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View Full Version : ZIPZAP Victory Story Thread!~


Axel
10-13-2002, 05:15 PM
Hey everybody. I don't know about you, but after winning my last race I feel a thread is needed for encouraging ZipZap victory stories. I don't know about you, but I love hearing that "the little car wins again".

Here's a story to start it all out:

Yesterday I was talking to a friend at school who I was trying to convince to buy a Zip. He insisted that his 1/24th scale subaru was much better than my Zip, so I challenged him to put his money where his mouth is. I got him to agree to get a Zip or Bit and give up his 1/24th fantasy if I beat him at a race. Now think about this... A 1/24th Vs. A 1/64th.... this shouldn't be fair at all. His is just plain bigger and faster!!! So right after church today I went out and bought a 3v lithium battery and shoved it in. We met as planned and lined up for a 30 foot race. And guess what....

THE MODDED ZIP KICKED BUT!!! Not only was my acceleration tons better than his, but my top end was too!!! And I was only using a nitro motor and blue gears!!! If I had my reds in I wouldn't whooped him even worse. I seriously had enough distance between me and him to run a circle around him before he finished. IT was great :-)

And yes, he's getting ready to go get a zip of his own now :-)

PEACE, LOVE, and ZipZAPS!!!

Mattydiah
10-13-2002, 05:35 PM
Originally posted by Axel
I went out and bought a 3v lithium battery and shoved it in.

Where did you get this battery??

Awesome story though, all my friends have ZZ's, so theres no one to convert ;)

EcLiPSe 2.0
10-13-2002, 05:40 PM
lol nice story, and yes, where u got the battery from?

Axel
10-13-2002, 05:44 PM
Local Radio Shack.. These batteries are pretty nice for quick races. They're smaller than the stock batteries... I think they are like 1/4AAA size, where as the stock ones are 1/3AAA size. They're 3V which makes 'em great for racing, but they only hold 160 mAh so they don't last forever (~10-15 minutes for me).

Lets here some more stories!!! :-)

Mattydiah
10-13-2002, 06:39 PM
Damn, I'm not trying to derail your thread, but do you know if those 3v batteries come in a rechargeable form?

Ok, I dont want to be a complete ass, so I will provide you with a racing vengeance story. Last night I completed the A/C adapter mod for my controller. I went to the local hobbytown USA today to look for 1/64th HO bodies for my ZZ. I noticed that there were a few guys racing some Bits around a track that they had made. Not being one to pass up an opportunity for spanking, I challenged them to a race. They agreed, so I plugged in my controller and charged up my ZZ. Well, as the race started, they beat me off the line (naturally, my ZZ is mostly stock), but I was hanging with them. One of them spun out around a hairpin right away, which put him quite a ways behind. I was gaining on the other guy through the whole race because he sucked at cornering. I would suck him up in the corners, but he would beat me in the straights. Finally, on the last lap, I was neck and neck with him and he swerved into me, caught my wheel (I assume) and flipped his car. I won by default!!

Hooray for the underdog!!!!

Axel
10-13-2002, 07:36 PM
Awesome story! GO ZZ's!

On the battery:
Ya, you can get Lithium Ion versions of the same. All Lithium ION batteries are rechargeable. The only problem is that they have to be charged at exactly 4.2V. If it's .1V over they will explode, and every .1V less means like 200 charges off of it's life. And if you've ever measured the juice coming off of your charger, you know it's rough to get a steady stream. Mine varies betweek 2.6 and 2.9V when charging. That's far too great of a variance for Li-ION batts. So the answer is yes, but it's a little hard to implement a proper charge for it. I hope to be able to work on a solution for this in the near future.

Nightwing
10-13-2002, 07:44 PM
Check with these guys. They are the best in charging, ps etc IC's.

http://www.maxim-ic.com/

And base info on recharging.
http://www.maxim-ic.com/appnotes.cfm/appnote_number/676

And congratulations on the racing! Bet his jaw drop right though the floor! :)

nMotion96
10-14-2002, 02:44 AM
what car was this 1/24 that you were racing. my mini z is 1/24 and i don't think that both my 3 cell zip zap or 3 cell bit could beat it in any way

Axel
10-14-2002, 06:47 AM
I'm not sure. I'll see him again tomorrow so I'll ask then.

BTW. Thanks, Nightwing, for the links!!!

usagi
10-14-2002, 07:06 AM
axel is that you in picture?

Axel
10-14-2002, 10:21 PM
Hehe ya. I was doing an Austin Powers impersonation for a presentation at a summer institute thing I attended. I don't actually wear glasses and I usually don't look quite that goofy :-)

usagi
10-14-2002, 11:18 PM
it becomes you........

Rodzilla
10-15-2002, 12:47 AM
Cool stories. I have yet to race my friends and their Bit clones, but am undefeated at "soccer". Those little cars and spinning circles like hyperactive poodles while I push the cap to victory. :)

ax0n
10-15-2002, 01:52 PM
heh Axel I told you the 3 Volt lithium cells offer excellent "GO" without the weight and instability of your 9 Volt mod. ;) Now you see what I meant! I still love dropping that little 3v in once in a while.

Axel
10-15-2002, 02:02 PM
aXon:
Ya, it was pretty nice.... too many of those would burn a hole in my pocket quick though.... still looking for a cheap Li+ recharger :-) Did you ever get any news on the ones you requested as samples? I didn't :-(

Usagi: so I've been told.... :-)

Rodzilla: Get racin dude!! Show 'em where its at!!! soccer is pretty fun, but in my opinion there's nothing like a good old fashioned race :-)

Nightwing
10-15-2002, 02:09 PM
Maxium has some different IC since it is very touchy to charge one of them.

Here is a link to one of there ICs. It handles 1 to 4 cells with programable settings.

http://www.maxim-ic.com/view_press_release.cfm/release_id/186

Problem it take some heavy current to charge one of these wonders.

tinyrc
10-19-2002, 04:22 PM
Axel, did you ever figure out what the 1/24 scale car was?