Mini 4wd is a great hobby. They are for people who like to build, improve, and race things.

. Most
cars can be found at Tamiya USA for under $2o. Most upgrade parts are under $5, and Scan2go
tracks (a cheaper version of real Tamiya tracks which are >$100) can be found at $10. My friend and
I got into these machines two years ago, so we bought some track and cars. About 6 months
afterward, we found this Lynwood hobby shop called Galaxy Hobbies that hosted a Mini 4wd club. It
was close and attracts at least 5 other Mini 4wd fans. It happens every Friday at 6-7 oclock, though
they start coming at 5 oclock to work on their cars or talk. Anyone interested can come without
notice. FYI: the club has their own Facebook page. People in the club are nice and are helpful, and
no, this isnt just a gathering of nerds. Read on to learn more about these machines.

INTRODUCTION: Lately, I have been really getting into this hobby called Mini 4wd. Mini 4wd
vehicles are 1:32 scale size cars that run on a track. They are powered by a small electric motor and
batteries. There are these wheels called rollers that make contact with the side of the track when
there are turns, therefor making the car turn. What is so fun about them is that you always are
constantly changing them. Since this is a snap-together kit (made by Tamiya*), you can easily
dissemble it and reassemble it to change parts. * Tamiya USA Mini 4wd Homepage Below: JR Blast
Arrow

BASIC KNOWLEDGE:
Rollers: The aluminum rollers are the best, though expensive at upwards of $10. They are stronger
than the standard plastic ones and have low-friction bearings so the roller can spin freely with much
less friction. On contrary to what I just said about less friction, since aluminum is heavier than
plastic, the friction is at first greater than the stock rollers.
Tires: The standard rubber tires are good, but to increase stability or speed, you will need to change
them. The clear soft tires are a cheap and worthy upgrade. With the clear soft tires, you can change
the way they are put on the wheels to either increase stability or to increase speed. Sponge tires are
lighter, which is good for acceleration and speed, but when it comes to stability, these tires are
worse than stock. Reston tires are good because they are light and has more grip than
stock. Unfortunately, Reston, like sponge tires, get dirty easily. Between the clear soft tires and
Reston tires, I dont know which are better for which.
Motor: The motor is the easiest way to increase your cars speed, but without any other
modifications, your car wont stay on the track*. The faster the motor, the more energy
consumption there is, tiring your batteries quicker, and burning out your brushes quicker, making
the faster motors require more maintenance. Here is a comparison of motors: Motor Comparison
Gear ratio: The smaller the gear ratio is, the slower your mini 4wd will accelerate and the higher its
top speed is, but remember that if your mini 4wd goes too fast, it will fall of the track. The larger the
gear ratio is, the higher its acceleration is and the slower its top speed is.
Wheel diameter: The larger the diameter is, the higher top speed and lower acceleration, and more
shock absorbency the car will have. The smaller the diameter is, the lower top speed and higher
acceleration the car will have, and a lower center of gravity. A small diameter wheel tends to be
best when doing jumps.
Wheel/Tire width: A wider width makes for better cornering stability. A smaller width aides
acceleration, cornering speed, and top speed, along with a longer running time over wide diameters.
This was a brief summary of Tamiya USAs Basic Knowledge page. To see the full version, click on the
link below. Tamiya USA Basic Knowledge For more knowledge, go to Mini 4wd Pokedream*stock
motor wont make your car fly off the track
About Races: Tamiya, maker of Mini 4wd hosts races in Japan every year. The very best at this
hobby compete in this tournament. More commonly, hobby shops host races or
tournaments. Often there are entry fees, prizes, and of course, rules. Hobby shops usually have
their own rules, where Tamiya tournaments use the official rules, which are stricter Official
Tamiya Rules. Always be open to suggestions when you are first beginning: you will learn quicker
that way.
Parts: There are hundreds of parts for Mini 4wd. One thing you may not know is that some parts are
meant for specific chassis. There are 11 different Mini 4wd chassis, so it would be wise to make
sure that the parts you are about to buy fit your car. Luckily, your cars chassis is listed right on the
front of its box. Some cars says its chassis type on the actual chassis. When your car is much faster
with higher speed motors, you should buy a front and rear roller stay or reinforcing plate to
reinforce your car. That way, your cars bumpers wont break as easily during a race, and will
increase stability. Buy carbon roller stays/ reinforcing plates if its in your budget because of the
opportunity of weight reduction. Buying aluminum rollers will slightly increase cornering speed and
will also be stronger. Also remember from the Tamiya basic knowledge page that the higher the
rollers are on your car, the more stability your car will have. There are aluminum spacer and high-
mount roller sets available (there are also more options) to do exactly that. There are many options
of upgrade wheels on Tamiya USA, but I wouldnt recommend buying new wheels for your car. The
upgrade wheels arent lighter or anything special, so they arent really worth spending money
on. Buying better tires though, is a must (refer to Basic Knowledge above). There are gold plated
terminals for many types of chassis, which supposedly increase efficiency to increase speed. For just
over $4, they are a good deal. Motors are big upgrades for your Mini 4wd machine, but dont
magically make your car win. Buying the fastest and most expensive motor increases the speed of
your vehicle, but makes your vehicle prone to flying through the air on its first corner before
smashing against the wall, ruining all of that cars parts. The batteries also suffer because the motor
uses more power. Having cheap IKEA batteries will ensure a short, slow running time. Buying
Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries last very long and pretty much doubles my cars
speed. Upgrading your gear ratio wont do anything other than change acceleration and top speed
(refer to Basic Knowledge). Depending on the track, you may not even need to change your gear
ratio.

Money Saving Tips:
-Dont buy from Tamiya USA, their parts are more expensive, buy from Hobby Link Japan (HLJs
shipping is a little more expensive, but the parts are much cheaper. Another reason to obey the tip
below).
-Buy multiple parts at a time. If you buy 10 parts separate, you would pay a total of $66.40 just for
shipping. If you buy all 10 parts at once, you would pay a total of $6.64 for shipping.

Best Lubricants: Greasing is a huge part of Mini 4wd. Without it, your car sounds like a dying lion,
your lap times are significantly worse, and your gears wear down quick. Grease reduces friction,
which is good. Less friction increases acceleration and top speed. Lithium grease and Synthetic
greases are good, but if you are going for better, you want a Synthetic Lithium Soap-based grease. I
found Yamalube, which is exactly that. Its a race grease made by Yamaha.

Real Tamiya Tournament Videos!:
2013/7/14 Japan Cup 2013 gunma Open Class
2012/07/15 OPEN CLASS JAPAN CUP 2012 TAMIYA 1/32 MINI 4WD CHAMPIONSHIP R3 MACH DASH
PRO
9/11

Other Mini 4wd Blogs: Mini 4wd Malaysia Club Mini 4wd Blog

Pro Tips: Ok, so you are pretty good at Mini 4wd now. You have access to a track and know how to
upgrade your machines effectively. You go on the internet to find advanced tips or techniques that
the pros use to have an edge over competition. Well, youve came to the right place because I have
been surfing the web for tips and have made a collection open for your use. Here it is:
-Clean tires using tape and erasers (dirt=friction)
-Put tape on tires to decrease friction (may not be legal depending on club)
-Drill/cut hole in each gear cover -Sand wheels and axles to decrease motor effort (good for top
speed and acceleration)
-Make tires thinner by using sandpaper, causing a lower center of gravity (spin wheel using drill
while rubbing it against sandpaper)
-Motor breaking-in (to get maximum performance out of motor):
MOTOR BREAKING-IN YOULL NEED:1.A CHASSIS W/ MOTOR CASE W/O ANY GEARS ATTACHED. OR
ALLIGATOR CLIPS. 2.A WEAK SET OF BATTERY. 3.A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY. 4.LUBE OIL. (E.G. INOX)
5.A CONTAINER WHICH FITS YOUR MOTOR IN IT. FIRST THING TO DO IS PEEL OFF A PORTION OF THE
MOTOR LABEL TIL 2 SMALL HOLES ARE REVEALED (IF YOUR ORGANIZER DOESNT ALLOW YOU TO
DO THIS DONT BUT MIND YOU,YOU WILL BE HAVING A HARD TIME DOING SOME PROCEDURE ON
THE LATTER PART). SPRAY SOME LUBE THROUGHIT.THEN,INSERT YOUR MOTOR IN A CHASSIS THEN
RUN IT WITH A VERY WEAK BATTERY, LET IT RUN FOR ABOUT 3-5 MINUTES BUT BE SURE THAT THE
MOTOR DOESNT GET TOO HOT. SECOND, LET IT COOL DOWN.AFTER THAT, RUN YOUR MOTOR
WITH A NEWLY CHARGED BATTERY OR ANY STRONG BATTERY FOR ANOTHER 3-5. BE SURE THAT THE
MOTOR DOESNT GET TOO HOT (MEANING IT WILL BURN YOUR SKIN) 3RD, IF YOUR MOTOR IS
WARM ENOUGH PLACE IT IN A CONTAINER HALF FILLED WITH YOUR LUBE. IF YOUR ARE USING
INOX, BUBBLES WILL GENERATE. AFTER THE MOTOR HAS COLLED OFF, REMOVE YOUR MOTOR IN
YOUR SOLUTION THE VIGOROUSLY TAP IT (THE 2 HOLES DOWN) ON YOUR RAG THEREFORE
REMOVING SOME BLACK SUBSTANCES FROM YOUR MOTOR FROM THE INSIDE. 4TH, RUN IT AGAIN
FOR A LESSER TIME THEN REPEAT 3RD PROCEDURE. AFTER THAT PLACE YOUR MOTOR AGAIN IN THE
CONTAINER WITH THE LUBE AND LET IT STAY THERE FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES TO 1 HOUR. FINALLY,
REMOVE IT FROM THE CONTAINER. PLACE IT ON A RAG AND LET IT DRIP OFF THE EXCESS LUBES. OR
YOU CAN DO THE BLACK SUBSTANCE EXTRACTION AGAIN. YOUR MOTOR IS NOW READY FOR YOUR
NEXT RACE
Source
-Other way to break in motor (must be new): run it for an hour straight. Grease the gears before
running it for the hour, then grease again afterwards
-Bend threaded stabilizer poles (with rollers mounted on it) inward and/or forward slightly to create
downforce
-Buy a scale that measures to fractions of a gram to find your lightest body clip, car body, pair of
batteries, etc.
-Glue tires on so they do not wiggle or move during hard cornering or acceleration
-Turn tires inside out, arching your tires
Finally just use your brain to think up upgrade combinations! Take advantage of those one way
wheels and aluminum down-thrust rollers and put those on a Maxbreaker, making for stable and
quick cornering, then put the aluminum rollers on the threaded shafts in the back and <<boom!>>
you have an ultra-stable car that goes quick around cornersnow if we add a Mach-Dash motorSee
what I mean? There are literally endless combinations. To help you pick out the best possible car
for your track, check out this website: Chassis Info
If you learn or know any more tips or secrets that arent posted here, I encourage you to post it in
the comments section so I can add it to the site. If you are another Mini 4wd blogger, I will link your
work on my site, and if you are just a random person, I will give you credit for your information, etc.
Motor Rewind Site: By rewinding your motor, you can easily make your motor spin faster than even
a Plasma Dash! I found this site on rewinding your motor and thought this would be very useful to
some (definitely me!), so its link is below. I wouldnt recommend rewinding your motor if you are a
beginner though, because the fastest motor likely isnt what you need.
Motor Rewind Site

Types of Tracks:
-Speed
-Semi-Speed
-Semi-Technical
-Technical
The speed track has the least turns and jumps. The technical track has more turns and jumps. Your
mini 4wd thats racing on a speed track will usually be tuned to be faster. Your mini 4wd thats racing
on a technical track will usually be tuned to stay on the track.

Quick Fixes
Not fast enough:
-clean/change tires to be cleaner
-buy a new motor and break it in
-larger diameter wheels
-use lighter body clips (super x chassis ones are lightest)
-use lighter rollers
Doesnt stay on the track:
-put on rollers that have rubber rings
-angle rollers downwards or inwards
-weigh down front end
-smaller diameter wheels
-use heavier body clips

FYI:
-some motors are built better or worse than others
-its very useful to have an electronic scale that weighs up to a thousandth of a gram
-bendy roller stays decrease stability (like super x chassis)

How to Open Motor
If you are looking directly at the end bell piece, there is a half-circle cut out of the end bell on each
curved side of the canister. Near the canister, there is one flap in the half-circle cut out of the end
bell. You pry those flaps outward, and then the end bell will disconnec