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Old 2011.09.02, 02:09 PM   #1
Bodom
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Iw-04m

I got an Firelap IW-04M car
I am going to write a review of the car and then return it to its owner


This is just a teaser. I'll write more tomorrow.
Feel free to ask questions about things that are point of interest so I can pay attention and write back some info.
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Old 2011.09.02, 02:33 PM   #2
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I was thinking about getting one to compare, but I cant justify the cost right now with so many other new things coming out... I mostly want to know how the drivetrain feels compared to Mini-Z AWD. Weight balance L:R, F:R... Center of gravity, motor location, battery location...

And then there are the electronics. Iwaver/Firelap electronics have always been the weakest part of their kits, if the electronics are not improved, there is no purpose for anyone with a Mini-Z to get one unless they plan to swap out the PCB. So that brings me to the next point, how easily can a Mini-Z board be swapped in. How many wires is the servo, and does it have a dedicated PCB for it like most larger scale electronics... Speed of movement/recentering, and resolution are the primary interests.

From the picture you posted, it looks like the body sits high already...
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Old 2011.09.02, 04:13 PM   #3
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I can see the chassis bottom, so there's plenty of leeway to lower a more spacious body (599XX, etc.) over that... Good!

As I've noted before, I think this has the potential to be the next "Gen 1 Xmod". The chassis seems to be very open and easily modifiable, the layout is open and it looks like it will natively fit 102mm bodies! If the motor is mounted properly it would be super easy to create custom-wheelbase driveshafts, a big draw of what made the Gen 1 Xmod so easily usable for custom projects.
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Old 2011.09.02, 04:42 PM   #4
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Chassis
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/...b39132a3_m.jpg


Bottom view
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6144/...a34e3224_m.jpg


got that from the RCTech forum - http://www.rctech.net/forum/manila-r...ro-rc-462.html

my units are probably going to arrive early next month or hopefully end of this month.

with regards to the electronics, I THINK it is the same as the newer version of their 2.4Ghz that they released last year for their Iwaver 02M. - http://mini-zracer.com/forums/showpo...83&postcount=7

PS. I use the Iwaver 02M on my toy rental tracks, they do last a good while before they breakdown. The major reason why they breakdown is because they don't receive tender-loving-care from its users (because they are just rentals). My units will generally operates at least 4hours a day, 7-days a week on the average and they will start to manifest problems after about 3 to 4 weeks (because of low maintenance). The PCB need general cleaning by that time. BUT I do have units that last 2 or 3 months before they manifest problems - probably needs replacement of the steering motor and variable resistor.

The IW02M steering electronics is incorporated just like the mini-Z (2 wires for the motor, red-black and 3 wires for the VR, green-yellow-red). But the steering motor is not like the one on MR03... it similar to the older motor.
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Old 2011.09.03, 03:17 AM   #5
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Here we go.
First some pictures of the package and what's inside:





The chassis can make 90, 94, 98 and 102mm wheelbases out of the box.
It has the parts needed to modify wheelbase (btw. only the spur gear needs to be changed). The Enzo is 98mm.
Note that some really compact 90mm cars wouldn't fit as the bottom chassis plate will get in the way.. For example the Lancia Delta Integralle wouldn't fit.

It comes with inappropriate wheels! The Enzo is pretty wide body and the chassis comes with four wide(!) wheels with +1 or +1.5 offset (I'm not sure).
It also has four drift tires (note they are narrow on wide wheels) and four wide grip tires (pretty soft slicks, they are good).

The suspension is pretty soft and bind-free! I like it. It is high as you noted, but it can be easily lowered. There is no suspension adjustment shims in the package.



The transmission is pretty much the same as MA-010. Only the motor is on top. From what I see the transmission and suspension parts are the same as MA-010. The knuckles, outdrive shafts, diffs, spur gear, wheels look the same. I'll try every part for compatibility though, because I already tried kyosho knuckles and they don't fit on the front I'll analyse this more carefully.
The outdrives looks like aluminum. It has bearings on the diffs. and main shaft only. The knuckles are on bushings.

The transmission is loud and I think it binds somewhere. What I saw so far is that the spur gear doesn't spin evenly. It's pinion to the rear diff waves around when rotating.

The chassis has two big plates. One on the bottom and one on the top. To change knuckles you have to remove the top plate, which holds the motor too.

To change diffs or toe bar you have to disassemble pretty much everything

The servo is a standard micro servo. I haven't dismounted it yet and don't know what exactly it is, but I'll see.
What I noticed is that when the servo moves it reaches the central shaft and touches it So it has to be trimmed well.

P.S. Image limit reached - so new post.
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Old 2011.09.03, 03:33 AM   #6
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Back spur gear:


The steering mechanism:

steering rod seems like MA-010 too.

Here you can see where the servo arm has touched the main shaft.
The plastic used is generally crap. There are already some striped holes.

The PCB is on the bottom and I haven't reached it yet. Will post pics when I disassemble it completely.

The body is decent. It's from hard plastic and is pretty hard to mount and unmount the body from the chassis.
(on the pictures the wheels are from MA-010 and I don't have so big offset wheels sorry)



Taillights are a little messy. No Ferrari emblems or whatsoever.

The car weights 184g.

(batteries included)
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Old 2011.09.03, 03:47 AM   #7
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The Transmitter.
It has a lot of settings and 10 model memory. Some of the settings don't work with the car though.
Here is the funny part:

It has Module !!!

A dummy module !!! Ha ha ha.


The transmitter has some pins there but they're bad located and I would be surprised if it really supports modules.

The electronics are crap too.
I've had FM iWaver 02M. It is pretty much the same. It has lag on both steering and throttle! It has no brakes. Or at least I don't know how to get them work from the transmitter's settings.

Oh, I almost forgot - the weight distribution is perfect left to right. The front/back is also pretty balanced. The front is a tiny little bit heavier. I don't know how to measure center of gravity - sorry.

One more impressive thing - turning radius is pretty small, which is good.

And for dessert - here is a little video: CLICK

I'll test it on our carpet track next week and will post comments and maybe video. Don't expect much from me. Our track is pretty homemade and small one. Here in Bulgaria we don't have mini-z clubs with decent tracks.

Hope this helps
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Old 2011.09.03, 08:55 AM   #8
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Thanks for sharing your review. The car seems to be exactly what I expected it to be I feared the rear spur/pinion would wobble a bit to the diff.

The entire top plate having to be removed to access the springs/knuckles... is kind of funny

Its hard to tell, but are the battery terminals fixed in place, or can they be moved forward and backward like the old Xmod?

Thanks again for taking the time to do the review.
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Old 2011.09.03, 04:57 PM   #9
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Looks like the servo's attached to the battery holders so that would be a no*.

*Of course you can, with a dremel, shims, screws, and free time.



Thanks for the review Bodom!
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Old 2011.09.06, 07:23 AM   #10
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Second part.
I don't get the point of moving the battery terminals or battery holders around. color01 is right - the servo is attached to the battery holders. You will see.

First impression was that the transmission and suspension parts are the same as MA-010. But it's not true There are some minor differences which would make it a little bit harder to accommodate Kyosho parts.
The knuckles have a bit longer "kingpin" and it is a little bit thinner.
Kyosho's knuckles are 3.3mm at the kingpin, iWaver's are 3.2mm. This is why Kyosho knuckles doesn't fit in front.


The outdrives are different too.. And they are not aluminum as I first thought. I think the iWaver's outdrives are little longer.

On top is 3Racing aluminum for MA-010, below is the iWAver's.

Rear diff. assembly.


The servo is unknown



Here you can see one of the stripped holes (the screw with plastic on it)

Front diff assembly.


Tie rod looks the same as Kyosho's.

On top is iWaver's, below is Kyosho's.
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Old 2011.09.06, 07:27 AM   #11
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Motor holder.


The board.


The other side of the board


The FET's are 4512C single layer. I am not a FET guy, so I hope you can tell are they good, and are they better compared to 3010's.

The motor pinion is 17T. Spur gear is 29T. Central shaft pinions are 8T. The diffs are 28T.

And that's it. It was hard to disassemble. I think it would be pain in the... changing parts. To change the tie rod - you have to disassemble pretty much everything .

Next to come is the track test this week.
Cheers.
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Old 2011.09.06, 09:34 AM   #12
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Bodom - Thank you for the very-detailed review on the Iwaiver 04M, great review! You really took the time to photograph and hit every key point us tuners want to know about the chassis.

I saw the 04M for sale online only a few days ago and I honestly thought that it had a lot of potential… I was actually kind of thinking, “Wow, not bad!”. After reading this review, I am sitting here…. SMH... All that potential (the overall design and execution), and just so many shortcuts & disappointing choices in choice of materials, manufacturing flaws, and as EMU mentioned earlier - Standard-Iwaiver-quality(ehrr, I mean Non-Quality) electronics.

To buy it and basically have to replace/hand-make(remake) the whole chassis from ground-up> IMHO, such a waste of so much potential & good ideas (Revisions of certain things about Kyosho’s MA010 design I mean)…

I know the price-point is low and that is an Iwaiver priority. I guess you do get your money’s worth. My question now to everyone - Does anyone think this chassis kit is worth a “re-do” with Kyosho-quality parts & electronics? Is the overall design of the 04M better than the MA-010 (batteries located on the sides, motor up-top, electronics on bottom, standard-type servo)???

Again, thank you for the detailed review and pics Bodom!!!
I’m curious to hear what other people think about this chassis…?
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Old 2011.09.06, 10:22 AM   #13
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Awesome review! How much do these cost?
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Old 2011.09.06, 11:17 AM   #14
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I am glad see that you value my work.
They cost around $80.
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Old 2011.09.06, 05:26 PM   #15
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I think it's worth waiting to see what Iwaver comes up with in terms of parts support -- if this is an $80 dead end then #@$! no it's not worth it, but if they come out with decent-quality aluminum hop-ups, then all we have to do is cut a new chassis bottom plate and replace the electronics and I think the chassis will be a fun "project car" kind of deal.
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