This Q&A section has information pertaining to Mini-Zs. There are several Q&A sections and you will find an index of them at Q&A Central.

XMODS are great if you are just scooting around the driveway, they particularly hold up well when you are doing speed runs, in a straight line. If you are planning on racing though, the precision of the Mini-Z really cannot be beat. The parts quality and finish is much higher and this leads to a much higher performing vehicle.

Mini-Z hands down, as it has a hobby class radio. It will go far enough away that you can't tell front from back!

Officially there are 6 channels, but I'll let you in on a little secret. The XMOD crystals work in mini-Zs giving you 12 possible frequencies.

This is a question we've been overloaded with. The answer is yes, the Mini-Z bodies will fit, but it will take some modification and possibly some fabrication. Several customers on the Testimonials have done it, feel free to email them for recommendations. Also, check out the forum for others who have experience in customizing bodies.

The Mini-Z is a very high quality car with excellent steering resolution and a hobby class radio. There are lots of upgrade parts available for them and they hold up very well. I have several Mini-Zs and they drive like a dream.

We are a factory authorized Kyosho internet dealer so you can get them right here.

Kyosho does limited production runs of each body style. If you see a body style you like, don't wait. Chances are it will only be available for a short while and then you may only find it on Ebay, where you'll pay an arm and a leg. We do try to anticipate demand when new body styles are released, but there is not an endless supply. This goes for ReadySets and AutoScales.

Kyosho products are typically sold only through brick and mortar hobby shops. Kyosho was sold at Tower Hobbies, but Kyosho has done some house cleaning. This is why tower Hobbies is now selling the iWaiver which is a Mini-Z knockoff. It is very unusual for Kyosho to authorize a web dealer as they want to be certain that it is a full time business, with a customer service department that is fully staffed and most websites do not have this.

In the USA we have laws to prevent the copying of our products and designs. However, no such laws exist in most Asian countries and so you will see many "knock offs" coming out of these areas and the iWaiver is just such a car. Plastic parts and such are easy to copy, but the electronics are more challenging and are rarely duplicated correctly. We ordered an iWaiver and tried to upgrade the FETs, but it fried on power up so we did not get to do any further testing. We plan to order more and examine them further, but so far, we are not impressed. I have been told by many of our customers that they are using our Mini-Z Lithium Pro Kit on these with no problems and Mini-Z parts should be interchangeable since it is a straight copy.

Most of the Mini-Z bodies have what Kyosho calls "Gloss Coat". This is simply a ultra shiny coating that protects the paint and provides that wet look. It really is quite impressive and makes the finish more durable.

SSG stands for Silver Surface Graphite which is a type of carbon fiber that is strong, light and has a glossy coating. These properties make SSG perfect for this application. It’s also very sexy!

No, you must un-plug it because the V2 is directly connected to the batteries and does draw power as long as it is connected.

Yes you can. The XMOD antennas are actually much more durable and will not break when you try to re-shape them like the Mini-Z antennas do.

Right here, of course.

There is a Throttle Trim on the Mini-Z remote. It is under the cover next to the steering wheel. If you don't have forward or reverse, chances are the trim needs an adjustment.

Lets see, you need some cars and people that have cars. You also need a track (we recommend RCP, it is the world standard), a place to put the track and a counting system. For counting systems, check out the Giro-Z, it is the most inexpensive and reliable counting system available in the market today.

I have not had time to test the Lithium on the MR01 but I hear that there is a 6 volt capacitor that must be upgraded first. I will post more info as soon as I have time to explore it. If you use a V2, it will work fine since the V2 regulates the voltage to the car.

Yes, while the outside is larger, the inside threads are the same. You can use the stock MR-02 wheel nuts or the aftermarket nylon locking style as well.

The original Mini-Z MR-01 was and is a great car that almost single handedly created the indoor scale racing scene. The MR-02 has many improvements. Chief among these are a tighter concentration of mass and lower center of gravity by lowering the batteries in the chassis. This improves handling greatly.

Two types of chassis are available to accommodate the different body types: MR-02 MM; and & MR-02 RM. These refer to the motor mount positions of each chassis. "MM" Being MID MOTOR, or in front of the Axle. "RM" being, you guess it, REAR MOTOR, and that places it behind the axle.

With the motor mounted in front of the rear axle, the car has greater maneuverability, similar to the effect on a mid engine race car. On the other hand, as one of the heaviest parts on the chassis, moving the position of the motor behind the rear axle improves traction for acceleration and deceleration. So as you can see they both have their strong points depending on the type of track and your driving style.

A different consideration is what body you plan to use. The mid motor mount uses a longer 98mm wheelbase (to make room for motor.) While the rear motor mount has the shorter wheelbase of 94mm. Many of the most popular bodies will only fit on the shorter 94mm wheelbase. You can optionally install the Atomic Mini-Z MR-02 MM 94/98mm Universal Motor Mount which angles the motor slightly and shaves 2mm off the wheel base allowing the shorter bodies to fit. We recommend that you check our Mini-Z Body Compatibility chart as well as our collection of Auto Scale Bodies for the Mini-Zs.

Yes, all you need is to buy the appropriate motor pod to do so. If you want to run a 98 millimeter (mm) car, you would need to purchase a 98mm plastic or aluminum pod. If you want to run a 94 millimeter car, you would need to purchase an after market aluminum pod marked 94/98 mm. The advantage of this motor pod is that you can run your car in either of the two settings, 94mm or 98mm. The disadvantage is that this pod tends to have a bit of a higher CG than the 98mm specific pods.

Each chassis features four different wheelbase (length) settings that allow compatibility with the ever expanding line of Auto Scale bodies. For example: LL - is the 98mm (long wheelbase) option that fits the Enzo Ferrari.

It depends. Who/what are you racing against? First see what the rules allow, then decide. If the rules allow any Mini-Z, and the track has mid- to high grip, we have found the most competitive chassis set-up to be is a 94 mm chassis in Mid-Motor Configuration. This configuration moves the weight of the car closer to the rear axle, making the car accelerate as hard as a Rear Motor car (RM), while at the same time maintaining the high speed stability of a Mid Motor (MM) car with the added nimbleness and maneuverability of a short wheelbase car.

In some circumstances, under low to medium grip situations, the AWD is tough to beat.

Besides the ReadySet, we recommend tires, bearings and a carbon fiber h-plate as the minimum upgrades on your car. These will make the biggest difference on handling and will actually make you competitive in the stock class.

Yes, they work flawlessly. The speed increase is about double, similar to the increase seen on the XMODS.

No, I have Mini-Z cars that have had Lithium for almost two years and they still in great shape. Although a bit dinged up from smacking walls at insane speeds, LOL.

You worry way too much, OK, take a deep breath and chant, "Lithium Power Is Good", "Lithium Power Is Good", "Lithium Power Is Good". continue until the feeling of anxiety passes.

Nope, works fine on stock FETs. But Stacked FETs really help the Mini-Z harness the extra punch that the Lithium cells provide. If you use a Nuke, you must use Stacked FETs.

The stock FETs on the Mini-Z are pretty weak so it benefits greatly from Stacked FETs even with standard batteries.

No, it is much easier than the XMODS. Check out the Mini-Z Ion Pro 2S Installation Tutorial.

With Lithium, I always the power switch so there is no power loss, but you have to remember to unplug the batteries when you are finished or you will ruin your batteries. This is a "must do" mod if you are serious about getting the power to the ground. The difference will be less noticeable on stock batteries, but still a good mod.

Yes, this is normal and Mini-Zs always do this. The higher voltage from the Lithium makes it more pronounced. It does not affect the driving of the Mini-Z.

This happens from time to time on power up. The speed control is an amp, much like your car stereo and this behavior is similar to the "POP" you hear when turning on your speakers and nothing to worry about. Make sure you have a good grip on the car and the radio is on before you plug the batteries in.

The rear wheels only need bearings on the side the motor shaft points to. The other side uses the factory bushings since it rotates with the shaft.

No, the F-1 differential is 73.42mm long and the MR-01/02/015 differential is 65.23mm long. And while the can is the same size at 17.54mm diameter the F-1 differential also has a larger gear at 45 teeth versus 44.

The rear wheels will fit, although you will have to contend with the tires rubbing the body as the F-1 wheels are 2mm taller and 5mm wider.

It is called “Tweak” and is very common and easy to fix. You simply shim up one side or the other of the T-Plate until it tracks straight under power.

The Carbon Fiber damper has slightly more friction and provides more consistent damping all around. The Carbon Fiber damper is a good choice for keeping the rear end on the ground at high speeds on medium and large tracks. The Titanium damper is very smooth and can provide quicker damping on corners in small tracks. The Titanium piece is also shiny and some people like that look. You can also sand the Titanium damper gently to increase the friction slightly and give it similar characteristics to the Carbon Fiber damper.

It is a gear differential with small plastic planetary gears inside.

Generally stiffer springs are better just like a real car; ever ride in a high performance sports car?

The F-1 is an open wheel scale racer with a very low center of gravity and very good handling. They are based on the Full Size F-12 cars and are very realistic.

No, the F1 differential is 73.42mm long and the MR-01/02/015 differential is 65.23mm long. And while the can is the same size at 17.54mm diameter the F-1 diff also has a larger gear at 45 teeth versus 44.

The rear wheels will fit, although you will have to contend with the tires rubbing the body as the F-1 wheels are 2mm taller and 5mm wider.

Yes, while the outside is larger, the inside threads are the same. You can use the stock MR-02 wheel nuts or the aftermarket nylon locking style as well.

Let's start with the fact that it is All Wheel Drive. AWD makes it a much more stable car. Kyosho has always made very high quality cars and Kyosho was virtually soley responsible for inventing the indoor R/C 1:28 scale racing scene. However, before the release of the AWD there was no option or upgrade to make an MR-01 or MR-02 all wheel drive capable.

You can try sanding the motor shaft to make it less likely to slip, but the best solution is the Atomic Billet Gear Set.

Yes you can, we have the AAA Lithium cells that fit the AWD. You must modify your battery holders to use them. Also you must keep the final voltage below 8.4 volts so wire these in a 2S2P configuration (see the Battery Q&A for details).

A One-Way Diff is a differential designed for the front of your Mini-Z AWD. When the throttle is applied, it acts as a posi-track differential; meaning that both of the front wheels will always turn at the same speed when throttle is applied. The difference between One-Way and normal posi-track is that the One-Way will disengage when not being throttled. This allows the wheels to free spin at whatever rate they are traveling across the ground. This is an advantage because your wheels will grip into turns better. Also, when you throttle back up after you leave the turn, the one-way diff will re-engage, making the car track in a straight line better.

The steering servo motor on the Mini-Z AWD is wired backwards. Simply swap the red and black wires coming from the servo motor.

Yes, the trucks all use the same chassis and the bodies snap right on with no modifications whatsoever.