zipp

just got my kit!

will post a review soon!

Madulla

Just finished building my kit.
Upgrades
Narrow Lipo Chassis
3racing shocks
Steering

Kit went together smoothly. My problem is the motor mount, it won't work with a large spur. I can't get to the motor screws, will be ordering the new one ASAP. Can't wait to get it on the track.

zipp

My kit is about 80% done now, only left with electronics and shocks.

Initial impressions are very very good. Parts fit and finish are top notch. On par with other brands that i've built, which includes a Xray T1, HPIs and Tamiya TA05. Parts finish and fit beat the TA05 (v1, non-R) for sure, and considering the fact that it costs even less than the latter, value is simply amazing for this car. It even comes with universals in the front, where it matters basically. dogbones in the rear don't have as much slop as tamiyas, and should last a few good months before replacement.

Specifically, the FRP chassis is well cut, all the holes line up perfectly. Suspension slop from the linkages is minimal, comparable to my early xray and wayy better than the TA05's sloppy mess. Plastics vary for different components; arms knuckles and hubs are hard plastic, where you can feel the screw threads 'bite'. Others, especially the bulkheads and bulkhead covers, are rather soft, threads for those strip rather easily.

Alright a few tips for building the car:
while waiting for the car to ship, do some finger and wrist exercises I mean it! with all that plastic to thread. Those of you 'downgrading' from all carbon/alu cars will feel it most. Good luck with the top deck (14 screws in total!)

1) Gear diff - Make sure the bevel gears sit right in. get this right before moving on.

2) Spur - I used a Kawada 64 pitch spur instead of the stock 48p one. It wasn't a perfect fit though and required some slight reaming. the holes in the spur basically weren't wide enough to fit the gear adaptor.

3) Rear bulkheads - Refer to Over gear's photo, only the outer two screws are M3 x 10, the rest are 8mm. The bulkheads, as well as the bulkhead covers are soft plastic. Just use more care when threading them.

yup that's about it, can't wait to get it up and running! I put 30k diff silicon in the front diff and 80wt shock oil in the rear. For shocks I might wanna use my TRFs, with short tamiya springs. Gonna be running 11.5t boosted.

Must have upgrades.. currently none. If you have an extra set of threaded shocks that'll be good to bring over. If it's your first car I think they stock dampers are more than fine. As mentioned, the bulkheads are rather flexible on its own. With the shock towers and top deck mounted however, it's quite okay. The alu parts are upgrades yes, but personally at this point in time, I don't think they are must-haves. The beauty of this kit is that it comes with 2 gear diffs. Even people with sakura zeros are having to pay something like 20 usd for a gear diff, and we have 2

snabbgas

Awesome review zipp, thank you! Great to hear from someone with experience with other cars. Looking forward to hear more after tracktesting.

What size is the original spurgear and about what pinionsizes does it support?
What ratio between the pulleys?

This looks like an great car for people to get started in touring.

Keep those reviews coming people!

Wolf

For it's price, it is a very good value car. In an experience hobbyist hand, it proved to be quite capable. But saying it is up to Xray quality? One must be very lucky, maybe he got a really good sample? I've heard that suspension arm need to be re-aligned so that the suspension pin can pass through. You also need an arm reamer to "free up" suspension arm's hole. (Look at those picture in the facebook group) You also need to dremel bottom chassis to make clearance for rear differential, ... You need to do this type of fix with any Xray car ??

zipp

Original spur is a 80T 48P.

I have a problem now with the kawada 64p spur though, I can't reach the motor screws i think this was mentioned earlier but i didn't take note. might try to dremel a small hole big enough for the driver.

zipp

The Xray I had was the very first one, a T1, even before they had the FKs. I still remember how it went, some of the arms had slight binding, the castor clips (that car had pillow ball front suspension) wouldn't fit without removing 1mm of material. So yeah, i guess, it's comparable in terms of fit. I wouldn't doubt the new Xrays are perfect, but price wise, it's totally unfair to compare.

for those who are really picky, yes the rear arms do bind, but ever so slightly for mine. I failed to notice this in my earlier posting. I don't think it's an issue though, a few hits to the wall should fix it
Personally I think it's fine, especially since all of the components, like the suspension mounts, spacers are all plastic. They should wear fast in the first few runs, getting rid of the binding. If your car is all alu, mounts and spacers, and it binds, that'll be cause for concern, but not in the Zero S.

Then again, i'm not a fussy builder. I'll just try and highlight whatever I notice. Perhaps others can better address the nitty gritty.

Cheers!

Madulla

I had no problem fitting the pins, no dremel no fuss. Suspension is a little tight, but it should because it is new. After a few batteries it should loosen up. but like I said earlier you need to get the vertical motor mount. I tired a 100t 64p spur and a 42t 64p pinion. I can't get anywhere near one of the motor screws. Also my pinion rubs a little on the top deck. Needs an adjustment but its a tight fit. I am running 17.5 was going to start with a FDR around 4.5 and work my way down.

bashslash

iTrader: (1)

What kind of material is FRP?

cheapskate.brok

iTrader: (10)

Fiber reinforced plastic.

Never did a comparison with Carbon Fibre though, but 3racing's CF is not as stiff as others so it's hard for me to speculate the characteristics of the FRP on the Zero S.

zipp

In general FRP's not as stiff as carbon fibre.
For the same chassis shape and thickness it is also slightly heavier.

My Zero S flexes a bit when twisted laterally on both ends, not as much as a box stock v1 TA05 though! But the TA05 really handled well, flex slop and all, can't wait to see how the Zero would compare.

bashslash

iTrader: (1)

Well sounds like a good kit for me. I need something with flex since it will see some wall time with my driving skills.

On a side note,

I see HKS hobbies carries the Sakura S, do they ship from their location in california? And are they a reputable online seller?

over gear

iTrader: (18)

when i bought my Sakura S at HKS 2 weeks ago... i saw there were a couple kits in stock. they ship from their Los Angeles location as i saw stacks of USPS boxes and labels.

bashslash

iTrader: (1)

So it's an actual hobby shop you can walk into? If so I guess I'll be heading there this week to check them out.

over gear

iTrader: (18)

call the shop first before you go.