Description
The Inferno MP9 TKI4 is made entirely in Japan.
Stronger than ever,
The world’s performance benchmark has now been set.
With eyes on the ultimate prize of its 9th IFMAR World Championship title to be contested in the USA in October 2016, Inferno developer Yuichi Kanai has evolved the Inferno MP9 through 4 years of trial and error to produce the TKI4 model. Built for faster speed than the former TKI3, the new TKI4 features revised front/rear suspension for improved cornering stability and sharp control characteristics. A newly designed body and rear wing produces superior aerodynamics for high-performance cornering and traction. Improved driving performance goes hand-in-hand with enhanced maintenance and improved durability that can be relied upon during the critical stages of the race. Chassis structure and parts come together with precision and efficiency so the TKI4 can be recommended for serious buggy racers as well as those wanting to take the challenge of driving the ultimate 1/8 GP buggy.
New Features and Improvements:
- New MP9
TKI4 Body Shell –Not only does it look slicker than ever it also improves
aerodynamics for the car and new Wing combination. It features a longer cab,
with a longer, flatter roof to produce more laminar airflow across the roof and
on to the rear wing. The cab is narrower, with a more vertical windshield and
positioned further forward. Downforce features on the side pods of the TKI4
body have also been moved forward. These changes produce more front downforce,
and improved handling.
- New
Steering Knuckles - This is the set and includes the right and left sides
as well as the bearing inserts. The Inferno MP9 TKI4 steering knuckles are
re-designed to improve the Ackerman angle using shorter steering arms. The
improvement is felt through increased corner speed. The Ackerman angle remains
more consistent and correct through the range of steering for more control and consistency.
This also reduces slip angle especially near the end of the range increasing
grip. The TKI4 now has the best steering geometry ever on an Inferno!
- New Front
Arms - The Inferno MP9 TKI4 front arms have been improved in a few ways.
First they have been strengthened for more durability and less flex. Geometry
has also changed to improve handling by adding more length (2mm) to bring the
width of the front very close to the maximum allowed in the 1/8 class buggy
racing organizations. This improves cornering and stability. Also the MP9 used
to need different drive shaft lengths front and rear so you needed different
length spares with you. Now you will only need to bring 93mm shafts, KYOIFW425,
to races with you.
- Front
Hinge Pin Mount – the rearward front hinge pin mount was changed to improve
suspension geometry. The new higher rear pin height lessens the arm angle and
improves the buggies ability to fight front end diving under braking hard into
corner entry. This adds more consistency to traction as the buggy enters the
corner under braking and transitions to on-power corner exit. Improved drivability
and consistency under racing conditions is therefore added.
- New Steering
Ackerman Plate – Adding to the redesigned steering package of the MP9 TKI4
the Ackerman plate needed some geometry changes. The changes help to improve
cornering speed by reducing skid angle and improving consistency of the Ackerman
through the suspension travel range as well as steering range. Cornering is
more predictable and more grip is available over the TKI3.
- New
Steering Tie Rods – to improve the steering geometry and maximize the width
of the MP9 the longer arms required to tie rods to be longer than the old
versions. So the tie rods were strengthened. Also just to be sure Yuichi Kanai
(the Inferno’s design engineer) created bigger and stronger ball ends to deal with the
increased stress. The new ball ends also have much more force to hold the balls
from popping out in a crash.
- Stronger
Longer Rear Arms – The rear arms have not just been made stronger with
added material and gusseting in the right areas, especially around the inner
hinge pin but great attention and testing has been done to leave the correct
amount of flex to allow for easy shock setup. Most companies just make strong
and ridged arms, but this is not the correct approach to supple and refined handling.
Many years of experience from Kyosho and Yuichi Kanai have proven this approach
is much more effective.
- New Stronger
Hinge Pins – with the increased strength of the new MP9 TKI4 lower
suspension arms the pins also needed some re-thinking. The correct balance of metallurgy
was required to create the best balance between hard (brittle with the tendency
to break) and soft (with the tendency to bend). Kyosho’s 30+ years of racing
experience and Yuichi Kanai’s testing and tenacity to get it right come into
play here!
- New Rear
Hub Carriers – To add to the available roll center settings on the TKI4
eccentric inserts were designed into the new hubs. The upper suspension arm can
also mount on 2 rows of adjustments. Also the inserts also have adjustments of
1mm now. This gives double the available setting to 4 now instead of just 2.
- New Shock
Mounting Pins - The new pins are indexed all the way around for ease of use
and lightened over the old versions. Also the head is machined for lower
unsprung weight.
- New Wing
Design – The new wing is lighter, more like the Lexan wings that are
getting popular due to the reduced weight. However the Lexan wings are fragile
so it was decided to design a new wing to offer both reduced weight and more
durability combined with more downforce.
The design is now multi-element, 2 extra vertical planes as well as an
additional adjustment, 2 different sized mountable wickerbills to reduce or increase downforce. Also more
color options including Kyosho Red!N
- New Wing
Mount – The new wing mount is lower to improve crash protection as well as
work with the new airflow from the TKI4 body. The mount also has wider wing
supports to offset the thinner construction of the new wing for durability.
- Included
1.5mm x 5 Hole Shock Pistons - Team testing has proven that these pistons
are one of the optimal choices for overall performance. They work in a wide
range of track conditions as they offer a bit less pack and are a bit more
linear over the 8 hole designs. Very good on tracks with high bump density and
many small crevices. This is the case when there is degradation of the surface
over a long day of racing on most tracks. If you haven’t added these to your
arsenal you need to!
- Fuel
Filter Mount – Improved fuel filter mount has more clamping strength and a improved
position to help fuel line routing and interference from the air filter and linkages.
It has a pin that holds it from turning. Also the parts tree also comes with
more fuel line clips.
- Improved
Air Filter Holder – Thicker and more sturdy than the older version to
reduce flexing and distortion that could cause dirt to get past the filter and
get into your engine. Also the holder was strengthened and improved to hold the
filter system more securely.
- Shock
Pre-Load Adjusters – The adjusters have been anodized in black to add
indexing markings to aid in quick and accurate adjustments in the pit or on the
fly.
- Radio Box
Improvements – More area was added to the radio box opening to help make it
easier to install the receiver and servo wires that seems to get thicker and
more bulky with every new generation of high speed and torque servos!
- New Dish
Wheels – TKI4 dish wheels have been re-designed to be lighter as well as
improving fit for the latest tires. Also designed into them is a rougher gluing
surface to improve mounting reliability. And if you noticed the Red color is
back!
- Included
HD Servo Saver – Now standard due to the incredible improvement of servo strength
over the last couple of years. Even though it adds material and weight it is
worth the compromise in this area as steering precision and feel is greatly
improved with the combination of a super strong servo saver and powerful servos.
- Standard
Vented Clutch Bell – The Kyosho clutch bells have always been known for
their superior quality and durability, in fact it’s legendary. Now they are
vented to reduce wright and add improve cooling.
- 93mm
Drive Shafts front and Rear – now with the changes in suspension geometry
the 93mm drive shafts fit on all 4 corners. This lowers the number of spares
you must bring with you to a race. They now fit perfect and there is no
guesswork involved in what shafts you need.
- Shock
Boots – many of the team drivers have reverted back to the older shock boot
design that are smooth instead of accordion style that came with all the other
MP9s. They have proven to be more durable. Keeping the dirt out of your shocks
is critical for their prolonged performance.