battery and zip questions

naturecured · #1 12-17-2002, 12:12 AM

i opened my zip and saw it had a Ni-MH battery at 100 mAh

inside my clone bit was a Ni-CD battery at 60 mAh.
i swapped the batteries in the zip and saw it performed at basically the same rate.....which leads me to my next question:

are certain zips simply faster/better than other zips? i ask because no matter how i swap parts on my 2 zips my 49 is faster than my 27. A friend has absolutely no problem with either of his so i wanted to throw out the question to see if anyone else has had any similar experiences. i can assume just bad worksmanship on a cheap toy if that seems to be it and get another 27 ready to race other wise.

Gamma Burst · #2 12-17-2002, 02:44 AM

Yes, no two Zips are alike. I have bought a total of 10 since I found out about them two months ago. I have tested them with many motor/gear combinations. When I place the exact same motor and gear combination in different Zips they have yielded different times in an all out straight line drag. I even measure the voltage of each before every time trial and some zips are just better than others.

Also, no two motors are alike. With the same zip and just changing from one red motor to another red motor can give different results, again even with like charges on the battery. Through all of my testing I have one red motor that beats any of my yellow motors hands down. I have placed it in my best Zip and it rocks. Everything is just stock too, no mods! It can get a time of 4.00 seconds flat from a standing start going 16.5 feet (1/5th scale miles). I would have done a scale 1/4 mile, but my room is not big enough.

Anyway I hope this helps.

naturecured · #3 12-17-2002, 02:55 AM

gee wiz i wish it was possible to check out which were better before unwrapping so i knew which to keep before giving the rest as xmas gifts. however its more interesting to hear of a documented source with same color gear differences. ill almost never know which parts are the prime ones with all the mega-possibilities like you mentioned. ive only opened up one of each band and noticed EXTREME differences. i guess im just glad i got one good one instead of both bad. the reports i read of how bad somepeople say their zips are may be a direct result of this ...if only they had bought 2, better odds, er....uhhh....hey radio shack

Gamma Burst · #4 12-17-2002, 03:10 AM

I agree. There is a big difference between my best and worst zip. There is also a big difference between my best and worst motors of the same color. If you only have a few motors and a few zips then you might have a bad zip AND a bad motor. I know if I put my worst yellow motor in my worst zip; even with red gears, IT SUCKS!

I bought a ton of motors through an online supplier of Zip compatable motors. I saw that some others in this forum found the site as well. It is posted in a different thread. I think vibratormotors.com is the site. So, I had a huge sample to play with and test out (increased my odds).

I am planning on modding my junkie zips someday when I get the courage up. They are so bad anyway I don't care if I screw up.

wild03 · #5 12-17-2002, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by naturecured
gee wiz i wish it was possible to check out which were better before unwrapping so i knew which to keep before giving the rest as xmas gifts. however its more interesting to hear of a documented source with same color gear differences. ill almost never know which parts are the prime ones with all the mega-possibilities like you mentioned. ive only opened up one of each band and noticed EXTREME differences. i guess im just glad i got one good one instead of both bad. the reports i read of how bad somepeople say their zips are may be a direct result of this ...if only they had bought 2, better odds, er....uhhh....hey radio shack

The best you can do is trying them out! These things are made as cheap as possible, even the motors are rated at + or - 2000 rpm. You'll need to make your own testing equipment. I build a simple Tachcometer to measure motor RPM, and also a lap timer.
You can check motors using a constant power supply I use a simple voltage regulator circuit and adjust it down to 1.5 volts or so. then start taking some RPM readings. then you can take the best motors start taking rpm reading with them powered by the car so you can sort the best cars!

naturecured · #6 12-21-2002, 02:12 PM

hey thanks y'all
i basically wanted to be sure others had found my fate with a shoddy zip as compared to a rubber-peelin-hunk-o-plastic leaving tracks on the kitchen linoleum. i suppose i ought to attempt a mod or 4 on the lower end zip...but i gotta get my courage up too