Tuesday November 14, 2006

SCX NASCARS!!!

This is certainly a new release that I have been impatiently waiting for. Regardless of what anyone thinks of NASCAR, I have always been a huge fan of the sport and always will be. I enjoy it even more in 1/32nd scale so these new models from SCX had me very interested. As much as some people enjoy SCX models, I have rarely been impressed by their offerings in the past. A few cars have came along that I did enjoy, but the last time they attempted a NASCAR resulted in a very poorly designed model that was not very popular with enthusiasts at the time. However, that was then...and this is NOW. Let's take a closer look at what many enthusiasts already think is a clear winner.

Not everyone enjoys NASCAR, but for those that do these new models should excite you. First and foremost the overall level of detail and finish is fantastic. Nothing is perfect of course, but when I first laid eyes on this Ford I knew this was not the SCX I thought I knew. I have to admit that I have some bias here as I was stunned they decided to do my driver in this series. Carl Edwards hailed not far from here and I have been fortunate enough to see him race here at our local dirt track, plus a Busch series event. Since Rusty Wallace retired, I had to start rooting for another "local boy" and Carl fit the bill.

The photos hopefully give you a good idea on how close SCX has came in re-creating his car in our scale. I have read many reports in our message forums about how impressed enthusiasts have been with them, and I must agree. They have really captured the stance of these cars well enough to please most of you. Decal placement is about as close as you can ask for with even the contingency stickers being very close so some of the photos I have.

The interior is something I felt worked very well. Although many racers desire a full interior with as much detail as possible, this half-tray example is more than enough for me. Having the roll bar detail inside and some areas highlighted with silver paint create a very scale and finished look. Not sure why SCX just had to place their logo on the left front of the glass, but I can live with it.

Wheels and tires here pleased me a great deal. The tire compound is medium to soft and has very adequate grip on both plastic AND wood. Wheel detail is very accurate and most importantly, they were all very round and true. The tire markings are typical for many SCX cars as they wear off rather quickly. My photo of the wheel is after only a few laps of testing. But overall this model looked great to me and finally it was time to hit the toggle switches, fire this baby up, and hit the track to see if she ran as good as she looked.

Out Of The Box Testing

They say first impressions are lasting ones. My first few laps told me that so far we had a winner on our hands. I felt the car had more than enough power and magnetic down-force for most racers with a smoother gear mesh than I expected. No, it isn't as quiet as say Carrera or Slot-it, but much better than cars I have tested in the past.

I really enjoyed slinging this car in and out of the turns. However, although my Artin road course is a great deal of fun I really couldn't wait to try it where it belonged: On an oval. Our new oval is routed wood using non-magnetic copper tape. I was worried that perhaps it would not perform well on this surface, but I had to try right?

I could not believe my results. This model, fresh out of the box ran wonderfully on wood. It was very smooth and decent grip in the corners. Remember that I have not performed any adjustments on this car, no tire sanding or braid adjustment...right from the box to the track. People like to say that a wood track will reveal the flaws in ready to run magnet cars, and for the most part this is true. Given this unwritten rule, SCX appears to have a bright future with this new series, at least from where I stand.

Looking Closer

Turning the model over we see that this car has the motor mounted in the inline position with the bar magnet between the motor and rear axle. Some enthusiasts do not like inline, preferring the sidewinder or angle winder configuration. I am not one of them. I enjoy this style just as much as I do any other. It is simply a matter of personal preference, but I think you would be making a mistake passing on this model because of this.

Here is where I did find an issue. The chassis was not mounted evenly to the body. The drivers side of the body had to be pulled apart slightly to allow the chassis to tuck under and snap in place. It was then that I noticed the rear of the chassis did have a slight "tweak" or bend in it. Nothing glaring, but it was there. This chassis is light and has plenty of flex to it, perhaps too much. I think SCX should have used 2 mounting posts instead of one in the rear to help keep this chassis as straight as possible. However, it wasn't anything that stopped this car from running smoothly. I plan to take it apart and run it under some hot water later to try and form the chassis the way it should be. I will share this with you in another article.

Up front we see the self-centering guide system SCX utilizes. It seems some enthusiasts do not care for this dual braid set-up as it sometimes overlaps too far and causes the car to sit higher than it should. My model sat at a near perfect tripod with the front wheels just barely touching so I cannot say I will change it. If it is overlapping too much, all you need to do is remove the braid and slide it back until the edge of the front braid is flush with the rear.

The magnet in this car works very well and is also adjustable. You can lower the magnet closer to the rails by simply loosening the 2 small cross tip screws. The magnet should be enough to please most enthusiasts as it does have plenty of down-force. It should also please those who like a magnet car that does not have too much of it. I felt it was a good balance. Not too stuck down and not too loose. Again, with the option of adjusting it makes it even more appealing for magnet fans.

Also to the rear we see one item that some enthusiasts like and some do not. The motor is housed in a pod assembly that does swivel in the chassis. There is not a great deal of movement here, but it is present. Some feel this helps performance while others do not. Personally I do not care for it much as it just introduces body roll that my driving style does not seem to appreciate. Although I do loosen up some body screws on many models for a slight float, there is a difference between that and the amount of movement a pod assembly like this has. However as I stated, it is not that much and my tests did not reveal an issue with it. If you just do not like it, you can simply go inside and run a bead of hot glue to make things solid.

It's What Inside That Counts

Speaking of inside, its time to take a peek. Removing the front 2 screws and the single rear screw exposes the heart of the model. SCX utilizes a unique wireless system for power distribution. Some like this approach, others do not. You can see the 2 large tabs that come off the motor and touch the brass strips running to the front. Here is where you might see issues as sometimes these tabs do not have enough pressure on them to make good contact. You can simply bend these enough to make them stronger or you can bypass them altogether. Some enthusiasts solder a jump wire from the tab to the strip, or even some solder the tab solid. As of now, I have no issues and will allow the car to run as is.

And now the motor. Yes, it appears the rumors are true that they have changed to a new power plant, the RX - 42B. Although the SCX website is void of any information I could find the motor is a new one and does have more power. In fact, this is the motor every car they have released should have had in the first place.

The motor is a subject for some enthusiasts that is not a good one. For far too long SCX cars have come with a very weak motor that provided very little performance. The other issue has been that they are one slot car company that does not use the more standard Mabuchi motors such as those found in Carrera or NINCO. This has made motor upgrades more difficult than it should be. SCX did make better motors for direct replacement, the problem was finding them and then getting over the price they sometimes would bring.

This motor however is about as perfect as you could want. I do not see the need to change this motor as it has very good speed and acceleration with one other factor that other slot car makers wish they could have: Brakes. When I say this car has brakes, I mean brakes! On our wood track when we applied the brakes down the main straight the car literally locks up the wheels and skids a few inches. It reminds me of a NASCAR driver who might be coming into the pits a little hot and has to lock them up. On plastic it is very strong as the magnet even magnifies this effect.

The motor has also been famous for needing a long break-in period. This is where this motor is more advanced than others. These motors have a very good brush system that is held in place by a small spring. You must push the spring end carefully to clear the tab as shown to remove it. be CAREFUL here as this little spring has a history of defying gravity and shooting across the room to rest where you will never find it.

Once removed you see the brush and how it is seated on the commutator. Commercial racers and veteran enthusiasts recognize this type of design. The "break-in" for these motors rests a great deal on these brushes. Since they are much more durable and larger than the tiny brushes found in other popular motors in simply takes time to have these brushes fully seat against the comm. There must be a 100 different ways that racers over the years have used to seat brushes. Everything from commercial "comm drops" to dumping the whole motor in water. In reality, most enthusiasts will simply race the car and after awhile they will seat themselves pretty well.

Track Testing Part 2

After a light tire sanding and some oil on the rear bushings and each end of the motor it was time to see what this baby could do. This car ran very well on our Artin track and posted lap times in the 3.9 second range. I used 12 volt power provided by our Pyramid adjustable supply with PARMA Econo 35 ohm controllers. Going through the road course was great fun with this model and I am pleased with the results. Great acceleration with plenty of speed, combined with massive braking made this model a lot of fun.

Lumbering On...

I had already ran this model on the wood, but had to try again after sanding. All I can say is that things just got better as the model was even smoother than before and I could easily drift it through the corners. I think this car should please any oval racer regardless of track surface and wood track owners will find a very nice running car that has great potential.

Mine Is Better Than Yours

One question many have asked is how these compare to the Scalextric version. For me it really doesn't matter as I stopped trying to mix apples against oranges a long time ago. However, I was curious myself to see how this new motor would perform against a standard Mabuchi. SCX claims that this motor is rated at 19,000 RPMs and the Mabuchi at 18,000. However, I do not put much stake into these published numbers. It seems everyone wants to rate a motor at a different voltage. The real test is on the track. I used 2 different Scalextric models in stock form with the tires sanded and clean. I then sanded and cleaned the SCX model. At first testing on the wood oval, the Scalextric car would pull away in the straights at least one full car length. This is on a 16 foot oval that has roughly 10 foot straights. Again, the power supply was set at 12 volts using PARMA 25 ohm controllers.

On plastic there is not much of a contest in stock form due to the Scalextric car having more magnet. Still, if you adjust the magnet down a little in the SCX car, things get very close. With the extra magnetic drag in the Scalextric car, the SCX car was still slightly behind but I could at least manage to stay with it. In other words, one mistake by the driver and I would have been gone:) (or at least I like telling myself this)

But let us look at these motor brushes. As stated by many enthusiasts, these motors take time to break-in and run optimally. I know this will make some racers curl their teeth but I added one drop of Slick 7 "Voodoo" comm drops on the motor and then turned the wheels by hand to run it in. Then I took it to the track to see how things worked. This made a big difference as the car now had equal speed to the Scalextric model although the Scalextric car seemed to have a very slight edge in the tire department. Still, time will let this motor break in even more and I suspect we shall see a very even level of competition from them.

Sum It Up Already!

This car is the best model by SCX I have ever owned. I know there are many fans of the Rally cars made by them, but they never impressed me much. Perhaps it is just my bias toward NASCAR, but I don't think so. This new motor really changes things for this line of models. In fact, this motor is a very durable one that should last you quite some time. It has great acceleration and braking, plus a smooth gear mesh that will just get better over time.

One other aspect of this line is the fact that they have done 3 manufactures at once, something SCX deserves credit for. One thing that NASCAR slot car fans have always wanted was for all the models to be available so that we could virtually create any driver in the series. With Ford, Chevy and FINALLY Dodge being represented, we can now accomplish this. Although I have not heard any plans for a plain white version, that won't stop most racers out there from stripping the bodies and starting over.

I have to advise anyone in our hobby to take a very close look at what SCX has brought to the table. A very nicely detailed car that runs great right out of the box usually equates to a winner in my book, and such is the case here. A price point of under $40.00 also makes them affordable for most budgets. I am very happy with these models and even more that SCX brought them to us. I hope to see more from them in the future.

- 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 Gene At SLOTCARPLACE for Providing Us With This Model!