December 28, 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NASCAR, the most popular racing series in the US, has teamed up with Kyosho to produce the only hobby-grade, officially licensed NASCAR RC cars available in the world.

 

The Kyosho team visited the racing development facilities of many of the top NASCAR racing teams, and even attended NASCAR events, all in an effort to ensure that the bodies include exceptional detail that is unmatched in accuracy and scale.

 

The Mini-Z i-Series chassis features the same quality chassis construction as the rest of the Mini-Z line-up, which is the standard when it comes to mini RC vehicles. It has independent front suspension with solid axle rear suspension, just like the full-size racecars. Additionally, the electronics feature full digital proportional control, instead of the analog resistor-type controllers so common in cheaper mini-size cars. This means you have fully proportional control of forward, reverse, and steering with digital precision.

 

The series begins with the 2005 Ford Taurus of Carl Edwards and the 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo of Kevin Harvick. The 2005 Taurus represents the car used by Edwards for his first full season of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing for Roush Racing, in which he scored four wins and two poles. Harvick's 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a replica of the Childress Racing car used to win at Phoenix, Watkins Glen and Richmond, and the same car that won a total of five races and one pole award during the 2006 season.

 

30792-99B - Carl Edwards '05 Office Depot #99 Ford Taurus

30793-29B - Kevin Harvick '06 Goodwrench #29 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

 

This question has been asked countless times by new drivers getting into Mini-Z's. I have scoured the forums in an attempt to get new drivers started off on the right foot.   more »

Well, the DC boys got together today for another fine day of racing. We weren't sure how we were going to start off because we are running two race series' at a time...   more »

If you are new to Mini-Z's and you want to get an idea of what these things are all about, this is a good start. It introduces the different types of Mini-Z's and gives a little bit of information...   more »

This article tries to answer a lot of the questions someone might have when they are considering a FET upgrade or External Turbo...   more »

I don't know how many people know about this and I hope I am not opening the floodgates, but you can now order parts through the KyoshoUSA website.  You may think this is a good thing but in my experience it's not.  First, a couple of facts.

1.  You are NOT ordering directly from Kyosho stock. 
2.  What you order may not actually BE in stock.

Now here's my personal experience. 

I was checking out the KyoshoUSA site, and along with a massive redesign, I noticed the Shopatron link on the bottom left.  I clicked on it and poked a round for a while and found some stuff that I wanted to order.  I usually purchase as much as I can from the shop here but there were a couple of items that were out of stock and I figured I would use this as a test. 

Shopatron gives you the impression that they have accurate stock information and you can order everything directly from the warehouse.  As you dig a little deeper you realize that the stock isn't checked until after you place your order.  They farm your order out to Local Hobby Shops in an attempt to get it filled in one place.  Whoever has what you need and is close to you gets to fill the order.  If there is not a single shop that has everything, you may be hit with multiple shipping charges, but you are able to make that choice when you place your order.

So, I ordered some stuff.  It took about two business days to determine if my items were in stock.  In a list of 8 items, one was cancelled and one was delayed for a week.  I was able to cancel the delayed item (I am just going to get it from the shop) and I accepted the rest of the order.  At this point I was a little annoyed that I had placed the order on a Thursday and I was still dealing with it on Tuesday.  The order finally shipped on Wednesday.

Here's the kicker, the shop that is filling my order is on the other side of the country so it will take a week to get to me via UPS ground.  It will be almost two weeks after I placed the order and I am still not getting everything that I wanted.

I wanted to post this recount for several reasons.  1) Information.  I wanted to present facts to everyone to let them know how Shopatron actually works, I also wanted to provide feedback on an actual purchase experience.  2) Comparison.  Sometimes it's difficult to get information from the shop on incoming stock but even if it took a week to get that info, I would still have my products before I got them from Shopatron. 

Am I plugging the shop here a little bit?  Sure, but that's because I think it's a superior resource.  If you need one hard-to-find item and you can locate it at KyoshoUSA then maybe that's the way to go, but I would at least check in with the MZR shop first.  Otherwise, it's a crap shoot.  The shipping takes longer and it's not really cheaper.  If the shop heres steps up communication just a notch it would be a blowout.

Here's my review of a very popular radio upgrade, the Futaba 2PL. In my opinion it's well worth the cost. Read on for more details...   more »

Pan Car body with new wheels:

More Info

 

   more »

Read my Mini-Review on PN Racing's new Mini-Z AWD Alm. Motor Cover with Heatsink   more »

According to this thread on minizracer.com forum Kyosho will release new bodies for the racers and the F1 on the ...   more »

A few weeks ago, Robitronic put a new lap counting system on the market. Because this is one of the ...   more »