RZ6 conversion kit coming soon

[shaungooner]

The RZ6 conversion kit is coming soon and available to pre-order on the link below

The kit will include everything needed to convert your RB6 buggy into the RZ6 forward motor car as raced by Jared Tebo at the Worlds in Japan last year

http://www.pbmracing.co.uk/products/competition-kits/kyosho-kits/_p_60135_Pre-Order-Kyosho-RZ6-110th-Offroad-2wd-Forward-Motor-Buggy-Conversion-Kit-UMW730/

[AntH]

The RZ6 conversion kit is coming soon and available to pre-order on the link below

The kit will include everything needed to convert your RB6 buggy into the RZ6 forward motor car as raced by Jared Tebo at the Worlds in Japan last year

http://www.pbmracing.co.uk/products/competition-kits/kyosho-kits/_p_60135_Pre-Order-Kyosho-RZ6-110th-Offroad-2wd-Forward-Motor-Buggy-Conversion-Kit-UMW730/

Is that the confirmed RRP?

[ralphee]

A conversion kit, for 280 holes, thanks Kyosho, i needed a chuckle this evening!

Lee

[neallewis]

It's like 2012 all over again :thumbsup:

[neallewis]

It's like 2012 all over again :thumbsup:

or 2013: http://www.oople.com/forums/showpost.php?p=795686&postcount=1
take your pick.

[ralphee]

Haha, too true Neal, we just went back in time!

Lee

[AntH]

......still the best layout for high traction though... Bit of a joke for that price, should be a full kit.

[neallewis]

......still the best layout for high traction though... Bit of a joke for that price, should be a full kit.

Did it win the worlds? Has it won an EOS round? Has it won a recent UK national, or any other significant carpet/astro race?

If it was the best, it would have won or would be continuing to win current races. The Worlds was an oddity, and speaking with drivers that were there, it was nothing like the sort of high traction we run here in the UK.

I recall Tebo being interviewed on liverc about it at the Worlds, and he was very indifferent (read not happy) about the new Kyosho motor forward chassis, so reverted back to the car he had been testing with on a private carpet track, and had to choose the one he was going to run/stick with. He didn't seem happy with either chassis TBH.

I'm sure a few will be sold though, whatever the price.

[charlesk]

It is a comprehensive conversion kit, one that allows you to convert an existing rb6 to a rz6, without having to rob parts of your zx6 (if you have one), and it does come with some nice to have parts (in the law 50 gear diff) that on their own are very expensive. Although it is (ludicrously) expensive for a conversion kit, it still is better value than the db2 based on what is included and uses parts of the current 4wd so better for your pit box too.
So yes, it will sell to the existing fanBase, like the db1 and db2 have.(very unlikely it will draw new people to the brand).
I personally don't really get on with the type of car on anything other that really high grip,I also think that the lay down transmission cars are a lot more versatile and don't really give that much away (if anything) on very high bite.
So it is unlikely that I'll be getting one, (I'll wait for the lay down car and make do with what I've already got).I don't like having to have multiple 2wd cars to suit different tracks and improving my driving skill is going to give me more than a faster car.
My main disappointment with this is that it seems a bit like a last minute panic move to launch a faster high grip car, to satisfy the need/desire of some markets, but still took 6 months after the worlds and for the UK it's coming in a little late for the outdoor season (time to get used to a new car before hitting the track on regionals/nationals), and after all this time the result is a conversion kit, not a car...
No doubt it will sell, and in the hands of fast drivers, it'll do well though.

[AntH]

Did it win the worlds? Has it won an EOS round? Has it won a recent UK national, or any other significant carpet/astro race?

If it was the best, it would have won or would be continuing to win current races. The Worlds was an oddity, and speaking with drivers that were there, it was nothing like the sort of high traction we run here in the UK.

I recall Tebo being interviewed on liverc about it at the Worlds, and he was very indifferent (read not happy) about the new Kyosho motor forward chassis, so reverted back to the car he had been testing with on a private carpet track, and had to choose the one he was going to run/stick with. He didn't seem happy with either chassis TBH.

I'm sure a few will be sold though, whatever the price.

Just my opinion on the physics of the layouts. It has the lowest levels of longitudinal powertrain inertia reaction.

[Hyperstrada]

It is quite expensive but Kyosho quality is second to none. When you work out how many conversions/versions some of the other manufacturers have had in the time the RB6 has been out it actually works out to be pretty good value!

[njc11]

It is quite expensive but Kyosho quality is second to none. When you work out how many conversions/versions some of the other manufacturers have had in the time the RB6 has been out it actually works out to be pretty good value!

Couldn't have said it better myself Mark :thumbsup::

Neil.... The car Tebo ran at the worlds was a prototype car.. So not available to anyone else to run so you can't really say that's it's not won races or appeared at eos etc... Even at those races Kyosho haven't really had any of there top drivers there? The car is quite abit different to db2 etc anyway, ally chassis no top decks...

Your a die hard yokomo fan anyway and I can tell your jealous :woot:

[Neil Skull]

Lovers and haters :)

Its the car Tebo TQ the worlds with and finished second overall.
The only reason its been released is due to demand from customers.

If its not your cup of tea go on your own thread and bang on about how good you car is and where it finished at the worlds ;-)

[ralphee]

I wouldnt say "haters" entirely Neil, its a seriously cool little weapon, and im 100% it would be epic at my club too, for me im just a bit taken back with the way they have tried to market it, not as a full kit, but a very overpriced option, albeit, very cool and high in quality.
Hey, ill maybe sit back and wait till they get discounted like most other Kyosho kits, then I may be tempted to bag an RB6 too, and dip a toe in, bet it will be rapid.
Looking forward to seeing some built and raced though :thumbsup:

lee

[AfroP]

regardless of quality that's an expensive conversion

[Neil Skull]

I will Rephrase then.

Lovers and Dislikers lol!!!

Its funny the diggers on here though.
You can't moan about Kyosho Quality or performance so its easy to moan about price!!!
I don't think any brand has cheap cars, great quality and performance.
you cant really get a perfect balance of the 3. Any product out of Japan is not going to be cheap sorry to say. Kyosho been going for 50 years plus and its always been the same situation, get over it please! its getting boring.
And as i say this thread is for kyosho lovers not dislikers so move along please!
If you don't like price buy something cheap and tell everyone about how good it is on the relevant thread. :wub

[AntH]

I will Rephrase then.

Lovers and Dislikers lol!!!

Its funny the diggers on here though.
You can't moan about Kyosho Quality or performance so its easy to moan about price!!!
I don't think any brand has cheap cars, great quality and performance.
you cant really get a perfect balance of the 3. Any product out of Japan is not going to be cheap sorry to say. Kyosho been going for 50 years plus and its always been the same situation, get over it please! its getting boring.
And as i say this thread is for kyosho lovers not dislikers so move along please!
If you don't like price buy something cheap and tell everyone about how good it is on the relevant thread. :wub

I always thought the spirit of oople was an open discussion on topics, both sides of the debate. You seem to be trying to censor the thread. Just to be clear, Kyosho don't run this forum or thread and I'll post what I want as long as it's not offensive. I actually like the car, just think it's a bit pricey.

[Neil Skull]

Im not aimed at you specifically.
its just normal trash talk i get tired of about price of Kyosho.
Its like me i ride a cheap £120 mountain bike, done thousands of miles on it, it does what i want although gear changes are not good. But then why would i go onto Orange or Specilazed forum saying how expensive all those bikes are compared to my cheapy, I just don't see the point other than to cause some arguments!
Lets be positive! not negative we all got a price and quality we expect and are willing to pay for. so go promote your fav brand in a positive way.
I have been answering the same argument about Kyosho price for 10 years its tiring.
Peace and Love!

[ralphee]

I always thought the spirit of oople was an open discussion on topics, both sides of the debate. You seem to be trying to censor the thread. Just to be clear, Kyosho don't run this forum or thread and I'll post what I want as long as it's not offensive. I actually like the car, just think it's a bit pricey.

How very apt! And i agree, I wont be told to move on, or be censored by any fanboy, its just interesting, and a little bit odd they chose this route and pricepoint, a £600 2wd buggy, times they are a changin' a great poet once said lol!

Lee

[tyreman]

How very apt! And i agree, I wont be told to move on, or be censored by any fanboy, its just interesting, and a little bit odd they chose this route and pricepoint, a £600 2wd buggy, times they are a changin' a great poet once said lol!

Lee

You say it's pricey but consider this, back in 2006 Atomic carbon released the S4 which carried a price tag of £700 and people bought them because they were a no compromise kit, much the same as the RZ6 is likely to be.

When the Durango 410 was released at the back end of 2009 that was £450+ for a 4wd car.

Remember when the RB6 first came out i think it was one of the first 2wd cars to break the £300 threshold and no-one complained, as that price is now considered the norm for a car.

lets not forget about the cost of X-Factory and Vega conversions added to the original cost of a donor car the list just goes on.

As Insideline Models are doing the RB6 for £259 with the conversion it will cost a little over £500 not £600 as some have suggested.

I think it is a good thing that there will now be even more choice of cars available.

[ralphee]

So just asking, why is £300 considered the norm, and Kyosho pull this one?
Serious question and food for thought, is it just capitalising on its worlds astro performance?
Im not bagging on the car, Neil has me all wrong, im boggled why it has to be sold this way!
And lets face it, if it doesnt sell in the numbers Kyosho expect, itll see the massive cuts the ZX6 kit got not so long back!
Im no stranger to costly cars BTW, so thats just petty jabbing, that i dont mind, a distributor will always defend what he thinks is right, which is admirable!

Lee

[Dazzieboy]

Let's face it, it's clearly aimed at people that already have an RB6. Maybe Kyosho have missed a trick here in not selling it as a conversion or full kit for another 60 or 70 quid. Look at when the KF first came out, it was a fairly expensive car then there was the shorty conversion, the low grip conversion etc. so it's nothing new

[ralphee]

Spot on, launch this as a full car for £350 to £370 ish, great idea, hell they could hold back the wheels lol!
And there are bound to be further tuning options that Kyosho can further make money off, designating it to a target audience of curent RB6 owners, seems a bit narrow minded or elitist, anyway, i look forward to seeing some in action!

Lee

[njc11]

As people have already said this car is aimed at RB6 owners?? What they have been calling for... Alot in the USA as well...

All you would need if you didn't own an RB6 is just the front end parts and shocks...rear wishbones and hubs.. So I'm sure you could pick those up at a good price... Even a second hand RB6 would be a good idea?

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Fozzy1989]

Got to admit I think they have missed a trick by not making it a full kit for say £340-£350. It might of tempted some more people to try Kyosho out as a brand who haven't before. I've ran a DB2 and know how good that car is, so I'm sure the RZ6 will be top quality and good performer.

[ralphee]

I see, so if the car is aimed at RB6 owners, Kyosho dont want new members into its 2wd fold i gather, and would rather price them out in not offering a non elitist kit?
Id buy this in a heartbeat at £350 +, but in its current guise, its plain ridiculous, and lets not bag on about quality, there is quality abound in this day and age, sort yourselves out Kyosho lol!


Lee

[adey]

That conversation price will be too much for some, me included and will really put people off. I am sure there will be people out there who are prepared to spend £500 plus on a 2wd and I sincerely hope they do so when that are done with it and it comes up for sale on Oople I can buy it for half the price it cost them. I totally get Neil Skull defending Kyoshos decision to make a conversion only and sell it at that price but I am sure even he knows it's a big price for what it is.

[fil9144]

Couldn't have said it better myself Mark :thumbsup::

Neil.... The car Tebo ran at the worlds was a prototype car.. So not available to anyone else to run so you can't really say that's it's not won races or appeared at eos etc... Even at those races Kyosho haven't really had any of there top drivers there? The car is quite abit different to db2 etc anyway, ally chassis no top decks...

Your a die hard yokomo fan anyway and I can tell your jealous :woot:

wonder which of them he runs?
i had a Kyosho Rb6 for 3 years and was a very very good car and i had the DB1 and the DB2 and they were not all that great but looked nice.
this maybe a good car by all accounts and price shouldnt put people off really as if you buy a yoko you have to spend £400 on upgrades

[ralphee]

You dont have to spend £400 on upgrades for a Yokomo at all, :rolleyes: thats as bad as saying they break front arms at the drop of a hat, revise your subject matter, its more like £250 on upgrades :p

Lee

[fil9144]

You dont have to spend £400 on upgrades for a Yokomo at all, :rolleyes: thats as bad as saying they break front arms at the drop of a hat, revise your subject matter, its more like £250 on upgrades :p

Lee

So you buy a kit for £300.00 then spend another £250.00

There's my point

[ralphee]

So I gather the RZ6 wont have upgrades, itll be the be all and end all from the box? Its already missing the nice Tebo towers. Theres my point, its still expensive :)

Lee

[fil9144]

So I gather the RZ6 wont have upgrades, itll be the be all and end all from the box? Its already missing the nice Tebo towers. Theres my point, its still expensive :)

Lee

Will tebo towers make it any better tho?

My point is no matter what people spend money on kits no matter how good they are or are not out off the box and to be honest I don't think £500-£600 is a car is expensive

You have some really nice cars you know what I am saying that bottom line really we spend that much money on these things is it really any different from buying a kit and then spending money on it

I do tho agree with you in part think should be a full kit but I would still pay the money for it

[ralphee]

Will tebo towers make it any better tho?

My point is no matter what people spend money on kits no matter how good they are or are not out off the box and to be honest I don't think £500-£600 is a car is expensive

You have some really nice cars you know what I am saying that bottom line really we spend that much money on these things is it really any different from buying a kit and then spending money on it

I do tho agree with you in part think should be a full kit but I would still pay the money for it

I think were both in half agreement then buddy, i do see your point on OOB kits and additional upgrades, lord knows ive spent a ton on my recent cars!
If the RZ6 is really going to be the mutts, its gonna sell, hell id love one, it does look one polished and refined piece of kit, but not just yet, lets see how she goes at club levels maybe :thumbsup:

Lee

[fil9144]

I think were both in half agreement then buddy, i do see your point on OOB kits and additional upgrades, lord knows ive spent a ton on my recent cars!
If the RZ6 is really going to be the mutts, its gonna sell, hell id love one, it does look one polished and refined piece of kit, but not just yet, lets see how she goes at club levels maybe :thumbsup:

Lee

Going to be honest I buy kits because I love building them I have 7 never even been out of the house.
I do think I will give one a try but just bought my X-ray have waited along time for them to come out to be honest and as per I have bought everything you can but to be honest isn't going to improve my driving I jaust like my car to look nice as per some of yours thT Tamyia must stand you at a none refundable fortune

It goes with the hobby I am lucky I have everything I want and a very good job but I buy things to build them that's were the fun is for me.
I can see it being a good car but think if someone doing it on bugdet they shouldn't buy one unless they have a rb6 which in it self is a great car.
Tebo could drive a Tamyia lunchbox and it go well the fine lines at the top are all about on the day I think

[buggy#0]

Tebo could drive a Tamyia lunchbox and it go well the fine lines at the top are all about on the day I think
The adage of it being about the driver is perfectly true, but the second point definitely isn't. There are some drivers who click with certain cars better than others, and some just have their off days, but development in motorsport happens for a reason. A lot of people are overly cynical about the effect of the smallest of improvements, but if you are a driver at the very top, the car needs to be at its very best too.

Take Ronnefalk for example - the D216 certainly doesn't skimp anywhere on quality, and David is a world class driver, but the car just doesn't have the pace. It's definitely not an "on the day" thing, it shows that Hot Bodies, or what's left of them, need to do some drastic work to get the platform up to pace. Yokomo's last YZ-2 updates at Muelheim Kaerlich, although minor, meant they could absolutely dominate proceedings from start to finish.

It's important to not confuse the two concepts. A world class driver with a budget car would definitely be able to get it working and beat the vast majority of people on a club day. That's why they do it as their job - they are the best in the world. However, a world class driver surrounded by other world class drivers is a different matter. When every driver is on such an even keel in terms of skill, shaving half a tenth off your lap is a big deal. Every manufacturer is looking for that extra improvement, be it a second or a tenth of a second.

I remember marshaling at one of the Nationals a couple of years back, and as Lee Martin's Vega came by me, a tiny little brass weight dropped out of it. I picked it up and it had "1.5g" written on it. To your average club driver, such a small weight increase would be nothing. To a top driver, that might just make the difference between a very good car and a perfect one.

[KevLee]

Very well put Felix!

Although not a great advert for LMR tape :lol:

That's a joke by the way... LMR tape is very good


The adage of it being about the driver is perfectly true, but the second point definitely isn't. There are some drivers who click with certain cars better than others, and some just have their off days, but development in motorsport happens for a reason. A lot of people are overly cynical about the effect of the smallest of improvements, but if you are a driver at the very top, the car needs to be at its very best too.

Take Ronnefalk for example - the D216 certainly doesn't skimp anywhere on quality, and David is a world class driver, but the car just doesn't have the pace. It's definitely not an "on the day" thing, it shows that Hot Bodies, or what's left of them, need to do some drastic work to get the platform up to pace. Yokomo's last YZ-2 updates at Muelheim Kaerlich, although minor, meant they could absolutely dominate proceedings from start to finish.

It's important to not confuse the two concepts. A world class driver with a budget car would definitely be able to get it working and beat the vast majority of people on a club day. That's why they do it as their job - they are the best in the world. However, a world class driver surrounded by other world class drivers is a different matter. When every driver is on such an even keel in terms of skill, shaving half a tenth off your lap is a big deal. Every manufacturer is looking for that extra improvement, be it a second or a tenth of a second.

I remember marshaling at one of the Nationals a couple of years back, and as Lee Martin's Vega came by me, a tiny little brass weight dropped out of it. I picked it up and it had "1.5g" written on it. To your average club driver, such a small weight increase would be nothing. To a top driver, that might just make the difference between a very good car and a perfect one.

[fil9144]

The adage of it being about the driver is perfectly true, but the second point definitely isn't. There are some drivers who click with certain cars better than others, and some just have their off days, but development in motorsport happens for a reason. A lot of people are overly cynical about the effect of the smallest of improvements, but if you are a driver at the very top, the car needs to be at its very best too.

Take Ronnefalk for example - the D216 certainly doesn't skimp anywhere on quality, and David is a world class driver, but the car just doesn't have the pace. It's definitely not an "on the day" thing, it shows that Hot Bodies, or what's left of them, need to do some drastic work to get the platform up to pace. Yokomo's last YZ-2 updates at Muelheim Kaerlich, although minor, meant they could absolutely dominate proceedings from start to finish.

It's important to not confuse the two concepts. A world class driver with a budget car would definitely be able to get it working and beat the vast majority of people on a club day. That's why they do it as their job - they are the best in the world. However, a world class driver surrounded by other world class drivers is a different matter. When every driver is on such an even keel in terms of skill, shaving half a tenth off your lap is a big deal. Every manufacturer is looking for that extra improvement, be it a second or a tenth of a second.

I remember marshaling at one of the Nationals a couple of years back, and as Lee Martin's Vega came by me, a tiny little brass weight dropped out of it. I picked it up and it had "1.5g" written on it. To your average club driver, such a small weight increase would be nothing. To a top driver, that might just make the difference between a very good car and a perfect one.

Back to my point though the average racer who like s to buys new kits or the rb6 owners this is a perfect kit to try.
KYOSHO are a very good brand and I am sure this will be a good value for money car.

[ralphee]

Hence it looks like im caving in and looking for a pristine RB haha, i dont dig hybrids, so its a big step for me, but it must speak volumes, as this is the only one that gives me an itch i have to scratch lol!

Lee

[fil9144]

Hence it looks like im caving in and looking for a pristine RB haha, i dont dig hybrids, so its a big step for me, but it must speak volumes, as this is the only one that gives me an itch i have to scratch lol!

Lee

If I had not just bought a xray xb2 then I would not be far behind you although I won a brandnew kit in the raffle on Sunday and thinking my misses wouldn't know the difference lol

[neallewis]

So you buy a kit for £300.00 then spend another £250.00

There's my point

You don't spend any money on upgrades on the YZ-2 as we are talking about 2wd cars. you buy the kit and run it. It's a great performing car out the box, and a well specked full car at that, for less than this conversion.
Some seem to be confusing the 2wd and 4wd Yokomo cars. there is no issue with weak front arms, or any part of the 2wd car. The 4wd benefits from the new front arms however.

[neallewis]

How very apt! And i agree, I wont be told to move on, or be censored by any fanboy, its just interesting, and a little bit odd they chose this route and pricepoint, a £600 2wd buggy, times they are a changin' a great poet once said lol!

Lee

I won't be censored or moved on either, it's open discussion, and I'll talk about anything I'm interested in discussing.

I actually couldn't care less about the price, I'll afford what I want, and choose to give my money to whomever I want. Stuff from Japan is pricey. RC cars are cheap when your previous hobby involved buying Japanese lenses.

I just think it's an odd choice to put this conversion kit out, just because Tebo ran it. It's like they haven't committed to a full kit, as its not deserving, or they know it's only a limited market product, and not many would spring for the full kit anyway. I guess you need to be a fanboy to understand?

They must have spent a ton of time and money developing the other motor forward car that everyone else ran at the worlds, and it looked to have been shelved all because Tebo preferred the car he'd practice with.

Maybe this is just a quick stopgap to buy some more time to build a car that tebo actually likes? The kits were discounted, so something new was planned, but it's clearly not ready now.

The Worlds have traditionally been there to provide a platform for the manufacturers to drive the product development forwards. Prototypes and test parts are always evident, which eventually trickle down to a product in the shops. I guess they thought this was preferential to the other car that didn't perform so well?

[fil9144]

I won't be censored or moved on either, it's open discussion, and I'll talk about anything I'm interested in discussing.

I actually couldn't care less about the price, I'll afford what I want, and choose to give my money to whomever I want. Stuff from Japan is pricey. RC cars are cheap when your previous hobby involved buying Japanese lenses.

I just think it's an odd choice to put this conversion kit out, just because Tebo ran it. It's like they haven't committed to a full kit, as its not deserving, or they know it's only a limited market product, and not many would spring for the full kit anyway. I guess you need to be a fanboy to understand?

They must have spent a ton of time and money developing the other motor forward car that everyone else ran at the worlds, and it looked to have been shelved all because Tebo preferred the car he'd practice with.

Maybe this is just a quick stopgap to buy some more time to build a car that tebo actually likes? The kits were discounted, so something new was planned, but it's clearly not ready now.

The Worlds have traditionally been there to provide a platform for the manufacturers to drive the product development forwards. Prototypes and test parts are always evident, which eventually trickle down to a product in the shops. I guess they thought this was preferential to the other car that didn't perform so well?

You are a funny man when it comes to some of your posts lol
I think you are right though nothing wrong with people not seeing eye to eye as the oople would be very very quite place if that was the case

[buggy#0]

Just as a note, Yusuke Sugiura took it to 2nd place at the French nationals last weekend. First time out on carpet with it too.

[martgifford]

I know price around 330 UK is a lot for anything but seems to be the way things are going with different cars for different surfaces

Wanted to share if any of you are going to Japan, or have a friend in Japan its around 27,000 Yen (or around 176 pound). Cash or tax price in effect I think means 'spot price' or 'today price' and then you can get a tax discount when you are in the store and are returning it home so usually ends up less then the cash or tax price

This one is in Osaka I visited on my travels last year called RC Champ. Has everything in the shop including a indoor 12th scale track and a pretty comprehensive stock and some free stickers from the friendly staff.

http://www.rc-champ.co.jp/net-car/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=46207

[charlesk]

Final result A1 (Ian) and A4(Karl) at mid east regional round 1 today on their first meeting with the new car.

[shaungooner]

http://i68.tinypic.com/1z6f9lf.jpg

Iain Mellish took the first Mid East 2wd regional win today on a slippery surface at A1 Racing with Karl Marsden taking 4th place with their RZ6 cars against some tough competition in the likes of Nathan Waters, Greg Williams, James Helliwell, Jack Neal, Eugene Galley, Mitch Fiddling, John Brook and new kid on the block Ben Smith

Fantastic result for the first time out with a new car and with a little setup modification it was fast in very low grip conditions

http://i63.tinypic.com/v7bhpu.jpg

[charlesk]

Ignoring the excellent result in the hands of very good drivers, the car also did very well in the midfield too.

I for one was one that thought it be a one trick pony, like similar cars have been before. Very good on high grip but just about drivable in the wet. I'm happy to say I was wrong.

My car went down as built, with no practice time on it and not even trimmed/setup electrically, it literally hadn't turned a wheel before Sunday. I'm no superstar I just mix it up in the midfield on a good day.

Even in the wet it was drivable for my hands, not as easy to drive as my Rb6 in those conditions, but improtantly drivable and my gut feeling telling me about as fast. My wet results in a low heat and a fast drying track (so heats above had the advantage for sure) were on par with what I would expect out of me with a 2nd, even with horrendous traffic slowing me down (other than the top 3 cars on the heat) I think I lapped every other car about 4 times in a 5min stint, and the overall results still showed battling with drivers I would usually consider faster.

As the track dryied out the car started to show it's real pace.
Qualified very well, in a final with drivers last season would be 1 or 2 finals ahead, and gave them hell in the race. Certainly not outpaced and in most times faster.

All this in the first outing of the car, with minimum time to work on ironing out setup/handling quirks that didn't nesseceraly suit me.
The raw pace is there on this car, and works IMO in anybodies hands, even in conditions it wasn't really meant for.
It handles bumps/ruts well, jumps and lands well carries corner speed and it's nicely balanced. No doubt there is still more to come as we're getting used to it, and get even more out of it.

I was a skeptic, I'm now a believer.

[iank55]

Looks great.

If a full kit was released I would definitely consider it.

[lee.willows]

I was racing after Charles ( so watched him drive etc.) and to be honest in the wet it did look a bit of a hand full, but as the track dried, it really did have some pace and it showed in his lap times and finals result.

Good result for the big fella.

Cannot wait to see it on the surfaces in our region.

:thumbsup:

[shaungooner]

So this weekend was the first 1/10th offroad national of the season and PBM Racing team driver Iain Mellish and his faithful mechanic Dad Gordon 'G Speed' Mellish headed off to Kiddy with the new Kyosho RZ6 fresh from its' debut run victory at last week's Mid East 2wd regional opener. Optimism was high but the weather forecast was doing all it could to dampen (quite literally) team spirits. Below is Iain's report of the day and from us all at PBM Racing we'd like to say a huge congratulations to both Iain and Gordon for a fantastic result. Next up for Iain is the Mid East regional at Broxtowe on April 30th/May 1st, Iain and all of the PBM Racing team will be in attendance so pop on over for a chat.

Iain's report:

Kidderminster 2wd National

Saturday 16th April saw the BRCA National series get underway at an initially very cold, very wet, and super slippery Kidderminster track….what else did we expect!

The event happened to also be the first National, and only the second ever appearance (under the control of my thumbs anyway) of Kyosho’s new RZ6 2wd World Championship car.

The RZ6 is a shaft driven, forward motor car akin to the previous platforms of Team C’s TM2, David Burtons DB2, and rather more recently the new Durango, all of which are well suited to the high bite tracks in Europe, and the UK in particular.

Of course, in the dry, Kidderminster can be classed as one of these high grip circuits, but anyone who has ever raced around Kidderminster in the wet will vouch that the track provides anything but these conditions…we could go as far as saying that in the wet, Kidderminster provides the least amounts of grip on the National calendar.

Having kept a keen eye on the weather forecast through the week it was rather depressing to see the forecast slowly degenerate into conditions that saw us battling through snow storms and torrential rain to finally arrive at the (flooded) track and then get stuck in the mud as we slid our way into the pits.

If history and common sense had taught us anything, it was that these forward motor contraptions were certainly not suited to this kind of weather…indeed, we had attempted to race a TM2 in the same conditions (bar the snow) a few years previous, but certainly with no success and if we had not been buoyed by the previous weeks performance of the new RZ6 in low grip conditions, then we would have surely seen sense and bolted the trusty RB6 together in time for practice. As it was, we wanted to find out just how well the car was capable of performing in (hopefully) the worst conditions we will see all year. As we were in heat 12 I stood and watched as cars in prior heats struggled to get to grips with the, well, lack of grip! We left the RZ6 set up the same as we had it for Grantham and hoped for the best and were pleasantly surprised to say the least.

The car felt so predictable (bar one spot on a corner through a paved section) that I felt comfortable with it almost straight away. It generated just enough initial feel under acceleration to give me confidence to feed in more throttle with no unpredictable sliding out. Through the many off camber corners and undulations on the track the car did what I wanted it to with no under steer, it was very nicely balanced, and it was good to be catching up and passing (although only practice) some very good drivers.

Having had such a positive first practice we wanted to make a few changes to see if any improvements could be found. We decided to go up on the toe in from 3 to 3.5 degrees and also took the weight off from the servo. I was feeling pretty confident that the car would be even better, but instead found that the extra toe in upset the overall balance, it didn’t give the ‘exponentially’ expected added forward bite I was hoping for and it also sacrificed the nice, liner feel of the steering that the car previously had. It wasn’t terrible, I could still circulate without error but it just wasn’t as easy, or as fast, to drive.

For round one we reverted back to our first practice setup but this time went to short wheel base both at the hub and at the inboard position. We ran Ballistic Buggy staggers in green compound on the front and Ballistic Buggy green spikes on the rear. The small changes to the wheel base proved significant, it gave that extra forward and side bite we were hoping to gain from the extra toe in from practice two without sacrificing any steering. It was great to be on the pace throughout the race and even better to end up with an 8th in round.

With conditions slowly improving, but not significantly, we decided to keep the same set-up for round two; this time putting on some new rear tyres was the only change. The track was quicker, and so was the car. Having started off 4th on the stagger we quickly homed in on some of the cars in front and I felt considerable time was lost holding back in trying not to collide with them over a number of laps, unfortunately I couldn’t find a way past and after one lap where I got slightly off line a few times I lost a few meters on track which wasn’t regained. Although a bit disappointed thinking about what could have been we were still happy to come away with another 8th in round, and with it a definite B final spot.

Round three was a difficult one to judge, the track was now getting faster and faster the later the round went on and I think I missed the boat in altering the set-up accordingly. Before the race I lowered the ride height a bit, but it was too little too late. The track was now suited for a much drier set-up and the car felt really edgy and difficult to drive with any consistency. I remember thinking half way through that I wished I had changed to a medium wheel base, I didn’t feel comfortable and this led to one or two errors which required marshalling. Although it was our worst round, it still had the pace to claim 15th overall.

Our scores so far had left us precariously positioned as we were in a group of four or five drivers who were fighting it out for one or two top ten spots. Having missed out on an A final at the same track a few years a go by literally a blink of an eye I was determined not to let the same happen thing happen again. I had a good idea of what I wanted to do with the setup so we got to work.

The first thing we changed to suit the now grippy conditions was to change the shock oils and springs. We changed the front oil from 350cst to 450cst and went up from Losi Blue springs to their Black option. We also went up on the rear shock oils from 300cst to 350cst and from Losi yellow to Losi pink springs. I also wanted the car to be less edgy to drive, and having remembered thinking about the wheel base during the race we changed the hub position to a medium wheel base In hope that it would smooth the quick chicane sections out. The final changes were to lower the ride height to 19.5mm and bolting on a new pair of green compound Ballistic spikes for the rear of the car and some uncut Schumacher yellow staggered ribs for the front.

Having had a poor round in the best yet conditions in round three we had to start from further back on the stagger again. However, the changes to the set-up worked a treat and having been running between second and third through the entire race we were looking good for fourth in round…until the last lap. Going into the hairpin at the end of the parallel straight I got tagged from behind and ended up spinning and facing the wrong way. Luckily I didn’t need marshalling but valuable seconds had been lost and we had to settle (still brilliant!) for a sixth in round.

It was an anxious wait to hear where we had qualified but once it was announced we had claimed that 10th spot we were delighted. The car was brilliant all day. It is so easy and predictable to drive in all the conditions Kidderminster could throw at it and the nice thing is that it is receptive to the changes you make. We didn’t make many changes to the car through the finals apart from some new tyres but we did try to get rid of some more of the edgy-ness from the car by going to a long wheel base. Upon reflection I wished I had thought to remove the 1mm spacer from the front of the ‘flipped’ steering arm as I think that this would have calmed the car down just that bit more around neutral and resulted in less stone apexes being hit…but hindsight is a wonderful thing, and we hopefully have many more chances to try all these things out!

I think everyone there would have been forgiven for assuming that the car would be on a hiding to nothing given the conditions it was faced with, but it just gets on with the job and then lets you know when it wants something changing to make it better…. it feels a bit like cheating really!

We’ve had a lot of cars over the years but this one takes away the need to fill the boot of your car with cars suited for differing grip levels and that’s a massive bonus in the current market. We have only ran the car twice now, and I may still be floating around somewhere cloud 75…or cloud cuckoo land, after Saturday’s result, but it has already propelled itself into one of my favourite ever cars….and there are still improvements to be made!

http://i64.tinypic.com/2n04uuu.jpg

[Neil Skull]

That's great report thanks:thumbsup:

[Stu Dixon]

Great report, lookin forward to getting mine on the track this weekend at round one of oOple at Bury :wub

[Steve.T]

Is there an alternative bodyshell for this car other than the original one?

[Dazzieboy]

Is there an alternative bodyshell for this car other than the original one?
Some have managed to fit the Sapphire shell from the Rudebits DB2 with some success. Available off the Rudebits website :thumbsup:

[mmobee1]

I have the REDS RZ6 conversion. It was about 160 euros, and was superbly made, and took off items from my ZX6 and RB6 to convert it. Also bought a geared diff. So far, at the level I run at, it's pretty good. We run on carpet (very, very low cut, and slightly slippery with control tyres of yellow stagger fronts and white venoms for the rear :thumbsup:

[BaStI]

Are there any news regarding setups for this car on astro?
Or does Most people use the RB6.6?

[Neil Skull]

Still guys using this on Astro as its what the car is best for,
what sort of track are you running on i will search if i have one.

[Zippy G]

Is there an alternative bodyshell for this car other than the original one?

Hi Steve
I do have a few of the parts towards doing the conversion for sale in the parts section. They are all BNIP, I have the chassis, sidepods and the bodyshell.

[BaStI]

Still guys using this on Astro as its what the car is best for,
what sort of track are you running on i will search if i have one.

Neil, I'm Running on:

1) medium grip, flat astro

2) high grip astro, which is bumpy

3) Indoor

Setups for this type of track would be great!

Thanks
Sebastian