Mini-Z Radio Control Racers
At the end of August 2000, about 8 of my coworkers and I each purchased a Kyosho Mini-Z racer R/C car in order to have lunchtime and afterwork races. The Mini-Z kits come almost ready to roll and include a proportional transmitter (just apply decals and add batteries). These palm-sized racers come with a fully operational differential. The kit is approximately $150. You can read a product review at About.com.
As of September 2000, the only body styles available are the Nissan Skyline and Subaru Impreza with a BMW and Audi TT bodies to be released shortly. The bodies are very robust. My coworkers and I can't leave anything alone so we have all made additional bodies from 1:24 plastic model car kits to replace the Kyosho bodies that ship with the Mini-Z kits. We had to extend the wheelbase of some of the cars for the rear wheels to line up properly with the new bodies.
I'm waiting for a 2nd generation 1:24 scale Fujimi CRX Si kit from Hobby Link Japan to arrive so I can race a CRX!
They also have a great 1st generation 1:24 scale Tamiya CRX Ballade kit which fits the Mini-Z wheelbase perfectly.
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In the interim I found a great Tamiya Honda Odyessey Minivan 1:24 plastic model. While I machined the chassis modifications to accept the new body, my coworker Paul Belik painted the Odyssey and riced it out with stickers he made from surfing the web. The end result is a great looking riced out Honda Odyessey Minivan that handles very well.
 1:24 scale Honda Odyssey Minivan body and Mini-Z chassis with extended wheelbase. Note motor red/black power wires had to be replaced with longer ones to accomodate the wheelbase stretch. |
 Note G10 precision milled fiberglass (yellow) wheel base extension. |
 Milled white nylon side body mounts and balsa wood front mount bonded with 5 minute epoxy and floc. |
The transmitter uses 8 AA alkaline batteries and the car runs on 4 AAA alkaline batteries. One can get about an hour of runtime before having to replace the car batteries. I went through several packs of alkaline batteries before purchasing 3 sets of AAA Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries of 650 mah capacity for the car and 8 AA NiMH batteries with 1600 mah capacity for the transmitter. These are made by Sanyo and provide consistent power throughout their discharge. The cars also run twice as long on the NiMH rechargeables compared to the alkalines (and you aren't polluting landfills). I purchased my NiMH batteries from http://www.powerline-battery.com (1-800-234-2444). They had fairly competitive prices at $3.25 per AA cell and $2.95 per AAA cell. If you order any batteries from them ask to speak to Lisa and mention Stefano referred you.
Sanyo AAA (650mah) and AA (1600mah) rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride batteries.
I use an AstroFlight 110D Digital Peak Charger to recharge the batteries to full capacity. This is a spectacular charger and extremely simple to use. The transmitter AA NiMH batteries get recharged with the same AstroFlight 110D charger and a custom charge cord I made that plugs into the charge jack on the transmitter. In order to get the charger to function while charging the transmitter you must open up the transmitter and short out the safety protection diode for the transmitter's battery pack (realize this probably voids any Kyosho warranty but is the only way to allow the AstroFlight charger to sense cell voltage).
 AstroFlight 110D Digital Peak Charger powered from a 13.8VDC regulated Tripp-Lite Power Supply. |
 Charging 4 NiMH AAA cells. |
 Custom transmitter charge cord. |
 Transmitter back. Remove RF crystal and 8 AA cells before removing 9 phillips head screws in order to open up transmitter. |
 Transmitter halves apart and ready for diode shorting fix to allow battery charging by the AstroFlight charger. |
 Note soldered short across diode terminals (diode is on the reverse side of circuit board). |
Below are pictures from August 31 - September 5, 2000 showing the original Nissan Skyline body and the modified bodies we made for our cars.
 Front view of original assembled and stickered Nissan Skyline body. |
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 The body comes painted and with tinted windows. |
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 Proportional transmitter and Mini-Z |
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 Backside of the Mini-Z box. |
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 Our 1st race track with jump. |
The blurs are Mini-Zs in motion. This picture was taken without flash. |
 Our 2nd race track. More Mini-Z blurs! |
 Paul's Cobra bodied Mini-Z stops for a photo-op. |
 Custom painted Nissan, Cobra, and custom painted Subaru at the starting line. |
 Mini-Z's tearing up the track. |
 Wyatt's CHP Ford Crown Victoria with operational white LED headlights, Red LED taillights, and flashing LED roof lightbar. |
 Another view of the track. |
 Stefano's riced out Honda Odyssey Minivan. Paint and stickers by Paul Belik. |
 "Sticker Power"! |
 Check out the PARIS windshield sticker. |
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 "Soccer Mom" Mini-Z |
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 Dual Moonroof |
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 TYPE-R baybee! |
 Wyatt's CHP Cruiser |
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 "To Protect and Serve" |
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 Stuart's "Dukes of Hazzard" General Lee |
 "Git dem Dukes!" - Boss Hogg |
 "LKN4DASY" |
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 Paul Belik's Cobra |
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 "Gigantor 28" |
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 Custom Mini-Zs lined up. |
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 September 16, 2000 picture of the Odyssey after many races. |
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 Note scuffed paint from racing. |
More pictures of modified Mini-Zs.
 Matt's Mach 5 Speed Racer |
 Note the custom CNC'd polished aluminum rim covers for that authentic look! |
 Front view of Mach 5 with High Intensity LED headlights. |
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 The quality of this Mini-Z rebody is beyond words. |
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 Notice the authentic machined aluminum wide rims. |
 With its super wide-track this Mini-Z really handles well! |
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 Photos from October 3, 2000 |
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 Underbody mechanicals |
 Double-tire wide rim |
 Aluminum rim detail is spectacular! |
 Stef vacuums the outdoor racetrack with the world's worst Hoover vac. |
 The outdoor racetrack gets completed just as the sun sets. |
 "General Lee" Dodge Charger, Honda Odyssey "Soccer Mom" MiniVan, and the Lamborghini Countach at the starting line. |
 Without the flash... |
 The Lambo rules! |
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 Overhead view |
 The CHP Mini-Z arrives for some late night racing. |
2002.06.12 Pictures of Paul Belik's amazing Dodge Dakota Mini-Z
 Belik Racing |
 Dodge Dakota Racer #29 |
 Incredible Blue LED driving lights. |
 New Mini-Z Racer on the Streets. |
 1/24 Scale Tamyia Boxster plastic kit body.... |
 Functional super bright white LED headlights. |
 Functional rear red LED tail lights. |
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2005.02.16 Pictures of Adam's Jim Hall 1966 Chaparral 2D
 Jim Hall 1966 Chaparral 2D |
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 Phenomenal detail. |
 Bling rims, metal wheel nuts, 2deg front end camber, bearing kit, ball differential, and 850 mAh NiMH batteries. |
