Customizing Mini 4WD Racers For High Speeds On A Small Scale | Ars Technica

Randy Holt, owner of Hobbytown in Toms River, NJ, takes us inside the world of Mini 4WD Racing - a venerable pastime experiencing a new boom in popularity. Randy breaks down the engineering challenges that Mini 4WD drivers need to overcome, and all the tiny gear and tech they use to make it happen. And to help you get started on your own Mini 4WD obsession, Randy unboxes and explains how to assemble a brand new Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Yaris WRC.
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Customizing Mini 4WD Racers For High Speeds On A Small Scale | Ars Technica

[@hobbytowntomsriver4198]

I do want to thank everyone who is enjoying the Video. I want to thank Eric Mewenkeng for helping me with the knowledge of the video. We did this to help bring the hobby to the US. No other agenda was in mind. We truly do love the hobby because it is a low cost way to get the young generations off the personal devices and into mechanical interests. Also thank you to ARS for the great job of publication. I hope they make something off this video for their time and effort. Happy new year to everyone and hopefully you will enjoy the hobby as much as we do. Yours Truly, Randy Holt. Hobbytown Toms River NJ

[@Omegaparsec]

Totally agree. I'm a mechanical engineer in Japan and I got back into this after realising that there's so many mechanical variables to tinker to get these things to stay on track (and of course for the sake of nostalgia).

[@BrickTamlandOfficial]

its an awesome hobby just wish there was a way to get a track for cheaper or to make a track instead

[@matthewchandler2647]

You did an awesome job on the video, and great point about getting the younger generations hooked on something mechanical rather than digital

[@dr.doppeldecker3832]

Very nice explanations from you!

[@CheapCheerful]

Thank you for the explanation! I've always wondered how they were used. Love these cars! Best wishes to you, from Australia.

[@friend_xtra]

having played Yakuza 0, it's so cool to see real life Pocket Racers. makes me wanna get into it outside of the game.

[@friend_xtra]

@xxaxnxtxhxoxnxyxx yeah, i know. the game takes place in 1988/89.

[@Llortor]

@xxaxnxtxhxoxnxyxx are you aware that video games as a form of media have the capacity of making others culturally aware of real things?

[@culturia3555]

I´m from Brazil, and now I´m trying to bring this here. It´s hard. Almost no content whatsoever.

[@ewORX]

Yakuza 0 is exactly what lead me here to search for this video.

[@blacklegion2531]

@@ewORX mini 4wd

[@vincentquisel4751]

the reason why most people don't usually understand adult's playing mini 4wd racing and dub people who play "childish" is also the reason why some people play and love racing. it's the passion of the hobby not just in mini 4wd racing but all the hobby we know as of today.

[@alexcortez3007]

1:00 What he said is true. I remember wanting to get into this as a kid but all I could have at that time were counterfeit Tamiya that my parents bought from the local mall. Now as an adult, I can afford all the models and parts I want and I’m totally back into it. Glad this hobby didn’t actually die down.

[@Omegaparsec]

As someone from Japan that are really into this, I hope that it picks up more in overseas… It'd be exciting to see bigger international comps.

[@Yulio-A-P]

You should see how big it is in southeast Asia

[@CrossfacePanda]

I can totally see how someone can get super into this. There's so many tiny variables to tinker with that you could spend your entire life doing it and still never get it absolutely perfect (never mind the endless variables of the tracks). And it's pretty cool how there's no actual driving skill involved; it's all about who builds the best, and who manages to wrangle the odds in their favour the most.

[@andymemphis2327]

I know im asking the wrong place but does anybody know of a method to get back into an Instagram account? I was stupid lost the password. I would appreciate any assistance you can offer me

[@CrossfacePanda]

@@andymemphis2327 I’m sorry, but I don’t use Instagram.

[@giannimarco2981]

@Andy Memphis Instablaster ;)

[@andymemphis2327]

@Gianni Marco i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm trying it out now. I see it takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@andymemphis2327]

@Gianni Marco It did the trick and I now got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D Thanks so much you really help me out :D

[@HelloWorld-up4of]

It is unbelivable to see a professional video like this in english about mini4wds

[@exudeku]

M4wD: exists South East Asia: *IMMA TAKE YOUR ENTIRE STOCK!*

[@ninja.saywhat]

same, from SEA as well. was in elementary when i played this. i had a max breaker, knuckle breaker, desert golem and can't remember the 4th one.

[@exudeku]

@@ninja.saywhat my Filipino Dad still races since 1990 lmao...and where my weebness came from

[@Werevertumoto]

I remember owning a couple of these in my childhood when I was a kid back in Mexico, I love them so much, and had a couple of friends that jumped in as well, sadly we couldn't afford to buy a track, there were no local hobby shops with tracks, and our improvised tracks were trash, we left the hobby sadly, but I used to love them!

[@Khanhnguyenphotography]

This is probably the best well made American video version of this hobby. I played these when I was 12 and now 18 years later the hobby is back!

[@ArchOfWinter]

I didn't know this was popular in the States. I remember how this jumped up in popularity in Asia in the late 90s after an anime about this hobby was released.

[@irfanprabowo8440]

I joined several tournaments 15 years ago. I won few times, and still remember how proud I was. Good old days!

[@sweats55]

I remember modding these in the late 90’s. I had a cobra chassis with a okami trike conversion with modded hyper dash casing with a re rapped plasma armature and bell. Rechargeable batteries is a must!!

[@bringsik100]

how much you spent for it?

[@ninja.saywhat]

I had Max Breaker, Knuckle Breaker, Desert Golem and can't remember the 4th one I've had. I've only had like 3 or 4 motors back then as it was an expensive hobby for an elementary kid back then. They were Hyper-Dash 2 and 3, Rev Tuned and Atomic something can't remember the exact name. Had good times with this hobby with my cousins and friends in the late 90s and early 2000s. Started to come back to it just last year.

[@AlexanderAgungWirabumi]

Hello, i like one of Japanese Toy🇯🇵, that is Mini 4WD Tamiya. I first had it in kindergarten in the early 2000s (i was born in 2000). In my country Indonesia🇮🇩, this is one of the most popular Japanese toys, there is also a Toy Shop that focuses on Mini 4WD Tamiya and not only that, in the 90s the animation film was shown and the enthusiasm of children in that era was extraordinary, including children in the 2000s. They are children of the 90s era and also the era of the 2000s who have grown up and now are teenagers still playing the Mini 4WD toy car to commemorate their unforgettable childhood.

[@dzzd5660]

Tamiya Never Die, salam hangat dari Sidoarjo-Surabaya MINI4WD Racer.... \(^^)

[@fpvillegas9084]

This hobby is a good training ground if one aspires to be a real-life race car engineer or tuner. Awesome video. Very informative and comprehensive. Thanks 👍

[@TheKenji2221]

Basically it's Hot Wheels but you make your own cars and you have to tweak them for each race. Neat. I like the idea.

[@DoctorDex]

I got really into this in Yakuza 0 cool to see it's still a thing these days.

[@ahmadalwazzan384]

been playing since I was 10 years old, now I am 28 years and looking to start the hoppy again with this new shop that opened in our area.

[@Rose_Butterfly98]

Used to see races all the time. They even have suspension now, my favourite to watch is the full open class. You see the craziest ones there, like the rwd ones, they don't have front wheels, they have this roller bearing under the front of the car. Homemade motors way more powerful than normal, when they hit the straights you can't even see them . But they tend to be crap if there are any jumps. I still remember seeing some of them do a 3 lap track in 9 seconds . The track wasn't small It's bigger than the one in the video just without jumps and only 3 lanes

[@Jesse__H]

I have never seen or heard of this in my life! Interesting stuff.

[@erandeye]

really ? in my country this thing is booming everywhere 10 years ago

[@ruweed]

@@erandeye i never heard of this until i played a game called yakuza 0. It has a mini game called pocket circuit where you can customize and make basically a mini 4wd and it's fun.

[@freddanger3028]

Nostalgic.... I used to race with that when i was young. Awesome childhood memories.

[@ovloh]

I started to build various Tamiya kits (mostly military US and German tanks) since 1979, and it was a very expensive hobby. Then, i took a 40-year break and got back into the hobby again but this time in mini 4WD racing. Believe me it is competitive and complex as every elements determine your car's performance.

[@tonypapagna3744]

This is one of the best tutorial videos about mini four-wheel-drive thank you for sharing

[@kendesign3622]

Awesome job! Very thorough and well said!

[@jonli9487]

An excellent video well done. It is very nice to see this hobby is continuing to grow in North America.

[@SirArtanis7]

This seems pretty interesting, never knew this hobby existed.

[@KamenRiderBlackSun]

SirArtanis7 this has existed for over 20 years

[@jerrytang9514]

It's part of my childhood. Some of the happiest memories.

[@pinkipromise]

you must be a 2000s kid

[@mohandasghandi3441]

Whaatttt is wrong with you???

[@YuunaAndCuddles]

It's not too late to begin the hobby. Some people just build mini cars for display; others build and race (like me). Just prepare your wallet, though. It can get expensive.

[@trollbrochina]

Thank you so much for continuing the mini4wd culture in the U.S..

[@dom1w0w]

playing this on the streets of the Philippines was the days

[@bringsik100]

bring back my childhood memories ❤️

[@tylerm124]

When I was in high school out technical class built tuned and raced these. It was a real blast.

[@DallyASMR]

Thanks to the Yakuza series, I learned about this little hobby and now I feel like getting into it. Thank you for the video, it adds more to a thing I found pretty fun!

[@r.algamar8821]

this was so big where i lived, bring back nostalgia of monthly race league

[@nitroxide17]

This is sick. Mini 4WD is big in Asia but I didn’t know they like it in North America too

[@vandarkholme4745]

This was all the rage when I was in elementary school in China. Some mids spend all their time tweaking their cars, and I had a few myself but I took them apart for making other gizmos. Ahh, memories.

[@vandarkholme4745]

*kids

[@ankurlee-vakil4063]

Man 1992-94 for me! I bought and traded a lot of used parts. You could build and modify things in minutes. Loved these things dearly.

[@wilbertyuen4116]

Love to see mini4wd to bloom in the states.

[@Booper1978]

I remember when it was on TV on Saturdays. I had a track and a few cars then. This is really fun.

[@MyRCChannel-CJScott]

I've wondered what these mini cars were all about, but never looked into it. You did a great job of explaining this type/format of racing. I learned enough that if I was interested in getting involved, I would know how to get started.

[@Jaxsta001]

Thankyou sooo much for all that knowledge! I'm just getting back into, but I'm not a racer and probably never will race. I like to collect. Cheers!

[@ivegyattocomment]

i recently just bought a set, to relive my childhood. really forgot how in depth tamiya can be. love it and glad we still see it to this day

[@itsrifahanif]

ooh man this brings a lot of memories

[@NeoIsrafil]

Theyre so cool, ive still got mine from the 90s... I wish there were somewhere here in Vegas to try em. They've never been on a track and id LOVE to see em on a proper track instead of my living room floor.

[@zxcytdfxy256]

Hey! I used to watch the anime and it was awesome!! I didn't even knew this was possible IRL.

[@a.b.8606]

Dash Yonkuro was Awsome! There are multiple animes but Dash Yonkuro was the first and best!

[@pctechusa0505]

Well produced video...very informative and detailed. It's peaked my interest :)

[@zaeda84]

Customizing the car is what's so fun about it. If anyone wants to hop in to this hobby, you'll be having fun for sure. Just make sure the place you're in has tracks to race with friends or other people. Also, weight with each parts plays a variable role.

[@jbtallguy]

I remember this from my childhood. Took me a while to find what the name was.

[@sagitta9891]

Watching this makes me want my 6 y/o mini 4wd back again... Good old times.

[@peoul1]

And the variables can get more unique variables from new and unique rules. Awesome.

[@Rheaonon]

Man this takes me back to 1998-2010ish. My town had a small hobby shop that ran mini 4wd races on fridays. We broke it up into more classes from box stock, "super stock" was modified car, stock from the kit motor, then on up to unlimited. I'd typically change the track every other week for the owner as he got a bit older and for unlimited we had some FAST cars. I, personally, had a 2wd car with a ball bearing roller in the front that would scream. Was really sad when the shop had to close down due to the economy and the owner's health. Still have all my cars because I couldn't bring myself to get rid of them. Sitting in my go boxes in my garage still.

[@NgebutBenjutMini4WD]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing!

[@JB-zd5ll]

Bring back memories 😄

[@betacrest10]

I tend to like Tamiya mini 4WD with Super X / Super XX / AR chassis . They have that look that says high speed spec setting so i tend to like set-ups for tracks with that requirement. For technical tracks i find VS or MA chassis mini 4WD cars good for the job. I should also say the $100+ fully set up car with upgrade parts mentioned in this vid is be pretty accurate. I bought 4 types of motor, bearings, side dampers, front and rear weight control, aluminum rollers, wheel sets with lock nuts, etc. There's a boom of this hobby in some parts of Asia in the 90s then suddenly died down but it always had a good presence in Japan. I'm hoping this hobby picks up again seeing it's mostly indoors where we can enjoy, have fun and stay safe.

[@Mike.hobbies]

I have just got back intoo tamiya mini 4wd,it has been over 15-20 years since I played with them so I have forgotten which motors were the good ones.. I remember saving up my pocket money for a new tamiya car etc and it seemed really costly back then, now a motor is $6-$15 and so many parts available.. Its cool to watch this video, i really enjoyed it

[@spaceriot23]

dash yonkuro and let's and go are the gateway to mini 4wd for me. i used to spend my childhood around this, fine tuned motors and make a crappy fast uncontrollable car with homemade underguard pcb and roller bearing wheels on full open class races. now i just like to build stock kit and collecting it 😄

[@fpvillegas9084]

Honestly i thought this hobby was already dead. Here in the Philippines this craze was hot in the early 2000s.

[@NevadaSmith2]

Do any older heads remember Record Breakers in the 90s? Same thing, just different brand. I used to race them at shopping malls and hobby shops.

[@xfredstudio1779]

Amazing 😳👍🏻

[@karlo134652]

This was the best hobby that ive spent money on.

[@CoolBeat]

very nice video and detail explanation to let newbies understanding all about mini 4wd will like to share this around :D

[@SonnyChenova]

Neo Tridagger ZMC! best childhood ever!

[@shaider1982]

This was very popular in the philippines when the anime, Let's Go, which dealt with mini 4wd, back in the 1990's. It still enjoys popularity with the local hobby shop, Lil's Hobby Shop, having their Brickyard shops were one can race and configure their mini 4wd cars.

[@browniesbear]

best hobby ever

[@mrwoodcat]

sometime ago I introduce my lil bro to this, binge watch the anime together, and buy him a small track yesterday.. he's so happy and I feel like a good brother lol need to get more of them batteries!

[@xuanwei8283]

omg!! is this still happening now in 2021!? i am now 32 but this brings so much nostalgia! well done!

[@Megalith555]

Greetings from Indonesia yoo!! Glad to see this hobby also flourishes in the US. Indonesian players are also still in high numbers, mainly like you said this hobby is relatively cheap!

[@ninja.saywhat]

I was in the 6th grade in the late 90s to early 2000s when this became a hit (the 2nd boom) where I was originally from (SEA). Now I'm an adult in my early 30s and starting to come back to it. Been shopping online for parts also hoping to find fellow enthusiast nearby my area here in NorCal.

[@nisman101]

Finally an english channel with explanation.

[@TonitoGadget]

Hello there, I am from Indonesia and playing this mini 4wd back when I in primary school, in early 2000. Back then, the original mini 4wd, with Tamiya branding is not accessible for me because too expensive, so I buy other mini 4d brands, like Audley, but when I start working in 2016, I play again with this mini 4wd, because I already have money to buy Tamiya and other accessories. It's doesn't matter how old are you, I hope you enjoy what your mini 4wd. sstt, my new Tamiya is in my first video at 6 :16

[@muhammadnazmeenahia9771]

where ? indonesia again

[@piko_kyunnchannel5372]

Same as in my country, Malaysia have quite a lot of shop as well Btw hi from malaysia

[@its_Tricky83]

OMG, thank you for this awesome video. I used to buy these as a kid and never knew for sure what they were entirely.... Now, back to my parents house to dig them all out of the attic.

[@ccruz119]

Theses remind me about cars I hard back in the day called Record breakers!!! Even was on tv with Jesse Ventura.

[@joniseseseptian]

WAW amazing , i like

[@StaK_1980]

I've never heard of this. Interesting.

[@matthewchandler2647]

This should be the official Tamiya Mini 4WD promotional video

[@SDS-1]

I had these as a kid. " Record Breakers "

[@Aphiyo]

Lets and go. ..!!

[@dbrzy8989]

Goddd the memories

[@rawspeed.]

its very cool bro 👍🏻

[@dailydoseofgundamofficial1296]

when i was still on 4WD, there was those Loops xD needs alot of power.

[@TLNN]

Almost 20 years ago I won the national championship in China with the help of my dad, he helped me handmade all my cars. Now that I have grown up, I have became an engineer, I couldn't find anywhere for me to get back into this. I'm glad that people are once again diving into this hobby... Although I have not lost a single 4WD race in my entire life, it was not achieved by me alone, I want to change that.

[@Blaklyon0]

Been a fan of this hobby since 1995. The next innovation I want to see, is a modification to the track or the car, that will allow your car, to drift into corners. But, I'm a dreamer...

[@bangmasse3644]

T-Hiroki hobby channel

[@challengepoker]

The more maH , the more electric energy it carries (the car can run longer), not more voltage. The less internal resistance in that battery will give the motor more amperes but for each DC motors, there is a precise current value that will maximize its efficiency.

[@PercyNPC]

When I was kid we have a Mini4WD group and create a track in an abandoned building in school with water hose, table, books, piece of wood and everything we can find in school. Good memory. Everyone in school can race in this track or modofy a track no matter you have a Tamiya or $1 Chinese copy. It's good that we have a local store who sell mini4wd cars and parts in distric area. He have an official track for us to test the car. But after few years that no new Mini4wd's anime nobody play these cars anymore. We just switch to new anime's toy like Bayblade and Crush Gear. Then online gaming era is coming. No one play a toy anymore. I still love every anime's toy.

[@aisyworldtime1121]

nice video n tips

[@tokugeeky2931]

So fun

[@shiroranmori5009]

This hobby exists long time ago and usually it's popular across Asia region. Many Westerners knows about Hot Wheels but in Asia it's Mini 4WD. I still remember when I was a kid race in the drain as a default track and my first car was Victory Magnum. Edit: For the first time you watch this and assume its from Yakuza Series, You're mistaken. Go watch Dash Yonkuro and Let's & Go Series then come back here.

[@CyclingNeko]

he is right. When I was young, to purchase a Mini 4WD car I have to save my allowance for 3 months. Since my parent mind set is, for my education they will give me everything. But anything else are not important. If you want it, earn it by your self. So when I have pay check now, and I remember about Mini 4WD, I purchase the car that I currently want it, and other parts. But I always sad, since I never had the chance to get at least one of Dash car (from Dash Yonkuro anime) with special chassis color that officially released for my country. No one have it anymore, and no one is actually remember about this special Dash Car chassis.

[@kaze-xo]

I thought this hobby doesn't exist outside of Asia (Japan, China, Malaysia, etc.) But then somehow I found the most professionally made video about Mini 4WD Racers (didn't even know what they were called in English) from a western country. Wow.

[@Gremory_666]

I used to play this 22 yrs ago.Mine was Hurricane sonic. I can tell it' a fake one, but somehow still managed to win in every race.It was good times.

[@kurisu7885]

I was checking out vids of this on here and saw that even amphibious ones exist.

[@brandonneilsta.teresa3494]

Lightning McQueen: I. Am. Speed. Mini 4WD: Not really.

[@VestedUTuber]

I kinda wish you would do something like this for RC racing. One of the big things the RC hobby is lacking is any form of promotion and outreach.

[@dickhead5526]

Man...I was mastering rewinding the mini4wd motor's coil and was selling it for 20$ each with the custom graphite brush but exclude it magnet because my custom coil is 100% overheat proof, it use high quality wires also coated with high-temp 1000°F epoxy paint... And that was selling well... Too bad it not good to use for track gambling race because it too fast.. So my custom motor only can use as drag race gambling.... What a good time...

[@anotherstar8125]

"it's inexpensive"... to start. lol... you'll never know how far this rabbithole goes unless you try. but before you know it, you'll be hooked and never wanting to add up the total you've spent. but you will enjoy it 110%.

[@martinaurik2189]

Reminds me on my Ninco,Fly and Scalectrix cars

[@foxdream6732]

Im might be a kid but i think the tip for everyone is the bodykits make the rollers the bigger ones and the stays with a little bit more wheight for better downforce to make sure to not go off track

[@deergoat3468]

My brother is crazy about these things, i watch this so i could talk to him about it lmao

[@user-ie7tx3vv8i]

It was my childhood

[@terrellcarey6178]

I remember having a car like these back in the late 80s or early, early 90s when I was 9 or 10. I think my mom got it at Only $1.00 (now know as Dollar Tree) I remember putting it together but not getting it work right because I couldn't get the power switch to stay switched on. I always wondered what happened to them because I wanted to try it again but I couldn't remember the name and the store never carried them again. I'd love to try this again now that I know the name but i've got a bunch of time and money tied up in FPV drones. Too many toys. lol.

[@acegaming8600]

As an 11 year old this seems fricken awesome

[@danielpaek6490]

Flashback to 90s kamurocho