Optima mid vs Lazer?

[Twister]

Hello all

I am currently brainstorming for a new vintageracer and choosing between mids and lazers, and some adviice would be much appriciated. The track we are running is a tight indoor carpettrack so swb mid was the first car on my mind perhaps with oneway up front. But lazers are the newer car and a amazingly smooth
And silent drivetrain. What car is to be preffered on tight carpet tracks and what are their pro's and con's?

[Hcp22]

The Lazer will be the fastest all days in the week

[Twister]

Hi Lars yes after reading up on the subject it seems like lazers are faster and more tunable. The reason for the mid is the short wheelbase and the design is absolutley brilliant However laser it is, off to ebay for bargainhunts

[MattiasL]

I have one of each. The Lazer is very easy to drive and as fast as anything modern on a five minute run, due to it being so easy to drive. You can just put it right where you want it lap after lap.

The Mid is very difficult to drive, and does not really handle brute brushless power too well. The Mid is a bit more durable than the Lazer though. You will be able to replace knuckles and c-hubs on the Lazer in your sleep after a while. The bracket that holds the rear shock tower is quite weak as well.

Lazer all the way

[alcyon]

Depends on the surface you are running on.
lazer zx
easier to get to the diffs. If loose sand gets in the body the belt drive will still work.
Parts can be very expensive..especially alloy arm mounts, arms, and the front gearbox.
optima mid
tougher than lazer. Spares not as expensive. If you run on loose sand the belt covers must be sealed 100%.
Actually surprisingly easy to drive with harder springs.

Cons of both cars is spur gears arent of standard pitch and difficult to get especially for the lazer.
if you are running on loose sand or low traction you will need ball diffs for both cars.

[Twister]

Thank you for your input it is good to know about ease of drive and maintenance. This is my longterm project so i will take some time to pick parts for a ultimate racer Alycon i have read your threads here and on oople, brilliant work! How is those diffsprockets coming along? Thanks again for good advice

[cashrc]

I campaigned a Lazer ZX when I was stationed at Ramstein AB, Germany. We had a track on base, and a local rc car club. We had weekend races, and I dominated 4wd with that Lazer. She want the fastest buggy, but the way the Lazer handled made me look good.
I can attest to the spur gear being a weird pitch..Isome of the guys referred to it as a "metric 48 pitch". My Lazer was basically stock, I ran a15 turn double and the car was very reliable. Had a habit of picking up rocks in the spur and chewing it up, once I deleted the spur gear cover, that went away. It would jettison gravel before it had a chance to destroy the spur.
Good Car, I miss mine.
Cash

[alcyon]

Thank you for your input it is good to know about ease of drive and maintenance. This is my longterm project so i will take some time to pick parts for a ultimate racer Alycon i have read your threads here and on oople, brilliant work! How is those diffsprockets coming along? Thanks again for good advice

Thanks for the compliments. I have not tested the sprockets yet..as i am going to race my lwb mid on the 8th of feb...it has ball diffs now because traction is terrible on that track.
all my energies are now concentrated to get my mid to win.

[rccars4sal]

Optima mid in swb form can be fairly twitchy on low traction surfaces. On carpet though, should be able to tune out any you like. Lazer was always a bit more stable I think in part from longer wheel base and better weight distribution.

My preference would be a swb mid on a carpet track. That thing could be a real hero with good traction and a fast servo.

[Twister]

Optima mid in swb form can be fairly twitchy on low traction surfaces. On carpet though, should be able to tune out any you like. Lazer was always a bit more stable I think in part from longer wheel base and better weight distribution.

My preference would be a swb mid on a carpet track. That thing could be a real hero with good traction and a fast servo.

That is my conclusion also, i have always had a good eye for the optima mid turbo as i had one in the late 80's ( yup i'm a old fart ) and it was awesome. But those days it was dirttracks and no lazers around- just cats and yz-10.
My set-up was always oneway upfront with skinny tires and lowturn losimotors and it is still the car i had most success with. When lazers came out i changed to Yokomocars and that was a bummer.. So Lazers i never did drive regrettably.
However mid swb is still an option, maybe i'll pick up one of each.

A follow up question is what options is necessary om tight tracks?
Low caster knuckles? Geardiff? I am sourcing parts all over for upcoming races. Thank you all and best regards.

[rccars4sal]

I would get both castor blocks,, the type with some angle and the type with no angle,,,Going to also recommend ball diffs, and the hard trans gears from thorp or mip. Other than that, wheels, tires, springs, swaybars, turn buckle links, fresh new rod ends(ball cups).

[alcyon]

I would get both castor blocks,, the type with some angle and the type with no angle,,,Going to also recommend ball diffs, and the hard trans gears from thorp or mip. Other than that, wheels, tires, springs, swaybars, turn buckle links, fresh new rod ends(ball cups).

The antiroll bars are highly sought after and the price can run in the hundreds. Its better to retrofit a modern car
arb to the mid. As most tracks in the US is indoors and has lots of traction, you dont need ball diffs.
harder springs will do.

[EvolutionRevolution]

I would get both castor blocks,, the type with some angle and the type with no angle,,,Going to also recommend ball diffs, and the hard trans gears from thorp or mip. Other than that, wheels, tires, springs, swaybars, turn buckle links, fresh new rod ends(ball cups).

The antiroll bars are highly sought after and the price can run in the hundreds. Its better to retrofit a modern car
arb to the mid. As most tracks in the US is indoors and has lots of traction, you dont need ball diffs.
harder springs will do.

Kyosho Spider EP (essentially a narrow Optima Mid SWB; part no. SPW-3) antirollbars ought to fit the chassis. You might have to improvise a little to attach them to the arms though...

[Coelacanth]

I would get both castor blocks,, the type with some angle and the type with no angle,,,Going to also recommend ball diffs, and the hard trans gears from thorp or mip. Other than that, wheels, tires, springs, swaybars, turn buckle links, fresh new rod ends(ball cups).

The antiroll bars are highly sought after and the price can run in the hundreds. Its better to retrofit a modern car
arb to the mid. As most tracks in the US is indoors and has lots of traction, you dont need ball diffs.
harder springs will do.

Kyosho Spider EP (essentially a narrow Optima Mid SWB; part no. SPW-3) antirollbars ought to fit the chassis. You might have to improvise a little to attach them to the arms though...

If you already have the clips to mount the stabilizer wire to a bulkhead or shock tower, improvising the rest is quite easy. Just install a 4.8mm ball stud on each arm and use either a short turnbuckle with 4.8mm ball-ends on each end (this allows for adjustability), or plastic links if they're the correct length (less adjustability).

[Welshy40]

Lazer by far a better car, mind ypu my buddy Rama aka Alcyon may say otherwise. You can still buy chassis and all varients including my design the tub. Also all towers, steering plates, L braces all from fibrelyte and belts are being made again and sold on ebay, so not too hard to race it. Im still racing mine and can beat the new cars easily and have proved this numerous times but did create a cf rear gearbox so i could tension the belts to handle a 4.5 brushless. It wheelies sometimes and is so much fun to drive unlike the new cars sold now.