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Old 2006.04.08, 03:29 PM   #1
vertex
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Monster or Mini Inferno ST?

Hi,

I'm planning to give my son a car on his 3y birthday this summer (and also give myself an identical car so we can play together). I know it may be a bit early to start with expensive cars like this at 3y age, but I'm ready to give it a shot. I prefer to spend a few extra bucks on a real R/C car than just the $20 plastic toys that break before the batterys run out.


So what I'd like is an off-road car that doesn't need a smooth track to run, so I'm looking into the Mini-Z Monster or the Mini Inferno ST. I'm not looking for a super-fast competition car, rather a slower, durable car that doesn't break as soon as you hit the leg of the kitchen table... Long battery life is also a major plus.

So what would you recommend, Mini-Z Monster or Mini Inferno ST? Or are there any other decent cars in the same league??

How long can you run a Mini-Z Monster on one set of batterys? And what about the Mini Inferno?

Can you change the pinion on both cars? I'd like to use the slowest (to get maximum battery life).


Thanks,
//Henrik

Last edited by vertex; 2006.04.08 at 03:33 PM.
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Old 2006.04.08, 04:18 PM   #2
maestroelite
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Just going on durability, the Mini Inferno ST should win out. MZM's tend to break quite a bit. They're fragile machines unless you deck them out in alloy. You can change the pinion in either truck, or basically any vehicle that claims to be hobby class or close.

Runtime is pretty subjective to the environment you're driving on, types of batteries, motors(I assume stock in this case) and such. You'll have to be a little more specific.

Last edited by maestroelite; 2006.04.08 at 04:20 PM.
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Old 2006.04.09, 11:35 AM   #3
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well if you want slow and durable, the mini inferno is your best bet. you can get long run times by going slow or getting better batteries.
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Old 2006.04.09, 01:17 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MINIz guy11
well if you want slow and durable, the mini inferno is your best bet. you can get long run times by going slow or getting better batteries.

LOL - these two guys - maestro and MiniZ - have been watching my videos and hearing about my bashing. I agree with Maestro and only somewhat with MiniZ.

The MZMs (mini-z monsters) are AWFUL offroad outdoors. Very low clearance and 2WD makes them not easily controlled. And stock - very very slow offroad. BTW - they are not very durable indoors. I will continue to support what I have and then look for something else for indoors in the long run. Although the MZMs are very fun. Expect to invest as much in one for upgrades/fixes as in the purchase price if you are hard on them.

Now for the Mini Inferno ST (MIST), that's all we play with outdoors. Unbelievably durable. Are they slow stock? Yes if absolute speed is what you want. But their slow offroad is faster than a stock MZM onroad. My 6 year old does great and I don't mind (prefer) the AAs. Probably topping out at 13 mph on hard pack and 11 mph on short grass. Plenty fast enough for launching off of portable plastic skate board ramps. We clear 3' gaps no prob on dirt and if we don't use a landing ramp, the touch down point is 5-6' out. We go farther by putting the launch ramp on a dirt hill on the down side. Often 8' of air. People I know get a lot more speed with the NiMH packs available/upgraded motors. BTW - upgrading these for a motor ($9), batt packs ($25) is not pricey if you go aftermarket and avoid Kyosho.

I have posted some videos here:

Suspension Travel (215 Kb)

MIST Minute (13.4 MB)

MIST Bashing (6.3 MB)

I tightened the slipper clutch and picked up at least another mph over what you see in these.
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Last edited by SteveR1960; 2006.04.09 at 01:28 PM.
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Old 2006.04.09, 02:27 PM   #5
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i ahve both the mz and half eight. if you want speed and durability i would definately go with the h8 or h8st. they are much smaller than i expected which was nice since i prefer smaller stuff.

yes, tighten up the slipper and you get much more speed. i had to crank it as tight as i could
http://www2.mini-zracer.com/albums/a..._halfeight.wmv
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Old 2006.04.09, 04:25 PM   #6
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that looks like fun arch.
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Old 2006.04.09, 05:32 PM   #7
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another 1 for Mini inferno ST. The car has a lot more potential so you can go super fast or stay stock slow, which isn't bad at all.

Steve knows I tried to stay stock, but got addicted to the modding side of half8's.

If your okay with a buggy a 1:18 Duratrax vendetta aka Anderson MB4 is nice out of the box. Its very light compared to the ST, uses the same motor size and IMO more meanuverable. Its almost sized right in the middle of the ST and MZM, but closer to the ST.


-OvaYaHead

Last edited by GiXXer; 2006.04.09 at 05:42 PM.
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Old 2006.04.09, 06:17 PM   #8
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ova, can you try to post some pics of your half8 on the AM forum? i looked at the vendetta and that was my favorite 1/18 until rsx19(from AM forum)told me i servo/esc combo. that lead me away from it cus i didnt want to change a lot to add a brushless motor. also, steve, you said a aftermarket motor would be $9. what kind of motor would that be? its so cheap i doubt it will be any good

Last edited by MINIz guy11; 2006.04.09 at 06:21 PM.
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Old 2006.04.09, 06:40 PM   #9
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keep in mind my video is of a box stock, no mods mini inferno. once you tighen the slipper it gets much quicker and less slipping or spinning you hear in my video. the reaction is simply much faster to throttle input, this coming from a H8 novice
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Old 2006.04.09, 08:50 PM   #10
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sure I'll try to post some later, it just looks stock though with the orange/blue scheme. I just removed some stickers and the tail fell off.

Even on the KMI ST you'll need to replace the internals to go to brushless. If you want to stay brushed, then a brushed esc is only around $25. Brushless esc's are about $75 average (mamba25, quark 33a pro car)

brushless plan A
- use stock AM 27mhz remote
- replace reciever (RX) with a Novak XXL 27mhz receiver ($40)
- replace servo with HS 85mg ($20)
- brushless motor and bl esc of your choice (approx. $110)

brushless plan B
- buy a remote/rx combo (price range varies $50 - $300)
- servo ($20 - $30)
- brushless motor and bl esc of your choice ($110)
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Old 2006.04.09, 11:20 PM   #11
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MiniZ,

the recommended $9 motor is the Rocket SPeed 400:

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/speed400.htm

A couple of very knowledgable folks said it is a very good motor.
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Old 2006.04.10, 10:29 AM   #12
GiXXer
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I read up on the rocket 400 4.8v. People that had one reported that the motor reached over 200 degrees after a short period of time. The excessive heat resulted in failure. The motor is fast, but not good for long run times. Run times > 5min resulted in 200+ tempatures.

The findings do not have details on what gear ratio was used and if a heat sync was used in the application.
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Old 2006.04.24, 12:38 AM   #13
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Hey arch did u buy all that track from radio shack? lol kinda rhymes.
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Old 2006.04.24, 05:13 AM   #14
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no, from rcp himself and the shop here
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