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Kyosho ZX-R

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Hey folks,

I'm very fortunate to have just picked up a Kyosho ZX-R (pics here) and I'm curious to know a little more about it. Could anyone shed some light on when it was released, whether it's particulary rare and if parts are available (in particular a shell as I require an undertray)? She's my first proper Kyosho and I'm keen to know if she should sit next to the Egress on the shelf or join the Top Force in ruining the garden...again!

Thanks guys,

James

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Thats a nice example you have there.

The first Lazer was the ZX, released in 1989, with a 2 piece top deck and a belt cover that was also the chassis stiffener. It was also fitted with a centre ball differential on the layshaft and gear diffs front and rear. The centre diff had a one way clutch which meant it only worked when the front wheels were turning faster than the rears (so while cornering if it was full 4WD the front wheels could turn faster) which meant if the front wheels lost grip when accelerating all power went to the front end. The top deck was in two strips either side of a plastic moulded belt cover which also acted as a chassis spine which added a lot of stiffness to the chassis, a lot of people removed the belt covers then discovered the two piece top deck meant the chassis flexed way too much. Shocks were mounted on black anodised alloy shock mounts and the rear wing mounted on the shock tower support using Optima Mid wing mounts. It came with gold short front shocks and 2" wheels and tyres, the same as the Mid Custom.

The ZX-R was released in 1992 with a one piece top deck, medium length gold front shocks, ball diffs and a slipper clutch instead of the centre diff. The suspension geometry was the same as the ZX as the front top link used a special long ball joint to attach it to the outside hole on the front uprights. A new centre steering link with the ends angled forwards improved the ackermann settings to give more steering than the straight ZX link. Shock mounts were now fibreglass and the wing was mounted on the shock mount using Triumph wing mounts instead of the Optima Mid wing mount that was used previously. It was also the first Kyosho 4wd to be fitted with 2.2" wheels and the H pattern tyres.

1992 also saw the release of the ZX-Sport. It used the same body as the ZX-R and was a low cost version. It had the same alloy shock mounts as the ZX but without the anodising to harden them. To cut costs it had a moulded flat plastic chassis and top deck, plastic shocks and the spur gear screwed to a plastic mount which replaced the slipper. It also had an MSC.

1994 they introduced the ZX-RR. The obvious difference was the Ultimate shocks instead of the gold ones, with different shock mounts as well. The slipper clutch was also a different design which Kyosho called the hyper clutch, with a coil spring to tension it and the spur gear bolted onto the clutch itself instead of being fitted in the middle of the slipper clutch. The front suspension was also redesigned, with the top link fastening to a bolt through the top kingpin. To balance it out the rear suspension had bolt on extensions to the uprights to change the geometry as well.

The ZX-RR also has a redesigned chassis that moves the batteries further back to improve the weight distribution. This also meant a new

top deck, rear bulkhead, rear gearbox brace and motor mounting plate as the bulkhead just in front of the motor was moved back. The motor also bolted straight on to the mounting plate, previous cars had a small slotted motor mount that bolted to the main plate as a spacer. The ZX-RR are quite rare in the UK, they were never officially imported into the UK but most of the parts were incorporated into a ZX-R Mark2.

The UK got the ZX-R Mark2, which was the ZX-R with the ZX-RR chassis, top deck and bulkhead to move the batteries back. It included the ZX-RR kingpins and rear suspension mods and the ZX-RR shock mounts, but was still fitted with Kyoshos gold shocks. It still also had the ZX-R slipper clutch, not the ZX-RR hyper clutch, but the ZX-R slipper clutch spring washers were replaced with a coil spring.

In 1996 the ZX-RR was replaced by the ZX-S, a car that was only available to order in Japan. Very few parts remained of the ZX-RR with only the general layout the same. Complete new front end with new suspension parts, carbon chassis with a kick up moulded in, Losi shocks and Yokomo wheels. The wishbones, driveshafts and diffs are the only parts connected with the original Lazer.

In 2000 they updated the ZX-S with the ZX-S Evolution. The biggest difference was the 3 piece chassis with the front kick up being a separate alloy plate which dovetailed into the front of the chassis, much cheaper and easier to produce than a built in kick up. It came with Kyosho shocks.

There was also the Lazer Alpha and Lazer 2000. These weren't part of Kyoshos line of race buggies. They kept the same chassis and suspension layout, but had a moulded tub chassis and all plastic parts were replaced with softer budget versions with the parts not being glass reinforced like the race versions were. The drivetrain was the same as the ZX-Sport, one piece plastic layshaft with gear diffs.

Most Lazers aren't particularly rare, they regularly appear on ebay and can be picked up cheap, even picked up a couple tatty examples for spares at about £15 each at the right time. Can be expensive in good condition though. Some spares are still available, try here for a full list of old Kyosho parts that can still be ordered. The Lazer spares begin LA and OT for parts also shared with the Optima such as the front knuckles.

Bodies are the biggest problem though. The Lazer 2000 body will fit straight on but it doesn't have an undertray. BekraRC in Greece used to

make repro bodies, at around £8 per shell they were somewhat cheaper than Kamtecs. Unfortunately Bekra have closed and have sold the moulds to a company in Italy so we will have to wait and see what happens.

An Optima Mid Custom body and undertray can also be made to fit, the sloping sides on the undertray mean it won't lie flat to the chassis and there are clearance problems with bigger servos.

I actually still race my as new ZX-R regularly as they are very tough and will outperform your Top Force and even the Egress on the track. As yours is in such nice condition and if you want to keep it on the shelf I would recommend getting another as a runner to see what you are missing.

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Darn Terry - that's information you can use! Thank you ever so much. It's great to know a little more about the buggy. I suspected early 90's on the production from the design and this ones obviously been sitting around for 14 years not doing a lot. I had no idea there was a clutch burried deep inside. Might have to take a look this afternoon.

When I purchased the buggy from Professorslot, he sent through an e-mail afterwards that someone else had mailed in:

The Lazer you have for sale isn't the early ZX model, it is the much higher specification ZX-R one, which has had a set of Associated teflon coated Team shocks fitted instead of the standard gold ones.

Does that effect your diagnosis that this little fella could be a ZX-RR instead?

I'm on the case as we speak of trying to purchase a Razer undertray. Yet again, thank you so much for the link. I'd have never stumbled upon their site through Google.

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The Lazer you have for sale isn't the early ZX model, it is the much higher specification ZX-R one, which has had a set of Associated teflon coated Team shocks fitted instead of the standard gold ones.

Does that effect your diagnosis that this little fella could be a ZX-RR instead?

Not at all as those are Kyosho Ultimate shocks, not Associated ones. They are very rare so not many people know of their existence, never

mind what they look like. The Associated teflon coated shocks are the same colour but the top of the damper body has a hex on it with a round

all metal cap. Only Kyoshos Ultimate shocks have the black cap on the bottom to protect the seals.

The ZX-R had gold shocks, different shock mounts and different suspension geometry. Compare with this ZX-R in my showroom.

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...1082&id=297

For the slipper clutch the spur gear should be bolted straight on to it.

I also have the manual, including the ZX-RR supplement. Let me know if you need it.

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