Char customs

[sephus16]

It has been bothering me as I rewatch some classic UC, that Char/Quatro has red custom machines that perform so much better than their counterparts (Zaku/ Rick dias). Is there specific tweeks to the moble suits that make them "3 times faster", or is it simply that Char is that great of a pilot?

[mcred23]

It has been bothering me as I rewatch some classic UC, that Char/Quatro has red custom machines that perform so much better than their counterparts (Zaku/ Rick dias). Is there specific tweeks to the moble suits that make them "3 times faster", or is it simply that Char is that great of a pilot?

Char is simply that good of a pilot. Only his MS-06S is three times faster, all his other suits are standard models (Granted, his later Zeonic units were improved Commander versions, but his Rick Dias was purely a stock unit).

[Destroy Gundam]

And wasn't there a recent retcon that made his Zaku something like 30% faster than normal rather than the (in)famous 3 times faster?

I could be wrong, but I remember seeing somewhere, probably on this forum, information about that.

[krullnar]

I also remember something like that I think it was on the 08th MS Team DVD I think it was in the MS encyclopedia.

[Zerosystem]

And wasn't there a recent retcon that made his Zaku something like 30% faster than normal rather than the (in)famous 3 times faster?

I could be wrong, but I remember seeing somewhere, probably on this forum, information about that.

IIRC, in the original series they say he's three times faster, but in the movies they changed it to 30% faster.

[HalfDemonInuyasha]

Yeah, I've been seeing "30%" more often lately than "3 times". It'd make a lot more sense too given a normal MS-06S has an acceleration of 0.69 Gs. 3x makes it 2.07 Gs; only .15 Gs less than a Gelgoog Jager...I doubt the MS itself was REALLY moving that fast, lol.

At 30% more, though, that would put it at .89-.90 Gs, which would make a lot more sense and, at the time, "a lot" faster than a normal Zaku II.

[Brave Fencer Kirby]

I've heard it suggested that the "three times faster" line comes from the fact that Char burns more propellant than most pilots. After all, speed is a function of both acceleration and time; if the MS-06S only has a 30% increase in acceleration over the MS-06F, he could still be moving "three times faster" than most Zakus by accelerating for a longer period of time. This would be dangerous because it both uses more propellant (decreasing his effective combat time) and makes it more difficult to maneuver (so if he messes up on his first pass he has a long recovery time).

Also, the only Char Custom that actually had a performance upgrade, not just a cosmetic change, was the Zaku. The Z'Gok, Gelgoog, and Rick Dias were all standard models that just happened to be painted red.

[Sleepneeded127]

one of the things that helps the speed is the lack of armor;. the Zaku Char used was more lightly armored then the standard as well as other tune ups and high performance parts

[HalfDemonInuyasha]

one of the things that helps the speed is the lack of armor;. the Zaku Char used was more lightly armored then the standard as well as other tune ups and high performance parts

Or at least, as said with the Z'Gok Commander Type in the profiles...

"...a more economical use of armor and construction materials, resulting in a lighter gross weight and increased performance."

...which would mean different things besides just less armor.

[Random Zaku Pilot]

Wait the Gelgoog S Type wasn't a common model. I mean out of all Gelgoog's variants the S type only produced 30 models and Char was the only one who got one beside the whole ace corps Chimera(Dun remember), so and I read somewhere the S type was better then the common A type(The source I cant recall).

[HalfDemonInuyasha]

Wait the Gelgoog S Type wasn't a common model. I mean out of all Gelgoog's variants the S type only produced 30 models and Char was the only one who got one beside the whole ace corps Chimera(Dun remember), so and I read somewhere the S type was better then the common A type(The source I cant recall).

Well, they weren't common because they were pretty much prototype test models to see if the Gelgoog is good enough to start production. Once it got the OK from ace pilots, it began running into full production with any minor tweaking brought up by the pilots. Aside from personal modifications from their pilots, I don't really see the S-Types being that much better than the standard A-Types aside from half of them being upgraded to the B-Type.

[J-Lead]

Wait the Gelgoog S Type wasn't a common model. I mean out of all Gelgoog's variants the S type only produced 30 models and Char was the only one who got one beside the whole ace corps Chimera(Dun remember), so and I read somewhere the S type was better then the common A type(The source I cant recall).

As far as I can recall, the only difference between the A type and the S-type (YMS-14, really) is the fact that the YMS-14 is essentially the prototype for the MS-14A. This is one of the few instances where Gundam actually follows a realistic "Prototype phase" where the prototype(s) is simply the first units of the line built for evaluation purposes, with the mass production version being roughly the same thing, only with minor revisions away from the prototypes.

Char's unit may have been tweaked (or not,) but the other YMS-14 were essentially MS-14A's in the early stages of testing.

[Gelmax]

The Gelgoog S-types were really just the first production run of A-types, distributed to aces for testing to ensure that it was good enough for continued production.

As for the Zaku, the S-type IS faster than the C-type and F-type - originally three times faster, but retconned to 30% faster. I'm not sure if it's official, but I believe the disparity is that the mech itself is 30% faster than a regular Zaku, but Char's skill and confident piloting style make it seem even faster than a regular Zaku piloted by a regular pilot - for most of the OYW he didn't even wear a normal suit in combat, I doubt he was going to fly slow and play conservative with propellant when he knew he was good enough not to use it up.

[LeonFloyd]

It has been bothering me as I rewatch some classic UC, that Char/Quatro has red custom machines that perform so much better than their counterparts (Zaku/ Rick dias). Is there specific tweeks to the moble suits that make them "3 times faster", or is it simply that Char is that great of a pilot?

A little known fact is with an F1 car, it has 3 to 5 times the performance of the same engine in basic testing because it is over-spec.

"Over-Spec" means it is performing beyond it's known safety limits, drastically lowering the life-time of the parts with usage in return for a much higher performance -- F1 Cars get a new engine and new suspension for every race because the engines are literally destroyed as they cool down when the race is completed because they get so hot.


I assume the same is so with Char's Mobile-Suits: They are tuned to go beyond the point of safe-return so they perform better. It's a good investment in an elite soldier because while his mobile suit won't survive in it's entirely, it'll likely change the tide of the battle.

[Red XIV]

Still, "3 times faster" is a stretch for a mobile suit. There's no way you could make, for example, an over-spec F-15 that's 3 times faster than the standard model.

I do however like Kirby's suggestion that Char uses more of his propellant than a typical Zaku pilot would (resulting in three times greater speed even though the difference in acceleration is more modest) because he knows he's good enough to finish the battle without running out of fuel anyway. I can certainly see Char being recklace enough to do that, and skilled enough to get away with it.

[krullnar]

It has been bothering me as I rewatch some classic UC, that Char/Quatro has red custom machines that perform so much better than their counterparts (Zaku/ Rick dias). Is there specific tweeks to the moble suits that make them "3 times faster", or is it simply that Char is that great of a pilot?

A little known fact is with an F1 car, it has 3 to 5 times the performance of the same engine in basic testing because it is over-spec.

"Over-Spec" means it is performing beyond it's known safety limits, drastically lowering the life-time of the parts with usage in return for a much higher performance -- F1 Cars get a new engine and new suspension for every race because the engines are literally destroyed as they cool down when the race is completed because they get so hot.


I assume the same is so with Char's Mobile-Suits: They are tuned to go beyond the point of safe-return so they perform better. It's a good investment in an elite soldier because while his mobile suit won't survive in it's entirely, it'll likely change the tide of the battle.

I know this is off topic but due to new rules set by the F1 they have to run an engine for at least 2 races or suffer a slot penalty.

[Zerosystem]

thats right thow his firs zaku was optamized fro him so the controls wer mor responsiv

Stop digging up old threads to increase your post count. Optimizing the controls does not increase the mobile suit's performance, it just makes it better suited for your use.

[ORegan]

well, as long as it's hear, I might as well add in some input.

I forget where I heard this, but I once read that Char's Zaku was said to be three times due to his battle tactics during the first battles of the war. He'd 'kick' off the hull of a friendly ship for momentum as well as using his boosters or something along those lines.

Also, all of Char's units where just painted red. While the S-type for both the Zaku II and Gelgoog were better than the standard models, he wasn't the only one with them.

[Nowhere Man]

well, as long as it's hear, I might as well add in some input.

I forget where I heard this, but I once read that Char's Zaku was said to be three times due to his battle tactics during the first battles of the war. He'd 'kick' off the hull of a friendly ship for momentum as well as using his boosters or something along those lines.

It's from the bonus material in one of the Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team DVDs. It talks about his "Five Leaps" at Loum and then goes into a "closer look" at his tactics, which they say involve kicking off a ship's hull while firing all of his thrusters.

[ORegan]

well, as long as it's hear, I might as well add in some input.

I forget where I heard this, but I once read that Char's Zaku was said to be three times due to his battle tactics during the first battles of the war. He'd 'kick' off the hull of a friendly ship for momentum as well as using his boosters or something along those lines.

It's from the bonus material in one of the Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team DVDs. It talks about his "Five Leaps" at Loum and then goes into a "closer look" at his tactics, which they say involve kicking off a ship's hull while firing all of his thrusters.

Was it in Japanese with subtitles? Because I know I read it instead of hearing someone explain it.