Ball Bearings

We have been asked many times so I guess the easiest way is to post it up our official website so that everyone gets this info. It will also be easier for those that wants to buy their own bearings from their trusty bearing suppliers.

The mini z 2WD ( MR02 + MR03) needs a total of 7 bearings. The sizes are as per the picture above.

Well, 7 bearings? Strange Number ! Here are where the bearings go. 4 of the 2 x 6 x 2.5 goes to the front wheels, 1 on the inner and 1 on the outer side. The other 3 goes to the rear, 1 on the each side of the motor pod and 1 on the right wheel where the spur is.

FYI.... Mini Z Bearings are only at $13 bucks each set from our store.

Happy Racing Guys !

The old tuning guide part 2

1.3 Good Practice

The concept of tuning is fascinating, as it is dangerous. Why? Because every millimeter you change can have dramatic effect on your touring car. So it is important to keep in mind some good practice while tuning your vehicle. Here some basic things to keep in mind before you begin to tune your car.

Don't Forget These!

Change ONLY one thing at a time

If you dial in an extra degree of camber, shorten the wheelbase and install stiffer front springs all during the same visit ti the pits, you'll have no idea which adjustment has made your car handle better or worst. Take the car out for a few laps after each adjustment; if performance decreases, it's easy to "undo" the last adjustment.

Make small adjustments

Touring - car setup isn't a game of inches; it's a game of TENTHS of inches. Make small adjustments, or you may overshoot the prefect setting. Test the car frequently as you dial it in.

Know when to say " Enough"

How long does it take to get the prefect setup? Answer: How much time you got? It's easy to fall into the trap of chasing setup all day, all week, or all season. Though you should always be looking for ways to go faster, you should not be altering your car so often that you never get used to one setup. It's more important to be able to drive your car at 100% of your ability, even if it's only 80% dialed in.

Keep Notes

You'll notice that the fast guys all have greasy little notebooks on which they jot all their setup info. You should follow suit; write down all the setup info you can stand - even the stuff that didn't work! It doesn't take long to acquire a lot of useful data and you'll save a lot of practice laps when you need tune your car for conditions you've encountered previously. Modern touring cars now comes with their own setup sheets that allows to easily record your settings.

2.1 Weight Distribution

On your chassis you may have the choice of moving things around such that one wheel applies more pressure to the ground. If you put the majority of your car's weight towards the rear of the car, your rear wheels will have more pressure vs the front wheels. This extra pressure on the rear wheels will give the rear wheels more traction. As a result your car will less likely to fish tail in a turn. However, as you move the weight of your car from the front to the back, your front wheels will lose traction! (Less weight = less traction) When there is less weight in the front, your car will lose steering. Think of a monster truck pulling a wheelie, it cannot steer because it's front wheels aren't touching the ground. The exact opposite happens if you transfer weight to the front wheels.

General Rule

- Front weights more than back = Good Steering, likely to Fishtail

- Back weights more than front = Bad Steering, unlikely to Fishtail

Parts for the Mini Z

A frequent question for Mini-Z players is, what brand of hop up i should go for?  Like in any scale there are always 3rd party brands that manufacturer parts for replacement or performance upgrade.

The same happens for mini-z scene, multiple brands producing variety of  parts at a wide range of pricing.  Most will agree that having more choices exponentially give you more headache. The upgrade path could be simplified by opting for all pure breed parts(i.e. pure kyosho hop ups or Route 246) or much easier option would be duplicating the current top racers' setup.

Some racers believe that one should pick the best working part of brand A and match it with the best part from brand B or more brand C and D and so forth. Others believe in keeping to the same brand helps parts working in harmony(i.e. fitment and compatibility)

At Atomic Collective, we carry very comprehensive range of brands and parts. Racers are open to share their experiences and setup. An ideal environment for new racers indeed.

So at end of the day which breed of racer are you? The one who ask what to upgrade or the one who keep quiet and wonder which discipline to pick.

 There are so many different options and brands of parts available for this little RC machine even on a single chassis.

We spent countless hours surfing the net and gathering information and looking at pictures. What if ? What if this amount of time is spent driving on track? Would that make you a happier and a better driver?

MR03 Chassis @ $199

The MR03 promo is on yes, we are currently running a promo on the Kyosho MR03 Chassis set. More info of this chassis can be found here:

http://www.kyosho.com/eng/products/rc/detail.html?product_id=105671

On top of a special pricing of $199. All customers that  purchase the car kit from Atomic Collective will get a lifetime discount of 10% off major brands of Mini Z parts.

We are also giving out 1 month of FOC track usage to all the new car owners. That's right you get to drive on track for free for the month from the date of purchase.

Hit the tracks. NO more excuses

The old tuning guide part 1

There have been questions asking about fine tuning and settings for this little RC car. Well, thanks to one of our racers, he contributed one of the oldest setup guide. For the next few articles I will be re-typing this manual on our website. And of course, we would like to thank the originator for this article.

1.1 Intro

Yup, the title says it all, this will be the last tuning guide you'll ever read! Well.. you know, I have to get your attention some how right? Anyway, my name is gen, a cartoon tool girl that will be guiding you into the complex and twisted world of tuning. Pay attention to what I say because every sentence contains valuable tips. You can also print what I said in case I am not around:Use the (print button) on the bottom right corner of this page to keep me for good.

Why Tune?

Lets begin with the question, why tune? Is it for more speed, traction or looks? Well, obviously it isn't looks, I mean, a losing car with a pretty body isn't exactly popular. How about speed? Well let's see, in a prefect straight road, you could definitely use speed, faster cars wins right? But what if the track you are on is full of sharp turns, would speed matter than? That brings us to traction, which in turn controls your car's ability to turn at high speeds. Sort of getting the image yet? As the speed of your car goes up, your ability to make sharp turns goes down. A well - tuned car can "Execute a turn at maximum velocity". Confused yet? No? Ok, read on to find out what traction is made of.

1.2 Traction Defined

Gravity

In this world, gravity is the only thing keeping your tires stuck to the ground. Think of heavy person vs a light person. It is easier to push the light person across a field of ice than it is to push the heavy person. The exact same concept goes with cars. The more "Pressure" each tire has with the ground yields greater traction (therefore keeping the tire/car in place). I sense that you are already thinking of ways to increase traction ! (hint: weight of the car, hint hint)

It's all in the tires

When you think of it, the only thing that touches the group is the 4 circular rubber things called tires right? Shall one of the 4 tires leaves the ground; it only makes sense that traction is decrease by a quarter. So in order to obtain maximum traction out of those 4 rubber circles is to keep them all touching the ground as much as possible. Tire touches ground = traction, makes sense? Now lets look at how can this be accomplished in chapter 2, the core of this wonderful guide.

MR02 + MR03 Setup Board

Since when did mini z get so serious? When it comes to RC racing every little bit counts. On track we are spending time and effort to fine our ride to get a better timing. Occasionally the cars feels werid, it seems like the car is pulling to the side or it seems like the offset of the car is a little strange visually.

Are the offset balance? Hmm ........ I doubt visually anyone can can really give an answer.

Well if there is an answer to the problem it is not longer a problem.

PN racing has recently launch a Setup board that can support both the MR02 and the MR03. RRP is $45 and we are offering this beauty at a PRE ORDER price of $35 locally. That is like a 20% discount.

So hurry, drop us a note today. Gets yours. Get serious and Get ready to RACE !!!!!

Weekly MR02EX Box Stock Race?

Over this period of time the MR02Ex has been selling pretty well, is it because of the price or the interest for mini z has pick up? We have sold a total of 45 car kits ever since the MR02ex has been launch 3rd quarter last year. The MR02EX box stock race is held every month however we are thinking to tone down the seriousness and make it a weekly event.

So I guess its time to have a little fun weekly race.

I would love to hear some of your comments and ideas for the weekly race. Remember it is box stock so it down to just plain driving skills and fun.

As soon we gather enough feed back we will kick off this weekly fun race.

Takata Dome NSX 2003

2003 Takata Dome NSX 2003 is available for pre-orders. As it is stated on the Auto scale box its says MR03RM, I wonder if this is a re-released of a previous model.

Pre-order will close on 10 of feb and shipment should be in by 17th of feb. Do hurry, nice shells wait for no one.