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cdog4w
10-03-2003, 02:13 PM
I got my Mini-X (RTR) in the mail and haven't had time until today to take a look, but man have I been itching to. Anyway, so far I put batts in the Tx and connect the bat terminal on the car (red one, black was already in). I then ran through the ESC setup (tho it didn't work exactly as the manual said it would) and more or less got it to be happily neutral when there was no input from the Tx. I think took it for a quick spin around the hall and then the charge seemed to die. Tiny, did you put a small charge into the 5 cell that it came with, but not a full charge?

Anyway, now we get to my questions :P

First, the front left wheel shaft just dropped out (the barbell looking one with a pin through each bell). I'm going to take this thing apart when I get some time later today, but is this common and is there anything I can do to prevent it?

Second, now that I've run down the car batt, I need to charge them. I got the XPress charger from tiny that is designed for it and I got the AC/DC converter for it from ratshack. I assume I hook the black alligator to the black lead from the car and red to red, but can I do this w/o removing the batteries from the body of the car? Can I just click to the red and black battery spring terminal things as long as I have the ESC turned off and charge the batteries in the car?

Third, everyone says you need to lube the diffs and points to the intrepid help page. Would a local hobby shop have the proper lubes for me to do this (The one closest to me is Hobbytown USA)?

Fourth and last for now, I've heard mention of "internal antennas" somewhere and I couldn't find much on them searching through the forums here (tho haven't tried mini-zracer yet). Can someone explain the pros/cons of this and the best way to go about it?

Thanks for all your help.

btw tiny, when in ratshack looking for the ac/dc adapter, the guy helping me asked "wtf is that thing" when I showed him the xpress charger. I told him that it was the charger for a 1/24 mini rc and explained all the features that the X packs in and then told him the price. He was blown away. He had raced 1/10 nitro in the past, but hadn't really gotten into anything else. He'd heard of the Mini-Z's but not much beyond the name and what they were. Anyway, hopefully a new forum member and at worst spreading the word and a decent story.

cdog4w
10-03-2003, 08:08 PM
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the ESC makes a high pitched whine whenever i ease the throttle up a bit, but not enough to get the car rolling. Is this normal?

cdog4w
10-05-2003, 02:24 PM
/me pokes the Mini-X community with a stick and checks for a pulse :P

Just wanted to give an update, I went out to a LHS and picked up some clear diff lube and did both diffs. Talk about small parts :P Also trying some of the suggestions to keep the front left dogbone in place.

I do have another question. I'm going to make another small order to get the wheel nut driver so I can pick all the damn hair out of it, but I had some random questions about some of the other parts. Tiny sells replacement alum wheel nuts, are the stock wheel nuts alum and if not whats the advantage of getting them? (Also are there multiple colors?)

Thanks,

Charles.

Hooters Driver
10-06-2003, 03:08 AM
1. For the dogbones proper clearance is critical. I have read of using a spring from a ball point pen cut into 4 pieces to remove the slack. I tried that but found that it caused the front suspension to bind when turning. It wasn't enough for a noticeable loss of speed but I could hear a change in the tone of the motor.

I then started using washers (I think they provide some with the kit). The trick is to use just enough so that the dogbone doesn't fall out but there is still a small amount of free play at all points of steering and suspension travel.


2. You are correct about the polarity of the charger.

Charge the batteries in the car only at your own risk (batteries have been known to explode when being quick charged - usually due to operator error).


3. The diffs on a mini x are very rough as they come from the factory. If you take a couple of hours to massage them they will work much smoother.

I disassembled mine, sanded every flat surface with 600 grit sandpaper, and then ran a drill bit through all of the ball holes to make sure the balls turned freely. That made a world of difference in the way the diffs work.


4. I have never used an internal antenna but one trick used in small model airplanes is to wrap the antenna around a straw or something similar ( be sure you DO NOT overlap the antenna anywhere) and then tape it inside the body of the airplane(car in this case). You may lose a small amount of range doing this, however.

To combat the loss of range, before you wrap up your antenna replace it with a longer piece of wire (50 cm is the length used on most airplanes).


5. try adjusting the throttle trim to see if the whine goes away. If not don't worry about it.


6. The only advantage to the wheel nuts is the pretty colors.

cdog4w
10-06-2003, 08:05 PM
Thanks for the response hooters. I finally got out to the parking lot across the street. It was a rough and bumpy ride, but I cut little plates of lexan to cover the front and rear diff holes in the chasis so I think it went ok. Def. would run smoother with a softer suspension, tho I woudln't wanna bottom out after jumping a piece of loose gravel or whatever debris seems to cover this playground. I guess it wouldn't be a good place for kids to play if there weren't various sized rocks to lodge in whatever soft part of the body hits the deck. The spring fix on the dogbones seems to be working and didn't seem to bind, tho after your warning I definitely trimmed another loop off.

I'll have to go get some sandpaper at some point and try your advice on the diffs. I wish I'd be able to go out before greasing them, but the car seemed to run well. I just have little to compare to :P

I gave up on the internal antenna, because every once in a while the car would just stop dead for a few seconds. Then all of a sudden it would go again. Going back to the normal antenna helped, but it still did it once outside today.

So tiny, what pretty colors do the wheel nuts come in? And do you have any 4WD motors or spare chassis in stock? (they're not in the shop's part list currently)

Cian
10-07-2003, 09:53 AM
I have a couple of mini-x motors, yours for whatever i paid for them +shipping. I'll have to check the prices when I get home..

3series takumi
10-07-2003, 10:57 PM
cdog4w how do you like your mini-x. i have heard alot of people say its crappy and alot say that it is sweet. i personally love mine to death. i pretty much leave it in my car (in cool box to protect it from the heat or course) and pull it out whenever i am somewhere open and bored.

oh oh and welcome to the forum. probably not my place to welcome you but what the hey :)

3series takumi
10-07-2003, 10:59 PM
oh wait you are a pro so nm with that welcome stuff lol

cdog4w
10-08-2003, 12:56 AM
Haha thanks for the welcome. I became a member a while ago and imported some bits when you still had to import them (clones actually), but didn't do much after that besides obsess :P Don't let the pro title fool you, all it means is that I've been asking lots of questions. This is my first foray into real RC - ie. I had some decent RTR's from ToysRUs when I was growing up, but nothing serious. Now that I've got my X I just need some experience under my belt. Hopefully my friend will be joining me when he gets his first paycheck, but I have little hope beyond that since I just moved here and don't know anyone else.

One of the things I keep seeing on this forum is hand customizing the motor with new brushes and new magnets and possibly some other things. How easy would those kind of modifications be to make and do they work on the stock 4WD motor? I don't know how to solder, but I think that can be remedied easily enough.

Oh and to answer your question, the X is awesome. Right now my large desire is to raise it (to tackle the playground) and to find a better looking body than clear lexan. I'm leaning towards one of the snap tight bodies since I've never painted a model and the intro cost to paint would probably make the model body cheaper :P Anyone try a snaptight body? I think I'm going to order some OL tires and try shaving the body to raise the car a bit. For those with OL tires on their X, did they fit in back w/o having to trim the battery case?

Thanks in advance,

Charles.

3series takumi
10-08-2003, 01:11 AM
the OL tires will rub, barely. i took off 1mm from the batt holder and was just fine. as for the motor, swappin the mags can be done without soldering but to change the brushes you will. addin neo-mags makes the car pick up speed pretty nice! but topspeed suffers a little at high rev. the brushes give power all thru the rev and for me added speed. that can all be done with no problem on the stock motor. when you get soldering down you will want to go to a ballbearing motor can for more speed and power, seems to keep the temp down too. i am not sure about the snap kits, i have never used them. i was a n00b at painting too, but it is surprisingly easy.

oh oh make sure you have bearings all over that car, i dont know what kit you got so i dont know if you got some with it or not

anymore Q's on mods you can drop me an email

hope that helps

anthony

cdog4w
10-08-2003, 01:28 AM
Thanks, yea I got the kit here and it came with full bearings. So the neo mags will up acceleration, but lower overall top speed? To install them I'd take apart the motor and replace the magnets on the interior of the can? Sounds pretty straightforward, there any tricks to it to make it more difficult? For the brushes, it sounds like you mean that they will increase acceleration AND top speed?

Oh, since you seem to be responding and sound like you've been around the block, I'm looking at getting a DTM SP which I found for what seems to be dirt cheap at $35 + S/H. Any opinions and how would it run off the X electronics I have (5 cell right now)? I have a thread posted in the DTM SP section about this as well.

3series takumi
10-08-2003, 01:41 AM
to swap the magnets you pull the black endbell off, then bend, slowly, the whole brush assembly outward so you can pull the arm out. dont just bend the brushes, bend the white plastic part too so the only thing that is really bending is the capacitor legs attached to the can. that is my no solder magnet switch :)

and brushes for topspeed

as for the dtm-sp, they are fast cause of few moving parts but rear wheel drive and lack of good suspension puts it low on my list. the dtm-x4 is a different matter, those are sweet! the electronics will work fine, if you use a 180 motor you will need t add FETs to the esc