July 23, 2008
 Power Slot 1/32 Quad Review By Eric Cropper THE BOX  The first thing you notice is that the Quad doesn’t come in your typical slot case. It is a cardboard box with a removable clamshell plastic interior. The box has some nice artwork on it depicting various scenes of racing Quads. Below is a close up of the two end flaps of the box.  Below is the plastic clamshell interior that holds the Quad securely in place while on display.  APPEARANCE  The first debate some of you may make, “Is it really 1/32 scale?” I’m going to say, “No.” The driver looks more like a young boy driving this Quad instead of a man. The next debate is, “Do we really care?” I again say, “No.” Why you ask? Simple, we need to keep in mind the overall size of this Quad. You have to make it bigger than 1/32 scale in order to have room for all the mechanical parts that make it a slot quad instead of a static quad. The overall appearance of the Quad is done very well and the finish is great. Colors are solid, vivid and hold little to no flaws. Power Slot pulled off the Quad look with features like the push bar bumper up front, grated foot platforms and the exaggerated fenders found on any real world quad.  Above you see the detailed handlebars w/silver painted brake grips. They also molded ignition type details into the handlebars and a silver painted gas cap can be seen between the driver’s legs. There is a clear lens with colored details up front to simulate a light assembly.  The rear end of the Power Slot Quad has several colored light lenses, what I assume is license plate or tag, a silver painted exhaust and gear shield. Look at the NOBS on these rear tires. Remember the old Hot Wheels motorcycles with the removable rubber riders? Power Slot used the same principal with their driver.  The driver can be removed from the Quad by simply sliding the feet off the foot pegs. The arrows point to the rubber loops molded into the bottom of the rider’s feet. The grip of the hands isn’t a closed loop. They just rest over the hand grips once the feet are seated in place. The driver is hand painted and includes some tampo printed logos on the pants and helmet, as well as, a race tag on the rider’s back with the number 102 and the Power Slot logo.  PERFORMANCE  I was ready to take this slot apart and located 3 screws pointed out by the arrows above. I figured that these would allow me to remove the body parts and get a better peek at the working parts. After their removal I quickly found out that I had no clue what to do now. The screws in the rear didn’t release the biggest part of the quad’s body from the chassis. The only part I got removed is what you see in the picture below once the screw in front of the handlebars was removed.  At this point I chose to put the Quad back together, move forward with the review and possibly avoid damaging it. If it isn’t broke. Don’t fix it. The rear axle can be popped out and allows access to the 2 small screws that fix the motor to the chassis. So, you’ll still be able to get to the pinion and gears if they would ever need to be replaced.  The front of the Quad has spring loaded shocks. Personally, they down really do anything. The amount of up and down travel of the front axle is limited and is more for looks than function. The front axle does have up and down play, but it’s not smooth and could actually be a reason for the Quad to de-slot and/or roll.  The most eye catching item on Power Slot’s Quad is the drop down guide arm. It is made of clear plastic and the motor leads run to the guide via channels molded into the arm. The guide is similar to what other brands use on their off-road slots. It is short in length and the front of it is rounded to help keep it in the slot when the drop arm is extended down while the Quad is crossing an obstacle.   Above you see how much range the guide arm can have under the right circumstances. This was an area that needed some attention. The wires need to be softer or maybe broke in more to allow the arm to drop freely. Also, the arm being made out of a very light plastic didn’t help with the drop down arm’s ability to…well, drop. I think some strategically place self stick lead sheeting would help remedy the problem.  In the picture above you see how the drop down arm is held in place via bushings on the rear axle. This is the guide arm’s hinge and will be an area that you’ll want to make sure to keep properly oiled. This also will smooth out the somewhat sticky play in it’s up and down motion. Below is the stock magnet located in a pocket molded into the drop down arm over the rear part of the guide. The magnet is press fitted in the pocket which has a circular opening under the guide. The magnet can be removed by gently pushing it out with a screwdriver or other tool through this opening.  This is another area that I had some doubts with when it came to actual performance. The magnet wasn’t very strong. Its placement on top of the drop down arm and above the guide and brushes left a gap that I think would add to its inability to do its job. Maybe I would be proven wrong when it hit the track, but then again, maybe my suspicions would be correct. TRACK TIME Testing took place on painted Carrera track and unpainted Scalextric Sport track. Shawn actually ran the Quad on his Carrera track before I took delivery of it for my review. He couldn’t resist giving it a try himself. His biggest complaint was that it was too top heavy and that it flipped or rolled quit easily in the turns. I ran the Quad on Sport track. I recently finalized the layout I’m putting up in the basement. So, my testing was done with a wall wart for power and a stock controller. Keep this in mind. A better power supply and smoother controller could result in different results. I put the Quad in the slot and pulled the trigger. Power Slot gave this little slot some power and torque. Straight line speed was very impressive. The Quad would launch down a long straight. The braking was equally impressive as you will see in the Quad Launch video. If you watch the very end of the track you will see that the Quad almost stops on a dime. Trust me, it appears like it might have kept going off the track, but it didn’t. Click here to watch Power-Slot-Quad-Launch “What about the curves?” My fears of rolling over in or out of the turns were quickly realized. You really need to drive this slot quad through the turns whether they are harsh hairpins or lazy bends. This is also where my concerns over the lack of weight in the drop arm and the strength of the magnet was also confirmed. I will point out that the stock controller doesn’t offer the smooth power transitions of my Professor Motor controller and thus this too could be a major factor in the Quad’s lacking abilities in the turns. Click here to watch Power-Slot-Quad-Tip I decided to pop the stock magnet and replace it with a Ninco button magnet to see if this made any improvements in the turns. First thing this larger magnet did was make the drop down arm move more freely. The added weight of the magnet was just about right. Also, the magnetic force of the new magnet was tested via the screw driver test. I know, “What the heck is the screw driver test?” I simply turned the Quad upside down and placed the tip of one of my small screw drivers on the guide above the magnet. I then pulled the screw driver away from the guide and the tip didn’t break away from the guide. Thus, I was able to raise the drop down arm away from the bottom the chassis. I couldn’t do this with the stock magnet.  So, back to the track I went and it made all the difference in the world. I was able to get the Quad through all the turns, including the R1 hairpin. I still had to drive it and adjust the power, but I was a lot more successful than with the stock magnet. I still think a little lead sheet piece on the drop down arm would help improve the Quad’s performance even more. After a while I got more familiar with the Quad’s characteristics and the stock controller to turn some decent laps. I didn’t bother to clock any lap times because I don’t think they are really necessary with this type of slot. The Power Slot Quad is more about driver skill and having fun with several of them running side by side. Click here to watch Power-Slot-Quad JUDGEMENT DAY Power Slot is making strides to give our beloved hobby something new, different and more importantly…fun with their Quad release. Do I think they broke new ground? Do I think that different is good? Heck, did I have any fun running this thing? My answer on all counts is YES! Power Slot’s Quad isn’t perfect, but then most new things need refinements. It does deliver a realistic version of the real thing and it does have similar characteristics too. Mostly, the roll over associated with quad runners. So, maybe that fact makes it a success too. I think with an aftermarket controller better handling can be achieved and with a couple of tweaks such as the upgraded magnet and a little weight could lessen the headache of the roll over. I can’t wait to get a chance to run it on some off-road track such as SCX and Ninco after seeing the following video. However, I’d like to know if the Quad in it is stock or if any tweaks were done to make it run like it does. Power Slot Google Video I give it a 4 out of 5 mud puddle splashes in your eye. Thanks to Power Slot for providing the Quad for review to us here at HRW on the other side of the pond. We hope they are able to obtain a distributor here in the States to spread their current and future releases to those willing to take a chance on something new. Visit them at www.powerslot.es (it’s a Spanish site, but looks like they have plans for an English version in the near future) As always any questions or comments are welcome and should be directed to the email address below. Eric Cropper AKA legionofone AKA HRW Minion ecropper@hotmail.com
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