my newest a rc Kyosho optima mid

[discgolfer72]

bought a pinball from a guy for my store and when I picked it up he asked if I would be interested in a box of old rc stuff also

the top of the box had a old mauri big bear and old futaba attack stick controller so I jumped on the deal (100$), the big bear is the counterpart to my very first rc car I got as a kid , mauri cj jeep

got it home and under the big bear was a very nice Kyosho optima mid (at least I think that's what this is )

had a servo but no other electronics
and looks like its never been ran

the body had a pretty bad mizzu paint job and the nose of the buggy body was broken off


last week I ordered a electronics set from amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VE3QC7C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079NT4RT2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0791W1TKP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


and after it was installed the buggy is a running beast (whoever set it up did a great job it handles perfect)



today I ran to my lhs for a body , no luck on a buggy body , and the only thing they had to fit it was an old mcallister lernerville late model body (it was buried under all the others and quite dusty lol but at 20$ I can complain )

designed front and rear pody mounts in tinkercad , printed the fronts , waiting on the rears to finish now (should have used one of my other printers my miniw is sooo slow and resolution sucks)

next to decide on a paint scheme

[XLR8]

That's an Optima Mid SE (Special Edition) and it appears to be in very good shape. And you got it for 100 bucks? Man, some guys have all the luck.
A word of caution though; if you run it in the dirt, make sure the belt covers are intact and very well sealed to the chassis or dirt will find its way inside and totally destroy the transmission gears.

[XLR8]

Oh, I just noticed that (I think) the bumper has been installed incorrectly. It should be above the chassis plate (between the plate and the trans case).
Wow that car is clean!!

[XLR8]

Here's the boxart for your car.
Ten months ago, I would have given my right arm for a car in that condition.

[discgolfer72]

That's an Optima Mid SE (Special Edition) and it appears to be in very good shape. And you got it for 100 bucks? Man, some guys have all the luck.
A word of caution though; if you run it in the dirt, make sure the belt covers are intact and very well sealed to the chassis or dirt will find its way inside and totally destroy the transmission gears.

any source for the belt covers or am I stuck hunting ebay
the ones on this car are intact but do have a few cracks around a few of the screws

also lol as far as im concerned I paid $100 for big bear and this Optima was a freebee lol

the big bear was fully working , all I had to do was add battery's and go. and last few ive been watching on feepay have been going right around the 100$ mark


the big bear

[discgolfer72]

Oh, I just noticed that (I think) the bumper has been installed incorrectly. It should be above the chassis plate (between the plate and the trans case).
Wow that car is clean!!

good eye it was indeed wrong (fixed now lol)
thanks for the box art

one other thing I just noticed is
it has cvd's and alloy hubs in the front (is this oob or was it an upgrade ) and rear has plastic carriers and dogbones


re did the front body mount (first was a tad pointy at the top )
and did a quick and dirty paint job with the last bit of paints I had on hand
and dug into my box of sticker leftovers to spiff it up a bit (flames are from a proline suburban)

and shes ready to go

[GoMachV]

It’s hard watching a mint, never run buggy get used- but that’s what they are for. Enjoy it! I know it would just be sitting on a shelf if it were mine

[XLR8]

Alloy front hub carriers and universal drives up front are original. The rear carriers were plastic and used dog bones. Your car appears to be stock.
As for the belt covers, I guess I would just inspect them closely and if you find any voids, maybe try to cover them with clear packing tape or something similar. I can't stress enough how important it is to prevent dirt from entering the transmissions. I think that's the Achilles' heel for these cars.

[discgolfer72]

It’s hard watching a mint, never run buggy get used- but that’s what they are for. Enjoy it! I know it would just be sitting on a shelf if it were mine

agree lol

its tough
I already have sooooo many cars this one will probably get a run or 2 for vids then put on the shelf (im a bit Leary on running brushless on this trans )

but after the test run it was so butter smooth its hard not to run the crap out of it lol


I would pass it on to someone else to enjoy on a shelf , and buy me a few more rc10 parts lots . but I don't do shipping , and the local market around here is pretty soft

[Coelacanth]

Nice score with those 2 cars! Especially the Turbo Optima Mid SE, but that's because I'm a Kyosho fan. TeamBlueGroove on eBay sells the Optima Mid gear cover and a few different bodies for the Mid...but they're re-pops of existing bodies so they fit a tad tight. I'm using a TBG body and gear cover on my resto-mod OptiMutt car.

Thanks for the link to that old-school-shape LiPo battery, those are getting hard to find these days. Nearly all 2S LiPos are square-edged now. I'll have to buy a couple more for my Optimas.

[discgolfer72]

Nice score with those 2 cars! Especially the Turbo Optima Mid SE, but that's because I'm a Kyosho fan. TeamBlueGroove on eBay sells the Optima Mid gear cover and a few different bodies for the Mid...but they're re-pops of existing bodies so they fit a tad tight. I'm using a TBG body and gear cover on my resto-mod OptiMutt car.

Thanks for the link to that old-school-shape LiPo battery, those are getting hard to find these days. Nearly all 2S LiPos are square-edged now. I'll have to buy a couple more for my Optimas.

no problem lol they are a tad longer and were a tight fit in the optima height wise

thanks for the heads up on the body

[Wahrsuul]

I do love the Optima Mids - I have 3, and quite a few replacement parts. I've got my TOMS shelf queen, and my swb mid on the shelf. Still haven't cleaned/polished my lwb mid. Shame I never got to test the Lazer ZXs before I left...

Some of the guys I ran with would run the Mid without the covers, and just pull apart the diffs after ever days running. The covers definitely add some drag, but I think the Lazer's were worse.

[XLR8]

The covers definitely add some drag, but I think the Lazer's were worse.

I think the lexan belt covers are a hassle to install properly and they complicate routine maintenance but I don't see how they would increase drag. They don't actually touch the belts and weigh almost nothing. For the three Mids that I've built, I don't recall noticing any increase in drive-train rolling resistance after the covers were installed.
I should've prefaced these comments by say that I've built my first Mid only 8 months ago so I'm certainly not an expert.

[Wahrsuul]

Seems to be the major problem - they have to be on correctly and not touch the belts. Even then, under power, the belts are apt to "spin up" and contact the top cover a little at least. I never tested it without the covers as mine ran fine with them.

The Lazer ZX OTOH, seemed to drag more. I never got a chance to race mine, but in my bashing with it, it seems to run better without.

[Coelacanth]

Many more recent belt-drive cars use belt tensioners, it would seem to me those would be more likely of causing friction than just some belt covers. Just sayin'.