XMODS-My take vs the 'Z'

[nojodash]

hi all, just wanted to chime in w/my thoughts about the 'hotly debatable' XMODS and how they compare to a Mini Z. First off, my son and I have Two Mini Z's and an Overland, the Z's are a bone stock Corvette CR-5 and my Warsteiner Mercedes with alloy rims and some suspension spring upgrades and foam tires, but that is about it for mods on them..

The XMODs that I have are the SKYLINE for me which I opened early! and the Red Supra for my 7 year old son for XMAS! I also got the light kit and Stage 2 motors and tire upgrade kit, but the only thing I put on my Skyline was the light kit. I also always use Nimh batteries, alks suck! First off, I really enjoyed being able to put together some of the body components on the Skyline and the fact that you can have interchangeable parts to customize your ride the way you like.. The chassis seems really nice but did not really like the feel of the wheels and wheel mounts and lugnuts used to put them on; seemed sort of weak in construction compared to the Mini Z... I did like the way the body mounted to the chassis, seemed nice and secure, also the lights were super easy to install, took maybe 2 minutes and was all set!

I also don't mind the TX that much and I counted 15 steps both ways which isn't great but not too bad for not being fully propo... Controller could have been better, but really for youngsters especially it is easier to use and not as bulky as our Perfex TX's we use for our Z's

Now for performance... First off, at a higher speed with the stock set-up, the turning radius isn't too bad, I could manuever about as well as our Mini Z's at speed, it is when you are going slow or want to back up fast and try to do a 'James Bond Reverse' that you really see the problems with the ability to turn sharply, at least with the stock set-up; I imagine some suspension tune ups and the AWD kit would remedy some of this, but wanted to just get a feel for it 'stock' before doing any add ons. I didn't mind the brake function, but it isn't as smooth/responsive as the braking function of my Overland; too much of a delay from brakes to reverse..I thought the speed of the stock motor was very good, almost as fast as a Mini Z, definately could give the Mini Z a run for its money on the track with a properly modded set-up (motor/tires/suspension/possibly AWD kit) ... One thing that was very noticeable was when I ran the XMod for a few minutes and then switched over to the Mini Z, the 'smoothness factor' really was apparent between fully propo and the 15 or so steps the Xmods has! No contest there, Mini Z is super smooth and the XMod is fairly smooth and to those that wouldn't know the difference, it would seem really smooth!

Anyways, my last thought I was thinking about as I was running the XMOD, is that to me it doesn't really seem like a Mini Z as far as how it runs. To me it seems like a better version of an Auldey Race Tin (albeit a very nice customizable/performance modifiable Race Tin!). I have an Auldey and it has an engine upgrade in it and man it can fly, but it is uncontrollable with the non propo controls. If the Auldey had the same type of TX controller as the XMODS, I think they would be in the same realm as far as how they would handle/perform...I don't know, could be wrong, though...Now if the XMODS were fully propo they would definately be in the area of Mini Z's as far as the handling department is concerned, at least in my opinion!

To sum it all up, which is better? Personally, I like both just about the same and I know my son really likes the Xmods a lot and probably will use them as much if not more than his Mini Z. Me, I'll use both the Z and X probably about the same, just a little more excited about the Xmods right no probably because I can't wait to hop them up and see what kind of performance/handling I can get from these! Later, thanks for reading my review! David