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Old 2002.01.12, 05:51 PM   #1
runtracer
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running miniZs with micros

hello all, we run a small league for micros and have had some people wanting to race with us using miniZs. i have no experiance with the mini and am wondering how competitive this will be. from what i understand the miniZ is a tick faster than the micro being smaller and rear wheel drive but loses ground in the corners by not having the braking ability of the micro. but we do run a series that consists of tracks of different size and running surfaces. so hopefully it'll come down to driver skill and not the car itself. someone look at the rules page of our website, www.runtracers.com , and see if they will translate over to the miniZ or if i need to come up wiht a new set for them. ill probobly pick up a mini next week to start messing with it. thanks for any input.
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Old 2002.01.12, 10:09 PM   #2
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from what i know...a modded micro will sure embarass a mini-z , don't get me wrong, love the Z =). Micro's will also accelerate much more efficiently (awd).

Handling..not totally sure...mini-z are nice when dialed in, and the micro's have more of a 1:10 ooh la la smooth kinda feel
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Old 2002.01.13, 12:05 AM   #3
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the micros run stock motors with 4AAs (no mods or packs). we do allow suspension mods and such. we just want the racing to be fun for everyone and are wondering how the miniZ on 4AAAs and stock motor will compare. close we hope.
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Old 2002.01.14, 12:09 AM   #4
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hehe, that dusk in the basement will make stopping in a miniz a sliding hell. hehe. But since both cars should be relatively stock, it should be OK. But im not too sure about the performance of an orion motor is. perhaps the equivalence of an x-speed with no turbo? If the track is relatively clean and level(miniz can loose control FAST over small hops) then it should be all good.
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Old 2002.01.14, 12:14 AM   #5
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actually, if they are running F1s, then it should be even more fair. F1s turn like they are on rails. But that dusk will do somewhat of a number. RWD and sliding dont go hand-in-hand to well. just allow 1 for fun run with all the mini-zers, then you can judge.
If you guys do allow mini-z, any chance that you guys can make a video of it? I wanna see the different driving characteristics of the 2 types.
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Old 2002.01.14, 04:53 AM   #6
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actually for the orion motor, it is the same as the stock hpi motor with a different sticker and capcitors- no speed difference. that dusty basement will be clean by the next time we run there (if we run there again). i hope those guys do run with us, if they do i can get 1 minute mpegs with my dig camera so i can put up some video. i ran the micro today at a track run by the LHS, they dont allow miniZs to run (because he dont carry them and the competing LHS does) sad. i have 1/10 car too but the micro and mini cars are the funnest things out there. thats why i want to let the miniZs run with us, micro and mini owners seem to just want to have fun.

Last edited by runtracer; 2002.01.14 at 04:58 AM.
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Old 2002.01.16, 05:54 PM   #7
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Runtracer's Micro's

Runtracer,

A nice little webpage indeed, informative and to the point!

I agree that a HPI Micro RS4 will make a Mini-Z look sad. I also love the Mini-Z's, but I will dish out respect where it's due. The HPI Micro's command respect!
Mini-Z popularity is growing, even here in England, where incidentaly, the Micro RS4 has a lot of following.

The nice thing about the Mini-Z is it's detail. Agreed the RS4's Lexan bodyshell makes it more of a thoroughbred RC racer, but those intricate details on the Mini-Z are so eye catching.

'ruf', one of the Mini-ZRacer.com members works at an RC shop in Houston. He's clued up indeed, he made a valid point about the Mini-Z. He said due to it's size, it doesn't handle like a true RC racer, so it makes for better driver skill.. I guess that's a matter of opinion, but as a former hardcore 1/10 eletric RC racer, I second "ruf's" statement.


In my personal opinion, I believe their should be co-operation between Micro racers of any kind. The RS4 and Mini-Z's can run on the same tracks, whereas both the smaller cars would be dwarfed on a track designed for 1/12 to 1/8's.

I am tempted to buy an RS4, but at this moment, my energy is focussed on starting a Mini-Z racing league here in England. Once that's achieved, a HPI Micro RS4 is a must for the collection.

runtracer, nice webpage. Let us know how the Mini-Z's compare with the RS4's.

Keep up the faith..

Mondo
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Old 2002.01.16, 09:06 PM   #8
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Racing them together might be fun. If i had the choice though..i wouldn't...If there are any collisions...ouch

Micros are a significant amount heavier than mini-z's. and we all payed attention in physics during the momentum lesson..rite?

anyways, handling wise...i think micros are a little more forgiving. IMO, Mini-z are much more sensitive. I got into 1/10 after the mini-z, and the mini-z are good for training
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Old 2002.01.16, 09:22 PM   #9
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Cory-z, I've run w/ Micros and in addition to beating them pretty comfortably (thanks to turbo), collisions weren't that bad due to the soft lexan shells.
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Old 2002.01.16, 11:38 PM   #10
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Had a look at the site. Very cool. Check out the white stratus on the "Cars" page. Gorgeous. That alone proves that lexan can be just as sweet as styrene. Very nice.
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Old 2002.01.19, 10:50 AM   #11
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Kevin, as stated above my Turbo Modena destroys the Micros it's been up against. On a really big track the Micros would probably have an advantage, but I've really beat them pretty badly on the mid-size track we go to. This week I tried my stock F1 (except tires) against one and yet again lapped it over and over. They can't take the corners nearly as fast despite 4WD and they don't have the acceleration to use the straights to their advantage either. I'm sure that the most powerful Micro on the planet could waste a Mini-Z, but the stock and mod ones I've seen haven't been up to much.
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Old 2002.01.26, 03:39 AM   #12
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alright we got the mini Zs and ran them with the micros and heres the results: (all tests were done multiple times with different drivers)

road race, stock for stock the micro spanked the miniZ (although the miniZ almost took one race with me at the wheel!). this was bone stock miniZ and bone stock micro (futaba sport tx,rx, & 230esc) on a a concrete floor (painted then unpainted areas). the lack of real brakes on the miniZ was the killer. i felt that if it had the same braking ability as the micro it would be much closer. the running surface has to be much smoother for the mini as well, small imperfections that the micro would just roll over, the mini could get airborne.

cornering, if there was good traction (carpet) both cars would run though without a problem. going really fast the micro will traction roll and the mini would "push". on slick concrete the micro would drift through and the mini would spin out (brakes would help again) the F1 might corner better with its low center of gravity but with just fwd/rev and no brakes i doubt it. we have a guy with the corvette body on his micro with LRP electronics sitting way low- he can blast through the corners where my skyline bodied, lower end electronic fitted car will roll over. id have to see an F1 go against a low slung micro to see how they compare.

top speed, the micro comes with a 9, 11, 13t pinions while the biggest for the mini was a 9t. i took an 11 and put it on a mini z (pinions were interchangable)and got a micro geared the same. the micro hooked up better but the miniZ was king here. it would catch and pass the micro in about 20ft or so. so geared the same, stock/stock the miniZ has the higher top end speed. modified? who knows, we dont have a modified miniZ to run against my mod micro which can hang with 1/10th stock cars. if i had to guess id say that a micro with a big block(speed300) or orion elite would outrun any mini z in a straight line, but racing cars this small at that kind of speed isnt fun to me. we keep the micros slow for stock racing, and running door to door is a blast.

tracking, whats up with that? there has got to be something to help the miniZ. we couldnt get them to run a straight line for nothing. they always went left or right, never straight. aftermarket goodies should take care of that though.

fit and finish, this is a tough one. out of the box the miniZs looked great, if the Z looks bad its because it took a beatin' at some point. the micro comes unassembled so its really up to the owner/ builder as to how the micro looks. if a micro looks bad its either been thashed or the builder just slapped her together.

toughness, this is a tough one too, but someone mentioned it above so ill comment. the only things that went wrong on either car was a miniZ lancia stratos lost its fog lights. but this car got rolled, swiped by micros and 1/10 cars and even went nose first at top speed into a steel I beam. a dab of super glue was all that was needed to make it tip top again. thumbs up from me. the micros can take a beating as well but it has a few weak links; the servo is prone to breaking loose in a collision (shoe goo and 2 sided tape remedy this though), if you run the wheels in their wide setting with a narrow body its prone to broken steering knuckles (so run wheels inside the body!) and i knocked mine off the top of my toolbox (5ft rollaway) to the concrete and broke a body mount post.

batteries; both cars ran rayovac nimh. the miniZ had 4AAA 700mah, the micro had 4AA 1700. neither car seemed to ever run out of juice. since the tests were done in several 30-45 min sittings both were allowed to change/charge batteries at will. but as a micro owner i know my car will go strong for over an hr on the above mentioned batteries. i also have an orion 5 cell 6v pack that packs a serious punch but only lasts about 10-15 min (1100mah nimh). i didnt see a mini run out of steam so i cant compare run times.

will we run them together? yes and no. after the tests, the miniZ owners decided that they want to run our tracks but in there own class. id run it against the micros, both cars have strengths and weaknesses that will play out at different times- thats real racing.

will i buy one? sure. what the miniZ does have, or doesnt have in this case, is size. ive always wanted to build one of those big landscapes in my basement like you see for hobby trains. but i hate trains so i never had a real reason to do it. now i do. a nice tar paper/ carpet rally course should do it.

bottom line; you really cant say that one of these cars is "better" than the other. they are different cars that do different things well. its a ford vs chevy debate. the best i can say is- my minZ will be ordered up this week and itll depend on the track as to which car i show up with.

tom

Last edited by runtracer; 2002.01.27 at 12:04 AM.
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Old 2002.01.26, 10:34 AM   #13
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runtracer, what size was the track? RE tracking, toe-in tie rods and a ball diff should clear that right up.
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Old 2002.01.26, 12:36 PM   #14
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the tracks used for the initial tests somewhere in the 25x30 ft range with 2 1/2-3 ft lanes. the surfaces vary from slick concrete, etched concrete and lobby carpet. these are all impromptu tracks that we run at work that can be setup and taken down fast before mangement catches us. i cant get any photos of them because cameras arent allowed past security(mitsubishi factory). im trying to get one one the mini guys to come to the basement track with the sand in the paint, it's tight for a micro and i think a miniZ would rule over there.
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