Kyosho ZX5

[greeny]

hi all,

just found a good price on a lazer zx5.

im only now getting back into the offroad scene so i need someting reasonably easy to drive and not to brittle. there arent many jumps at my local track but it is quite bumpy.

do you think its a good car to start with?

i am on a budget so if u can find something brand knew for around about the same price. let me know.

jordan

[dibble34]

I would say it depends on what kind of ZX5 and what level you hope to race at. I started with a ZX5 RTR and it was great out of the box, however i then upgraded the motor and ESC to a 4.5 brushless and started to see some wear so need to upgrade things such as the diff driveshaft sockets as they are made of plastic as opposed to the metal ones you get on a standard kit zx5. I have actually purchased a 2nd hand ZX5 now as it was cheaper than upgrading my RTR ZX5!
So in my opinion, if it is a true ZX5 i would say it would be a good car to get you started and upgrade, i find them easy to drive and they seem quite popular at club level, although at top level racing i don't think they are favoured. If it is a ZX5 RTR that you have found then again it is great, but if you intend upgrade the motor/esc at a later date, in my experience you may be better off looking for a new or second hand ZX5 kit car.

[Scouser]

I think the RTR versions are about £150 or so. For the same price DMS have the original ZX-5 kit! (if they have any left in stock). Personally I love the car. It is easy to drive, easy to work on, parts are cheap and readily available, you can use the stick Li-Po batteries from your 2wd and the car can be upgraded to the SP car at a later date. The ZX-5 is a competitive racer aswell. It has been the North West champions chassis of choice for a few years now.

[jim76]

the original ZX5 is a very capable car. spares are cheap, and once built correctly the car is robust and reliable. TO echo Dibble's comments, it may be worth going straight for the full ZX5, not the RTR, as if you get the bug you will start upgrading straight away and spend far more in the long run.

Have a search in the Kyosho section for build tips for the ZX5. The main things were upgrade the diff balls straight away for associated or similar as the kit balls are soft. Get the front alloy hinge pin brace so you don;t snap the plastic ones in every minor collision, and double up the front shock tower with an atomic carbon mount sandwiched against the kit item. This will make the front end bullet proof in a crash.
Apart from that the car will be competitive at club level, and regionals.
Make sure you shim the diffs correctly also when you build it. The instructions make the gears a little loose, so they can strip easily unless you run a loose slipper. Move one of the thin shims from the inside to the outside of the diff to tighten the mesh slightly, and make sure the slipper is set for a small amount of slip from a standstill. You won't have any problems then.

anything else, just ask

[GOLDGPR]

Sorry to jump on your thread greeny, but could someone tell me the diffrence between the newer SP version and the first ZX5 was looking at the RTR one but thinking that it may well cost just more to upgrade etc so may as well start with the SP or would it not be worth it ????

Thanks

Graham

[jim76]

the SP has different front and rear end geometry for improved handling. I had the original ZX5 and it was very competitve, but haven't tried a new SP. I think a few of the parts have been bulked up for strength on the SP such as shock mount brackets, wishbones etc. Just a logical revision of the original car. I imagine the original kit if still around will be peanuts, but the Sp will be a good car if you car stretch to it.

[JCJC]

Lots of slightly different arrangements of steering parts, axles and wishbones & shock parts are said to make the car better to drive, uses a different wheel offset to suit the new arrangements, so different wheels.

If the SP comes as a kit or if you have to upgrade a standard ZX5 I am not sure, we run the original and we are quite happy club level racers.

The reason the car is not used at top level is partly due to backing (or lack of) from Kyosho, no team cars no team drivers developing. There is also a mid motor car that may be available now?/soon.

We have found the original (with the same mods as Jim above) to be robust, with a Novak 5.5 we do not strip diffs/gears or do to much damage, front alloy brace is a must.

[Karl Marsden]

Hi guys,

Just in case it helps, you can have a go at calling these Kyosho stockists if you are after a Lazer, or contact the office direct and we will direct you to the racing shops we supply.

http://www.kyoshofrance.com/uk1/accueil-khome.htm

One important note, do not be affraid now of getting Kyosho parts, we are backing the UK fully now.

Regards
Karl Marsden

Kyosho UK

[greeny]

Originally Posted by Scouser

I think the RTR versions are about £150 or so. For the same price DMS have the original ZX-5 kit! (if they have any left in stock). Personally I love the car. It is easy to drive, easy to work on, parts are cheap and readily available, you can use the stick Li-Po batteries from your 2wd and the car can be upgraded to the SP car at a later date. The ZX-5 is a competitive racer aswell. It has been the North West champions chassis of choice for a few years now.

thats exactly where ive found the full kit one, on DMS racing, roughly about £150 cant quite remember.

where can i get kyosho spares and upgrades from?

jordan

[Darren Boyle]

We dont just stock the car kits, we stock the full range of spares and optional parts too!! They are also listed on our website in the Kyosho section of the catologue.

Every model we sell from every brand, we try our very hardest to back it up with full spares and parts support too and the ZX5 is no exception.

And you are spot on we are £149.95 on the standard ZX5 (£129.95 on the RTR Readyset, £224.95 on the SP and the FS latest spec conversion for the ZX5 is £134.95....ALL in stock if needed)

[greeny]

dont the 150pound standard zx5's come with posidrive screws though?

just curious.

jordan

[Darren Boyle]

Yes Kyosho do use the pozidrive head screws on all the base models, only the top end vehicles use the 2mm cap head type. To be fair though they are not that bad, you just need a good quality pozi driver the right size and not a phillips like most people atempt to use which will chew them up.

[jim76]

the original ZX5 comes with all the one-way options for the front drivetrain, which i don't think the SP does (at least the early SP kits didn't).
you can get standard steel hex driver screws for the ZX5 for about £10 for a full replacement set.
The one-way options far outway the cost of the screws as a centre one way is essential.

Darren can probably confirm the one-way options in the current SP kit.

[JCJC]

So,,,,,,,,,,, If I were to buy the upgrade/conversion to FS, from an original ZX5, would I also need to upgrade to the "intermediate" SP first, or do these parts come in the FS kit ?

[jim76]

lol! getting complex isn't it!

[budgio]

Originally Posted by JCJC

So,,,,,,,,,,, If I were to buy the upgrade/conversion to FS, from an original ZX5, would I also need to upgrade to the "intermediate" SP first, or do these parts come in the FS kit ?

Ive been looking for a pic of the contents of the FS kit to see whats actually included but not having any joy.
I read somewhere it would also upgrade the RTR to FS.

Can anyone confirm this ?

[Jez]

would presume you can convert rtr to fs as this conversion only replaces parts in between the 2 gearboxes,ie steering,drive train and repositioning of cells.only trouble is you still havent got the handling of the sp.i run the sp outdoors and its ok.got the fs for indoors,but it is an expensive car seeing as you ideally need an sp as a donor car.i can see why kyosho have done this,but would recomend getting an sp now or wait for the fs in cmplete kit form.cant see it costing much more than sp.many thanks jez.

[JCJC]

"many thanks jez" and thank you, much as I suspected.