Zip Zaps who has'em?

DaveH

DaveH

Joined
Dec 2, 1999
Messages
12,249
We where in Radio Shack the other day and the wife took a liking to the Zip Zap stuff, wants the car, tuner kit, custom rims kit, performace upgrade kit...

So what's the story on'em?
 
They're Ok. The kits do help you get the behavior you want. Allegedly, there is a better brand available straight from Japan.

We've taken the kid's blocks and built various courses and such for them complete with overpasses, ramps, barriers and walls.

Phil
 
There are two different kinds of Zip Zaps. There are the older models, which are basically large Microsizers (very popular micro-RCs), and then there are the new Zip Zap Special Editions. The SE Zip Zaps have proportional steering and acceleration. Not true proportional, but close. The SEs also have headlights, brake lights, and a spring suspension.

All in all, the Zip Zaps SEs are pretty hot. My only big gripe is that they have less torque than the older models, which is probably due to the greater weight of the special innards. The motors are the same. The only other possibly bad thing is that The SEs have a lower ground clearance. This makes the car corner better, but can be a problem on carpeting.

One more thing. The booster kits are worth the money, just for the faster motors.

If you want to stop where all of the microRC people hang out, go to
TinyRC
 
Zip Zaps are sort of cool, but an Epoch Spec 2 Indoor racer is way cooler if you want a tiny RC car. They are 1/43 scale where Zip Zaps are 1/64 scale. These are still pocket sized being around 4" overall but come with a much better radio and are a lot more fun to drive than Zip Zaps. They're small enough to race around a kitchen floor or a driveway and have a much better suspension than Zip Zaps. Of course everything comes at a price. An Epoch Spec 2 car will run closer to $100.00 whereas a Zip Zap is closer to $20.00, but you really do get what you pay for in this case. You have to be careful though. If you get started with these tiny RC cars, it could get you hooked and when you start getting into 1/10 scale cars they can get real expensive. But they're oh, so much fun!

jmx
 
I've got an Epoch Spec2. Awesome, awesome car. Unfortunately, it's just a little too big for the rooms in my house.
 
Cool. I have got to get me one of those...especially considering I live in Japan, where most of this stuff is made. But I really want a couple of those Desktop Rovers.

Japan is big on 4WD model car racing (uncontrolled), but I hadn't seen much about mini-RC stuff. Maybe I'll go check it out.
 
I have two Microsizers and love 'em. Maybe I need to look into these Special Edition Zip Zaps.
 
Word of caution, do NOT use Miltec on them in hopes of reducing friction between the gears, I used it on 2 of my BitChar-G cars (came out in Japan long before Zipzaps) and it affected the plastic of the chassis and they both cracked apart. From what I've seen of the Zip Zaps, the structure is about the same
 
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