DrDremel

Got one of the first ZO1-B team's getting here thursday. I'll let ya guys know how it runs. Bought it for my brother, so I may just assemble the old buggy until he learns to drive....

kaptain crash

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yea..thinking about getting one , can u keep us posted of how u like it ?

DrDremel

Yep, I sure can. I'm still deciding whether I'm going to assemble the old one or new one....

DrDremel

Got the kit yesterday, after some discussion with my brother, and due to his lack of experience, we decided to put the older ZO1B together first. Let me tell ya, I've worked on my fair share of vehicles, but I've never been so amazed as I was when I opened that box. The parts were beautifuly laid out in what I would describe as a display case of sorts, and all the plastics and hardware where nice package in numbered bags, and to further make assembly easier, the CVD's were factory built and most of the plastics were already trimmed of the trees. I don't have high expectations for the old kit as far as performance, but I'm blown away by the actual quality of everything in the kit. The plastics feel strong and durable, the aluminum feels light and tough, the hardware is probaly the best I've ever had to work with, and everything lines up just so easily during assembly. I will say this, I don't see durability being a issue with this buggy, but I also can't see myself doing a "quick" repair at the track considering the amout of bolts that go into everything....... Just do give a example, the hinge pins are screwed in, then secured with lock nuts, then further secured by set screws! There are a couple of things I don't like, but it's all stuff I believe was adressed in the new kit.

So far, I'm impressed with quality, lets see how it runs. Kit should be done tonight, broken in tomorrow morning, and racing tomorrow evening.

devilchrist

I'm looking to buy one right now.. Tower is out.. don't know when they're getting shipment.. even thought they're same parent company.

only Ebay and Amain has them.. Sigh... I like to keep my orders from one place.. and tower's always cheapest for me with coupon.. and 1 day delivery..

clifton421

Where are the pics?

tommygun32

So DrDremel....how was the new bug? Did it hold its own on the track? Any pics?

INTEGRA

i personally saw one this weekend and it was kinda all over the place.....granted the driver was not a top 5 Amain guy...but still...seemed to be upset but the smaller bumps and ruts the Kyosho's and losi's were just floating through....and then the Front hub failed after many of failed attempts at the quad....overall it looked ok tho.

DrDremel

It was ok, I don't really like the old kit. I'm tearing it apart right now and building the new kit. No pictures yet, I'll snap some when it's done All I have to say is it was definatly durable, more so than a lot of the other cars at the track. A bunch of people ran into problems (including myself) with the track, since it was rained out and basicly rutted to hell over the week. My RC8 ran good, I qualified 2nd for A-main and was leading until I bobbled and a turn marshal accidentaly flamed my car out, oh well, next weekend is a new weekend..... The ZO1B stood up to my brothers abuse very well, durability is not a issue with the buggy..... It cartwheeled, flipped, bounced of crap, and rolled away, shrugging it all off and asking for more abuse. Many of the losi guys found themselves breaking down, one of them broke three times and ended up smashin his DX3.0 into the ground, needless to say he wants a new buggy..... I don't think the issues with the losi's was because they were losi's, I just felt like no one properly tuned for the track conditions.

Overall, it was a ok first appereance for the ZO1B, there was a minor issue with the front shock blowing out, but it's the old outdated shocks, not the big-bores, and I have a feeling it had more to do with the way I put it together rather than the actual abuse of the track.... It still ran a 20 minute main on three shocks, and didn't break anything. It's got my vote so far, lets see how the new kit does in a couple of weeks......

On a happier note, I had such a good weekend that now I have a RC8T coming! We'll see what I can do with that! I'll post some pics of the ZO1B build a little later tonight or early tomorrow.

stagga

so how is the Z01-B new kit coming along? im not sure why they just dont package it is the new kit instead of the option for new or old. the old kit sounds like rubbish

rccheech

I've yet to see one run, I would like to, but it's nothing short of a Losi fest where I race at.

mthird

I run the old kit and have found it is very easy to drive.  The new kit is a bit more like the Losi and would probably be too much for my sportsman skill level.  I'll probably wait until I win a few races before ordering the team kit upgrade.

DrDremel

I found the old kit to be far too nose heavy and not very responsive. The new kit adresses these isues however with a new front shocktower, a-arms, caster blocks, and steering knuckles. It also eliminates the upper a-arms and instead uses a camber link. This kit handles much better than the old one andimprovesupon many other factors I really disliked over the old version,the diffrence is positive even in the sportsman class. Over all, the team is a huge improvement over the original, but I will say the quality of both old and new are second to none.

And, this kit handles nothing like a losi, it handles more like a RC8 in my opinion, turns sharp and percise, where as losi's like to carry momentum through a corner with a bit of a slide and a push on the rear end, this car just seems to turn sharply, hold it's line while turning, and come out of the corners hard. If you've driven a RC8 and want something diffrent, this would be a good choice. I still perfer my RC8 to the O'Donnell, but thats mainly because of the parts surplus and the time I already have invested in the buggy. My brother really loves the ZO1B though. I have a ZO1T sitting here being built, waiting on running gear, should be racing by the end of the month, it's quality is just as good if not better than anything else out there. O'Donnell finaly seems to be getting their act straight.

DrDremel

They are trying to eliminate the surplus of the original kits before just selling the new kits. Their assembly line is probaly already re-tooled for the new kits and they have no use for the old ones since they were not selling that well.

stagga

o ok. im just really interested to hear what this buggy has to offer. i'll be looking to get 1 as a christmas to myself end of this year. its either this, the hyper 9 or D8. a few of my buddys have the D8 and love it, but i dont like to jump on the bandwagon. the xray and mugen are options too, but that is a bit more than i would like to pay for if i can get pretty much the same results. the D8 dominated in 08 and its prob the cheapest buggy out there.

DrDremel

Many people in my area bought the D8 when it first came out...all of them have gotten rid of it, with the exception of one. And I have to disagree and say the D8 did not dominate. It may have won the worlds, but that was because of driver and motor. Thirteen minutes of runtime with another minute of safety will do that for you....... I say if you want to stay off the bandwagon, look at the Xray's, Mugen's, and Associated buggies. Also, the O'Donnell is waaaaay off the bandwagon and a really good buggy too.... The Hyper 9 is also a good option, and a really intresting one.

stagga

lol. i stand corrected on the D8. thats all the bragging i heard from my mates who have them, i didnt actually read any first hand info (besides for the info on amainhobbies)

P bomstad

I would have to respectfully disagree with Dr Dremel.  At least if we are talking about the ifmar worlds 2008.  The D8 was dominate at that race, IMO.  I am positive they qualified more cars than any other manufacturer for the a main and I believe they were running a few different motors.  I think alot of people bought the D8 thinking that it would help them drive better, and when it didnt they changed to another car.  When in fact no car will help them drive better, only time at the track with a remote in hand  will help that.  My humble thoughts.  Do like the Z though, was thinking about buying one before I got the D8, just couldnt get past the price.

DrDremel

My personal issue with the D8 is that to me, it feels like hey cut to many corners to lower the price, and the overall quality suffered because of that. I also don't like the way it drives....it seems to really want to be pushed deep into the corners, and that just doesn't suit my style, or the style of many other people. There are some people who can wheel it and some who can't, it's just like the RC8T, you will either love it or hate it the first time you drive it. I just happened to hate it.

P bomstad

I agree 100%.  I am not saying it is flawless. You also have to look at who wins with it. A guy at my local track summed it up like this " Hara would probably be competitive if you gave him a brick with 4 wheels"

devilchrist

Set up right evne Gen1 Z01B is freaking awesome and rock solid and stable,  I realy didn't see a huge difference in weight for Gen1 and Team kit.   and Gen1 to me was too rear heavy, and it was perfect after mounting the battery in front next to steering servo.  If anything Team lightens the front even more.

Few things I didn't like about the Team kit is that it seem much more flimsy.  the milled out chassis may be a few OZ lighter but it's also more fragile,  radio box and battery boxes are too small,  I don't even use my battery box,

With the OS speed worlds motor this thing flew. 

Even though "Z" is suppose to stand for zero eclips, I did find one E clip used in the car..

v6shooter

so can tebo ,king, james,truhe, drake.etc. At that level of racing any of those guys can win at any givenday and any given buggy.btw I love my d8 and would not trade it for a losi,xray ,or mugen to each his own.

devilchrist

+1..  it's the driver. not the car.

TVG

Does some one make an electric conversion kit for Z01B kits..?

jmaxey51

not stricktly made for it but you can make, i think, the kyosho 777 conversion work. look on RC tect some guy give the details about 2 pages back