ZipZaps: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

[Nightwing]

Sorry to confuse you. I do my best to not confuse anyone. Its a requirement in my line of work.

The turbo pin is normally left floating not grounded like the other Bits versions out there. This is true on a stock Bit/OEM/MicroQ/Etc controller. Only the Tomy 4 channel controller has the turbo button to ground to that pin.

The ZZ from reports are slower for same gear/powerplant setup. Not sure if weight, body, charge or whatever. Have not set the same gearing/powerplant as my MicroQ but notice that the ZZ slows down quicker than the MicroQ when I get off the gas. Could be rolling resistance but unknown at this time.

[mr0072003]

well i have a a zz....and had the oppertunity to race against 2 other TOMY cars.......the first 2 races I raced with the zz were in first place.......the ability to control your car, is so helpful on the track.......although the TOMY were faster.....doesnt meant that they win races......becasue TOMY is faster......the car most slow donw into a corner...as for the ZZ.....just keep going...then handling is great.....and since they are heavier,.....you can knok thos TOMY;s right out of the way........but I will admit if your racing a good TMY driver....the zz stands no chance.....

[arch2b]

i just stopped by my local rs and saw the zipzaps. the longer body seems nice however the bodies aren't the quite the quality and detail of the bits. as temped as i was to buy one, i wasn't impressed enough. as nice as the idea of interchangable rims (wheelcovers) is, the fact that they would be prone to falling off and geting lost was one of the diswaying factors. the proportional steering is possibly the most tempting factor. at $20+/-, the price difference in neglible.

[Shacky]

Sorry, ZZs do not have proportional steering. They have better handling, but no proportional steering.

[arch2b]

my fault, i thought i read that they did in another thread. well, even less motivation to get one.

[Namuna]

While, personally speaking, the ZipZap cars aren't exactly inspiring...The tune-up kits offer a GREAT value!

Rear tires, stabilizers, gears, 2-motors and more for only $12.99!!! That's a pretty kickin deal

[BaY oN AiM]

THEY KILLED IT....

[mr0072003]

what do u mena Proportional steering?

[arch2b]

I don't have a technical answer, however it is what the min z's have. In short, I believe it is the ability to steer as a normal car would rather than all or nothing like this bit's. Someone correct me if I’m wrong or can give a better explanation.

[tinyrc]

Proportional means that if you turn the Tx wheel a little, the car's wheels move a little, and if you turn it all the way, then the car's wheels move all the way. BC-Gs are not proportional, because they can only move all the way or nothing.

[QFM Racing]

NightWing,

How do you take advantage of the turbo pin from the chip? When I look at the PCB, it looks as though there is no etching on the board to enable it to go anywhere or make contact with anything. Even if I solder a wire to it, I wouldnt know where to solder the other end to, to activate the boost function. The turbo pin is pin 7 on the big black chip right? The one that doesnt have anything connected to it?

QFM Racing

[Nightwing]

Simply add a button from pin 6 of TX2 IC to one side of a push button and ground the other side. Try it with two wires just outsider the case and see what occures. I dont have a turbo/boost car to try it with. Sorry.

For more info try here:

http://hammer.prohosting.com/~oba8/bit/

He has information on adding that "button" and info on the TX2 chip. It seems that Realtek has no pinout, info etc on that chip to download. The few lines on the Turbo button is just below where he talks about adding a power jack and nicad batteries to the controller.

That site above is mighty tough sledding trying to figure thing out. Esp with Altavista-bablefish having fun in translating it.

Did that help?

PS: As of a few weeks ago Realtek had basic info at their site but have drop all reference to that line of chips. Not much, just which TX/RX chips set had what functions. the TX2/RX2 has 5. The std L,R,F,B and turbo. The RS has almost the same layout with changes to get it past the FCC.

[d00kie]

I just think Zip Zaps sounds kinda very generic.

But I think their tune-ups will be the hot sellers, I guess everyone is saying that Zip Zaps don't quite match up to Bit Chars. I wonder what would happen if Zip Zaps were released before bit Char...would we all tyr to find flaws in Bit Char and stick to the Zip Zaps???

I'm still waiting on my first Bit Char kit, I didn't realize about the existence of Zip Zaps till yesterday.

[kwikbb]

Originally posted by kwikbb
Welp... another let down, on a happier note at least we've got Tomy... things could be worse. Thanks for the review Namuna
you saved me some dinero.

A couple days ago out of curiousity I picked up one of the zz ( red mustang, for a lack of any choices). When I first assembled it and played around with it, I loved the way it handled. Then i took it apart and put the zz wheels onto the bit, like Namuna did in another thread, I used the supra body because there was no need for modification the front fenders are blistered out far enough to clear the bigger wheels. It was cool except for the fact that the wheels rubbed on the chassis whenever it turned left . I was inspired at that point, so I reassembled everyone with there respective parts, and soldered a new antenna onto the zz.

After some time and research i now think that this little bit wannabe is going to be promising in it's own.

1. The lengthened chassis makes it more compatable for a dual battery mod (plenty of space onder the pcb).
2. 1/64 scale chassis = a plethora of body styles ie: HO
3. All the current mods for the bits, with the exception of a crip, as far as I know.
4. CHEAP starters
5. CHEAP tune-ups

On another note regarding the motors, I don't know if anyone else had this problem but when I put my bit 2.6 motor into the zz it ran like crap, i mean it was slower than the stock 1.6 . Maybe theres not enough torque in them or maybe the motor has to sit a certain way for it to work properly?

[323iT]

Originally posted by tr3
did i read that right? 23,500rpm? god, that thing must ZOOM!

23500 would be the equivalent of a 2.35 motor
a 2.6 tomy motor= 26000rpm