It definitely has been a while since I last wrote an article for this site. So to kick off the continuation of this blog, let's take a look at the short-wheelbase "fun" racing class known as the Mini, or 90mm, or SWB class.

Rules for this class vary from track to track, but the general idea behind it is to make some use of cars and bodies that normally would not be competitive. That means that the 86 and 90mm wheelbase cars come out to play, as well as the tall wagons and...

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Ok, so you have your transmitter/radio in your hand, have turned on the radio and the car (remember, radio first and then the car!) and want to use your radio to get the most out of your car setup on the track. What to do? This week I'll go in depth on transmitter adjustments and what you can, can't, should and shouldn't do with them.

Let's go feature by feature, from low-end to high-end.

Steering Trim: As I mentioned last week this is the single most crucial adjustment...

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As most readers of this blog will know, there are many raido transmitters (also known as "radios") in existence that can control an RC car, and not all of them are made equal. The stock Mini-Z's radio, for example, is on the opposite side of the universe from a high-end one like the KO Propo EX-1 UR. But its actually respectable for what it has to do: it's not fast, but it's not horribly glitchy, and it offers enough features to get your average customer started (and hooked) on the cars....

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So you have your race body of choice, either chosen by yourself, with the help of a local racer, or with the help of my blog article last week. Now while you could just glue in the clips, slap it on your car and go racing, there are several things you can do to any body to make it faster, more stable, lighter, stronger, etc., all of which add up to a better racing body.


This week I'm building a new McLaren F1 GTR longtail (the last one got crushed... long story), so I'll cover...

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So, Kyosho only makes about a bajillion different bodies for the Mini-Z racer series... this is lovely if you're an avid collector of them (there ARE a lot and they're all pretty), but when you're trying to pick a good racing body it can get pretty overwhelming. So how do you know which one to pick?

1) First see what's allowed within the class of racing you plan to participate in. Some classes, like Mini, only allow certain bodies to be used, and others, like Pan, may only allow one....

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