Saturday February 02, 2008

Audi R10 & Peugeot 908 HDI FAP

What makes a great slot car? Of course, that question has many different answers depending on who you ask. What if I said that having a running mate to that car factors in to my answer? Well, it is true for me because a wonderfully scale detailed slot car that runs smoothly is even better when it has an equally matched adversary to race against it.

That is why I was excited when SCX released the Audi R10 and then the Peugeot 908. These two cars should deliver some very close racing so I looked forward to getting one of each for review. Naturally when they arrived it was clear that they needed to be matched up, so let us take a closer look at each before the rubber meets the road.

I have been very pleased with the recent efforts of SCX and when these arrived safe and sound my first thoughts were again very positive. Starting with the Audi the overall appearance was very good and detail level should be enough to please most enthusiasts.

Paint and Tampo stampings are near flawless aside from some very slight overspray line on the red. Do not think it is a glaring issue though because at first I did not notice it. When the car is on the track it is pretty much non-existent.

The model has a clean & dirt free clear coat sealing everything nicely. Overall body mold lines and fit were at a good level although the rear wing where it snaps over the tail light could have been a touch cleaner. The left side of my model came off during racing but it easily snapped back in place. This design is not going to hold up to the hardest crashes, but our testing showed it to be very durable. Items like the antenna and mirrors are less durable and I think SCX should look at using soft rubber in place of plastic. Other companies have done this with good success and it could only add to the durability of the model.

What would a great Le Mans Champion car be without being fully lighted? Well, fans of bright lights should be pleased as these really work well. The only slight issue is a fair amount of bleed-through from around the lighted areas. This could be easily fixed of course by painting the underside of the body flat black. I am just happy that they are on the model and that they look great for your night racing.

Wheels and tires seemed to look well enough in scale, at least for my tastes. The tires though will need some sanding as they have a slight cupping effect causing high edges. No issue here as we usually have to sand our tires on plenty of other models.

The Peugeot 908 is equally well done in the fit and finish department. Paint and Tampo work here were crisp and I found no evidence of overspray. The overall body shape seems very accurate to the 1:1 prototype and I have to admit that it looks better overall than the recently reviewed Carrera model. This is simply due to the car sitting lower where it should.

On the durability side of things, the antenna array and rear view mirrors are likely to fall victim in harder crashes. Still, regardless of that the car looks outstanding and feel SCX has done a great job presenting this car in our scale.

As with the Audi this model is fully lighted front and rear. Remember what I said about the bleed-through on the Audi? Well, not so here as this ominous flat black car is molded in black therefore it has virtually zero bleed effect.

Wheels and tires are again nicely done but will require sanding to true them. The wheels are the same size as the Audi so after-market tires can swapped between them. One thing I noticed is that although they have the stance of the car very close, it appears we have some tire rubbing to the body. This is due to the floating motor pod assembly which we will look at later.

Box Stock Testing
Artin Plastic Track - Aftermarket Power @ 12 Volts - PARMA 25 OHM Control

The first few laps with these models were pleasing, but it took some time to get the braids adjusted for the Artin rails. A fellow Home Racer, Jim Troye, was on hand for the testing and we started with a one lane shoot out to see which car could cut the fastest lap. The Audi just edged the Peugeot with a best time of 4.127 over 4.210. Both cars have very good acceleration and braking and the magnet was more than enough for us. Not everyone will feel there is enough magnet, but I liked both of them because they force you actually drive the car and not just hold down the trigger.

About the only thing we needed to do was to sand the tires to get a ideal contact patch. Once these were cleaned up the action was even better. We decided to go head to head for some 2 lane racing and the fun these cars provided was all we needed to see. Close wheel to wheel racing is about as much fun and satisfaction you can ask for from a pair of slot cars and both of these provided that. I did notice the Audi had a slight edge and the cause was on the Peugeot.

The motor pod assembly that allows the car to pivot allows the rear tires on the Peugeot to slightly rub when diving hard into the tight corners. This was scrubbing off some of my speed obviously. This is just one of several reasons why I do not really car for these types of motor pods. There is a couple ways to fix this of course, depending on your personal tastes. I simply used 2 small pieces of black electrical tape underneath to minimize the body roll. This did the trick as the Peugeot now was right with the Audi and I posted a lap time of 4.136. In other words, these cars are about as identical as you could ask for.

Wood Track Testing
3 Lane MDF Routed Wood - Flat Latex Surface
Copper Tape Conductivity - Aftermarket Power @ 12 Volts PARMA 25 OHM Control

We did not expect a great deal from these cars on our routed track, but we soon discovered that both were a great deal of fun! We lightly sanded and cleaned the tires with tape and we were off. The words "Wow" and "Smooth" were spoken more than once as we cruised around. And again we were wheel to wheel with no clear edge given to either car.

Lap times were pretty good too with averages in the 5.1 second range. These tires, when clean hook up fairly well but after-market tires would be the ideal set up. Still, I give kudos to SCX as we did not expect them to run this smoothly.

Under The Hood

Turning the models over we each has a individual chassis each with 5 screws holding the body to the chassis. Be careful here as the 2 front screws are smaller than the rear 3. Once taken apart you we can what makes these monsters tick. The heart of these cars is the RX-42B motor equipped with a 9 tooth pinion that turns a 27 tooth crown gear. Gear mesh is not the quietest you will ever hear, but allow these cars to break in and things will be much better. My SCX NASCARS are almost stealth-like compared to these cars simply due to many miles of racing.

You can also see the stamped strip system that conducts electricity to the motor and the lighting system. I have to say that this system works very well for the lights and it certainly looks impressive. The front wheels are independent and are of a post type mount set up. The amount of free-play is not that bad and given the good tri-pod effect it already has, most enthusiasts will find it sufficient.

Up front we see that SCX has included the new ARS guide system which still uses contacts, but the action seems smoother. One thing about this system is that the guide has a good amount of free-play that some enthusiasts do not care for. Still it functions as intended and does give both models an excellent tri-pod effect as already mentioned.

The rear bushings that hold the rear axle in place are held very tightly in the chassis and we noticed no spinning under load. The magnet used here is not a very large one but is more than enough for my tastes. If you want more magnet there is room to sneak one right in front of the motor. You can also loosen the magnet pocket screws and lower the original magnet to increase the downforce, and for lighter magnet racers you can tighten the screws to reduce the amount of downforce.

NOTE: These cars usually come with the magnet pocket set flush with the bottom. Check to make sure they are even before racing.

Final Thoughts

For my hobby dollar both of these cars are hard to beat. They are inexpensive which means a great deal to many in our hobby with tighter budgets, but they also are very nicely detailed and smooth running slot cars. We had great fun racing fun racing them not only because of the performance, but because they are so evenly matched. Last year in the Le Mans these cars duked it out with Audi taking the honors, but you can create your own history at home:)

SCX has been impressing me lately with some very nice slot cars that are easy on my wallet. If you enjoy modern Le Mans racing and the fun it offers, I would suggest that you try to add at least one to your collection but be warned: once you do you will most likely have a second one coming soon after. SCX has produced  a pair of models that will deliver hours of fun for your home racing and fun is what our hobby is all about. Well done SCX!

- 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!

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