Kyosho Lazer ZX5 FS2 SP - help please!

[B.RAD]

Hi all

 

New member, just posted an intro, need a bit of help with my latest purchase please 😊  First some info on the car...

 

I've just bought a well used Kyosho Lazer ZX5 FS2 SP (what a mouthful! Going to have to come up with a new name for it, can't go around saying that all the time!! 😆) from eBay.  As with all things eBay, it's not quite as good as it looked in the photos, but it is at least intact and nothing seems to be broken. I remain happy with the price I paid for what is a "proper" racing buggy and it came with a brushless ESC and motor combo and servo too, plus a 5000mah 2s shorty lipo too. And a whole massive bag of spares for all the critical bits, plus the original items where upgrades have been fitted. So all in not too bad for the price. I've no idea of its history, but I'd like to think it's been raced given the money that's clearly been spent on it.

 

First impressions are good. What a leap from the models I've built so far! Shocks all feel good, the suspension is very smooth and the level of suspension and geometry adjustability is phenomenal, certainly way out of my league. 

 

Some photos:

 

 

Quite a good looking thing I think. I'll be needing new wheels and tyres soon, not much life left at all, but will be good enough for grass track bashing in the garden.

 

The seller made it clear in the ad that he had taken a Dremel to the chassis to make space for a shorty lipo (included) and that all that remained to do was drill a hole for the supplied battery post and fit a strap of your choosing. I actually hadn't noticed that bit of the ad when making the purchase 🤦 but no bother, the bits were there and I have some handy bits of perspex leftover from making timing struts for sprint cars. Photo below shows the chassis modification, which is pretty neatly done, and the pen mark where I laid the battery in and put the post where it needs to go.

 

 

Drilled the hole and made use of a countersunk bit...

 

 

Measured and cut out a strap from perspex and drilled the holes out to suit the machined recess in the post nuts. Et voila!

 

 

First bit of personalisation/modification complete.

 

I have also now installed a receiver, although the only one I had spare is the Carson stick transmitter set that came with the Mad Bull, which isn't a terrible thing, but it's not the most ergonomic of stick transmitters. I velcro'd the receiver in place so can easily change this if I decide to upgrade the transmitter. 

 

Final step before a maiden test run is to charge the battery. The shorty lipo supplied is a different type of battery than any I have (Tamiya, Traxxas and deans) - it just has these 4mm post holes in. Unfortunately this means I have no way of charging it. I did a quick Google and see that the battery should actually come with a double ended charge cable to enable charging, but this wasn't supplied by the seller. All credit to the seller here though, as a message on eBay was instantly responded to with an offer to send out a cable in the post immediately. Hooray!

 

Had the first run today and uncovered a few problems. First, the servo wasn't working. Had a spare so swapped that over. Second, the motor ran fast in reverse, slow in forwards. I've had to switch the motor to ESC wires around, and change the throttle switch on the tx to get it running right. Third, the motor pinion instantly fell off. The grub screw was completely rounded out. Fortunately had a spare with me so got that reinstalled. Then finally the slipper clutch gave out. I think it's just the spring adjustment, but I need to take it apart to check. Not the ideal first run! 🤦 But what time it was working shows some real promise. 

 

Where I need help is the following, if anyone can help in any way, I'd be most appreciative:

 

Any links to spares suppliers, specifically for a slipper clutch and other core items. Or if anyone has any bits they wouldn't mind selling please let me know.

 

Would anyone have a ZX5 bodyshell available? I don't think the one supplied is for a ZX5 as it doesn't fit right. 

 

Set up sheets, ideally for grass running. Or anything to give me a starting point.

 

A source of the countersunk hex head bolts, lots of them are rounded out.

 

Thanks in advance all, any help or advice is very much appreciated!

 

 

 

[willb]

Best thing you can do is to download the manual online (see link below). That'll give you the screw sizes you need and then you can buy the size screws you need on eBay. Personally, I'd strip it down and do a full nut and screw rebuild on it.

 

You may find it hard getting ZX-5 parts now, maybe some ZX-6 or ZX-7 will fit? I'm not too clued up on Kyosho 1/10 buggies. Either way, try MB Models or PBM Racing. Both stock Kyosho.

 

Are you planning on racing it?

 

Manual and setup sheets here - https://site.petitrc.com/setup/kyosho/SetupSheetsKyoshoLazerZX5FS.html

[B.RAD]

3 hours ago, willb said:

Manual and setup sheets here

That's a really helpful link, thank you. The set up sheets look like great templates. If anyone has a recommended setting for grass running I'd love to hear it!

 

Thanks for the shop recommendation too, I'll give them a call if I get really stuck. Am about to do a full strip down, fortunately I got a spare chassis with it, so there are some spare screws that I can swap in along the way. 

 

No I won't be racing it (at least, not yet!), just a significantly more advanced basher than my others for now! 😁

[B.RAD]

I've fixed the slipper clutch issue, the nut that holds the tension spring was loose, so I've tightened and adjusted it. Just took it for a drive and it's awesome! So much fun. The handling is so much better than anything else I've ever driven before. I love the way it flicks the back end round when you turn, makes it so sharp and quick. Can't wait for a proper run!

[lorrylemming]

If there's anything to know about a race chassis you can normally find it on the RC tech thread for the car.

 

https://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-off-road/414726-kyosho-lazer-zx5-fs-fs2-thread.html

 

250 pages of exciting reading... 😄

 

https://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-off-road/906373-kyosho-zx5-kyosho-zx6.html

 

The centre diff is the same as the Zx6 apparently. 

[willb]

11 hours ago, B.RAD said:

I've fixed the slipper clutch issue, the nut that holds the tension spring was loose, so I've tightened and adjusted it. Just took it for a drive and it's awesome! So much fun. The handling is so much better than anything else I've ever driven before. I love the way it flicks the back end round when you turn, makes it so sharp and quick. Can't wait for a proper run!

 

Good to hear. You want approximately 1 to 1.5 seconds of slip from a full throttle standing start. It's what we tend to run on astro anyway, anything less and the car can become very snappy and unsettled when exiting corners. You have an older model but still a race buggy so I can imagine it'll out drive most RTR cars.

 

For a grass setup, it's very hit and miss due to the lovely British weather and how long the grass is. I don't race 4WD or on grass but I'd suggest if you're understeering a bit, raise the ride height, 21-23mm and soften the suspension (probably thinner oil, 400WT front and 300WT rear). This will generate a bit more corner grip by allowing the car to rotate more through a bend. The rest is up to you and how you want the car to drive.

 

Enjoy