Kyosho has sold thousands of new AWD Mini-Zs in the U.S., and that means many of you probably already race them. Kyosho also offers a plethora of suspension and chassis-tuning parts to help you dial in the car for different track surfaces and to increase performance, strength and style. I plan to build an AWD supercar soon, but instead of going the full-option route, this “Mini Zone” focuses on the many available tuning possibilities. Let’s get dialed in.

CAMBER. Kyosho offers camber knuckle sets with 1.5, 3 and 4 degrees of negative camber (item nos. MDW005-15, MDW005-30 and MDW005-45). A stock AWD Mini-Z has zero camber on all four wheels. Changing the camber angle adjusts the tires’ contact patches to the track surface and allows you to vary the traction at both ends. For a high-traction surface with a technical layout, you should set the car up with negative camber on all four tires. I race on an RCP professional track, and for my driving style, the car works best with 3 degrees of negative camber up front and 1.5 degrees in the rear. Finding the ideal front and rear camber will depend on the surface you race on, the motor and batteries installed in the car and your particular driving style. Experiment with different camber settings until you have sorted out the handling to your liking.

Kyosho offers three camber- knuckle sets.
Camber affects the tires’ contact patches with the track surface and allows you to divert traction to the vehicle’s front or rear end as needed.

TOE-IN. A set of four front tie rods (0.6, 0.8, 1.5 and 2.3 degrees of toe-in) and two rear tie rods (zero and 1.5 degrees of toe-in) is also available for the AWD Mini-Z (the stock settings are zero toe up front and 0.5 degree toe-in at the rear). Toe-in adjustments result in better handling on any type of surface. Because the car is small, it can be a little twitchy or overly sensitive to steering inputs. It’s generally raced on narrow lanes, so adding toe-in up front to reduce low-speed steering and make the car easier to control in the twisties is a good idea. The car will also track straighter under power. More toe-in at the rear end increases steering at both low and high speeds and makes the car feel “looser.” Again, a little experimentation goes a long way. You can always go back to the stock settings, so don’t be afraid to try different ones.

Kyosho’s tie-rod set includes four front and two rear tie rods (item no. MDW003) to adjust toe-in; it results in better handling on any type of surface.

RIDE HEIGHT. The AWD Mini-Z includes spring spacers and suspension limiters that allow you to adjust ride height, suspension travel and spring preload. Install suspension limiters on the kingpin below each front knuckle arm to lower the car’s ride height. This limits weight transfer during acceleration, braking and turning and makes the car more responsive on high-traction surfaces.

The spring spacers are used to limit suspension travel. Spacers installed under the suspension springs limit up-travel, and spacers installed on the kingpins under the knuckle arms limit downtravel. Keep in mind, however, that spring spacers under the knuckle arms will lower the car’s ride height by approximately 1mm. You can also use spring spacers to adjust spring preload when using the softer optional springs.

The AWD Mini-Z includes suspension limiters and spring spacers to adjust ride height, suspension travel and spring preload.
Keep them in your pit box, so they’ll be handy on race day.

SPRING RATES. Kyosho offers a color-coded suspension spring set (item no. MDW004) with three spring rates: red (soft), green (medium), and yellow (hard). Stiffening the suspension reduces body roll and keeps the chassis flatter in the corners, and that makes the car react quicker to steering inputs; softer springs have the opposite effect. The stock AWD Mini-Z is set up with medium springs front and rear for a neutral feel. For a little more responsiveness, install the hard (yellow) springs up front, and use the stock medium or green springs in the rear. If the car steers too aggressively or feels overly loose, soften the rear by installing the red springs. Like every other adjustment, you must experiment to come up with the best spring rates for your driving style and track.

SPRING RATES

The suspension-spring set includes three spring rates that are great for fine-tuning your car’s handling.

WHEELBASE, WIDTH & BODY CHOICES. The AWD Mini-Z has two wheelbase options: 90mm and 94mm. The wheelbase you choose will depend on the body you use. Many of the existing body sets designed for the MR-01 and MR-015 Mini-Zs fit the AWD chassis; go to RCCarAction.com for the “Mini-Z Body Compatibility” chart to find out which bodies fit the AWD Mini-Z. The AWD chassis is a little wider than the MR-01 and 015 chassis; you’ll need to trim 4mm off the body’s side mounting tabs. You may have to bend the antenna to fit the new body as well.

The body you install will greatly affect handling. Many racers like long-wheelbase, wide bodies such as the Ferrari 360, Warsteiner Mercedes AMG and Calsonic Skyline GT-R (to name a few) because they accommodate wide-offset wheels and wide rear tires. The car is more stable when set up long and wide, but these body types are typically heavier than some of the medium-wheelbase, narrow bodies. The VW Beetle, for instance, is nearly 15 grams lighter than most of the long and wide bodies. A lighter car is a faster car, and 15 grams is a big chunk of weight on the AWD Mini-Z. Some of the medium-wheelbase bodies fit so tightly that you may need to remove the rear bumper to make them fit.

You can adjust the car’s front and rear width by using optional Multi Offset Wheel sets: MDH100G (gray spoke), MDH100MS (chrome spoke). The AWD Mini-Z with the Skyline R34 body includes normal wheels (standard width) with zero offset. The Multi Offset Wheel sets include three pairs of standard wheels and two pairs of wide wheels with different offsets to accommodate various body styles. The narrow wheels have 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5mm offsets, and the wide wheels have zero and 1mm offsets.

Kyosho’s Multi Offset Wheel sets include standard and wide wheels in various offsets to accommodate different bodies.
The Warsteiner Mercedes is a popular choice among racers because it’s long and wide and allows them to adjust front and rear width for additional track tuning.

TIRE SELECTION. Tires greatly affect a car’s handling. Kyosho offers high-grip radials and slicks in various compounds and shore ratings. The higher the shore rating, the harder the tire. Generally, softer tires provide more traction, but more traction doesn’t always equal lower lap times. Many racers run harder front tires to correct oversteer and to make the car easier to drive; others prefer to run the same compound all the way around to make the car feel a little looser. Finding the fastest tire combination depends on many factors; fortunately, these tires are affordable and sold in sets of four, so you won’t have to spend a fortune to experiment.

Radial and slick tires are available in various compounds to help you dial in your AWD Mini-Z. The tires aren’t glued to the wheels, so you can swap them in seconds.

GEAR RATIOS. The AWD Mini-Z includes three sizes of spur gears and pinions. Seven final gear ratios (from 7.23:1 to 4.50:1) are available to gear the car to a specific track. Out of the box, the AWD Mini-Z has the lowest possible gear ratio to provide maximum acceleration, which is perfect for tight and technical tracks. The stock motor has plenty of pep and easily handles a higher gear ratio, so don’t be afraid to gear up. A higher gear ratio can lower lap times on tracks with a long straightaway or a fast layout.

Experimenting with gear ratios can help you to shorten your lap times. Fortunately, gearing swaps are easy on the AWD Mini-Z.

OTHER RACE MODS. Kyosho’s many other option parts can turn your AWD Mini-Z into a rocket on the track. Consider installing the ball-bearing set (MDW001) to further reduce drivetrain friction and make the car run faster and longer between charges, or the machine-cut pinion and spur gear sets (MDW010, MDW011) for smoother, quieter runs. The much lighter than stock titanium center shaft (MDW001) reduces rotating mass, and the blue-anodized aluminum motor cover (MDW008) with machined cooling fins not only looks good but it also significantly reduces motor temps and keeps it running faster and longer.

The ball-bearing set, machined pinion gears, titanium center shaft, aluminum motor cover and X-Speed V motor are among Kyosho’s most popular upgrades.
They should be at the top of your wish list if you plan to race.