Jump to content
BOARDRIDER

Kyosho Lazer ZX?

Recommended Posts

I picked up a pair of these yesterday. One has no bodyshell and one has one that looks like an Optima Mid SWB body and 15953563369058543363909016665045.thumb.jpg.24022e3a223e868896226f4b4ebb1dc0.jpgit isn't a Mid. Looking at the chassis alone I'm pretty sure its a Lazer ZX but before I buy the wrong body and repro stickers can anyone confirm? Cheers!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

sweet! i saw those on FB in bristol, glad someone on here picked them up, I almost did!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow small world! They're a bit of a project but could will be nice. Just need to make sure I do them up as they should be.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Many parts are shared / compatible between optima mid/ zx so often hybrids are found. Thats said, long wishbones and 2 piece top deck..... probably a zx. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Ann3x said:

Many parts are shared / compatible between optima mid/ zx so often hybrids are found. Thats said, long wishbones and 2 piece top deck..... probably a zx. 

Thank you, it's good to hear a vote for the ZX. I'd hate to do it with the wrong bodyshell.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks like a Lazer ZX to me too.  I just rebuilt/restored one.  Working on trimming the body now.

BEFORE:

IMG_4388-1024.thumb.JPG.5906464264dce267b4ef37610b174ecc.JPG

AFTER:

IMG_4487-1024.thumb.JPG.5d63eba81087cb78d1754c5cdb1a12b7.JPG

 

My Fleet of Lazer ZXs:

IMG_4483-1024.thumb.JPG.e5737edf71dff75fb52d9e69ec9d37f2.JPG

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 hours ago, Champ85 said:

Looks like a Lazer ZX to me too.  I just rebuilt/restored one.  Working on trimming the body now.

BEFORE:

IMG_4388-1024.thumb.JPG.5906464264dce267b4ef37610b174ecc.JPG

AFTER:

IMG_4487-1024.thumb.JPG.5d63eba81087cb78d1754c5cdb1a12b7.JPG

 

My Fleet of Lazer ZXs:

IMG_4483-1024.thumb.JPG.e5737edf71dff75fb52d9e69ec9d37f2.JPG

I love the one on the left with the chrome wheels! What blue did you use on that? I've had a closer look at mine now and they are actually in better condition than I thought. Just very dirty but not scuffed or broken. I've had them both running, one has a lot of slip before it gets up to speed and the ther is instant. I've tightened up the nut on the slipper which was very loose but hasn't changed it. Any hints on what else it might be? I haven't taken them apart yet..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 hours ago, BOARDRIDER said:

I love the one on the left with the chrome wheels! What blue did you use on that?

Thanks! :)  I used Tamiya PS16 Metal Blue.  I documented the restoration of that car here:  http://fun-with-rc.blogspot.com/2015/08/kyosho-lazer-zx-restoration-finished.html

10 hours ago, BOARDRIDER said:

I've had them both running, one has a lot of slip before it gets up to speed and the ther is instant. I've tightened up the nut on the slipper which was very loose but hasn't changed it. Any hints on what else it might be? I haven't taken them apart yet..

The Lazer ZX is kind of a weird egg in that respect.  Forward power is almost 95% from the front wheels, at least in my cars which are built stock per the manual.  The rear wheel drive power seems to rely on the spur/diff assembly and how tight the nut is on the motor side of the top shaft to determine how much forward power the rear offers.  On my cars, it isn't much.

On my cars, going around a corner slowly and then punching it will cause the inner front wheel to lose traction and spin like crazy.   The front and rear diffs inside the gearboxes are the stock gear ones.

Braking, however is the reverse.  The rear wheels provide almost all of the braking power.  The one-way bearings in the top shaft really mess with power delivery and braking and many racers dislike how it operates.  Some people would lock the spur/diff so it was solid I think.

I don't run my cars hard, so I don't really care how much power the rear wheels supply to forward motion.  I just run on asphalt in a mild-mannered way and enjoy the driving.

One thing for you to look at since you mentioned slippage in the spur/diff is the type of grease used in its assembly.   I know you did not build these cars and are just running them as-is for now.  My guess is that the spur/diff was greased with regular grease, not grease specially made for ball diffs.  Ball diff grease is more sticky and designed to give traction to the balls in the diff instead of slipping.   Of course I could be wrong and the person that built the diff used ball diff grease, but no matter what I would recommend totally disassembling the top shaft and spur/diff and then use plastic-safe motor cleaning spray (Performance Plus 4 or CRC Electronic Cleaner spray cans work well) to remove all remnants of old grease and oil, then rebuild per the manual and use real ball diff grease on the balls that fit inside the spur.  The brand doesn't matter as long as it says "ball diff grease".  I've used Tamiya and Associated and they both work fine.  Kyosho sells it too.

Of course, I'd recommend totally disassembling a car down to individual nuts, screws, bolts and parts and cleaning everything while inspecting all of the parts.  I never trust how the car was built.  I want to inspect every part, every screw and make sure it is in good condition.  Trim excess flashing from plastic parts that the original builder ignored.  Look for cracks and missing parts.  Inspect the front and rear belts.  DO NOT wash the belts or oil the belts.  Leave them as-is, dry.  Use a dry paper towel and run the belts through it between your fingers so the paper towel removes dirt and grime that might be on the top (flat) part of the belt.  It's amazing how dirty belts can get.  Inspect the bronze roller bushings inside the front and rear gearbox housings that the belts rely on to keep the teeth in the grooves of the front and rear diffs and top shaft front and rear drive cogs and one-way bearings.  My last Lazer ZX was missing two of these roller bushings or maybe they were omitted on purpose.  I had to buy a new LA-10 to replace the missing ones.

Also please note that the stock spur gear on the Lazer ZX is 0.6mod (sometimes called "metric 48p" by some pinion manufacturers), not 48p.  Many racers replaced the stock spur with a 48p one (usually with some sort of modifications) due to better size selection and pinion choice.   I don't bother and just use the stock spur with Kyosho vintage pinions.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Champ85 said:

Thanks! :)  I used Tamiya PS16 Metal Blue.  I documented the restoration of that car here:  http://fun-with-rc.blogspot.com/2015/08/kyosho-lazer-zx-restoration-finished.html

The Lazer ZX is kind of a weird egg in that respect.  Forward power is almost 95% from the front wheels, at least in my cars which are built stock per the manual.  The rear wheel drive power seems to rely on the spur/diff assembly and how tight the nut is on the motor side of the top shaft to determine how much forward power the rear offers.  On my cars, it isn't much.

On my cars, going around a corner slowly and then punching it will cause the inner front wheel to lose traction and spin like crazy.   The front and rear diffs inside the gearboxes are the stock gear ones.

Braking, however is the reverse.  The rear wheels provide almost all of the braking power.  The one-way bearings in the top shaft really mess with power delivery and braking and many racers dislike how it operates.  Some people would lock the spur/diff so it was solid I think.

I don't run my cars hard, so I don't really care how much power the rear wheels supply to forward motion.  I just run on asphalt in a mild-mannered way and enjoy the driving.

One thing for you to look at since you mentioned slippage in the spur/diff is the type of grease used in its assembly.   I know you did not build these cars and are just running them as-is for now.  My guess is that the spur/diff was greased with regular grease, not grease specially made for ball diffs.  Ball diff grease is more sticky and designed to give traction to the balls in the diff instead of slipping.   Of course I could be wrong and the person that built the diff used ball diff grease, but no matter what I would recommend totally disassembling the top shaft and spur/diff and then use plastic-safe motor cleaning spray (Performance Plus 4 or CRC Electronic Cleaner spray cans work well) to remove all remnants of old grease and oil, then rebuild per the manual and use real ball diff grease on the balls that fit inside the spur.  The brand doesn't matter as long as it says "ball diff grease".  I've used Tamiya and Associated and they both work fine.  Kyosho sells it too.

Of course, I'd recommend totally disassembling a car down to individual nuts, screws, bolts and parts and cleaning everything while inspecting all of the parts.  I never trust how the car was built.  I want to inspect every part, every screw and make sure it is in good condition.  Trim excess flashing from plastic parts that the original builder ignored.  Look for cracks and missing parts.  Inspect the front and rear belts.  DO NOT wash the belts or oil the belts.  Leave them as-is, dry.  Use a dry paper towel and run the belts through it between your fingers so the paper towel removes dirt and grime that might be on the top (flat) part of the belt.  It's amazing how dirty belts can get.  Inspect the bronze roller bushings inside the front and rear gearbox housings that the belts rely on to keep the teeth in the grooves of the front and rear diffs and top shaft front and rear drive cogs and one-way bearings.  My last Lazer ZX was missing two of these roller bushings or maybe they were omitted on purpose.  I had to buy a new LA-10 to replace the missing ones.

Also please note that the stock spur gear on the Lazer ZX is 0.6mod (sometimes called "metric 48p" by some pinion manufacturers), not 48p.  Many racers replaced the stock spur with a 48p one (usually with some sort of modifications) due to better size selection and pinion choice.   I don't bother and just use the stock spur with Kyosho vintage pinions.

Thanks for all the info! It sounds like a bit of an over-engineered drive system but I guess they had their reasons for designing it that way... I will be stripping them both down for a clean and rebuild but as they came complete I thought I might as well see what I have to work with. The only things I can see that is showing signs of needing sorting visually apart from the lack of bodyshells (2 on order along with stickers now) are the driveshafts and steering links which are all a bit rusty so the cars should come out really well.After looking at your blog I'm not looking forward to cutting the shells, I hate doing that at the best of times and these seem worse than most! I'm pretty sure I used PS16 on my Sand Scorcher shell, it's amazing how it can look so different on another car. Did you manage to find a manual to download? I've found one but it only lets you save and print one page at a time which is a bit annoying.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
14 hours ago, BOARDRIDER said:

I'm pretty sure I used PS16 on my Sand Scorcher shell,

Well, the Sand Scorcher has a hard shell so you would use Tamiya TS series of paints on that.  It's TS-10 French Blue for box art color.

The Tamiya PS series of paints are for clear polycarbonate bodies only.

For the driveshafts and steering links what I do is use an old toothbrush reserved specially for this purpose (you will never use this toothbrush for anything else again).  When I take apart the front and rear differentials and gearboxes of other cars, usually there is lots of old and nasty grease in them.  Sometimes there is a little but of dirt, too, perhaps mixed with a small amount of fine metal from the gears.  It doesn't matter.  I use the toothbrush to wipe up the grease and get it all in the bristles so they are all coated with it.  Then I take a driveshaft or steering link/turnbuckle (remove the ball ends first) and hold it tightly in my left hand with one end sticking out and with my right hand holding the toothbrush I firmly swipe the toothbrush bristles against the driveshaft or threaded rod in quick rapid strokes.  I rotate the rod a little bit each swipe in order to get the bristles to hit all around the rod and ensure the bristles and grease hit all surfaces.  Doing this rubs or scrapes off most of the rust and also transfers some grease to the rod.  The bristles can actually do a pretty good job of cleaning the tan dirt and orange rust out of the threads in the rods, too.  This process changes the rod from a non-uniform dirty looking orange rusty color into a (my opinion) nicer looking uniform dark grey color.  And the best part is it puts a light coating of grease on the rod which will help prevent it from rusting in the future.

I looked to see if I had a picture showing before and after shots of a driveshaft or suspension rod, but I could not find one.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...