Reflex Racing blog

Insight into Kyosho and the New MR-03!!!

2009-08-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Kyosho, like many Japanese companies have never focused on outright profitability. It the case of Kyosho, they have NEVER been the cheapest at anything. On the contrary, they have ALWAYS been the most expensive (just look at the Inferno Kanai editions, vs other cars in the market). They focus more on material quality and manufacture as much as is possible in Japan (including the electronics, by KO Propo). This leads the cost to be much higher than other companies out there that are looking to maximize profits and minimize costs.

A while back I talked to a good buddy of mine about this. He is/was a salaried Kyosho Team Driver. He told me that the owner of Kyosho just wanted to win, period. He did not care much about the profitability of the brand because it was a bit of a secondary business to him. Apparently, the owner of Kyosho is a very rich man, that made his money elsewhere. I don't know how much of this is entirely accurate. So in relation to pricing of the 03, they are not as concerned of it curbing demand as much as we may think.

In japan Mini-Z is big because space, in large cities, is at a premium. Therefore Mini-Z provides the perfect solution for racing competitively. The problem over there is that they cannot buy Chinese products. Importing is FAR too expensive, so you are hard-pressed to find any products for the Z's other than their domestic brands (Kyosho, Kawada, QTEQ, Atlas, etc). These parts, as expensive as they are, are still cheaper than importing PN or Atomic parts. Up until recently, there was absolutely no Chinese or American Mini-Z products in Japan.

So enter the limited editions and the MR-03's of the Z' world. To the Japanese consumer (which is by far the largest racing-oriented market) the price hike is not an issue because they are getting a better "box-stock"version of a Z. They will receive a product that is more race-worthy out of the box, at a relatively cheaper price than they would have to pay for importing aftermarket products. Also, the majority of their racing is Kyosho-Cup structured, which means little, if any other products than Kyosho are allowed for competition.

Hence their lack of concern for selling 500 v. 1000 units in the USA (arbitrary numbers). Their end goal is not to grow the Z so much that it cannibalizes their other forms of racing as well. It is just to have a nice little niche, where they can compliment their brand and product line.

Kyosho also manages their demand very well. We are always complaining about how stuff runs out and they should manufacture more. This will never happen, as part of the culture of the 'Z in Japan, is the exclusivity and collect-ability of the products, (i.e. the AutoScale COLLECTION). In order to manage their demand, they play with their pricing and supply of products.

The pricing ESTIMATE I received for the 03, came from somebody at Kyosho America, so it should be pretty accurate. On the plus side think, so far, from what we know, we will receive all kyosho plastic motor mounts, 2 different front ends and perhaps a wheel kit. Plus the electronics will be slightly improved. As much as WE don't use this stuff EVER, their primary market does, and this brings much added value to the car.

Remember, we have ALWAYS received the crumbs over here. Many items never even make it State-side from the Mini-Z line. (white bodies immediately come to mind)

F1 2009 Season!!!

2009-03-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here we go! The start of a new season is upon us! Practice starts at 10pm tonight, so we'll so who's been faking and who's been sandbagging! Lots of new tech like adjustable front aero, KERS and slicks should make this a VERY interesting season. It's funny that KERS "rewards" lighter drivers with more HP...so if you're a big boy, you don't get to have an extra 80HP! Apparently they have yet to figure out the packaging to optimize the weight balance for the larger drivers. Most teams have just skipped it for this first round, but BMW has opted for a split strategy meaning Kubica will have to continue making Heidfeld look silly without a "nitro" button...

Brawn, Williams and Toyota are "legal" until the whiners appeal otherwise... McLaren has gone the more traditional route of copy and catchup. Brawn is going to pick up Virgin as a sponsor, which is a major coup for both parties. The management buyout goes through, so they have talented people running the team instead of corporate bureaucrats. Virgin gets all the branding they want without the headaches of learning the technical side of the F1 business. Brawn GP gets the funding they will desperately need to keep up with the frantic pace of development throughout the season. There is a small possibility of collusion where Brawn GP may have convinced Virgin to withdraw their offer to Honda so that the MBO would have less bidding competition, then gives them preference as a sponsor. Also the rumors of Todt's "retirement" are intriguing...

Here's hoping Rubens makes Button look as boring as he is!

And I've always got to root for Williams! With Brawn GP and Williams F1, I'm hoping for TWO competitive "privateer/gentleman drivers" teams showing the manufacturers how its done!

Racing at M&M Hobbies January 31, 2009

2009-02-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

Our inagural race at the newest racing club in Houston was held on January 31,2009. Turn out was not very big, but the racing was very, very good.

In Super Stock, Marcus Williams and Frank Hernandez battled at the front most of the day. In the end Marcus took the win with Frank in second, and the original Mini-Z race organizer in Houston, Mr. Danny Finley in third. Danny thanks for organizing this back in the day!!! Without you having hosted the races at M&M years ago, there wouldn't be a Reflex!

In the Modified class there was only 2 racers, Jacob Feinstein and Cristian Tabush. The 2 Reflex drivers displayed some great driving on this small technical course (6.5-7.0 second laps) going on average about 1.5 seconds faster than the super stock cars per lap. Jacob was out with a recently built AWD and was still getting used to the driving characteristics of the car. Cristian, on the other hand has been working on a super fast set-up on his AWD and won the 3 qualifiers and the main in convincing fashion.

Below are the results. If anyone ever wants to come race with us, feel free to contact us thorugh e-mail or phone or simply drop by on any saturday from 11am-4pm at M&M Hobbies in Bellaire, TX.

Super Stock A Main

Modified A Main

BTW, if you want to visit our other club track, there is pictures, results and info at www.hircr.com .

Busy, Busy!!!

2008-12-22T00:06:00.000-08:00

Man have I been busy since coming back from Vegas! I am sorry I have been so MIA. There are lots of things to be excited of here at RR for the upcoming weeks, months and next year.

First let me tell you all I have a permanent Mini-Z track to practice and race in Houston now!!! All of you better watch out now ;) A couple of my hardcore Mini-Z buddies and I got together, got RCP, a Giro-Z system and after talking with Meir, the hobby shop owner, set up a track at M&M hobbies in Bellaire, TX. The best part is that the track is only about 10 minutes away from my house. M&M was also where Reflex and Mini-Z got their beginnings as this was the location where about four-and-a-half years ago we started racing Mini-Z's. We are planning on racing every other weekend and hope to coordinate with HIRCR, the other track in Houston so that we can race Mini-Z's in Houston every weekend, alternating locations. Stay tuned for a calendar and updates on our site!

Next are new products. We already have our 96mm h-plates tearing tracks across the world and gaining huge popularity. We have our new sticker sheets to deck out your rides in Reflex swag. Upcoming, we have a couple of new things coming that will revolutionize and keep pushing the envelope of set-up refinement in the racing scene.

First, we have the full titanium screw sets for the MR-02. This is a full screw set that will have self tapping and machine screws as well. You will be able to fully deck out your car with weight saving titanium screws from the chssis, to the motor mount and even the DPS mount.

We also are testing on some "tuned" 70 turn stock motors in order to get the most out of your machine at the club level and races where handouts are not mandated. We are currently seeing about 10-15% gains in power from stock form which is very exciting.

Our new tires, the SSGV2 will soon be available as well. This was the tire I used to secure TQ at the recent PNWC in Las Vegas. This tire is designed to have less grip than the SSG2WD for those tracks that are higher grip as well as the stock class, where maximum tire grip is not needed.

Finally, we have a new service we are going to offer soon. We will now be selling fully programmed ASF boards,with specific adjustmenrs for different racing classes as well as tracks. With the programming capabilities of the new 2.4 GHz boards, huge gains in performance can be found by properly tuning your car's electronics. We are in the final stages of testing the different settings we are going to offer. Amongst the settings we will have: 2WD Modified, Pan Car Modified, 2WD Stock, AWD Stock, AWD Modified Short Track and AWD Modified Long Track.

In the meantime, we would also like to thank all of you for supporting us in our first year back. It has been a great year at Reflex, but be assured this is only the beginning. We have many more great ideas and products coming this next year that will surely help you stay at the front of the pack!

Happy Holidays to all!!!

CT-

redrc coverage!

2008-11-24T10:23:00.000-08:00

Reflex makes the front page at RedRC.net!

http://www.redrc.net/2008/11/pn-racing-mini-z-world-cup-finals/

Looks like we're on our way to getting more 1/28 coverage! Our hits have gone 4x on the site already!

reflex pnwc afterparty at pure...

2008-11-17T16:44:00.000-08:00

EMU, Rui, Cristian, and 4-drink TQ Alberto

track layout from PNWC 2008...

2008-11-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a composite panoramic pic of the track. I'll have it up in Sketchup soon.

787B on AWD...

2008-11-13T11:53:00.001-08:00

Here are some pics of our new "barely legal" tail for the 787B. It's designed to shrink the 102mm wheelbased 787B to 94mm. Enjoy!

Checking in from Vegas...

2008-11-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

The whole gang is here. Check the video blog on YouTube.

My Favorite Lube for...

2008-10-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's sticky, gooey, very consistent and lasts a loooooooooooong time. It's Kyosho's 30000WT diff gear grease. It is a bit on the pricey side, but I would say it is the most important thing in my toolbox right now. I use this lube on my Reflex side damper, AWD knuckles, SAS rear end, to style my hair and I even put it on toast sometimes.

No seriously the action of this grease is really impressive. Much better than any other brand silicone oil or lube. Since I started using this lube on my AWD, my lap times have dropped and the performance of the car is again on par with my MR-02s.

This was not something I discovered either, but rather my friends on the other side of the World, in Hong Kong showed me. Of course Joe had been using it already, but as usual had failed to mention it to me (he's just forgetful).

Try some, seriously, you won't be disappointed. It is available at our store.

getting prepped...

2008-10-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

Painted up a new F1 body for Vegas...

A pic of the "pit space"... Rebuilding my F1, AWD, and a 96mm 2WD stock car for Lex.

pics from OC/RC inaugural Mini-Z race 10/9/08!

2008-10-13T15:49:00.001-07:00

And we're off! Old layout, btw...

Wallnuts only has batteries for Mini-Z, yet he's racing. What's your excuse? Beg, borrow, steal, and we'll see you on Thursday!
Deven playing the violin.
John doing...well I'm not sure what he's doing.

Tim dusting off his MR-02.
Our fearless announcer...

The whole motley crew: Tim Johnson, Deven White, John Whitman, Dillon Davies, Nick Wautlet, Robert Black, Nick (impulse purchase) Black, Mike Gonzales, Joe Chen, Ian Douglas, Dane Davies, and Doug Shelp. Thanks for making the first of many races to come such a fun time!

new deep layout at OC/RC

2008-10-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

it's alive!!!

2008-10-08T15:19:00.001-07:00

The tire bridge works perfectly. No counting issues with the Giro-Z system at all. So lets get those orders rolling in! For only 1,000,000 euros, you can have your own Giro-Z tire bridge lap counter! :p

ouch...

2008-10-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Had an X-acto knife roll off the table and stab my foot perfectly straight... Sucks. Nice clean cut though. Just a little sore. Need to put those little rubber triangle pencil things on my blades so they don't roll...

new tracks (PLURAL) at OC/RC...

2008-10-02T23:41:00.001-07:00

Quite possibly the baddest timing loop in existence... Took us a week to design and make the thing, and I'm pretty proud of it. I hope that it serves the growing Mini-Z scene at OC/RC well! Our first race will be next Thursday on October 9th! :) All you OC/RC guys should also try to make it out to Kenon in Arcadia this Saturday October 4th for the PNWC Regional. Should be some awesome competition. Cristian is flying into town tomorrow for this event.

Here's a composite panoramic view of the new layout on the OC/RC offroad track. They added some better landing transitions this week and the track is dialed! Thanks Nick + rest of the OC/RC build crew!
Here's a low-angle shot of the whoop section. That stupid board on the left ripped my shock apart. My own fault for getting squirrelly looking for a better run onto the straightaway...

1st production side dampers...

2008-10-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

just gorgeous... ready for battle at this weekends PNWC qualifier...

proof of concept...

2008-09-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well the short XX-4 braces appear to work! Mary Kate Olson has been "testing" them in his XX-4 with a 6.5 brushless, and this thing is insane. It flies the triple at OCRC with ease. I even managed to do it, that's how well it jumps and how much motor it has. Anyways, the car takes a nosedive into the face of the triple with all of the impact on the left front wheel. And it broke... a PULLEY! hahaha! No damage at all to the arm, and this is without crashback screws. You can see from the pic below that the front wheel flexed so far that it hit the hingepin screw, which gouged a chunk of plastic from the inside. You can barely see the arc of the gouge on the inside of the wheel in this pic (sorry cameraphone...), and you can definitely see the yellow plastic filling the screw socket! Now I need to make some for myself.

On a side note, fast guy J. Filipow drove his XX-4 to the A-main win this week at OCRC. Looks like the old goat is making a comeback! Now we just need to get Jukka driving his again...

The Hong Kong Standard...

2008-09-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, when I attended the Atomic Cup Finals in Hong Kong I got to experience a whole new world. The place is amazing, with towering buildings, incredible sights and really friendly people. The trip was truly awe inspiring, probably the best trip I have ever been on.

Of the many experiences that Atomic treated us international drivers to was the race. Even though our results were not as high as what we usually perform at, the knowledge we gained was incredible. It being our very first time on carpet, we honestly did not expect to win, but at least we wanted to learn from it.

The AWD cars the Hong Kong guys drive were ridiculous. They were the closest I have ever seen a Mini-Z perform in relationship to 1/10th scale cars. Carpet is really conducive to this platform as the grip is more consistent and there isn't tile joints to upset the car and make it flip over in corners. They were truly a sight to see.

After the race was over, I approached the local guys from Hong Kong, who happened to TQ the AWD class and asked him for some set-up pointers. Come to find out, I was not too far off, but the little details he pointed out to me, really made the car better. He showed me how to set-up the front end so that it is more forgiving and more SAS like. He adjusted the droop in the front and the rear to more ideal settings and all of the sudden my car came alive!

Below I leave you with some pictures. Expect an article soon with more explicit details... -CT

random 1/10 project...

2008-09-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

I made these for a friend of mine at the track. Little short braces to reinforce the arms of the best handling 1/10 buggy ever made: the Losi XX-4. They're made from EA3 material from a busted XXX chassis. Credit for the fabbing up the original goes to F N CUDA on RCTech.net

ruf's new body

2008-09-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

Finally got off my butt and painted the 350Z... Enjoy!

after the storm...

2008-09-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well, Houston is still pretty much shut down. The infrastructure is recovering this week. Unfortunately, we need to be in Hong Kong this weekend for the Atomic World Cup. We'll try our best to get orders out before we leave, but there really isn't much shipping going in and out of Houston right now. If USPS isn't back online before we have to fly, we'll ship orders out as soon as we return next week. We'd like to apologize for the inconvenience, and thank everyone for their concern. It takes more than a hurricane to slow us down for long! :p

stickers final...

2008-09-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Here is the final version of the stickers. Can't wait to get them in!

i heart stickers...

2008-09-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

Everyone's been asking for them, so we've finally got to work on them. Here's a preliminary draft of our new 3"x5" sticker sheet. These are going to be made for us by Upgrade R/C so they'll be ultra-high quality. That means we'll probably have to charge a couple bucks for them, but we'll throw one in for our loyal racers! ;)

My Weapon of Choice... The RR-02!!!

2008-08-28T00:24:00.000-07:00

Many of you guys have seen pictures floating around of one of our MR-02's which has the positive wire lead to the motor coming out of the center of the top cover. This car is a little project I took upon early this year when I was still a TGR factory pilot. Ozan, at TGR had sent me the latest version of his awesome speedo to test.

The new Spinner + is a fully adjustable speed controller, which can be programmed by following several easy steps in the set-up process. In combination with a KO Propo digital servo board and a de-cased Spektrum Micro receiver, I came up with my new electronics package.

By stuffing the new electronics in my MR-02, we started the transformation of that particular Mini-Z that today, we like to dub the RR-02. Many changes have come to the car, it has been converted from a Pan Car, to a Touring Car several times and back. The one constant that we love most though is the most important one: its driveability.

The stand alone hobby grade electronics put even the new KO 2.4 ASF boards to shame. The throttle feel and steering precision is matched only by those found in bigger scales.

At the time, only the PN Racing Pan Car class allows this type of electronics package, but we are constantly lobbying for them to be allowed in other classes as well. The cars are simply better.

The RR-02 is not just the electronics though, what allowed us to call it our own name was the combination of our Wide-Track-Front end (a.k.a. WTF!) and our new Side Damper Rear Suspension. Some may say that we are being self-centered by renaming a Kyosho MR-02 into a Reflex Racing RR-02, but if you really look at it, the only Kyosho parts we are using on this car anymore is the battery box, servo gears and motors. The rear pod comes from PN Racing, along with other tidbits from other manufacturers, the car is essentially all Reflex Geometry. And what makes one chassis different from others? The Geometry!!!

Anyways, I love racing this car. It is my habitual club racer and it will also by my entry at the PN Racing Regional in October at Kenon. Kenon is known to be the fastest track in this year's PN Racing Mini-Z World Cup, and if all goes as planned, the RR-02 might end up at the top of the standings at the end of the year before the finals in Las Vegas in November... ;)

Well anyways, enough rambling. I now leave you with some pics in its current touring car 98mm set-up.