Saturday March 12, 2005

New Monogram MARCH 83G

The MARCH 83G from Monogram has been quite a hot topic of discussion the last few months and I looked forward to getting my hands on one as soon as possible. Soon after it arrived a couple of surprising results soon came to light that makes the car better than I thought it could be.

Of course personal taste will dictate if you like the looks of this car or not, but I have to say I am impressed with the effort here. Prototype photos on the web reveal they have done a very good job capturing it in our scale and the overall fit and finish is outstanding to my eyes.

The paint was near flawless as I found no signs of fading or runs. Some of the smaller white stripes had just a hint of blue sneaking through, but it is such a small amount that most of you won't have an issue with it at all. The clear-coat is not as distinct over the blue areas and Tampo detail, but enough to protect it.

The interior is very detailed and should please most of you who feel a full interior is required. The colored dash panel does seem to draw you in to look closer and just gives this model a more finished look. However, one item that stands out for me is the work they have done on the wheels.

The chrome on them is very attractive and with brake rotor detail showing really makes the car stand out. As well as they look, they would be useless if they were not round and true. Well, no need to worry here as all 5 models I had for testing had very round and concentric wheels with straight axles both front and back.

It is the tires that need attention as I found the front and rear had low centers and needed a good sanding to get them true. Nothing too major really, but to get this car to hook up and run smoother, you need to take some time at the sanding block ok?

Out Of The Box

Let's get right to the rat killing shall we? The biggest complaint about this model is the gearing they chose to equip it with, and quite honestly I did not have high hopes for this model because of it. The pinion is 14 teeth while the spur is 37 putting the gear ratio at 2.643 (according to my gear chart from Professor Motor). Some of us are used to a more standard sidewinder set-up using an 11 tooth pinion and 36 tooth spur which makes the car have much more distinct braking, and I could not understand why Revogram would gear it any different after all they have learned with the inline models.

However, while I was disappointed other racers here at my shop were not. The car does have lighter braking than what I am used to, but it does have them and they do function. No, you cannot scream down the long back straight and brake a few inches before getting into the turn, but it was better than I expected. The main issue with the model seemed to be ME, as it took some time before I adjusted my driving habits to get into a smooth rhythm with it.

Once I did settle down this car was a great deal of fun. We had 3 models going during our testing and we were fender to fender for quite awhile. The light braking didn't prevent us from enjoying the models on our road course and because of that I have to eat my words on my initial opinions...well sort of, because although it is fun...I still think it simply could have been better for more standard gearing.

Smooth gear mesh is a trait with Monogram models and I have no complaints with this new release either. A few hours of break-in made things even better of course and this model is very quiet to operate. The braking issue is either going to be a factor with you, or it won't. In all honesty, if you have a smaller home layout, the light braking isn't really going to effect you as much as it does those enthusiasts with larger layouts that have longer straights.

Lap times with the car in it's stock form was in the 4.2 second range. This was without and sanding on the tires and the magnet in the original forward location. The tires on this model pleased me as they were of a soft to medium compound and were slicks (no tread design). They hooked up very nicely on the smoother surface of ARTIN and although some of you will want to go silicones, I will keep these originals on mine. Silicones from other cars so far do not match as they have a new inside rib design that is wider, but I am sure our tire makers will have them soon.

Looking Closer

Looking underneath the model we see the bar magnet pocket and here is where I have a small issue. Inside the magnet pocket there is a plastic shim that keeps the magnet secured in the position you choose. To change the magnet position to the rear you now must pop off the bracket, remove the plastic shim and move the magnet in place.

Why they made this change is beyond me.  I am sure they have a good reason for doing this, however it escapes me at this moment. I removed the bracket and the shim and replaced it without the shim installed for easier tuning, so it is not a hard task to accomplish. It is also easier to pop the bracket back in place without the shim as I soon found out.

4 screws are removed to expose the inner workings of the model. The motor is snugly held in place in the sidewinder position and I happily found that the bushings were very tight in their mounts and did not need any adhesive. Still, I always glue them regardless as a preventive maintenance measure and suggest you do the same. The front wheels are a solid axle design which should make most of you happy. The front guide rests almost flush with the rails on our ARTIN track and on tracks like NINCO with the rails a little higher it is almost a perfect tripod.

The front guide does have good amount of free-play, perhaps too much for some of you. It still functions well enough on our plastic tracks so I did not bother changing it. A Slot-it guide snaps right in and really makes a difference so you might keep that in mind in case you want to reduce this free play.

Applying The Basics

After a quick braid adjustment, the front tires got a little sanding attention because they were high on the outsides. Once I finished with the fronts the model ran a little smoother as it reduced the slight hop in the front that was present. The rear tires needed attention as well, but a few minutes on the sanding block had things looking good. It doesn't take long as these tires are soft and they sand rather quickly.

Then just a few drops of oil in each end of the motor, rear bushings and front axle. Time to head back to the track and with just true and clean tires lap times fell to 4.0 seconds easily. I cranked out a 3.9 here and there when I pushed it a little heavy, but 4.0 was the number of the day.

Non-Magnet

Just removing the magnet without weight added had lap times in the 5.6 second range. There is some room under the chassis for very thin sheet lead and/or the magnet pocket will allow some as well. I had some self-adhesive backed tire balancing weights and I applied a half ounce piece where the magnet pocket used to be. This helped a little with control but only dropped the lap times to 5.5. Of course, there is more to work with here and the more I play with it I am sure things will get better. The basic model is a decent platform to work with and I am sure other enthusiasts will find some great set-ups in the near future.

Post Race Thoughts

I still think this car could have been designed better for the average home racer with proper gearing. Monogram seemed to have learned their lesson on gearing with the Cobra and Grand Sport but then released this car with an opposite approach. I suppose they are targeting the large club tracks here and in Europe where gearing like this can be appreciated, however those of us who do not have layouts this large may not be as bad off as I suspected.

What surprised me is that other racers here seemed not to care much about the gearing/light braking as much as I expected. I cannot help but like the model simply due to it's good looks and I admit now that others will be joining my stable when they are released. The price of these cars are also a positive point that those on tighter budgets can appreciate.

It is hard for me not to recommend that you give this model a second look while local racers here are having fun with it. It certainly has more positive aspects to it than negative, and should give most of you a great new series to expand your current selection.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!