Kyosho ZX-5 Review, page 7/7

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For the test, i went down to a Batley club meeting, only around 8 people racing 4wd and the track was wet early on. Round 1: With the kit setup (including anti-roll bar) the car was a handfull to drive, way too twitchy and the suspension collapsing on every corner, the stock gearing was fine with the 12x1 i had. I kept the cells in the rear position all day, the car soaked up bumps well like this. Round 2: I put the rear bottom shocks in a hole and changed the camber link to the middle one on the rear hubs. I also removed the anti-roll bar and raised the wing as high as it would go. I cut the outside spikes off the front tyres to reduce steering a little. This time the car was much better, i was still slower than comparable drivers though. Round 3: I moved the rear camber link to the inside on the hubs this time, and changed shock oil to associated 30wt in the rear and 40wt in the front. At this point i noticed the rear diff was slack and the drive cup from the slipper to the centre shaft had come loose - quick dab of threadlock and it was sorted. This time the car was amazing, tho still way too soft on the suspension, but the balance was good. Round 4: I changed the front camber link to the middle position (on the inside) which was a pain as you have to disassemble the front shock tower to do it. Again the car was superb, and getting better, acceleration was fantastic, though a little too fantastic as i lost time twice from "wheelies", slipper too tight. As the car was now so well balanced i felt i could push harder, but when i did the car would lean over and become unstable or flip over. The Final : For the final, i considered trying different springs from LOSI, which looked to fit, but for the final i decided i'd had enough testing and wanted to keep with what i knew was "OK". I backed the slipper off a touch. In the final i had a good battle with Adam Carter driving an X-Factory X5, the Kyosho was certainly faster off the mark, and throughout most of the track the cars were very equal. I lost out eventually to adam after a few swaps of position when the kyosho flipped again - the soft suspension the main problem. Thanks go to Richard Lowe (Top 2WD & 4WD racer in the North East) for his help in setting the kyosho up.

Conclusion The Kit goes together well, like i said, the screws are terrible, i will get some hex screws for this car asap. The Diff options are a fantastic addition to the kit, thanks kyosho. The shocks are great also. This car will be very popular, the quality is great, in my opinion its as good as my bj4x4, the setup for UK tracks needs some work but already with the few changes i made the car was a top performer. Kyosho have a world level car here.

So which do i prefer since i already own a nice BJ4x4 ?. The BJ4x4 -everything is right, the wheels work with my 2WD, and other peoples cars, the spares are cheap and easy to find and cross over with my 2WD. The kyosho on the other hand, spares are non existant at this moment, that will change ofcourse. Nothing like screws, ball ends, pistons, anything! is compatible with my 2WD. Perhaps i need the Kyosho 2WD also ? At the end of the day the kyosho is an awesome car. Get one quick, this car is going to be very popular. Discuss the ZX-5 in the Forum!

Update: Added a Review of Speed Tech R/C's Titanium Screw Kit for the Kyosho Lazer ZX-5 - Ti Screw Kit Review

Update: Atomic Carbon Fibre Hop Ups - Carbon Fibre Hop Ups Review

NEW - Atomic-Carbon Ion Spec Main Chassis - NEW

BIG PHOTOS GALLERY

This review is not endorsed, helped or supported by Kyosho in any way.

Needless to say, i put a lot of effort into this review, so if you like it, let me know, thanks.

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