Finally! MR-03 First Drive!!!

What a blast! Last night I finally got to test my car for the first time. The results were VERY promising.

First of all I want to put the scenario in perspective. Last night was our first race at our new place in Houston, Jacob Feinstein and I ran mod an went at it as usual. This was also my second time to race since the KO GP in March so I am a bit rusty and as you all know Jacob just came back from Barcelona where he won 2 more PNWCs.

The racing was close between Jacob and I. First qualifier went to Jacob by about a lap. My 03 was pushing a bit and needed to rotate a little bit quicker. I switched my front tires for the second qualifier and BAM! The car was ballistic. I was able to catch Jacob and pull away at will even with quite a few mistakes I was able to re-set the TQ position by a couple of tenths over Jacob's time. I also set the fastest lap of the night in the process.

In the third qualifier I tried changing over to the new PN Spur just to compare it to ours. The car lost it's ability to rotate as hard as it started pushing badly on exit. Surprisingly, it pushed on entry as well, even though it was supposed to give more steering. I think that the flywheel effect is what allowed the car to have more turn it with our much lighter spur gears (the car just slows down quicker). I was not quite a fast in consequence, being about 1 tenth slower on average. The PN Spur will probably come in handy for those of you that want your car to push a little bit more than usual on exit. It makes the car a little mellower on throttle as well, as it does not spool up as quickly as the Reflex Spur, having a little bit less punch. Grip was also coming up on the track and Jacob's 96mm 02 was starting to get much quicker as well.

For the main, I should have changed my rear tires. My Radials were about to go bald and I gambled not to replace them thinking that the grip would be enough to where I would not need the tread for much longer. BIG MISTAKE. I also went back to the Reflex Spur and put faster batteries (750's)and the car became just a bit too loose. I really had to battle with it the whole time and I was not able to give chase to Jacob who's car was getting quicker. He ended up setting fast lap in the main with a 6.92 to my previous fast lap of 7.02. He was running the WTF2, 96mm G-10 plates and SSG's with a 350Z body. I was on 98mm, with PN #4 plate, green front springs, 98-102 mount and GTR2008 body. I built Jacob's car with 4+years of knowledge on MR-02 development. The MR-03 I am just starting to learn. I found several things after I got home where I can improve the car, just by being observant, with the addition of a couple of key changes, the car will be very tough to beat.

Next week I will come back a little more prepared and as the car gets more crisp, my driving will also become better with more track time. Overall though I give the MR-03 an A+ on a first time drive. It was right on pace, super responsive to set-up changes and very, very fast.

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

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!!!

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

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!!!

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!

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...

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