The first Mini-Z

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Which is yours ? GRIP or DRIFT

YOUR 1st RADIO CONTROL CAR

What is the Mini-Z Sports?

Mini-Z Sports brings the fun of R/C racing indoors with a complete set that includes pre-assembled chassis, ultra-realistic body and transmitter. For more than 15 years since its launch in 1999, the Mini-Z has thrived on ‘maximum performance’ with AAA alkaline batteries. With more than 1,500,000 cars sold, the 1:27-scale palm-sized racing dynamo delivers performance way beyond any expectation in more than 40 countries across the globe.

オートスケールコレクションで好きなマシンに乗り換える!

Auto Scale COLLECTION

Designed and produced with immaculate care and miniature-car quality, the Mini-Z series is a reflection of the automotive industry's most distinguished creations from around the world including sports cars, racing cars, drift racers and classic cars. the Mini-Z success has been built on advanced technology and superior performance with beautiful exterior styling. So which would be your first choice? Any chassis purchased can be used with bodies from the optional ‘Auto Scale Collection’ Mini-Z car body range that can also be proudly shown as interior display models. Almost any automotive taste can be satisfied!
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The unique electronic control unit is incorporated into a compact, high-precision low center-of-gravity chassis design. With an adjustable wheelbase, various body styles can be fitted.

The drive system Mini-Z’s ultra high-precision 2WD chassis (MR-03) features a rear motor mount. The layout of the 4WD specification (MA-020S) mounts the motor on the left of center.

Digital steering servo

Powerful response from the digital servo compliments the instant acceleration and stopping of the coreless motor (MR-03 only). The high-precision steering unit uses minutely accurate movement and holds driving lines even with kickback from the track surface. With a .01mm (.0004 in.) tolerance in the gears, the integrated servo in the Mini-Z achieves the precision of a high-quality wrist watch, but this is the cost of the Mini-Z’s pursuit of precision control.

Differential gear When a car drives through a corner, the path each wheel must follow is different, which means each wheel must rotate at different speeds for optimum traction and handling. Both versions of the Mini-Z Sports feature a bevel-gear differential to allow differing wheel speeds, which delivers smooth, confident cornering.

Suspension

Newly developed 'VCS' (Variable Camber Suspension) progressively increases camber angle as the suspension compresses, keeping the front tires at the optimum angle no matter how hard you're cornering. The VCS also delivers a neutral steering feel without creating unpredictable "bump-steering."

Front suspention

Replacing the front lower and upper plates and steering tie-rod allows both narrow and wide tread to be used.

VCS (Variable Camber Suspension) maintains optimum camber angle in concert with suspension movement.

Rear suspention Adjusting the degree of flex in rear suspension plate controls front wheel traction.

Rear suspention Strut-type suspension delivers high reliability and reduces changes in alignment.

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Tune your machine to change performance. Customize to show your own style. The Mini-Z Racer Sports is a great machine for fun driving but it also packs serious ‘racing car’ performance that can evolve into a pure racing machine with various optional parts. For drift driving, style is just as important as performance so boost your car’s presence with styling parts.

Three Recommended Items From the MINI-Z Product Development Lab

Direct contact between the chassis and the track surface is through the tires. As with full-size cars, this is a critical factor.

Tires

Camber Knuckle

Camber angle is the angle the tires face the track surface. It’s no understatement to say that this is the most important aspect for drift cars. The Mini-Z AWD Sports is equipped with camber knuckles for both front and rear. Conservative specifications and more radical specifications both work great!

Steering feel is set with front spring

Slight understeer is normal for most drivers. Soft springs allow the car to turn more.

LED Light Unit

LED Light Unit is easily mounted onto the AWD Sports. Some body types may require holes to be opened, but the effects of linking the front and rear lights to the throttle are exceptional. A trim on the transmitter can also be used to flash the lights for a totally awesome effect!
These parts determine chassis roll. Select either FRP (soft) or Carbon (hard).

Rear Sus Plate

Gyro Unit

Compared to normal grip driving, controlling the chassis in drift driving is more difficult. But this amazing gyro unit stabilizes counter steer by detecting chassis movement and autocorrecting steering!

 

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Mini-Z is great for driving at home, displaying as a collection, and modifying for improved performance.
An indoor course designed with the included pylons is a great way to enjoy time trials.

'ReadySet' means you can drive it as soon as you buy it!

Mini-Z can be driven immediately! Just insert four AAA-size alkaline batteries in the controller and four more in the chassis. Switch the controller ON, then switch the chassis power ON!

Time to Drive. How to handle the controller. Latest 2.4GHz system Hold the controller in your left hand and pull the throttle trigger slowly with your left index finger. This functions as the accelerator. Turn the steering wheel gently left and right using you right hand. Did you see the perfectly proportional movement of the wheels on the chassis?! This precise control demonstrates that the Mini-Z is a true hobby-grade RC car. The precision controls in addition to the high-quality construction, produce driving characteristics similar to that of a real car.

Drive! That’s what the MINI-Z is made for.

Learning how to control your Mini-Z is the key to proper driving. First, pull the throttle slowly and hold it at a slow speed while you gradually turn the steering wheel left and right. Start slowly and work up to a faster speed as you become more skilled. Practice driving in an oval around two plastic bottles. Place two plastic bottles about 2 yards apart from each other. Try to drive around them in an oval pattern. This helps to better develop your driving skills in proximity to objects. You need to drive slowly at first, being careful to follow the same line around the oval. The better you get, the faster you can go!

Drive in a figure 8. Next, try to drive your car in a figure 8 around the plastic bottles. If you can do this easily, you're ready for the next stage. There's a proper driving course layout available. Many drivers enjoy making their own more sophisticated layouts to even further develop their driving skills.

LET'S DRIFT MINI-Z!
The popular sport of drifting is possible with the AWD Sports version of the Mini-Z. Drifting is not about the speed; it's about how precisely you control the 'drift!'

At just 7 inches in length, the Mini-Z only requires about 8x4 feet of space in your garage or living room. You don't need to go to
a special race track.
The AWD Sports is already fitted with special drifting
tires, so all you need is to develop your drifting skills!

Hold the turn with your driving skill while the rear of the car is sliding out to get a feeling for drifting. Maintain a steady, round circle as practice for controlled cornering while drifting. Place an object on the driving surface for reference. Start the drift with full steering to the right or left, then pull the throttle trigger to full throttle. Gradually return the steering to neutral and perhaps counter-steer. During this sequence, the car will begin to "drift." Adjust the throttle and steering to circle the reference object you place on the running surface, while the car's tires are spinning. At first, try a circle of about a couple feet, then gradually reduce the turning radius to run a tighter circle.
Image shows illustration of front tires.
The actual steering angle will vary to maintain precise control.

Get used to driving a figure 8

Practice a series of drift moves around a couple of plastic bottles. Place the bottles on the running surface about 6 ft. apart. Drive in a smooth figure 8 pattern to practice drifting. Once you have mastered the figure 8, then you can add more objects to increase the complexity of the course.

How to enter into a drift from a straight line. Approach with a steady speed and practice the two following techniques.

Use counter-steering (flick).

Approaching the corner with a steady speed, quickly "flick" the steering to the left, then back to the right to initiate the drift. You'll have to counter-steer at some point to exit the corner in a straight line.

With throttle work.

Approach the corner with a steady speed, then briefly let off the throttle, and then quickly apply full throttle as you steer into the corner to initiate the drift. Once sliding (oversteering), you may need to adjust the throttle and/or the steering angle to maintain a proper radius.
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LET'S GO RACING!
This is the circuit Accelerate along a straight line at full throttle and navigate through a number of corners. A race circuit is the place to enjoy real racing excitement. Race circuits offer a variety of layouts and surfaces and charge a fee for the time you use the circuit. These are places for everyone to go and enjoy racing so there are rules and regulations about usage that you should check on their websites beforehand.

1)Registration 2)Radio Frequency Etiquette
3)Prepare your pit area 4)Machine Check

This circuit is similar to an official championship circuit. Established with about 35-40 feet of straights and 13 corners, this is a common racetrack layout.

Prepare beforehand

Mindlessly driving around the track won't help you to improve your skills. Determine the track layout that will be used at the facility you visit, then mentally prepare a plan to drive the most efficient lines around the track for the quickest, most consistent lap times.
A course diagram provides an overview of the layout but seeing the circuit with your own eyes creates a totally different impression. First check the overall layout from a circuit diagram and then walk around the course to check specific points. You may find some gradient that doesn’t appear on the diagram or a shorter driving line though a corner.
The position where you stand while driving your RC car is the driver's point of view. Note that the view of the circuit can be different depending where you stand with your the controller. Standing in the center usually provides the most complete view, but areas of the track may be obscured, or you may want a better view of a difficult section. Move around to find the optimal position from which you can drive most comfortably.
If relying 100% on sense, one mistake may disrupt your rhythm. So find markers around the course. Markers can be different with each circuit so identify things such as zebra zones, marks on walls, marks on the track surface and sign boards etc. Also, don’t just focus your view on the car as looking beyond each corner produces better driving results.

Drive slowly through the middle! Lets start driving. Avoid starting out too fast. The important thing is to precisely control the car. To practice, drive slowly down the middle of the course. This seems easy but it is actually quite difficult and you will discover the important interaction between steering and acceleration. If you maintain your driving line through the middle of the course, you can feel a natural driving rhythm.

Trace the running line! Once you get the rhythm, try to drive the running lines that you envisioned while studying the track diagram. At this stage, do not get caught at each corner but breakdown the course into sections. You don’t need to drive fast, just learn to follow driving lines accurately and control the posture of the car when entering corners with a combination of steering and acceleration.

Plan your driving! Once you get used to the course layout, plan the whole race. Think specifically where to accelerate and where to reduce speed, what posture provides the smoothest entry to corners without losing time etc. Don’t worry if you make a mistake, just focus on the cause and the solution. Was it the wrong speed or angle of attack, or something else? Think about it and try to find the best line for optimal speed. If you keep focus on these aspects you will find improvement in driving performance.

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