Monday September 22, 2008

When SCX announced they were going to expand on the NASCAR line with the addition of the COT, I was happy to say the least. If this car was anything like the current versions I knew we would have another winner on our hands. The car is finally in my greedy little hands so let us get right to the fun.

Sometimes it is not just the type of car that makes it successful in our hobby. Sometimes it is WHO you make. Sometimes it is simply the paint. Just as liveries such as Gulf, Martini and Jagermeister are very popular within the road course arena, this version of the COT will most likely be the hottest one in the line. By far, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most popular driver in NASCAR. I was very pleased to see SCX was smart enough to bring this car to the line. If you are going to make the COT you might as well make the right ones and this car is certainly one of them.

My first glances at the model were very favorable. They seem to have captured the look of the COT very well in most areas. What really impressed me was the effort made on the paint. Our model is nearly perfect as I found no signs of runs or fades in the stampings. The markings are very accurate as well, but as we know these markings seem to change a little every week in the 1:1 world. Overall clear coat is also very well done with a nice glossy finish that is even and dirt free.

One item that diehard fans will notice is that the rear of the car is painted blue and not black. According to SCX the JR MotorSports team insisted it be made this way. Does it bother me? Not really. It is not going to stop me from racing and enjoying it. If it ever does start to bother me (which it won't), I can always paint this small area and decal it.

Another item you might notice right away is the antenna array. Although these cars sometimes use dual antennas, these seem a little on the large side compared to most prototype photos. I appreciate the effort made for increased scale authenticity, but let's face it: They won't last long under harder racing conditions. Perhaps they should look into using a more flexible rubber material in the future to increase durability. The reason we don't see the front air splitter retaining rods as they would simply be too fragile and break easily, and the same could be said for these antennas.

Interior details are also well done. Nothing too elaborate as they are using a half-tray type interior, but still enough detail to satisfy most enthusiasts. The rear window has the jacking bolt holes which I thought was a nice touch.

Wheels and tires seemed very round and true. Some might notice the tire markings where the word Eagle is upside down. Sitting still it might offend some, but at speed it means nothing. Still, it should have been correct. The prior versions were correct so I see no reason for this change. These are the same wheels as found on the earlier models with same rubber as far as I can tell. Current after-market tires made for the previous NASCARS fit perfectly. When the stock tires are sanded and clean they hook up very well on plastic. We have swapped the tires out for those after-market tires mentioned that do better on our latex track surface, but for most enthusiasts these should do just fine.

Overall I think they have done a great job capturing this car in our scale. Most all our slot cars have some scale detail issues but for the most part it does not stop anyone from enjoying them. SCX has come a long way since their first NASCAR attempt. Sometimes looking back at what we used to have makes you appreciate the one you have today. I know I certainly do.

Box Stock Testing
Artin Plastic Track- 12 Volt DC Aftermarket Power - 25 OHM PARMA Econo Controllers

Although this car is born for oval racing I had to test it on standard plastic track. These car acted just the way I expected it too. With the bar magnet in the stock position we turned lap times between 4.4 and 4.5 seconds. Braking and acceleration are crisp and control in the corners was very acceptable. I did notice the model seemed a little slower than the first versions, but still very fun to drive.

I did notice that the front wheels were not turning as fast as they should. The car has a decent tri-pod effect but something was preventing them from spinning like they should. This might be scrubbing off some speed, but we will investigate this soon.

Most can stop right here and start enjoying these models. With some light sanding of the tires and usual maintenance (oiling, cleaning) these cars should deliver all the fun you could expect.

One aside to this model is that it has 5 more paint schemes available for multi-lane action right from the start. Currently available are the #99 Carl Edwards, #16 Greg Biffle, #17, Matt Kenseth, #29 Kevin Harvick and #31 of Jeff Burton. When you look at starting a new series, it is nice to see such a variety offered. And just as important is that they are going to release further schemes in the future.

Looking Closer

Turning the model over we don't see much changed from the early version. The pivoting motor carrier is utilized here as on prior models. This model has a total of 5 screws holding the body and all are easily removed. Once inside we see familiar ground. Or so I thought.

The first thing I inspected was the front end where they are using the new independent front wheel system. The front tires now spin freely. I liked seeing very little slop in this system. It is just where it needs to be. This design is used so that the new digital system can be used quickly and easily. The new contact system snaps out of the chassis as shown and can be replaced with the V2 digital chip.

I was curious why the front tires spun easily with the body removed. I checked and there were no tire to body rub. I installed the body and it would not spin freely. It did spin, but there was a drag. I turned my attention to the body itself and found it. I noticed 2 tabs that come down off the body. They sit directly over the top of the front wheel housings. It is a decent design to help keep the front wheel housings as straight as possible. But just mounting the body does this alone. The problem was simple: the tabs were rubbing the inside of the tire. I just bent them over a little and that cured that. No real issue here as this could be a very isolated case. In any event our wheels spin freely so it was time to look at other areas.

Other than the front tabs for the wheel system, everything seemed the same. We have the standard motor pod assembly with the contact tabs providing electrical flow. The gearing here is still the same with a 9 tooth pinion and 27 tooth crown. But when I snapped the motor out I was surprised.

The model had the RX-42 instead of the 42B. This explained my slightly slower lap times. Since our test tracks are smaller, it was not that much, but on the oval it could be seen easily.

NOTE: SCX is aware that some have shipped with this motor. If you get a car that has the RX-42 you can contact Bryan through SCX Worldwide and he will replace the motor free of charge.

I have to say I am impressed by this. Not all car makers would do this. Kudos to SCX. They want all these cars to run equally as they should. I know other companies that change motors in the same series and do not care.

TUNING

The tuning methods we show here on our HRW Slotburger car can all apply to this model. We followed these steps and headed back to the track for more testing.

OVAL RACING!
Routed MDF Wood Track - Flat Latex Paint Surface - Copper Tape/Non-Magnetic
12 Volt DC Aftermarket Power - 25 OHM PARMA Econo Controllers

Here is where this car belongs. After our tuning session this car was very smooth and quiet on our track. The braking is very precise and acceleration is just fine. Not as snappy as the 42B, but well enough. What I wanted to see is how well it would work on this surface and the results were positive. We had a car here that with very little tuning is nothing short of a "hoot"!

The tire compound hooks up well, but not really ideal for this surface. On plastic with the magnet they work well. No real issue as most routed track owners who read this know that usually a tire change is in order depending on the surface they have. I swapped on a set of K&D tires and now we had a screamer!

Final Thoughts

For my home racing these cars deliver it all. Smooth operation and great scale detail. However, this is not just my opinion. I had the pleasure of showing this car this past weekend to many friends at our Homecoming slot car meet. All those I had the chance to show it to agreed it was a great effort. SCX is making some really fine slot cars and they are doing it with a good price tag.

Will I have another? I will have them ALL and then some!

-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!

Thanks Go To SCX WorldWide For Sponsoring This Review

Check Your Favorite Dealer For This & Other SCX Models