Kyosho Mini-Z RWD MR-03 MR-03EVO Full Review (a very late review)
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MR-03 is the staple RWD platform in the Mini-Z series, designed and marketed to be the entry level race chassis on RCP and carpet tracks. It's fun out of the box and if you want to mod it, there are a ton of upgrade paths. More on that later.
In terms of architecture, MR-03 is a classic and clean pan car design. The rear motor pod houses the motor and rear axle, and the whole thing is suspended by a springy t-plate and a top shock unit. The beauty of such a pan car motor pod design is that the main drivetrain requires only the motor pinion gear and the spur gear on the rear axle. Compared to a double wishbone + CVD rear end design, a pan car rear end is more power efficient, easier to maintain, and generates more traction on RCP.
The t-plate at the bottom provides the primary source of rebounding forces along the up/down and twist motion of the motor pod. A t-plate system is straightforward to understand, and tuning means swapping in t-plates of different stiffness and material. The top shock provides an additional way to control the up/down motion, and adding some shock grease there provides some dampening effect along that axis. For speeds that MR-03 is capable of, this rear suspension design performs well enough and holds its tune easily. On a high traction RCP track, installing a soft t-plate is a good idea.
The front suspension is designed around kingpins with rigid bottom arms and pivot top arms supported by springs. With rather short arms and without double wishbones, front traction isn't ideal. From a mechanical design standpoint, Kyosho traded some performance potential for simplicity. That's an acceptable trade off for MR-03. Changing the little front springs under the front arms is an important tuning tool.
The stock MR-03 rear axle is a gear differential. It gets the job done, but for more tunability, people often upgrade to a ball differential by Kyosho or other brands such as PN and Nexx. The stock gear pitch is 0.5 mod, but it's common for third-party brands to use finer 64p gears for more gear ratio options.
So far I showed you the standard Ready-to-Run version of MR-03. Kyosho has also released a more powerful version, MR-03EVO. The primary difference between an MR-03EVO and MR-03 is the upgraded electronics system. It's capable of powering both a brushed and brushless motor, which is a significant power upgrade. The EVO board uses separate EVO receivers so more radio protocols are supported, such as Futaba, Sanwa, and KO Propo. Not only that, the servo response is faster and more powerful. It is also configurable via a cumbersome USB and Windows PC setup, but it's very useful.
My MR-03EVO here has many upgrade parts installed, such as alloy motor pod, ball differential, and upgraded servo parts. Otherwise, the architecture is identical to the standard MR-03. Please note that Kyosho has recently released the new MR-04EVO2. This means MR-03EVO will phase out eventually. Kyosho hasn't released an RTR MR-04 yet, but MR-03 will meet the same fate.
One of the most awesome features of the MR-03 is its modularity. These three chassis are all MR-03, but using different motor pods, they achieve three different wheelbase lengths. Using the RM (rear) mount, the RTR MR-03 can support 86, 90, or The middle MR-03EVO uses an MM2 (mid) mount, can support 94 or 98mm wheelbase. The last one, PNR2.5W, uses an MML mount which can do 98 or 102mm. In addition to wheelbase, which is the distance between the front and rear wheels, MR-03 also supports a narrow vs wide front end. Why is this flexibility important? It means MR-03 can be reconfigured to fit all the available Autoscale bodies out there! It also means many parts are interchangeable and combined.
Even though MR-03 isn't the fastest 1:28 car, I really enjoy modding and trying a huge variety of upgrade options. All in all, MR-03 is fast enough, durable, upgradable, and well supported. I'd bet most people running 1:28 started with MR-03. Even with plenty of non-Kyosho 1:28 RWD chassis out there, an RTR MR-03 is still relevant. Many clubs race the box stock class. MR-03 also provides a user-friendly path towards more serious 1:28 track chassis mentioned earlier in the video. For example, my current go-to track car is this GL Racing GLR-GT. Yes, it's faster than MR-03. Chassis like this are what people race in many clubs. While the build isn't super difficult, it's not all that trivial to build and tune properly, not to mention the upfront cost. It will not do a good job of attracting newcomers to 1:28 racing. An RTR MR-03 comes ready to go except 8 AAA batteries.
If all this sounds good to you, the only remaining question is whether to wait for the MR-04 RTR kits to show up. Kyosho hasn't announced that yet but it's a sure bet. I'm personally more interested in the RTR than the EVO2.
This is Sammy and thanks for watching!
Music: "Journey to the Stars", Savfk ( • Journey to the Stars b... )
Пікірлер: 28
Hey Sammy, on your mr03, I noticed the motor pod is extended far more than out of the box, what wheel base is that in this video?
@sammybaka
2 ай бұрын
Indeed. I have the RM motor pod installed for a 90mm wheelbase. Originally this was an audi r8 with MM pod at 98mm.
Mine have been house toys for years, this year I started racing MA020 and MR03. (We need a buggy 2.0)
@sammybaka
6 ай бұрын
Yeah putting these cars on a track adds a completely different dimension. For me it was the beginning of understanding how these cars really ran.
Hi, I found your video and it's very thorough! Nice work. You seem to be an expert in Mini-Z's. Maybe you can answer a question for me. I just ordered my first Mini-Z. It's a MINI-Z RWD readyset MAZDA Roadster Ceramic Metallic 32341PW. I don't know if I'll need new tires for running on hardwood. Can you help? If I do need new tires can you recommend ones that'd be fun for these hardwood floors I'm currently stuck with? Love your channel. Thanks for all your info! Keep up the good work.
@sammybaka
5 ай бұрын
Thank you for the support. Hardwood floor, even a super clean one, doesn't provide a lot of traction unfortunately. It's extra challenging for RWD cars. I also spend a lot of time driving my cars on hardwood floor. With the Mazda Miata, you are limited to 11mm max wide rear tires. Kyosho 20 deg radial tires (narrow front, wide rear) does okay on hardwood, but please be sure to keep the floor super clean. When I run my wider and longer bodies that can accommodate even wider wheels, I run 14mm rear with PN super soft radial tires. They generate more traction and I can do more controlled driving on the hardwood. I made a video that explored this specific topic (kzread.info/dash/bejne/nm2isNuLpa2rprw.htmlsi=4Y2n8aUiizHlkj_h).
@SpinShoeGuru
5 ай бұрын
@@sammybaka That's very interesting. I've given it a lot of thought and am stuck on something you said. "limited to 11mm max wide rear tires"... That sounds well...limiting. So there's no way to go larger? What's limiting this little Mazda? The rim? The body? I'm not looking for it to be a hardwood monster but am looking for some fun without too much frustration being new to the Mini-Z world.
@sammybaka
5 ай бұрын
@@SpinShoeGuru Wider rims won't fit under the body and would cause binding with even a little bit of suspension depression. You can of course run the chassis without the body. You can buy 14mm rwd rims and mount them no problem.
@sammybaka
5 ай бұрын
@@SpinShoeGuru I would first try those 20 deg radial tires from kyosho. They can work on a clean surface.
@SpinShoeGuru
5 ай бұрын
@@sammybaka Thanks for that super fast answer. Wow. Yeah, I get it. So what's Kyosho's intended use for a car like the Miata in stock form? Shallow carpet? Your videos are great and full of very useful information. As a former content creator I can really appreciate your thankless hobby and educating folks like me is a very nice thing you do.
Hi! I’m building a car using MR03 evo circuit board with PN 2.5w chassis. My question is… can i use a brushed motor with MR03evo circuit board?
@sammybaka
23 күн бұрын
Yes you can. You will need to use the ics usb dongle to program the esc for brushed mode.
HI, My name is Vince I have a question: I would like to order an inexpensive TX and RX for my future Kyosho Mini-x MR04 EVO 2! Can I use the Kyosho KT531P ? Do you ( or somebody) have a tip 🙏for an affordable TX and RX? e.g Vince
@sammybaka
4 ай бұрын
Hi Vince -- it's possible to use KT531P to control MR-04evo2. You need to get the evo receiver kyosho part# 82041. There's a kyosho one but you can also find third party ones.
Hi I love your videos! I have some question that need your expertise? I have a ma-02 for drifting and abit of racing. Now I want a dedicated chasis for racing and thinking about a mr04 or a atomic mrz or gl racing gtr. What would you recommend. I love building cars but mr04 is much lower price than others. What would you recommend thank you!
@sammybaka
5 ай бұрын
Thank you. The first thing I'd check is what other people are racing with and what race classes are available at your local track, if you are planning to go to one. Some clubs are big on mini-z, and it's possible they run mr-03. If we are considering rwd chassis in general today, i like reflex rx28. It may seem more expensive to start but it doesn't really need any upgrade. I don't recommend the GL GTR because it's limited on rim options (0 offset only, and no 14mm rear) and it needs many option parts to be competitive. i haven't done mr-04evo2; if that's what the club runs, then it makes sense. otherwise I'm personally waiting for the rtr mr-04.
@user-bq9bt4fg8i
5 ай бұрын
Thank you for the response @@sammybaka! Our club have a open mod class that accepts anything. I really like the rx28 but I am worried it is more of a lexan body car. I am a big auto scale body collector and would love to be able to fit them on the chassis. Is the fitment on rx28 really bad? Bottom line I am torn between rx28, gl gtr, atomic mrx.
@sammybaka
5 ай бұрын
autoscale body compatibility is a weak spot for the rx28 unfortunately because its side mount position is not standard mini-z. The other chassis like atomic has better compatibility with 98mm wide autoscale bodies.
@sammybaka
5 ай бұрын
If autoscale compatibility is important, among those 3 choices, mrx would be my choice. Mind you, it needs the widest of 98mm bodies like the Corvette, Senna, Benz GT3, etc.
@user-bq9bt4fg8i
5 ай бұрын
@@sammybaka Due to availability, I went with mrx to give the new chassis a try!
what upgrades can i possibly do to turn it into a drift car?
@sammybaka
Ай бұрын
Unfortunately, MR-03 doesn't have enough steering angle to become a rwd drift car. Check out kzread.info/dash/bejne/d5-kmrhxZZisdrg.html where I tried and failed drifting one.
The only reason I'm watching videos is so I don't have to read lol