Mini-Z AWD MA-020 Grip Driving with Front One-Way Diff, Track Barriers Test

A viewer of the previous video of Mini-Z MA-020 on rubber tires mentioned the use of front one-way diff for grip driving. I did some quick research and apparently that used to be popular in touring car racing. So I put the front one-way diff back into the MA-020, and let's see how it behaves on this wood surface at home.

A quick reminder that a front one-way diff allows the wheels to free roll forward, but acts like a locked diff backwards. As a result, when off power or braking, the chassis runs like a RWD. On power, all four wheels push the car forward. In theory, this should give the front tires more lateral traction during corners since there's no forward/backward torque, but at the cost of stable AWD braking. I think this makes sense in situations where there's a lot of tire traction, but does this translate to this surface here?

Indeed, in contrast to the standard front gear diff setup, this car now definitely has to grip more in the front. However, because the rear barely has enough traction on this surface, the car is oversteering and spinning out. Brake as expected also becomes much more dodgy here.

While we are testing Mini-Z at home, let's also test out these silicone track barriers. Special thanks to my friend Raaid for sending a bunch of them to me. Thank you! These silicone pieces are soft. They are meant to bend and stick to the floor. They can be attached to together easily. I made a quick and dirty layout on the floor, after vacuuming it of course. Obviously, it's a tiny track. This MA-020 isn't going to get anywhere close to its max speed. It does provide an opportunity to practice slower precision driving. It's useful for testing different dual rate settings. MA-020 with one-way diff isn't too bad here. It's running Kyosho 20 deg radial front, and wide 20 deg radial rear.

Let's see what another car can do here. This is the good old GLR-GT running Kyosho 20 deg radial front and PN KSM 14mm radial rear.

(Hi Loki!)

At 13/53T, the GT is also geared for a large RCP track. It will feel a bit mellow here.

(In case you are wondering, Loki is a Munchkin cat. Fortunately, he's very gentle with RC cars.)

With RWD GLR-GT, traction isn't fantastic either. Plus, with the 2mm ride height setup on this chassis, it can get stuck on the barrier. Overall it's not doing too bad here. Next time I'm going to try a faster oval layout.

This is Sammy and thanks for watching!

Music: "Instructions for Living a Life", Savfk (   • Instructions for Living a Life by Savfk [C...  )