Let's start with the most important fact: Both, Michael and I decided to use a 98mm wheelbase in order to be able to run the Mosler bodyshell. This was of importance because our investigations found that the body features brilliant handling characteristics.
Consequently we were quite limited in choosing the rear axle: PN Motor Mount V4, PN 64pitch, V3 Ceramic Ball Differential Set and a Delrin Slip Spur Gear 51T in my case. Furthermore we chose the classical damping system including friction plates and a T-bar. Replacing the original carbon plate with an Atomic titanium friction plate we could smoothen the damping a lot. The original PN plate was manufactured well but it had the tendency to get stuck. The result would not only have been unsteady damping characteristics but also a tweaked Mini-Z which would be unable to drive a straight line. On the lower side we mounted a LMN carbon fiber T-bar which is available in three different harnesses (soft, medium, hard). The combinations of the soft T-bar/3000cSt or the middle T-bar/5000cSt turned out to deliver very good results for the rear axle.
My front suspension is made up of Reflex Racing parts. In general the set up of the front suspension on the one hand is extremely important to get a well balanced and fast car but on the other hand it's quite tricky to make it work well. The general problem seems to be the fitting accuracy of the option parts. Almost every Mini-Z I held in my hands so far featured at least one canting suspension arm. In order to avoid this I chose the following combination of parts:
- Reflex Racing MR-03 Adjustable Upper Suspension Mount (with Camber Key)
- Reflex Racing MR-03 Front King Pin Package
- Reflex Racing MR-03 Delrin Front Upper Arms
- Reflex Racing Low Profile Front Suspension Delrin Ball Set
- Reflex Racing MR-03 Mirror Polished Suspension Upper Arm Pin
- PN Racing MR-03 Lowered Aluminum Knuckles and
- PN Racing Front Suspension Spring Sets (short, 5 pairs)
First of all the Reflex Upper Suspension gives you the possibility to adjust camber, caster and the car's roll center (by placing shims in the mounting holes of the Mini-Z). Thus the option part offers the possibility to control three essential factors to set up a RC-Car. This makes this Reflex tuning part to a must-have! The Front King Pin Package allows you to mount the suspension springs on top of the upper suspension arm which might give the RC-Car a more precise handling by facilitating better in-corner responding qualities. Nonetheless I have to admit that I haven't tried the original concept yet.
To achieve a smoothly running front axle you have to completely (!) polish both of the extra long king pins. Replacing the original upper suspension arms with Delrin Front Upper Arms is not mandatory. But they look nicer than cut off plastic arms. Additionally I made use of the Delrin Ball Set which unfortunately suffer from fabrication tolerances. I had to order two packages in order to gain a sleekly moving ball in the suspension arm.
Although it was not planned to make use of the Lowered Aluminum Knuckles, one is forced to buy and mount theses ones, too. The original Kyosho plastic part does not slide smooth enough on the king pin while deflecting.
Eventually assembling a nice and smoothly running Mini-Z is not an easy task. It is necessary to rework many parts to get a good result. Nevertheless it is not completely impossible. Take your time, be patient and don't get angry if a part doesn't fit or its quality is bad. I think the total amount I spent on option parts that I did not install due to the fact that they either were manufacture shabbily or did not fit was around 70-80Euro!
Flo
