Who's the better PCB donor?
 

Wondering which car is better for donating its PCB to my ZZs, the Panther or the Shen Qi Wei.

Current to the motor on the Panther is higher, but the Shen Qi Wei is a faster car (didn't measure voltage at the time, so I don't know whether that is a factor on the speed difference).

Anyone have a clue?

i suggest before you sacrifice a perfectly good car and risk destroying the circuitry, you buy rare earth magnets. it is a cheap and easy mod that will make your clones steer better than zipzaps.

Thanks...but I'm not after steering for a clone, I'm after speed for my Zip. Like the size and bodies of ZZ better, and I can get the clones cheaper.

see which one works best with your zz controller.

both good with controller
 

Did that...there's no issue with either on the controller side.

I guess I'll try both, and let the board know which is faster.

Two birds, one stone.....

Put in a Z-car PCB. They already come with an LED and increased my speed by 2. Then put the NOS motor in and see how fast it really is. By far my best motor. Blows my 3.0 lxx away.

hmmmm don't have that one
 

Don't have one of those, stridex.

I was waiting for you to chime in, you're the one that convinced me of this mod in the first place! And thanks for all your expertise here on this forum. I feel like a kid in a candy store :D

If they both work good then I say just pick the pcb from the set-up you like least.

What I did was draw a small diagram of each pcb and swapped.

Worked great my zipzap flys.

cool
 

Yeah...they both work...looks like the receiver on the Panther is a little better (not as many dead spots), but that could be just the antenna length difference between the two.

I had measured current, and the Panther was higher, but with the same motor/gearing combo, the Shen Qei Wei seems faster (could be the lube they come with, they put grease on the gearings which attracts every dog hair in my house, and stops the car dead in it tracks after a 3 minute run!).

It could also be the tire compound (something I just thought of).

Anyway, no big difference between the two, I guess.

I wouldn't choose by which one is faster because the zips weight is totally different

good point BUT...
 

I would think no matter what the weight is of the zip, as long as the two clones are comparable, that would be the more important point, no?

I think I'll measure voltage, and then decide.

I'm about to do two more PCB swaps too. :) With a Mini Precision-X I got from Autozone (which flies on it's own, but the handling is the worst I've seen) and with a LXX.

Here are some tips for you:

Before you cut (unsolder) any wires, make a diagram.
With the turning threads, mount them to the chasis and run regular wires from the PCB to them. This way your risk of wripping them are less. Keep the lengths on all the wires and just solder and cover them with electrical tape. I did this so any future modifications, I'd have the room to play. My next Mod will come with a connector so I can just take the PCB clean off. I've just taken some pictures of it and will put them up in a few minutes under this thread.

Here's the first pic

It's hard to see and I appologize. I even tried holding it up to the light. What I was hoping to point out in this pic is how I mounted a plastic piece and melted three copper slivers into them. I then soldered the turning threads to them. The middle was for both positives and left and right are of course for left and right steering. Then I ran regular wires form the PCB to the proper copper sliver. The plastic piece is glued in place as well. The turning threads are also taped to the bottom of the chassis (on the inside) so they're out of the way and out of harm.

Second pic

This is a better picture of the turning mount I mention above.

This picture shows how I propped up the PCB on it's side. It was small enough to do this and it didn't interfere with the body I'm using. I normally have a thin strip of tape draped over it to hold it in place, but removed it for the pic. :)

Last pic.

Ahhh...what I wish I had used on the car above. This is a ultra thin connector cable I found in an old CR-rom drive. I was only looking for springs (which I found nice and tiny) when I came across this beauty. I figure, If i start using these, swapping PCB boards will be a snatch in the future. If you have some old computer equiptment that you'll never use again, open it up and try to find something similar. This should cut down on the weight of the car and make your wire storage nice, neat and clean.

OH NOOOOOH
 

That last dohicky there DEFINITELY has possibilities. Wondering where that there dang thing came from, and whether I got any of those thing lying around da house? (hmmm, maybe if I rip open my 386 machine?).

I am measuring V and I on both board right now, and will take the higher.

Do tell what that thing is there, Stridex.,..please:confused:

I found it in an old cd-rom drive. It had about six of them in there. If you do have one laying around, don't forget to take out the springs.

Yup...got one
 

Wait...you mean those springs could work for...let me guess, the struts?

They're a trick to get on, but yep! Throw those bad boys behind the wheels and enjoy. It takes some tweaking and you may have to cut them here and there, but when they're perfect, you'll love it. I'm actually using them for a different mod. :)


They can't be too tight and if they're too loose they serve no purpose, so just keep cutting away at them until you've fitted them perfect.

OK...

Shen Qi Wei pushes 1.31 V across the motor, and current is 42 Ma.
Panther is 1.21 V across the motor and 59 mA.

Ummmmh....same motor used in the test, so I'm still having a hard time deciding.

Which would be more important in light os start up time (torque) and overall speed? Or do the measurement kind of cancel themselves out.

I iam leaning toward the higher V, but experts, please chime in!

Either way, you're going to knock the socks off of a stock ZZ. Their PCBs are so small, it's amazingly easy to just throw in an extra battery so either choice will give you great results.

Take a look here too. Try Here b49m

Saw that site on another thread marc. Thanks! Already bookmarked it!

ejaf, of the 2 i would use the shen, i have a couple of those that i kept together because they are so fast stock, my zip has the shen pcb and its my fastest car by far, red gears , red zip motor= awesome performance. cant go wrong with that combo, i know stridex prefers the nos, but i guess i like the torque of the red, so i run that in alot of my cars.

After playing with the NOS so much in my stock ZZ's then going to the PCB swap, I guess I'm just amazed at the speed difference. That's why I love the NOS :) The great thing about these cars is that everyone can mod them the way they like them. It's always best to set them up to your preferance. I like all my motors by the way. :P I just prefer NOS cos' I do most of my driving on the flat hard woods. I'd never take the NOS outside on the driveway. That's when I change to your setup.

Stridex i know your the man with the pcb swaps, I had a zip with a shen swap then my dog ate it. Now i got two shens that i use the microsizer 2.6 (cant find the 3.8) anyway this motor eats up my boys zip with shen swap and the nos motor.Give the micro 2.6 a try and tell me if you get better results in speed with this motor.When i go donuts with this motor it lifts up the back tire on one side.And with a full charge when i drift it flips over,thats speed boy.lol

I better not be the man with PCB swaps. I just happened to be in a ZZ mood yesterday and wanted to help others out with my experiences. :cool:

I actually have a 3.0 from my LXX that I'm going to try in my ZZ/swap. NOS is just the fastest motor I own, so I'd love to find faster Motors. I HATE RADIO SHACK and would love nothing more then to refer people elsewhere when it comes to hop-up parts. I'm going to order a few Motors from TinyRC and compare real soon.

Actully keep a motor from at least one of the clones you'll be amazed at how well they run.

I've done 4 PCB swaps and my modded clone motors work better then my NOS

I never throw away motors. :) Even if they stink, they will always serve a use.