Thursday November 01, 2007

Although this model by Spirit may not be new to all of you, I have wanted to get my hands on one for some time now. The main reason was I thought it had the potential to be a great non-magnet car for our new wood tracks. After testing the latest Porsche 936 my interest level increased and soon this Peugeot arrived safe and sound from BRS Hobbies for testing.

My first impressions of this model were favorable, at least in the paint and Tampo stamping departments. The entire car had a very crisp finish and a light coat of clear sealed things nicely. Although the color combinations here may not appeal to everyone, they are accurate according to prototype photos.

In fact the entire car is very well done in our scale. Items like the rear engine detail visible through the back glass just adds to the overall effect for me. And although the interior is a flat tray type design, scale detail is not bad. Visible roll bars and a fire bottle up front add depth as does the driver.

Some prefer a more detailed interior, but in fairness Spirit designed this car with the intentions of it being more for dedicated competition and thus this lightweight approach. In any event it all boils down to your personal preferences. For my intentions this interior and overall scale accuracy is more than enough.

Wheels and tires seemed round and true enough with a medium to soft compound. I thought the wheels seemed a little on the small side but they still looked fine. The added brake rotor detail increases the scale effect nicely and overall I was still pleased with what Spirit has offered.

Turning the model over we see the motor sitting in the angle-winder position with a small bar magnet located just to the front. The guide up front is nicely done being fairly deep and long. It also felt snug on the chassis with pretty much zero slop.

Shut Up & Drive!

My initial testing usually means a few laps on our Artin Dixon Hills layout that has (now) PARMA 25 OHM Econo controllers and a Pyramid PS26KX adjustable power supply. I set the power supply at 12 volts and my first few laps were pretty impressive. Acceleration and braking are both very crisp and this motor has more than enough punch for my tastes. In fact, since our layout is only 4 x 16 it is a little more than I usually prefer. In fairness though it functioned well enough out of the box and that is all that matters during this phase of testing. Lap times were in the 4.6 second range which is not bad taking into account no tire sanding (which it needs) or any other adjustments that this chassis allows.

However, I wanted this model for our new 3 lane wood track primarily so testing here was up next. This is where this model and I really had a chance to push things a little further. Our track uses the same power supply (PS26KX) and PARMA 35 ohm controllers. I dialed the voltage to 10 1/2 as this is where we keep it for this smaller layout. With the chassis set up out of the box and without tire sanding my lap times were right at the 5.3 second average. But is was not the times that I liked, it was how well this car ran with no modifications. Of course, there was some tire issues due to not being sanded and trued, but grip was decent. This car seemed to really shine with the voltage dialed down and I knew that for out of the box, this model would be right at home here.

Pop The Hood Already!

2 screws mount the chassis to the body and were easily removed. Inside we get a closer look at the motor, magnet and rear adjustable motor pod assembly. The motor is a S3X 24,000 rpm power-plant but you would not know that from the label. It is equipped with a 12 tooth brass pinion that turns the 32 tooth spur gear. The rear axle sits very well inside the well machined flanged bushings and I noticed no spinning under load with them. On the right side of the axle you see the gear adjustment collar that uses a 0.9 size Allen set screw.

Up front we see the front axle assembly that has Allen set screws to adjust the vertical free-play. Oddly, the screws we found underneath on the Porsche are not present and really should have them to truly adjust this front axle.

The front axle does have a good amount of side to side free-play which you fix one or two ways. First, you could trim the axle, but on this car a set of spacers on each side keeps the width correct to the car. I used some common washers I had in my parts bin to clean this free-play up. Small shims will not work ideally as they will rub on the inside of the axle mount so washers were the right choice here.

NOTE: The front wheels are very tight on the axle and will need elbow grease to remove. Once removed, there is a interesting find. The visible brake rotor detail is a one piece press one unit. What this brake rotor also does is creates a outer sleeve for the hub itself. Those who have repaired cracked Fly and other brands of hubs will truly appreciate this as it helps strengthen this hub. On purpose or not, I liked this added bonus.

Up front we also see the guide which as I stated earlier is nice in size as well as tightness in the fit. This may not be such an important item to some of you, but for me it means a great deal to have a guide that actually has some depth and length to it. Also that it is not flopping around in the chassis mount. Yes, so far I was very pleased with this chassis.

The big thing I was concerned with was the adjustable motor pod assembly. I have seen many different designs over the years, some good and some not, and although initial testing went well I was skeptical of this system. The front screw holds the front of the pod while the 2 rear screws have springs inside them. You can adjust the pod movement by adjusting these screws.

I noticed that on the wood track the model had a slight chatter to it when I would accelerate hard out of the corners. I removed the body and loosened up these 2 rear screws and it made a difference. Action was much smoother and it appears this design does work as intended.

The axles are machined very well to fit the rear bushings and the wheel hubs. Gear mesh is also very quiet and although the spur is thinner than most, it appears to be very durable.

More Testing & After-Market Additions

With the chassis adjusted the one item left was to sand the tires. This is about the only weak area on this car as they do need plenty of sanding to get them as round and true as possible along with getting a maximum tire contact patch to the track. Once I performed this and ran the tires across tape to clean them this car really improved in both overall control and lap times.

I now had a average time of 5.1 seconds and I knew with more practice things would get even better. I really enjoy driving this car as it is very smooth but also has a great balance to it. Cornering is clean and responsive and the motor gives me all the power our smaller layout can handle.

When BRS Hobbies sent us this model, they also sent along some beautiful wheels by KEI and tires from K&D. These wheels are designed to fit the Spirit 2.40 mm axles and they do fit very well. K&D tires are also very good and these were made specifically for this wheel. I removed the originals and installed this new set in only a few minutes and it was back to the track.

This was really an improvement in overall lap times. We started right off diving the times to 4.9 seconds and with a little sanding and cleaning of the tires a 4.8 second average was easily achieved. Although I prefer a more scale appearance, which I could do by adding inserts, these modifications really improved performance so you might want to look at these if you decide to hit the upgrade path.

The Bottom Line?

There is a lot to like about this model. It is smooth, quiet, has great acceleration and braking, and is a very nice performer out of the box. Magnet fans will not appreciate it in box stock form but other magnets can be added to adjust it. And the after-market parts that are available to upgrade it if need be just adds to the value.

This slot car has a lot going for it and club racers and other competitive enthusiasts might want to look very closely at what the Spirit line is offering. It already has an adequate amount of precision in stock form which makes a perfect platform to build upon. Others who simply enjoy a smooth running machine in non-magnet form should also give this car a second glance. I passed on the first of these offerings but I will have at least one more of these for a matched pair.

- 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 BRS HOBBIES For Providing Us With This New Car!