04/06/2012

1/32nd Scale Slot it Lancia LC2 Review

By

Eric Cropper

 

It’s been a long time since I’ve had, let alone run a newer Slot it release. I’m talking Chappy era folks. So, I jumped at the chance to pick up this car from Bruce at Cincyslots. Now that I’ve dated my knowledge of everything Slot It since the Chappy, keep in mind that what I think is new and improved may be old news to some of you. I think you’re going to be surprised either way with this one.

 

 

APPEARANCE

 

Honestly, this car is too white for me to be absolutely in love with the paint job. The red is a nice medium shade with gold line accents to help break up the sea of white. The paint for the most part is crisp and solid. There were a couple of small areas that weren’t perfect, but who is?

 

Below you get to see the overall profile of this model and it shares the cockpit and rear end with the older Lancia release. The most notable difference is the extended front end and the side body panels. This is a lighter billed body per Slot it weighing in at 16.4 grams.

 

 

 

The nose is flattened and houses rectangular headlights. The headlights are not the best looking, but serve their purpose. I’m still trying to determine if the Amaretto logo in the nose is a sticker or tampo printed. It’s a bit rough and it’s crooked in the opening. The rest of the logos up front are very clear and opaque.

 

Below are the body lines that I like the best on this model. The side panels wrap around behind the front wheel with the recessed middle for air flow to cool and keep the front end planted as it barrels down a long straight section of a real world track.

 

 

The rear wing is a totally different wing in regards to how it’s mounted to the Lancia. It’s secured to the 2 white fins, for lack of a better term, that start above the rear wheels and extend over the rear end of the car. The two center supports are not attached to the underside of the wing, but are actually a part of the chassis. Is it solid? Yes, very solid. Is it too solid? I could see the wing still breaking an end piece off or chipping down its length. However, it doesn’t hinder body float since the center supports are not connected to the underside of the wing.

 

 

 

I’ve always been impressed with some of the places that Slot It tampo prints upon their cars. However, I was really surprised that the 24 Heures Du Mans logo and drivers names were in fact a sticker and not printed. It’s quicker, easier and should hold up more to those roof slides we occasionally take while racing, but it still caught me off guard. The antenna is rubber and seems sturdy. I don’t see the mirrors sticking around long when racing the Lancia hard around your circuit.

 

Below is the best shot I could get of the driver and Slot it did a great job on the helmet and belts, but this is nothing new with their drivers. You also get to see the nice vent details on the fenders.

 

 

Finally, when I removed the body from the chassis, I discovered two very fragile looking openings along the bottom of the front end. I suppose they are there to simulate vents since the color of the chassis shows through them. I can see the bottom of these opens breaking after a good frontal impact. Extra detail, but I don’t know if it really was necessary.

 

 

The wheels are a simple 5 star design with a silver painted center cap and brake rotor behind it. It creates nice depth and contrast. They’re wrapped in Dunlop rubber and are my favorite tire brand to have on a tire. The rears wheels measure in at 16.5 mm, but there is still a ton of fender gap in the rear. This is good to prevent tire rub if you run a loose rear end or like to run taller tires. It just doesn’t look good head on and close up.

 

 

There’s the .10 tour around the LC2 and it’s a decent looking car, but I’d rather have the Martini version. It may be just as white, but you can’t go wrong with a Martini sponsored car.

 

Slot it was very true to the real deal too.

 

 

THE CHASSIS

 

The Lancia LC2 comes with the new EVO6 chassis, a new motor mount and pickup. There are 2 extra mounting holes in front of the rear tires. The holes come into play when you install the newest angle winder pod and it allows for different screw position choices of the motor pod. I don’t know the weight specs of the chassis, but it seems considerably thinner in overall thickness.

 

 

I don’t know if the washers with the motor pod screws have been added to the newer cars, but I think they’re a nice addition. The magnet is different from what I remember of the older cars and appears to have a strong attraction to the rails for you Magnutz.

 

The typical quality components can be found once the body is removed from the chassis. The Lancia in stock form is an inline configuration and can be easily upgraded to suit your need for speed and control for all types of tracks and surfaces.

 

 

As shown below, the bottom rear body panels (in red) are part of the chassis and not the body. The body float you can get is impressive without any extra sanding of the chassis.

 

 

 

Above, is the new pickup guide and it’s pretty solid. There’s not too much play in it and it moves freely within the post. You also can see that the entire front part of the chassis is a separate piece. Don’t worry, its heat welder in place. I find the two small holes interesting, but I couldn’t locate any info as to why they exist.

 

Below, you can see the guide post is nicely reinforced and that the M2 screws are still being used to hold the guide wires in place. Again, I found two interesting holes on the top side of the chassis in front as I did on the bottom of it. On top of each axle post is a hole that appears it could accommodate a M2 screw. Could it be another option to control the front axle height is you removed or replaced the caps under the axle? Maybe, that’s what the two holes on the bottom of the chassis are for too. I don’t know, because I couldn’t find any info on it and I didn’t try it myself.

 

 

TRACK TIME

 

Ok, since everyone tunes their cars to suit their own needs I chose to run the Lancia as is and with minimal tuning. I’ll let the results of this simple testing session speak for themselves. Every owner will figure out their own preferences to get their desired performance out of this car. So, it makes no sense for me to try every possible car setup. Plus, once you read the results, I think you’ll see why I didn’t take the tuning any further at this time.

 

I tested on Legion Region Speedway, which is a 4 lane Scaley Sport track with 8 power taps. I ran in the red #2 lane, which I think is the fastest lane of the track. I always run LRS @ 10V with a MG Power Supply and I used my newly acquired Difalco Genesis DD303 controller. Here are the results and changes I made to the Lancia during the test runs. I also cleaned the tires each time with a mixture of H2O and Simple Green mixed at a 50/50 ratio.

 

1st Magnet with all screws tight = 4.990 Best Lap

          2nd No magnet with all screws tight = 6.149 Best Lap

          3rd No magnet with the body screws backed off ½ turn = 6.092

          4th No magnet with the body screws backed off ½ turn & all pod screws ¼ turn = 6.073

 

The most impressive part of this testing is I did NOTHING to the tires. They are very true and hooked up really well on the Sport track. The car accelerates incredibly quick due to its light weight. I also didn’t add any weight to the chassis. The rear end could use a little taming, but for untouched box stock, it handled very well and could be controlled in the curves without an incredible amount of rear end sliding.

 

I also ran a stock NSR 917 with NSR’s stock tires that have been trued on my Tire Razor and all it could mustard were lap times in the 6.3 range. Plus, its rear end was all over the place compared to the Lancia. Then I ran my Ninco Acura Patron LMP which has been fitted with 1/32 axles, bushings, Slot Car Corner LMP wheels with rubber band tires on the front and trued Super Tires on the rear. I also changed the motor to a NC-6 and a Slot It gear. Yet, with all those changes and upgrades, it only got into the 6.2s range. I think this comparison speaks volumes for the Lancia’s box stock performance. Well, at least on my track. Your experience could be different.

 

 

JUDGEMENT DAY

 

Slot it is always changing and trying to improve the performance and reliability of their cars for the serious World Competitor and it still benefits the simple Home Racer too. I wish I had a digital scale to weight the Lancia, because it feels light as air when you hold it. It has good looks, quality parts and the box stock performance really shocked me from the first pull of the trigger. I think it’s a great addition to the Slot it line and a very welcomed one for someone who’s tired of another Porsche showing up as a “new” release. I could see it being a competitor in our local Ohio Valley 1/32 Scale Racing League next season or as just a car to enjoy running in the comfort of your basement, garage or spare room. I think swapping the rears to Super Tires will get it into the 5.9s, but I’m happy with how it runs for now. Next, week might be another story.

 

Thanks to Bruce at CincySlots for helping sponsor this review and feel free to contact me with any questions at ecropper@hotmail.com or here via PM.

 

Eric Cropper

AKA legionofone

 

 

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