically anything that was molded in plastic, was molded in the color blue)

standard option parts include the ball diff (in blue), bearings and the gold plated battery connectors in the chassis...

and so... (most probably the question you're begging to ask).... what is the difference?... well the only difference (i could detect and after doing some research, and by being told so...) is that the blue jscc version comes with the orion xspeed eco brushless motor (in you guessed it blue), while the black comes with the xpeed brushless motor in red... tada... yep that's it... i'm still not too keen on what the motor specs are, but i figure that the eco version is the slower one...

another thing is the configuration out of the box... the black version comes in the widely popular wide (w), mid motor mount (mm) configuration; while the blue jscc version comes in the narrow (n), rear motor mount (rm) configuration... and the chassis set contains all parts required to switch your preferred chassis mm to rm, wide to narrow, and vice versa...

i later learned that jscc stood for japan sports car cup... which generally caters to mr015 bodies up to the L (94mm) setting... so along with the x-speed eco brushless motor, i figured this was a bit logical, since i believe that the eco version is slower than the non-eco or x-speed version...

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s11/hmc_jr/mr03ve/IMG_1188.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s11/hmc_jr/mr03ve/IMG_1189.jpg

everything in the box
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s11/hmc_jr/mr03ve/IMG_1192.jpg

herman
2014.08.18, 04:44 AM
upon opening the box, i immediately decided to convert the configuration to the more popular wide (w), mid motor mount (mm)... and upon doing so, well i don't know if it's me, but i felt that the blue chassis is softer (hopefully not more fragile) than the black chassis... well that's how i felt while i was unscrewing some er screws...

under the hood...
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s11/hmc_jr/mr03ve/IMG_1195.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s11/hmc_jr/mr03ve/IMG_1196.jpg

hmm... and while i was putting the mid motor mount together, i was looking for two countersunk screws which goes under the part that connects to the rear spring, and another for the spur gear protector... i noticed that there were none included... which makes me wonder... weren't they supposed to be packed with the kit?... i guess kyosho seemed to miss that... is quality control to blame? or just an isolated case? hmm not too much of a biggie... but good thing i was able to get some spare screws somewhere else...

while changing the wide arms under the chassis, i noticed that it was a hard fit and, and i had to force it into its proper position... it wasn't perfect as i suspected it to be which caused some flexing to the part, causing it not to be fully flush against the chassis... a bit odd if you ask me, since i've never experienced this sort of thing (an ill fitting part) coming from kyosho...

this is the part that I was talking about... the lower arm plate is slightly flexed and bent...
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s11/hmc_jr/mr03ve/IMG_1202.jpg

herman
2014.08.18, 04:49 AM
oh well after finally putting everything together... a test run... the last time i remember trying out a brushless car was way back in dec 2012 at the atomic collective click here (http://mini-zracer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38727&highlight=Atomic+collective) oh by the way atomic collective is now known as MINI Z SG Ultimate Indoor Racing.

new body on a new chassis... *note... i didn't screw down the gyro all the way as i felt that the screw might accidentally hit / touch the board underneath... and might do some damage
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s11/hmc_jr/mr03ve/IMG_1203.jpg

out of the box with the 6t pinion... it kinda felt like a slightly modified car... which is expected because, well... as a matter of fact... it is slightly modified - ball diff, and bearings remember?

well i meant... in terms of the drivetrain... more specifically, the power the brushless motor delivers to the whole chassis is particularly smooooth... the ball diff did its job perfectly, and out of the box, i felt that it didn't need any adjustment... generally the whole chassis felt like it had the power of a slightly modified motor with fets in the car (definitely not stock though)....

with the brushless motor, i felt the whole car coasting quite considerably when you're off power / or if you let off the throttle (compared to brushed motors, where you experience varying levels of drag brake, depending on the strength of the magnets in the motor)... i guess it is something you have to get used to if this isn't your style of driving... however i believe that you can program the amount of drag brake back into the board with the mr03ve ics manager that you can download... i believe you have to adjust the neutral brake setting (hope that someone can confirm this?)... wondering... does anybody know if you can adjust the settings of the mr03ve with the ko propo portable setting module & card?

over all i'm really beginning to like this - mr03ve... it is easily and quickly becoming one of my favorites... and i'm glad that i was able to get it after mulling over it after all this time... :D

dameetz
2014.08.18, 11:21 AM
Nice write up review Herman. 2 of my friends just got this from Japan, both of them have the same problem of flexing bottom plate as you have shown above. One of the car has cogging problem out of the box, after some trouble shooting we found out that it was the motor. The other ECO motor was running fine. I totally agreed that Kyosho has started to get some quality control issues.

Regarding the drag brake ICS setting, i have set mine to max (if i m not mistaken the value is 5) but even set to max, the drag brake effect is still too weak. You can see the difference when test it without load, but once it on the ground the the effect is very minimal. After some time I get used to this setting and drive faster with this No drag brake feel. Funny thing is I m so used to this feel that I started look for the same feel when I drive a brush motor car:D:D

mleemor60
2014.08.18, 11:46 AM
Is there a separate setting card for the VE chassis or is it the same as the regular 03?

dameetz
2014.08.18, 07:20 PM
I was using PN bluetooth module and a smart phone to set mine.

lfisminiz
2014.08.18, 09:26 PM
So far i think you need to set board settings with your phone/app like Demeetz said. I never saw a KO brushless setting card for my unit that i know of.

herman
2014.08.19, 04:12 AM
thanks for the replies... hmmm... pn bluetooth module eh? guess i'll have to check that out...

when you say cogging... what does that mean?... i've experienced, on some occasions... sometimes on a long straight, power will cut out and when i move the throttle on/off a couple of times, it would come back on... is this what you mean by cogging?

herman
2014.08.19, 05:16 AM
just wondering if the pn bluetooth module has an app for the iphone? or is it just for android?
thanks... :D

dameetz
2014.08.19, 11:36 AM
just wondering if the pn bluetooth module has an app for the iphone? or is it just for android?
thanks... :D

You can only use android phone, just download the apps at PlayMarket, no apps for iOS device ie iphone.

dameetz
2014.08.19, 11:42 AM
when you say cogging... what does that mean?... i've experienced, on some occasions... sometimes on a long straight, power will cut out and when i move the throttle on/off a couple of times, it would come back on... is this what you mean by cogging?

The motor cogs ie stuttering/jerking when you apply throttle, not smooth. The usual possible cause is either the ESC on the pcb (firmware), wiring(look for cuts)or motor defect. After changing to another ECO motor the car runs fine.

TheSteve
2014.08.19, 11:51 AM
There should never be any cogging unless your batteries are weak. The VE chassis will show if your batteries aren't top notch really fast. I have some flexing of my front lower plate as well, but not as bad as in the picture. There is no question that quality control and the plastic quality in general has suffered since Kyosho moved production to china.

lfisminiz
2014.08.19, 07:42 PM
I will say, couple years back when the 03 chassis came out, the flex in the lower arm piece was there back then also.

herman
2014.08.19, 11:15 PM
thanks guys for all the replies...

hmm... bottom plate - so i'm not the only one... guess that it seems to be a problem regarding parts fitting together...

ics board programming - kind of a bummer that ko / kyosho didn't make a programmable card for the mr03ve (anybody know if they will be coming out with one?)... from my understanding... you have to download the program from the kyosho site to your laptop and adjust settings from there.... unless you opt for the pn bluetooth module (which seems very cool by the way) and can adjust settings from your android smart phone (kinda bummer that it isn't available on the iOs - iphone platform)

cogging - my experience is that the motor is pretty smooth... it's just that on occasion... the power weirdly cuts out inexplicably... and comes back after a while... i haven't any experience with the brushless platform on any r/c's... so i don't know what this cogging is... dunno if it is my batteries as the steve points out (although i suspect them as the culprit) or the brushless motor.... wires can be fixed... the motor can be replaced (i checked and man they aren't cheap... oddlly, kyosho's brushless eco motor costs more than the brushless xspeed motor... wonder what's up with that? or maybe it was just that site that i looked at... anyway it would be a bummer if there was something wrong with the esc / pcb (firmware)... like how do you have that fixed?

again many thanks for all the replies

dameetz
2014.08.20, 03:20 AM
I m not sure if esc firmware upgradeable or not in mini z scale, but in other scale like 10th EP most if not all esc from major brands can be upgraded firmware wise, if they found a bug on the firmware they'll fix it and we can just download the latest firmware and flash it to the esc.

TheSteve
2014.08.25, 01:26 PM
Drove my blue JSCC car this weekend, it was converted to MM and wide front end. I have to say Kyosho did an amazing job with the Eco motor, it is extremely well matched to a stock/70 turn motor. It may be a hair slower but with more torque then a good 70 turn. If you were to do a 15 to 20 minute race it would also benefit from the extra efficiency it offers - no heat soak and less current draw means your batteries maintain more voltage.
All in all I am thrilled with the car.

mleemor60
2014.09.06, 08:15 PM
I asked in an earlier post about setting cards and the VE chassis. How about the "sport" series? Are they adjustable with the standard 03 setting cards or the Euros transmitter? We are getting a couple of Noob's that have purchased the Sport series. The one thing I notice with them is the steering seems weak. it doesn't want to stay centered or at least seems so. They kind of wander down the straights. Other than that they seem fine.

KWT
2014.09.06, 11:59 PM
As far as i know, you can't use the ICS on the Sport models.