91 replies to this topic

[Dennis David]

Fola, show some of your bodies please.

[SlotStox#53]

Definitely some of the most detailed and beautiful-looking scale bodies to actually race!

[fola]

Fola, show some of your bodies please.

[Dennis David]

Please show the seat belt and flashing headlights ;-)

[James Wendel]

Fola's stuff is cool beyond words.

 

I have great respect for hand crafted, trial and error, scratch-built creations... I do it myself, but you have to acknowledge the art and science that goes into the European high-tech chassis.  (And the bodies are freakin' unbelievable).       

[Joexemm]

Okay. I NEED a car with carbon fiber on it. It is xmas after all no? On your site are you able to order ready to run cars?

[Dennis David]

Go to Fola's FB page and ask him. Slotfabrik

[Tim Neja]

Hey---ALL these cars have their place and are FUN!! My only point is that scratch building is EZ---cheaper and will handle BETTER than the "bolt together monstrosities"!! Yes, their really "trick" looking and have lot's of tricky bits---ALL un-necessary to a great handling slot car!! When it comes to REAL cars--like RC cars and utilizing FULL suspensions, the "bolt" together cars come into their own!!  Slot cars are VERY simple little triangles that go ballistically over VERY smooth surfaces and therefore don't NEED a lot of suspension and engineering, where those "bolt together" babies can excel at!! And comparing the cost of ONE scratch built chassis with an Iron, tools, and all would NOT be a fair comparison unless you compare the CnC tooling needed to make the bolt together ones!! 

Bring on your bolt together cars Dennis--- once you establish the parameters of motor--anglewinder or not--and body--I'll build a car that will blow your "bolt together monstrosity" away!!    It doesn't prove anything--other than simple scratch built slot cars are cheap, easy, and FUN---and faster!!

[Dennis David]

You lose me after monstrosity ...

[bbr]

What was once “model car racing” turned into “racing devices” in US slot racing in the commercial raceways. With the retro popularity the devices kind of look like a car again.

 

The screw chassis guy in Europe just race cars that are more model like. And it looks like it they spend more time on the body than the chassis.

 

Not everyone can solder and scratch built a chassis, and a primo chassis from a primo chassis guru can be as much as $150. That’s about the price of one of the primo screw chassis. One thing I kind of like about the screw chassis is that parts can be replaced and tuned. With a solder chassis if it does not work, well... it goes to the scrap pile.

[Pappy]

What was once “model car racing” turned into “racing devices” in US slot racing in the commercial raceways. 

Exactly! That's why I race mostly plastic cars that look like cars.

 

We raced the 1/24th Scaleauto screw together cars in a 12 hour endurance race last summer and it was a blast. I can't wait to do it again. They are not as fast as the 1/32 scale Slot It type cars we race on the same track but are just as much fun.

[Dennis David]

Yes my Scaleauto is not as fast as my Slot.it but it's getting closer. If I change the motors for one slightly hotter like a NSR King 38 EVO It should be faster. This is on a commercial flat track.

One area where the retro car would have an advantage is in the rear tires which are smaller and wider. The bodies, if you designated bodies with plastic interiors can be set at a minimum weight. With similar motors I think they run pretty close even with the tire difference. The top screw chassis use torsion principles rather than suspension. I use suspension in my Slot.it because of the plastic chassis, not because of the track. My Scaleauto does not have suspension though I will try it out.

[Dennis David]

The widest rear wheels for a scaleauto are 27.5 mm x 18 mm which is approximately 1.08 x 0.709 which is of course a lot higher profile than your common retro tires if I'm not mistaken.

The Scaleauto, despite being a great car even with a faster motor, suspension and bigger tires would be no match for a hardbody D3. Only one of the DoSlot class chassis and glassfibre bodies like Slotfabrik would be competitive.

[Dennis David]

Looking at race reports it seems like a lot of racers have their chassis built by someone else. I'm sure most can solder. I can solder but I doubt I could build a top chassis anytime soon. That's a challenge for the future. My plan is to buy a number of chassis, then progress to some of the great kits out there and use the bought chassis as a yardstick. For me the best chassis is the one that is easy to drive, not one on the knifes edge.

The Scaleauto cars are very easy to drive, that's why they are a blast.

[Dennis David]

Slot Cars don't have to be plastic/resin or perfect scale to look good. Noose and Samson and Sheldon to name a few prove that. Retro, flexi, thingie and even wing cars can also look great IMHO.

The hardbody just adds the kit/modeler factor which for many of us, we did before we even got into slot cars the first time around.

[Dennis David]

"One thing I kind of like about the screw chassis is that parts can be replaced and tuned"

It's definitely easier with screw chassis and it is something I like to play with. For me they have the "Lego factor" that appeals to me.

I know these posts may not be of interest to some but maybe others can give these cars a look. You could start with a Scaleauto or one of the new BRMs. Outright speed isn't everything, retro cars have shown that to be true.

[n9949y]

James Wendel frequently races and wins at Pelican Park with both his bolt together and soldered chassis. At PPS

it's not  whether a bolt or a solder chassis is better than the other. It's who can design and build the best inline chassis

and as James has proven both his well designed bolt together and solder chassis provide him with winning cars.

 

Dennis makes a salient point, "It's definitely easier with screw chassis...."

 

Mike Low makes another salient point, “Not everyone can solder and scratch built a chassis, and a primo chassis from a

primo chassis guru can be as much as $150. That’s about the price of one of the primo screw chassis. One thing I kind

of like about the screw chassis is that parts can be replaced and tuned.”

 

Building solder chassis has been the standard at PPS, forever.  Most members are very adept and skilled building competitive

chassis which presents a demanding challenge to aspiring new members who may  at first be unskilled at designing and

soldering a competitive chassis.  As screw chassis become more sophisticated thus competitive with our soldered chassis,

folk who want to be active members are afforded a far easier way to join and race.

 

On the internet it's easy to make claims especially when declarative statements don't customarily need to be supported with

objective, observable proof. The assertion bolt togethor chassis perform less well is not yet supported here.

[Dennis David]

Well thought out Post!

My intention later next year is to just compare the chassis and let the chips fall where they may. It's all done in fun because I like both types of cars.

[Mbloes]

Fola just seems to do 1/24 chassis.  Is there anyone making comparable 1/32 chassis?

[Dennis David]

Not of the same caliber But Prof Mtr has 3 Scholer chassis left.

[Tim Neja]

Sure is easy to get your "panties in a bunch" though isn't it??          

Merry Christmas!! 

[bbr]

Looking at race reports it seems like a lot of racers have their chassis built by someone else. I'm sure most can solder. I can solder but I doubt I could build a top chassis anytime soon. 

 

There are a handful of chassis gurus here in So Cal that supplies racers with chassis. They usually have top drivers running their stuff and the designs are constantly being improved with feedback.

 

 

What is fast today will be slow in 3 months. If you have a pocket of $ or "IN" with the chassis guys, you can keep up with the Smiths.

 

I have $, but my gf says she wants it, and I'm not "IN" with any chassis guy. So I run in the back and just enjoy the experience.

 

 

With a screw chassis as with a similar situation in HO racing, I usually do better because "to tune" the setup I don't need to acquire another chassis if my solder chassis don't work.

 

[Tim Neja]

A LOT of retro chassis work well!! From there it's TUNING and then DRIVING them to get the most out of them! Some will never get the driving part---OR the tuning part!! Like all racing, it's in the COMBINATION of things you do---and if you don't do ALL of those things--you can easily lose .2 of a second!! And THAT'S a LOT!! 

Not really the same as HO!

[bbr]

if I'm .2 sec faster than someone in HO I would be running rings around them.

 

in retro if your chassis sucks that day you are screwed, I have seen Bryan bring many cars to a big race, one of them will be good for him, you do not have the leisure to "beat" on a car at a big race.

 

not many racers have the resources to have that many cars at his disposal.

the two things that matters in retro: the motor and if your chassis works that day on that day's track conditions.

[Dennis David]

It's really hard to compare classes and I don't really try to. I'm planning to try retro next year but suspect I'll be lucky to run mid-pack on the flat track. That being said I too do it for the fun and as long as I can win with the scale cars it's ok if I lose in the retro cars.