Original Lazer ZX advice please

[schmoov3]

Hello Everyone. This is my first post here as have been away from the hobby for many years. You know normal stuff. house, kids, money, no time etc. Anyway, I have recently been helping my dad sort out his loft and i found my old RC gear. A Tamiya Hornet from the early eighties which isn't in the best of shape, and my Lazer ZX from 1989. This is in very good shape apart from some bodywork damage due to how it was stored. To be honest, the car wasn't used a great deal and was never raced. All original with an old speedmaster silver star ESC. My first thought was to sell it if I'm honest, but when I showed it to my daughter she was very eager to get it going again which would be great for old times sake and I would like to get back into again. No heavy bashing. Just running it on car parks and flat beaches. I have been reading many threads over the last few weeks regarding these cars but there are a few questions I would love some help with if you could please. This forum seems to be full of people with vast knowledge and always willing to help people when needed so any responses would be gratefully received.
1. Wheels and tyres; From what I have read it seems that people can use the mad rat range as they are a direct fit?
2. Bodyshell; Would the parma tomcat repro be a perfect fit from Kamtec and do they sell the under body?
3. Modern Electronics; I would like to run a brushless setup. Would this be safe to do so? If so what modifications, if any, would I need to do, and what would be your recommendation on the brushless power and lipo setup.
4. Spares; It seems a lot of spares are still readily available but are there any parts which are extremely hard to come by?

Thanks again for your time in reading this.

[Crashtest33]

Hi there!
I did the kids thing too so know how you feel! Used to race the ZX-R back in 1992 as a 10 yr old!
Anyways.
The ZX is fine to run on modern electrics but dont go lower than a 10.5 turn brushless motor (unless you're racing you wouldn't need to).
Any modern Kyosho 1/10 4wd wheels will be a direct fit and most people use the Schumacher Yellow pins or mini-spike tyres with chubby foam inserts.
Keep the original wheels if you can as in good condition they're worth a lot!
With regard to a shell, just buy an original repro from team bluegroove.
Most parts are hard to come by but if you're willing to part with serious dough you can get most stuff.
If I were you tho, if I had no interest in vintage RC I would wash/clean it, fit a repro shell n graphics and sell the lot to a collector for 300 notes and buy a RTR kit for a ton!

Hope this helps
Nick

[schmoov3]

Hi Nick. Thanks very much for the quick response. Looking on ebay only boxed zx's seemed to be getting serious cash. I am really surprised its worth that much. It is very tidy though and I have some of the old kyosho motors to put with it. decisions time it is then. If I did sell I would be tempted for a 1:8 RTR buggy. Don't know what to do now!

[terry.sc]

Hi and welcome back. Many of us are old racers who have come back into the hobby, and some of us just never stopped.

Originally Posted by schmoov3

1. Wheels and tyres; From what I have read it seems that people can use the mad rat range as they are a direct fit?

The 12mm hex drive is one of two modern wheel standards, so there are plenty of options. The Mad Rat wheels are a direct fit, there are 5 spoke wheels made for the old Lazer from JC Racing, Tamiya Dark Impact wheels, modern Kyosho wheels and many others.

2. Bodyshell; Would the parma tomcat repro be a perfect fit from Kamtec and do they sell the under body?

They don't sell the underbody. If you want the underbody you will have to buy the Lazer ZX-R underbody from Team Bluegroove. Team Bluegroove also do Lazer ZX and ZX-R bodies.

3. Modern Electronics; I would like to run a brushless setup. Would this be safe to do so? If so what modifications, if any, would I need to do, and what would be your recommendation on the brushless power and lipo setup.

The Lazer can handle most motors, certainly anything you would be looking at if you aren't talking about serious racing, at which point you would be looking at a modern car anyway. We used to race with the equivalent of down to a 7.5 brushless, but even a 13.5 will be fast enough if you aren't racing.

4. Spares; It seems a lot of spares are still readily available but are there any parts which are extremely hard to come by?

Lots of spares are readily available, the problem is the wishbone mounts and the front gearbox are the parts which always break and they are almost impossible to find. If you have a set of the alloy wishbone mounts that were available at the time that's on eproblem fixed, and the gearbox can be better supported by replacing the front shock mount with one with a top brace to stop it twisting, such as this one by Fybre-Lyte.

[terry.sc]

Originally Posted by schmoov3

Hi Nick. Thanks very much for the quick response. Looking on ebay only boxed zx's seemed to be getting serious cash. I am really surprised its worth that much.

If it's been built and run it's not worth anywhere near £300. Depending on condition used it would fetch anywhere between £50-100, maybe up to £120 with electrics. Adding a repro body won't make much difference to the price at all.

[schmoov3]

Hi Terry. Thanks very much for the comments. Looking at my options then it seems selling it as it is now is not really of great benefit to me. Even if I got £120 for the lot am I going to get a better modern car for the money? I definately feel the urge to get back into the hobby so do I cut my losses and strip this one down, re-build and add what parts need adding? If the wishbone mounts broke is there anywhere I could get a replacement? I have already looked at the carbon-fibre front and rear shock mounts from fibre-Lyte and they look fantastic so I would buy those straight away. Would I need a slipper clutch if I ran something like this http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fusion-e...products/34310 or this http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fusion-e...products/34302 Thanks again to both of you for taking the time to offer your advice.

[keithrc]

I use an Ez Run 13T brushless combo in my Lazer ZX, seems to go pretty well and they come with the wires pre soldered to the motor.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HOBBYWING...item2ec1df5695

If you wanted something newer the Lazer ZX-5 RTR's are pretty good for the money, and there's a brushless version.


Keith

[Welshy40]

Yes Mad Rat wheels are a direct fit and the correct width as per the manufacturers design hence why is my preferred choice. It also looks stunning and the wheels are designed better so are less prone to buckle / bend on impact.

I would recomend buying the Kamtec ZXS shell as it comes with an undertray. At the moment the only avalable under tray is made in Canada and its flimsy and gets damaged far too easily. The Kamtec ZXS shell is a tight fit with a little mod to the servo (buy the servo attachment arms for the B4 so you bolt the servo to that with the extender as well to push further into the chassis and would recommend a kimbrough large servo saver for protection as your daughter will be driving it) the shell will fit. You will need to work out how to cut it as the lines will be for a ZXS and not the ZX/ZXR

Spares, you can buy belts on ebay worldwide from a German company, they are not as good as the originals so you will have to replace more than the originals but still work reasonably well. Chassis, top deck, motor plate, servo plate, L brace, steering plate and shock towers can be bought from fibrelyte in carbon fibre.

Ujs can be bought but will be ZX-5 versions however a couple of pages at the end of the ZXR thread the part numbers are posted there.

Hope this helps.

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by schmoov3

Hi Terry. Thanks very much for the comments. Looking at my options then it seems selling it as it is now is not really of great benefit to me. Even if I got £120 for the lot am I going to get a better modern car for the money? I definately feel the urge to get back into the hobby so do I cut my losses and strip this one down, re-build and add what parts need adding? If the wishbone mounts broke is there anywhere I could get a replacement? I have already looked at the carbon-fibre front and rear shock mounts from fibre-Lyte and they look fantastic so I would buy those straight away. Would I need a slipper clutch if I ran something like this http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fusion-e...products/34310 or this http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fusion-e...products/34302 Thanks again to both of you for taking the time to offer your advice.

Slipper clutch, hold that thought for at least a month as ive been designing a layshaft for this car, to use the new associated VTS slipper clutch, ive already designed one for the B4 slipper but want to have the option of a tight fit and the possibility to run either slipper clutches so dont buy anything until I have the proto type in my hands and fit and test. When I am happy (hopefully it will be perfect) I will let you know who to buy it from.

The slipper makes the car handle more usable plus can handle the power better.

[schmoov3]

Hi Welshy. I was hoping you would reply to this thread as I have followed the other lazer threads and you have always been really helpful and knowledgable. Out of the two motor/esc combos I posted earlier in the thread which would be most suitable do you think? I will wait on the slipper clutch until your design is finished. Will it be safe to use brushless as standard for the moment? I will be buying the front and rear shock towers from fibre Lyte when I buy the other bits.

[terry.sc]

Originally Posted by schmoov3

If the wishbone mounts broke is there anywhere I could get a replacement?

LA-30 parts come up on ebay every so often, and they can sell for anywhere between £4 and £40 depending on demand at that time. I believe Fibre-Lyte make replacements but really you want to try and find the alloy parts. It's useful to look at Lazers for sale on Ebay, I have bought real dogs of a car because you can see the upgrades in the pictures. A cheap supply of spares as well.

Would I need a slipper clutch if I ran something like this http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fusion-e...products/34310 or this http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fusion-e...products/34302

The Lazer can handle that motor no problem. An old school trick to get around the terrible centre diff and lack of slipper is to just remove the balls from the spur gear, wash all the grease off then bolt everything back together. The washers running against the spur gear will grip but still allow it to give under a shock loading. With something as relatively mild as a 10.5T there is no need to upgrade to a proper slipper.

[terry.sc]

Originally Posted by Welshy40

I would recomend buying the Kamtec ZXS shell as it comes with an undertray. The Kamtec ZXS shell is a tight fit with a little mod to the servo (buy the servo attachment arms for the B4 so you bolt the servo to that with the extender as well to push further into the chassis and would recommend a kimbrough large servo saver for protection as your daughter will be driving it) the shell will fit.

Unless Kamtec have modified the ZXS undertray it will not fit the Lazer ZX as the Lazer chassis is wider than the Optima Mid chassis the ZXS undertray came from. As Welshy says, the 'little mod' is that you have to relocate the servo, plus cut back the sides of the chassis plate to get the ZXS undertray to lie flat.

It's so much simpler fitting a ZX or ZX-R body from Team Bluegroove.

[schmoov3]

Thanks Terry. If i got the ZX repro body from team bluegroove would the parma tomcat shell fit straight onto the under body? Would you say the the lowest motor/esc combo for this transmission would be 10.5t? What sort of runtimes would I get on a 5000mah 2s lipo? Thanks again for all great comments guys.

[terry.sc]

Originally Posted by schmoov3

Thanks Terry. If i got the ZX repro body from team bluegroove would the parma tomcat shell fit straight onto the under body?

No, you need the ZX-R undertray for the Tomcat body.

Would you say the the lowest motor/esc combo for this transmission would be 10.5t? What sort of runtimes would I get on a 5000mah 2s lipo? Thanks again for all great comments guys.

Considering we used to run 10-12 turn brushed motors in them it will handle a 10.5T easily. If you aren't planning on racing with it you don't need anything faster. Depending on gearing and where and how you are running it you could get up to 20-30 minutes from a 5000mah pack, a lot less runtime if you are running it hard and stopping and starting a lot.

[schmoov3]

I think i may just get the repro of the original shell to start with. Do you think this combo would be a good choice. http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fusion-e...products/34310

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by schmoov3

Hi Welshy. I was hoping you would reply to this thread as I have followed the other lazer threads and you have always been really helpful and knowledgable. Out of the two motor/esc combos I posted earlier in the thread which would be most suitable do you think? I will wait on the slipper clutch until your design is finished. Will it be safe to use brushless as standard for the moment? I will be buying the front and rear shock towers from fibre Lyte when I buy the other bits.

Tbh either, as terry suggested is a cheap starting point and does work well so long as you gear it so the motor comes off luke warm.

10.5 and 13.5 are suggested as too much power and the rear belt may snap. My gearbox is a proto and has tensioners to stop this.

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by schmoov3

Thanks Terry. If i got the ZX repro body from team bluegroove would the parma tomcat shell fit straight onto the under body? Would you say the the lowest motor/esc combo for this transmission would be 10.5t? What sort of runtimes would I get on a 5000mah 2s lipo? Thanks again for all great comments guys.

Youd get 15 mins at least, but thats a guess. Tbh you wouldnt be able to fit any lipos bigger than 4400 as the design of the rear top deck mount means you cant fit the batt wires in to the inner batt for larger powered cells.

I would advise getting three undertrays for the zxr from bluegroove so have spares and the tomcat shell from kamtec. May also be a good idea to buy the associated chassis protector layer that you can cut to shape and stick to the undertray. Still a good idea to reposition the servo with kimbro servo saver, since i came up with the idea ive had a better balanced car and never broken a servo

[schmoov3]

Which esc/motor combo would you suggest? Don't particulary fancy snapping drive belts! Would it be wiser sticking to a brushed setup instead? Maybe a 19t? Really fancy going brushless though. Is the zxr body/undertay a perfect fit on the ZX with no modifications. Really fancy that tomcat shell with the ZXR undertray.

[terry.sc]

The ZX and ZX-R use the same chassis, the ZX-R undertray fits exactly on the ZX. As for Team Bluegrooves lexan being fragile, well the first bodies were produced in PETG and would easily split. The latest products by all accounts are using a high quality polycarbonate and now come with overspray film.

For motors my basher ZX-R runs with a 10 turn brushed motor in it. Still running the original 18 year old belts in there and it doesn't just get gentle running. http://www.tamiyaclub.com/tc_userima...07202719_5.jpg
The reason I use brushed is purely because it's what has been in it for many years and as it's not being raced to goes for ages before needing any maintenance.

For bashing I would probably recommend a 13.5 turn, a bit slower but you will get a lot more runtime from your battery pack, ideal for running for fun and more useful for someone learning.

The Lazer belts might be more susceptible to damage if it's an original due to age, but the belts used in modern cars are exactly the same 3mm type and they can handle brushless no problem.

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by schmoov3

Which esc/motor combo would you suggest? Don't particulary fancy snapping drive belts! Would it be wiser sticking to a brushed setup instead? Maybe a 19t? Really fancy going brushless though. Is the zxr body/undertay a perfect fit on the ZX with no modifications. Really fancy that tomcat shell with the ZXR undertray.

I would opt for Terrys suggestion of the ezrun and i would opt for a 10.5, which is possibly a 15 single brushed. Gearing im insure but team novak have a ratio chart thats useful to get a ratio starting point and go from there.

I gave kamtec the tomcat shell to copy and the dragon shell is mine, if he still uses it on his site. Thats a perfect fit with zxr undertray from blue groove on your chassis.