Mini-Z AtomicBuilt Manhattan

See "More Pictures" for a visual tour of this radical machine.

Suspension & Chassis: We chose the MM chassis because at 98mm it is longer and therefore more stable at high speeds. It also has the motor mounted forwards of the rear axle which recovers some of the maneuverability lost from the longer chassis. To remove steering slop we chose the Atomic Mini-Z MR-02 Aluminum Steering Knuckle II - 1°. We would have gone with more camber to make the steering more aggressive, but this car is so fast we kept it low to maintain straight line stability. We mated the knuckles with the Atomic Mini-Z MR-02 Aluminum Tie Rod 0° Toe. The lower your center of gravity the less body roll and more stable the car, so we use the Atomic Mini-Z MR-02 MM 98mm Low CG Motor Mount that allows us to drop the rear and we place Atomic Mini-Z Front Collar Spacer Set MR-02 shims under the steering knuckles to get the center of gravity down as low as possible.  The smoother we can roll the faster we can go and since Ceramic bearings reduce friction by 22 fold over standard bearings so we choose the Mini-Z Car Ceramic Bearing Set for this package. The Atomic MR-02 MM SSG Damper Plate System damper plate is the first add on for any Mini-Z as it tames the rear end and makes to car so much more stable both under power and off power. We chose the thicker 1.5mm SSG Damper Plate for 98mm Chassis to further stabilize the rear of the car. To shave weight we run titanium and carbon fiber parts where we can. The Atomic Mini-Z MR-02 Titanium Screw Set shaves a few grams off the car and doesn't strip out like regular screws. We also run Delrin parts wherever we can to reduce wear and increase smoothness in the drivetrain.

Power System: The substantial reduction in weight and dramatic increase in power make the Mini-Z Car Lithium Ion Pro 2S Pack a no brainer. The more your mass is concentrated towards the center of the car the quicker it can change direction, so we center mount the Lithium batteries. This involves cutting the outer sections of the battery tray off allowing the cells to be pulled in towards the middle of the car. This also drops them down so you have the added benefit of a lower CG combined with centered mass and lighter overall weight.  This car gets a 2x3 FET stack and we use the awesome Atomic T2 High Current Motor for blazing speed.

Wheels & Tires: A rotating wheel weight 1.5 times its static weight due to centrifugal forces, so we use light weight Atomic wheels. The Manhattan is packaged with Tires - B Tread 8.5mm in the front wich are perfect. During one of our track sessions with the car, Christian pulled out some foam tires for the back and we tried them and found that foams worked quite well in the rear for a couple of reasons. The car has so much power that the foams combined with traction compound hook up nicely. Also the rims are spinning so fast that rubber tires don't stay on unless you superglue them, while the foams stick well. We don't have a good supplier for foam tires yet, so we are packaging it with Tires - SuperGrip 10.5mm which are fantastic tires, but plan to superglue them on. The fronts will be fine with PN Racing Ridgeless Rim Tape or Grip Lock Tire Bond. That said, tires are a very personal thing and everyone seems to like a different tread and compound, so feel free to get a few different types and try them for yourself. We do not glue the Tires on, so you should get some Grip Lock Tire Bond, or PN Racing Ridgeless Rim Tape so you can do this yourself.

Body: Most of the MM bodies will not accommodate the wide offset wheels, so we will trim the wheel wells to fit them. The wide offset wheels make the car more stable, and are a must at the speeds this car is capable of. If you don't want the body trimmed, just let us know and we will send it un-trimmed. If you want to see the offsets look at the Kyosho Mini-Z Body Compatibility and Wheel Offset Chart