Monday 30 June 2014

Pro Kit Front End EXPLAINED


Hi Pro Kit Owners,

Sorry this article is a little late as I was busy with the PNWC Regional 2014 held recently at Mini-Z SG ( Singapore premium Indoor Racing Circuit).

Alright let's get down to it. For the front section of the pro kit basically there are 3 key components I want to touch on.

1. Castor Adjustments
0.2mm Shims are used here and there are basically 3 different options for this. Placing both the shims in the front gives you 0 degree caster, placing one shim in the front and one in the rear gives you 0.9 degree caster and finally 2 shims at the rear gives you 1.8 degree caster.

Caster basically provides you with more on power steering, you will be able to turn more aggressively and sharper with more caster. I personally run 0.9 degree as I find 1.8 degree a little to aggressive for me.


2. Spring Rates
In Stage 1 upgrade most of you would have bought MR3010 Front Suspension Spring Sets. The different sets of springs offer you different hardness. Ratings as follows:
Red = 70g/mm
Green = 104g/mm
Purple = 139g/mm
White = 189g/mm
Yellow = 270g/mm
Some of the tips online provides information on springs and most of the time they would say soft springs gives you more steering. Probably I would say this apply for the bigger scale. I use different spring hardness for response as well as roll control. The harder the springs the more responsive the front gets and lesser the roll. Purple and White springs are generally used on the local track.


3. Static Camber and Ride Hide
700409 Color Shims are provided with every pro kit installed. The blue ones are 0.5mm and the orange ones 0.2mm.
Placing these shims below the arms gives you static camber. The MR03s gets camber gain whenever you corner and that's why you don't really need to worry about not having camber while cornering.

I would say static camber is very important as it determines if the camber gain is sufficient while you corner and it prevents the tires from conning.
Recommendation is to use all the  8 pcs of the shims.
However it is very important where the shims are placed. Placing the shims above the knuckle gives you static camber but does not change the ride height, while placing the shims below the knuckles gives you the same effect while lowering the car's ride height.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for Center Shock and DPS Explained next week.

Sunday 29 June 2014

Mini-Z Noobs


We all start somewhere, many people wants to get into a hobby and have tons of questions. They start googling "mini - z" and gather information that's top hit in the list. There are just tons of information and so many different school of thoughts, best of all there are so many brand manufacturer. There is Atomic, 3Racing, KM Racing, X-Power RC, R246, Kyosho, TRP, Reflex Racing and there could be more.

Most people alway start by buying parts that's cheap and easily available on Ebay or forums. Some would buy parts that's on big discount on web stores.

Ask yourself some questions, what is it you looking for?
When you start this hobby what do you have in mind?
Are you just trying to swap out the plastic parts with some aluminium parts?
Will you be racing? Is performance important? Are replacement parts necessary?
What about resale value? What about precision?

To keep things simple, I have been down this route. I started as a noob. I bought hell a lot of parts and you won't even imagine how many brands and how much money I have spent. End of this 4 years journey I concluded - PN RACING Parts is the only way to go. Why?

1. The brand says it (High Performance Option Parts)
2. Parts are designed by pro racers, people that actually race and win
3. RnD, prototype testing are carried out months before the parts are available for sale
4. 100% Mini-Z focus, PN makes only Mini-Z parts
5. Parts are readily available and comes in 3 different colours, Orange, Blue and Silver (Everyone has a favourite colour) :) - I love the silver though
6. PN makes the complete option parts for the entire Mini-Z from the front ends to the suspensions to the rear, to the motor, to basically every damm thing.
7. Individual replacement parts are also available and should you break or lose some of the parts you wouldn't need to buy the entire whole assembly. You can buy just the lose parts.
8. Last but not least products are high quality, precise and race proven

Stop wasting your money. Stop wasting your time. Let's Start Racing.