RCscale

I'm thinking about getting a Mini-Z car but I don't see many tracks in the Eastern PA/NJ area. Park Lane Hobbies has races sometimes, seems like less than once a month, and normally the track is used for 1/10th. Hobby Town in Tom's River has a track, not sure how well used it is or if it is swapped out for 1/10th as well. RC Car World has ended their Mini-Z.

Is Mini-Z declining in popularity? I like the simple RTR nature of it but it seems like maybe a 1/10th car would give more options to race?

I don't have space for a track at home. At home I'm more interested in trail and crawling - it's the social and racing aspect of on road cars that seems interesting.

Opinions?

nielsm

Cruizin With RC’s is in Waldwick, NJ and they run Mini Z’s in the shop. They also have an outdoor turf track used in the summer. https://www.facebook.com/CruizinRC/

1/10 definitely has many more options for racing than Mini Z. But, you can do what I did, which is get a RCP track like the Mini96 for home. This is usually the same type of track used at most other tracks although smaller sized tiles. Great for practice at home if you can’t make it to a hobby shop’s track regularly.

EMU

iTrader: (3)

Park Lane, Cruizin, HobbyShop @ Aberdeen, Jersey R/C Racing Promotions located in Forked River, NJ... there are a few options.

soup1279

I'll start by stating I am new to this hobby. When I say new I mean brand new as I was just in Park Lane yesterday and picked up my first mini-z. I was looking for a new hobby as I'm limited in space and my traditional hobby (N scale Model Railroading) had to be put to the side temporarily for space reasons. I have very limited experience with RC other than out of the box kits when I was younger so this was intriguing. The two guys I talked to in the shop said they were working on expanding the mini-z races so hopefully that will happen. They said they had one coming up in February and something about a tournament in April?

lutach

iTrader: (3)

lfhobbies(.)com might still have a track, if you scroll down on the homepage you can see a photo of it.

Had to edit, for some reason something other than lfhobbies was posted rofl.

RCscale

I'm having trouble replying, might be because of using quotes (says post is being held for moderation but it never shows up) so I will try without.

nielsm I don't have space for a Mini96 or probably even a small oval. Maybe a 4x7 piece 30cm oval which seems pretty small. The 6x9 piece 30cm oval set is more space than I comfortably have to set it up inside.

EMU Thanks, added to list.

soup1279 I'm into model railroading as well. If Park Lane had a permanent Mini-Z track I'd go get one from them today. The fact that it is only every few months makes it seem to me that a 1/10th would be a better investment since I can pick up a TT-02 kit for $120 and a nice radio (nicer than I need) for $70. Battery and servo and I am done. I really wish there were a dedicated Mini-Z club in my area.

Everyone, if you know, which of the places mentioned have permanent Mini-Z tracks I could go to any day of the week? Some (basically all) of the websites and facebook pages are a bit tough to glean information from.

I think even the closest of these are an hour drive from me, which would be ok assuming it is going to be a reliable place to drive and practice and not just a dead end hobby.

Thanks for all the info!

EMU

iTrader: (3)

I think Cruizin is permanant. They have a partially elevated track so its not something that can be temporary.

Aberdeen I would call the shop and ask, sometimes its down for months at a time, but sometimes they pull it up to run an oval program on the carpet underneath.

I think Park Lanes does club races 2x a month for Mini-Z, with one being event focused. I would speak with Enzo at PL for what their schedule is though. People inquiring about Mini-Z could sway it towards being laid out longer or more often...

Same thing with the NJ Promotions track. I think they also do some smaller big scale stuff there too?

FlyeredUp

I’ll start by saying I’ve been to Parklane Hobbies, awesome place! Owner and staff are very helpful! They currently have mini-z racing once a month with other types of on-road racing on other weeks. The tracks in NJ are quite a distance from me which makes checking them out difficult. I am having the same problem as you though trying to get some racing time in with the mini-z. I just ordered the mini96 track to practice when I can not get to Parklane. My plan is to keep it portable, setting up at a park or other open space with the hopes of meeting others that would be interested in running these. I do plan on getting a timing system once I work out track setup. From what I understand, once all the bumpers are attached, track setup goes pretty quick. I plan on doing the Mini96 World Challenge that can be found on FB. I already have a laptop so if I charge everything up before heading out, I should be good for a few hours at a time. I have also reached out to local rec centers and other places in hopes of finding somewhere indoors from time to time. If any of this sounds like something u would be interested in, message back.

RCscale

I am potentially interested. Right now I am leaning toward 1/10th. I already got a Radiomaster MT12 to try out in a simulator. I did find that racing isn't easy! The MT12 can be made to work with Mini-Z though so it wouldn't be a loss. Is it possible to set up the Mini-Z track outside? How flat does the pavement (or grass?) under it have to be?

FlyeredUp

Mini z track will not work in grass but flat concrete does not seem to be a problem from what I’ve learned. There are a lot of people that set these up in parking lots down south.

nielsm

If you want 1/10 on-road also look at 360v2 in New Rochelle NY. Off-road will be easier to find tracks though. The downside of the northeast is the current high rents limit where tracks are. There were many more tracks in the past. I have only 1 track within 30 minutes, I’ve got to travel at least an hour or two to find a few more options. It’s worth taking a trip to each of them to get a feel for the place, ask questions about the race series, which cars they run, how newbie friendly they are, etc.

Biggest challenge with RC in general is that left and right switch depending on the direction the model is heading (matches heading away from you, reverse heading toward you). Getting your mental model to match the car’s position is the biggest hurdle, followed by over controlling (too much steering or throttle). After that, it’s finesse to pick lines and throttle. It does get easier over time, but it’s not an overnight thing.

You can run on perfectly smooth pavement, but keep in mind most driveways, let alone grass are too rough for the ground clearance of a Mini Z. Most Mini Z tracks are on RCP track for high grip or on a smooth plastic for drifting. While I guess you could take the RCP track outdoors, most clubs that setup Mini Z racing do it indoors typically at a local school gym. It takes weather out of the equation and allows for winter racing.

RCscale

The reverse of direction is easy for me, as I am fairly used to RC in general. It's the overcorrecting on turns that was killing me in the simulator, but I didn't get to the point of setting up a steering exponential or anything.

nielsm

Sometimes simulators don’t have the same feel you have IRL. You can shift your body to get a slightly different perspective in the real world, while the simulation’s perspective is often fixed.

It’s actually what I really like about the Mini Z and the Mini 96 track at home. It is a very narrow lane width, less than 24” wide with the default layout pieces. It really forces you to be precise. I found it really helps as you go to larger scales where it feels like you have a huge amount of room on the track relatively.

EMU

iTrader: (3)

Learning to drive a Mini-Z fast on a mini-96, you can move to any scale in RC (as long as you can see the car well far away), and drive well. As you move up in scale, the relative speed of the car decreases. Time spent on track from corner to corner increases, and time spent in one corner increases. Mini-Z is arguably the most difficult scale to master due to the reflex and pace of the cars. Especially with the tires and motors that we have available now.

RCP track will marginally smooth out the surface from underneath, but you will feel all of the bumps and they will effect the car. Ideally, you want as smooth of a surface under the track as you can get. Air under the track changes grip just as much as bumps.