Zip Zap SE FAQ

[Bad Company]

Q. How much do they cost?
A. $24.99

Q. What models are coming out and what are the part numbers?
A. As of 9/6/2003...

60-7026 Initial D Savanna (White)
60-7032 Initial D Efni (Yellow)
60-7028 Audi TT (Grey)
60-7034 Audi TT (Blue)
60-7027 2005 Mustang (Red)
60-7033 2005 Mustang (Silver)

Q. What upgrades will be released for the SE's?
A. The current Upgrade/Tuner Kits work with the SE's. They will also be releasing an Intital D Body Kit that will include a Toyota AE86 Sprinter & Toyota Levin SR body, a 28K & 34K motor, and complex water tires. Item# 60-7532 @ $12.99

Q. What other body kits will be available?
A. As of 10/8/2003...

60-7531 Initial D Body Kit 2 (October)
60-7533 Euro Sports Body Kit (November)

Q. Which parts are included with the SE starter Kit?
A. It comes with the SE chassis, body, and controller w/ strap, red 21.5K motor, blue gears, factory tires, hubcaps, motor clip, and trading card.

Q. How many batteries does the controller take? What are the charge & run times?
A. The controller holds 4 "AAA" batteries in a little saddle. The charge time is 60 seconds. Run time with the stock set-up is about 5 minutes with the lights plugged in, and 6 minutes without. There is a on/off switch on the bottom of the chassis where you can cut it off and save the charge until it's turned on again.

Q. Does it have proportional steering and throttle?
A. Yes, it has both proportional steering and throttle. There is about 4-5 steps in the steering.

Q. How many frequencies does it have?
A. Each chassis has one frequency with 6 channels selectable on the contoller just before charging the car. The Savanna starter kit is labeled as 27mhz. These are different frequency/channels than the first gen. 27mhz Zip, so in reality, you can race up to 8 cars if you include the first gen. 49mhz Zip. It is not known yet if the other SE starter kits will be 49mhz.

Q. How does the car know what channel to use?
A. You have to choose the channel within the first 10 seconds of the charging sequence. This is when the controller synchronizes with the chassis PCB.

Q. Does it have lights? How do they work?
A. Yes. The front white lights are lit while going in foreward and the rear red lights are lit when going in reverse. They can be unplugged if you wish.

Q. What kind of range do they have?
A. At this time, the farthest I can even drive mine is 15' (limited by kitchen length), but I have had the controller 30' away, and could still here the wheels spinning with the car sitting upside down on my desk in the other room.

Q. What kind of suspension does it have?
A. It has spring suspension in the front, but none in the rear.

Q. What parts are interchangable with the first generation Zip Zaps?
A. All the existing parts are interchangable including the bodies.
The front kuckles are different for all you modders out there.

Q. What size battery is in the chassis?
A. It has a 2.4 volt, 70mah battery. It appears to be 2 smaller cells wrapped end to end. The SE battery is longer than the first generation Zip battery and will not fit in it or a Bit without modding.

Q. What are all those buttons on the controller?
A. The controller has the steering wheel, the throttle trigger, a switch for left or right handed throttle, on/off switch, frequecy selector, steering trim, neutral adjustment, and charger release button.

Q. Is the ground clearance the same as the first generation Zip Zap chassis?
A. Yes, it has the same ground clearance.

Q. How fast is it compared to the regular Zip Zap?
A. My tests with identical motors, gears, and tires show that the speed is the same, but take off torque is lower in the SE.

Q. What is that black stuff on top of the PCB.
A. Who knows? It appears to be some kind of coating to A. Hide the design, B. Prevent interferance with the light system PCB, C. Prevent modding, or D. Appearance.

Q. Will the Bit CharG motor fit in the SE?
A. Yes, it will. The SE motor compartment is identical to the normal Zip Zap except that it has more of a "cradle" for the motor to sit in. I have also confirmed that the Perfection 4.2 motors will fit. I have noticed some issues with the MS motors, they have to be aligned up perfectly to make contact, and they sputter a little.

Q. Which Bit CharG/MS parts are compatable with the Zip Zap SE's?
A. So far I have confirmed that the rear axle and motor from the Bit CharG/MS will fit on the SE's. There sre issues with the motors though. See above.

Q. Will the front suspension springs on the Zip Zaps SE fit on the regular Zip Zaps or Microsizers/Bit knuckles?
A. No, they are too small.


More to come...

[racemini89]

thanx bc that awnsered alot of Q.

[Zip Zap Pro]

Yeah, very helpful, but when will the new tire treads be out? What duz the Hubcaps look like w/ the Savannah? Lastly, will they come out with instead of white lights in front, blue and stuff?

[Namuna]

Good stuff Bad Company.

[slugbugg]

sounds good but I want to know:

How smooth is the steering/throttle control?

Are there any noticable steps in the steering/throttle?

[Bad Company]

Originally posted by slugbugg
sounds good but I want to know:

How smooth is the steering/throttle control?

Are there any noticable steps in the steering/throttle?

The throttle and steering seem pretty smooth. There is a noticable skip in the left hand turning though. There seems to be some kind of issues with the left turning. Got your yet Namuna? Same problem?

I count 4 maybe 5 steps in the steering to the right, but a lag, then about 2 steps to the left. (Added this to the FAQ.)

[Namuna]

Bad Company's pics are now available in the Gallery:

http://tinyrc.com/gallery/ZipZapsSE

[TypeZer0]

i say make this a sticky

[Namuna]

Yup

[BabyKiller]

bc can you edit your mistake in the question how many frequinces does it have

the anserw is one(27mhz) but there are 6 channels or else the car would have to have 6 frequincy crstalys in the controller and car instead it uses channels(27.1 27.2 27.3 274 27.5 27.6)

edit if some1 would like to say other wise then go ahead

[Bad Company]

OK, If you want to get technical.
No really, thanks for pointing that out. I was kinda in a hurry putting that together today, and just missed that. I looked it up in the instruction manual and they do in fact call them channels. Thanks for the heads up babykiller.

Anyone feel free to make any sugestions to correct or add to the FAQ and I will do so. Your input is appreciated.

[sessiz10]

Great faq you've put together here BC. Thanks.:)

[Bad Company]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

[aaronjs04]

Originally posted by Bad Company
The throttle and steering seem pretty smooth. There is a noticable skip in the left hand turning though. There seems to be some kind of issues with the left turning. Got your yet Namuna? Same problem?

I count 4 maybe 5 steps in the steering to the right, but a lag, then about 2 steps to the left. (Added this to the FAQ.)

I found the same turning problem with mine while it was working.

[eman1]

Will a bit charg motor fit in these?
And will a bit charg rear axle fit on the new zipzaps?

[Bad Company]

Originally posted by eman1
Will a bit charg motor fit in these?
And will a bit charg rear axle fit on the new zipzaps?

The answer is yes to both questions.

FAQ Updated.

[micromatch]

yea but my question is will the springs fit on microsizer knucles??

[Bad Company]

Originally posted by micromatch
yea but my question is will the springs fit on microsizer knucles??

No, they will not. The knuckles for the SE are smaller and the springs are too small to fit on the regular Zip Zaps knuckles or the MS knuckles.

FAQ Updated.

MS on left, SE on right. Small SE spring in middle top.

[TypeZer0]

how is the suspension travel compared to a regular zz or a bit/ms?

[verbalkint]

suspension travel is substantially less than the travel on a bit.

But I have been thinking that front suspension is farily uneffective without rear to allow the car to fully sway.

In the turns yeah perhaps it helps, but it can't help a whole lot.

[Bad Company]

I had to revise the FAQ. After further research, I found that the MS motors do fit in the SE, but you have to spin them around to make sure the motor contact is touching the chassis contact good, and even then the motor wants to sputter. Can anyone else confirm this or have any input?

[verbalkint]

Confirmed......I have fiddled with all of my Tomy/MS motors many different ways for many many minutes....they actually fit in the well, however, the car will not move....it stutters when you try to go fwd/or rev.....and does not move...

[Namuna]

I believe I have a reason for the sputtering (to be confirmed when I put my DMM on it tonight)...

My theory is that the new SEs suffer the same miserly current output of the 1st generation ZZs...Which limits the SE to being able to only use motors with low power needs.

I came to this conclusion because I pulled out my pink endbell 3.8 motor and a Tomy 2.6...the 3.8 sputtered and barely moved, while the 2.6 was quite spritely.

I'm gonna be quite dissapointed if I find out I'm right.

[verbalkint]

Maybe....maybe not...

I have tested all Extreme Micros motors in these and they work great. They don't however work well in old zz's older than the gold civic. Newer than gold civic, they work great.

Not sure what that means but I also tested some clone motors with great results...the only motors I couldn't get to work were tomy motors.

[Bad Company]

Looks like we may go thru the whole deal of new and upgraded generations of PCB again. Maybe by the time Zip Zaps 3.0 come out, the SE's will be good like the later generations of the original Zips.

Zip Zaps 3.0?.....Did I just say that? Here we go again.

[verbalkint]

Bad

Have you had any luck fixing the sticking steering per the other post saying that the alignment adj under the car fixes it?

I can't understand and the one member said they got this to fix the twitchy/uneven steering....

Any thoughts?

[Bad Company]

No, not yet. I just read that myself this morning and was going to try it today. I will let you know how it goes.

[Bad Company]

Actually, I just tried it. It's pretty simple, but hard to explain.

Remember one thing. You have turn the car off and back on after every adjustment made to the alignment dial under the chassis. This resets it to the position you just adjusted it to. The controller also has to be on for the car to reset each time.

When you adjust the dial and reset it, you can visually see where the front wheels are and how centered they are. Do this until they appear centered, then test it by driving it.

The dial on the bottom of the chassis has to be turned almost one full turn to see any movement in the wheels.

I just did this, and now the sputtering has stopped and my car turns both directions pretty equally. I assume that the sputtering may be from not having the alignment centered and the servo? having to adjust for this?

I think the key is getting the chassis adjustment centered first.

Credit Drizz for this as he found this out, I only tested and verified it.

I kinda did mine opposite of Drizz, and used the alignment adjustment for the major adjustment, and the steering trim for the minor adjustment.

[verbalkint]

Thanks for the help Bad C...and big big ups to Drizz for figuring the whole fix out.....you are a RS saver...


I'll give them a shot when I get to the shop, gotta print the posts out to take, no net at the store...

I'll let ya know what results I have this evening....

And to be honest, if this works on mine and a couple more people get it to work as I supsect it will, I would suggest making the tutorial/fix a sticky as I have a big feeling most like I did will return perfectly good cars that just need tuned.

Thanks again Drizz for the fix figuring out and Bad C for testing and verifying...

[Bad Company]

No more sticky huh? Also, what happened to the first Savanna SE...COME SEE thread?

[Namuna]

Sheesh, Housecleaning ain't supposed to wreck things.

Anyway, the original Savanna thread was accidentally deleted (that might take a little while to get back, my bad on that one).

This thread was copied over to the new Tips Forum, so it temporarily lost the sticky...But it's back to sticky now.

[Bad Company]

Ah, I see. So, when I update this FAQ or someone replies to this thread, it automatically does the same over there? Will it have to wait for approval?

EDIT: Well, I know now that replying doesn't automatically go over unless it's waiting for approval.

[Namuna]

It's not a process of approval, just that there's no link between the 2 threads.

Anytime the FAQ is updated we'll just update the other page too.

[BabyKiller]

hmm wheres a technical genius to get that coating off and mosfet when you need one

[vtheo]

Cool, i see you answered my question about the ground clearance. Thanks.

[verbalkint]

Well, I tested on the original SE I kept that was worse....now, I have the steering so jacked up....:(

When you started, which way did you turn the align knob first, to the left or to the right...?

Also, my newest one actually is straight as a whistle out of the box.

So how would I go about that one?

It stutters when trying to turn one direction...but it turns fairly evenly, maybe stronger one way than the other a bit...

It isn't as bad as the other two were...

I hate to be so sophmoric, but I normally have no problems figuring stuff out....but for some reason, this one isn't sinking in at all....

Sorry...:rolleyes:

[eman1]

Originally posted by BabyKiller
hmm wheres a technical genius to get that coating off and mosfet when you need one
In another post i read that a guy was scrapping off the coating with his fingernail.

Anyone have a perfection 4.2 motor they can try?

[BabyKiller]

if you got a twisted chassi just call theshack back up im sure they will ship out to you a brand new mofo

[Bad Company]

verbalkint:
I don't remember which way I turned it first. I actually turned it both ways to see what it did. If the new one you got is straight out of the box, I would leave it alone. and just tweek on the steering trim on the controller. You may also try tinkering with the nuetral adjustment on the controller to make sure it is dead centered in nuetral.

eman1:
I have tried the Perfection 4.2 motor. I didn't see any significant increase in speed from a 28k which is what I use , but did lose quite a bit of torque.

[eman1]

Originally posted by Bad Company
verbalkint:
I don't remember which way I turned it first. I actually turned it both ways to see what it did. If the new one you got is straight out of the box, I would leave it alone. and just tweek on the steering trim on the controller. You may also try tinkering with the nuetral adjustment on the controller to make sure it is dead centered in nuetral.

eman1:
I have tried the Perfection 4.2 motor. I didn't see any significant increase in speed from a 28k which is what I use , but did lose quite a bit of torque.
hmm. Thats strange. Do you have a tomy/ms 2.2 to try?
I wonder if the speed would still be similar to the 28k, but the torque might increase

[blind]

any word on the 2005 mustang being an SE or not?

fingers, toes, eyes, etc crossed :D

$24.99 is a bargain for a propo hotwheels size r/c car with functional LED lights, way to go radio shack!

[ron6]

from what i know the 2005 mustang will be a se but it probly wont be out till december the new se's will be out sometime this month. Dose anyone know when the body kits will be out:cool:

[dr1zz]

i was told around october 10 for the 05 mustang SE

[ron6]

drizz where did you here it from that the 05 mustang will be here sometime around october.

[aperson]

a guy at RS said that X Mods are coming out sometime in October they could be coming out with them,

[VuN86]

are these only sold in japan or something? i can't find it on the zip zap site

[MASSACRE]

u have to call 1800-the-shack

[VuN86]

that's the only way?

[Racer9]

1-800-the-shac

[rucrazy4rc]

just got one ,pretty nice , i hope the third generation zipzap ,if any has a rear shock set , the front is nice for its size... they have improve on the zip zap , its got me wondering if any of these manufactures are reading this web site for any of their ideas their ideas

[Paintballa]

wow i no ive been out for a long time when go to check on updated and theyve gne and made a whole new ZZ. im definatley gona pick one up soon(especially the 2k5 stang). i was wondering if i could take my dual cell out of my old dead ZZ and put it in an SE.

also Bad Company do u happen to play for a paintball team named i dunno bad company.

hey and i just bought my first car and its a silver 2k mustang v6 5spd. peace

[Bad Company]

No I don't. I have actually never even played paintball. The name come from my favorite rock band by the same name and well, it describes me pretty good. I'm bad company. ;)

[BabyKiller]

do you play MOHAA(medal of honar allied assault)theres a clan alled bad company

[itsalllies]

are 1 of the 05 mustang going to be convertible?
:)

[Bad Company]

Originally posted by itsalllies
are 1 of the 05 mustang going to be convertible?
:)

After I get done with it, it will be.

[Racer9]

lol

[Paintballa]

ok i was just wondering because there is a pro team from the MD/VA area called BC.

any way do u think that my current dual cell will fit in the SE?

[itsalllies]

Bad Company I like that

[Bad Company]

Originally posted by Paintballa
any way do u think that my current dual cell will fit in the SE?

Not unless you stick the second cell outside the body over the trunk or something. There is no room in the pan for anything other than a Layman's cell mod.

[baleisen]

The best way to keep your steering acurate is to use the pot on the bottom of the ZZ for coarse tuning and the x-mitter wheel for fine tuning. BAE

[IceSkyLine]

hi
I was wondering how high that new thing sits compared to the MSas in is it gonna jack the body up extremely high ?
Or how high is the chassisfrom ground to top panel
And their tires bigger ? than MS ?

[hadoken]

Well I'm either gonna get one of these or a Fastlane one from Toys R US. I know the Fastlane ones are nice but I'm not sure about the Zip Zaps SE. I have a LXX Char-G with a 4.2 pro in it and I'm wondering how the SE's run with a 3.8 or 4.2 pro, do they run about like a SE would with the 34,000 RPM Zip Zap motor? I'd definately get one for $25 it's just the $13 for the new motor that I don't like. Anyone try a 3.8 or 4.2 pro out in these?

[skitle]

do you know exactly when the 60-7533 Euro Sports Body Kit is being released?:confused:

[baleisen]

After running my SE for a few month, I hate the xmitter. Its shape is terrible. I am thinking about rehousing it in a larger case. The big problem will be the channel selector switch. Any ideas?

[xc/zz]

Thanks...Very helpful!

[Shooterb]

Hi y'all,
I got into the micro RC a few weeks ago and got shamed up by a "store parts" modified ZZ by a coworker. I'd made one with a n cell NiMh cut into the pan. Too heavy, I guess.

I snapped. I lurked about this site, ausmicro, etc., found out the cool stuff you're all up to now.... Any suggestions on the following (all parts on their way now...)

ZZSE, Lightened ZZ body, uA FET mod (the car is in the mail from Canada now...), LiPo 3.7v x 145mAh cell & charger, king 4.2 motor, hand machined ball differential (I made it... less cornering-spin out in my ZZ), radio shack's "performance" tires, guitar string antenna mod to 6.71" for 27.5 mHz. Graphite dust lubrication.

The course is a work cafeteria (very flat and polished linoleum). Racing area, about 20' x 20' with a course laid out with empty pop cans.

My competition has a good motor in a double cell but lightened ZZ.
Cost is not a constraint. What has worked for you you think would improve the above?