Radio-Controlled Microcar Review

An anonymous reader writes "ExtremeTech test drives the latest in techy toys: a new wave of tiny radio-controlled cars from Asia. The site's RC car showdown pits the MicroSizer against the ZipZap. ExtremeTech tested the stock version of each car, but also added a faster engine to the ZipZap to see if it would boost speed."

Comments

Finally...

[Gruneun]

At least they decided to use 4 different frequencies. With 2 brothers, I can't tell you how many times we fought about who got to use their car at that time. It made for frustrating races when an annoyed benchwarmer would turn on his controller and flick the controls.

R/C rice cars

[red_dragon]

But I wonder, when will I be able to add whale-tail spoilers, glasspack mufflers, 4-inch tailpipes, single-windshield-wiper mods, blue turn signal lenses, and Type R/VTEC logo stickers to one of those ZipZaps?

Re:R/C rice cars

[FaasNat]

How about adding 1,000 watt amps and 15" subwoofers to wake the neighborhood up at 2am?

Re:R/C rice cars

[gfxguy]

Why waste your money on the upgrade pack ($8.00) when you can just add a "TypeR" sticker to make it go faster?

Just a passing fad

[Yusaku Godai]

I haven't seen either of the cars in the review, but when I lived in Japan lots of people had one called "Char-G" and it they were rediculous little things. Hobby stores had whole floors full of customizations for these things: faster motors, custom frame parts, etc... When it came right down to it though they're just not that fun to play with. They don't have the all terrain capabilities of regular-sized RC cars. When I played with my friend's Char-G it was only fun for about 15 minutes....and all I did was make it zoom around in a figure 8 for a bit and run it down a few flights of stairs "to test its durability" then it had to be recharged and after that I didn't really feel like playing with it anymore.

Re:Just a passing fad

[Dalroth]

You clearly don't live in an apartment with 100% wooden floors and a puppy terrier.

good pricing?

[phorm]

Pocket-sized radio controlled cars, available for $20 or less with controller -- and infinitely customizable -- are now taking the New World by storm

These things are only $20? For a radio controller and car, that's a pretty good price. Hot wheels sets can cost $10-$20, you get more cars but they don't actually do anything.

The next trick will for somebody on slashdot to post a page where they've made a *car mod* for their laptop/etc to interface with the RC

hmm....

[radiashun]

are the shriner's included, or sold separately?

These are fun but.....

[I_am_Rambi]

I have expirenced a few quirks about them.

1. There is a limited distance with the remote (15 feet or so). Many times while I was playing with the car, I had to point the remote antenna directly at the car for it to move. I am assuming that the remote does not have alot of distance, since I expirenced this problem.
2. The turning on these cars is hard. With the small controls on the remote, it is hard to keep the car turning nicely.
3. Also, the motors in these cars do not have munch go. Me and a few friends tried to make the car go up a small ramp (very slow incline), and the car would not go. Upon trying it farther out, the car would still stop on this ramp.

These cars are fun, but do not try to do many stunts with them, or else they will not work that well. They do work wonders on a flat surface.

thinkgeek has a nice pair

[paranoos]

check out http://thinkgeek.com/stuff/fun-stuff/5ad6.shtml

they have an Audi TT and Subaru Impreza WRX... much faster than the ones reviewed here - 10mph!

certainly, a larger r/c car is much more fun to play with, but it's been a long while for me.

I will hold off purchasing these

[Hayzeus]

... until they come out with the miniature Talladega track, complete with realistic infield and scale model naked, drunken rednecks with shotguns that really fire.

That would be worth paying for.

Re:Boring!

[Gruneun]

to a freaking ANT the thing is going like 100 mph

You'll have to excuse me, since I'm just in one of those moods. From a technical standpoint, a mile is a mile, regardless if you're a human or an ant. However, if you meant the lesser known unit of measure, the ant-mile-per-hour, you would be correct that it would appear to be going 100 amph.

Digi-Q cars

[MooRogue]

Well, i have a pair of Bit Char-G (which are the same as the MicroSizer cars), and a pair of IR controlled Digi-Q cars. The Digi-Q cars are much faster, much more maneuverable, and run for a much longer time.

Plus, they come with "pistol-style" remote controls, and have four "IR Channels". They run for much longer too, 5 minute charge gives you about 15 minutes of play. Their IR control gives them a much longer range compared to the Bit Char-G.

I had mine imported from Japan, but i think Thinkgeek stocks them once in a while. Only thing is that the Digi-Q is about $40 or so, twice that of a Bit Char-G

helicopters

[British]

I can't wait until an enterprising Japenese company makes similar-scale r/c helicopters. I'd buy one in a heartbeat(+ a bunch of spare rotors)

Re:Engine?

[Rogerborg]

Sure, I once used to have very and involved debates about why "warp engine" was a misnomer and it should be "warp drive" or "warp motor". But then I got laid.

Fair amount of fun for small price...

[onlyabill]

I have had one of these for about 2 weeks now and continue to have a lot of fun. The nice thing about it is it only annoys the dog, does not scare her. After chasing her with it for some time, she just lies down and ignores it. :)

I have been getting around 5 to 8 minutes run per charge and the car works great on tile or wood floors, fair on a short berber and crappy on anything deeper. I also picked up the 'performance' kit and the higher end motor and gearing does increase speed with some decrease to run time.

I also found a nice site that has been covering these cars and also has a nice little forum for discussing issues. There is even a post from some RS folks discussing how they have tweaked the cars.