This is my first post here, and I’d like to start off with a review of the 1:28th scale 370Z from Radioshack.
Quality/Attention to Detail:
First off, I’m quite impressed with the recent pickup in quality that Radioshack’s been doing. The 370 is molded just right, and the details are there along with correct proportions. I particularly like the detail molded into the 370Z Touring wheel replicas.
Performance:
Straight out of the box, it’s a pretty zippy car. It’s got a nice off-the line and decent top-end, though it could be a little faster. the steeri needs a little bit of trim adjustment from the box, but after that, it’s smooth and neutral. At speed and in corners, the 370 is pretty well planted and will only step its rear out to kill your run if you get on the throttle too fast in the corner. Braking is pretty decent and progressive, though not very powerful. The rubber mirrors are a nice touch too, as in your speed runs, hitting the barriers is inevitable, and the mirrors take the most beating. With rubber, it flexes instead of snapping like older generation mirrors did.
Durability:
It’s a durable thing. it’s been dropped on the ground, attacked by my dog, and slammed into walls, but it’s still running strong. Along with its tough carrying case, it can go wherever you want it.
Problems:
There’s quite a lot of wheel wobble, and the lug nuts crack real easily when over-torqued. The ride height is a little bit on the high side too.
The fix:
Ball bearings: These run around 20 dollars for standard ABEC-5 bearings all the way up to 50 dollars for ceramic-steel hybrid bearings. The eliminate much of the wheel wobble for more consistent handling.
Suspension: I’d recommend buying the suspension and steering upgrade from Radioshack if you can find it. It has 3 sets of springs: soft, medium, and hard. Playing around with them, you can find a balance that favors your driving style. There are also three different tierods: 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 degrees of toe in. These let you tune the steering characteristics to your taste. This costs about 16 dollars.
Motor: the standard motor has plenty of zip, but not quite enough to satisfy. The stage 2 motor upgrade from Radioshack doesn’t exactly satisfy either, but the gear ratios will be useful. Personally, I recommend an Atomic Stock BB or something that tops out around 30,000 to 35,000 rpm. This will probably run you about 16 for the Stage 2 and another 20 for the aftermarket motor.
Lugnuts: the stock ones suck, so while you’re at Radioshack, grab a bag of 2/56 steel hex nuts for around 2 bucks.
All Wheel Drive: This is one very effective upgrade. runs about 16 dollars, and gives you a 4WD 370z. That means easier to control, more grip, keeps its composure, and better handling all around. If you wrap scotch tape strips around your tires so they’re slippery, you can also pull sweeping drifts with a bit of practice. Some companies will make drift tires which require you to shave off the ridge on the stock xmod rim to fit the tires on, but they drift very consistently, and can be used onconcrete unlike scotch tape. The drift tire sets will cost anywhere from 4 dollars to 10 dollars depending on where you get them from. Foam tires are also very grippy on concrete, but tend to get ripped up really easily. They run about 5 dollars a set and need to be mounted and balanced correctly.
Pictures:
I was having a bit of fun with my sister’s Digital SLR.
The Modding Blog 
