Scaleauto Home Series Porsche - Home Racing World & The Slot Car Garage

09/21/2014

1/32nd Scale Scaleauto Porsche 935J DRM
Norisring 1980 #6 Rolf Stommelen #SC-9102

The Scaleauto Home Series that some have wondered about has arrived. This was an interesting bit of news and some enthusiasts were really curious on what this brand would bring us.

Yet as I hold the car in my hands after going through it, I can safely say there is nothing really new about it. Not that this is a bad thing really, but if you were expecting some new approach to "home racing" I can assure you this isn't it.

I have read SRC was to do this model originally but that Scaleauto acquired the rights to do it. Trivial things like this do not mean much to me as a simple end user, but looking at the car I have to say it looks like a SRC model that has simply been re-branded. In fact, I did read that they did purchase the tooling to these models. Of course I contacted Scaleauto several times asking to verify all of this release but never received an answer.

Is this a major concern? Not really. Like I stated, it isn't a factor to me. What I will do is report on the model that arrived, just like the one you will receive if you choose it.

The body and paint are nicely done but there is some light cracking on the blue stripe. Seems odd to me for just that color to have the issue but I have to report what is in front of me.

Some slight gap noticeable on the front clip as well. Nothing really offensive to me, but it is here. Some of you will not like this, others will be fine with it.

Body shape and detail level are very good though. The driver is especially pleasing on the eye.

Wheels and tires are nice enough but just by looking at it I can tell you that some sanding and truing will be needed. This is common for almost any stock tire so nothing bad here. The turbofan inserts of the BBS wheel seem to stock out further than they should on the rear, but not by much.

The car does sit low in the rear but prototype photos shows it looks very close. I did notice some flash molding on the fender wells but it looked more like paint. I rubbed my finger over it and it was gone. Odd, but nothing critical.

What is a concern is that the rear tires do rub the body. I did not even have to place this car on the track to notice that. I was just turning the rear wheels and could feel it binding. I decided to give a quick burst of power and although the axle turned, I immediately noticed some tire particles coming off.

Before I take it apart, here is a quick look underneath. Nice detail that most should appreciate. Sidewinder configuration as expected with bar magnet placed just in front of the motor.

Inside everything is what I expected. Solid front axle with spring loaded guide up front. The motor used is a plain S can motor that I have no ratings for. This model is not even listed in the online catalog and the only motor listed as "homeset" gives a 10,000 rpm rating. The model certainly runs faster than that to me. In any case it is outfitted with a 11 tooth pinion and 36 tooth spur gear. And yes, veteran enthusiasts should recognize the spur gear as it looks identical to the SRC gear. I am very certain this motor is also from the SRC line, just carried over to this car.

To get right to the tire rubbing issue, the above photo shows where the contact is happening. It is also very close to rubbing on the inside of the fender, but here is where the contact is on my model. You could use a Dremel and sand this area away enough to allow the tires to clear.

But I feel it is the tires that need the sanding first. I am not going to use the stock tires and neither are a majority of the racer I know. So I will share my approach to this issue that hopefully some will find helpful.

Quick Tune

I removed the rear axle assembly and mounted it in my Tire Razor. You can see that the wheel surface has flash molding that could use cleaning up. The good news is that the wheels are actually very round and mounted about as straight and true as it gets for plastic.

I like to use 800 grit sandpaper for my wheels. For tires I like to use 1500. With a finer grit, the contact patch of the tire is very smooth. With sanding of the wheels completed, I mounted Paul Gage tires #21137LM. These are NOT the perfect tire for this wheel. They are slightly taller and will require sanding down to get the right diameter. This is how I PREFER it. I like to shape my tires to fit the car. Ordering larger tires allows me to do this, because it is easier to take away than add to them.

Once these tires were trued I also contoured the inside sidewall as shown. I like to use an Emery board for this as it is easy to handle.

Watch The Wheels

While sanding the wheel I noticed the insert coming loose. I removed it for the rest of the session. I thought some of you would be interested in this in case you decide to simply change wheels.

As you can see it simply presses into the wheel. A little glue holds it just fine.

It will press into an after-market wheel. I tested on the wheel you might use as a replacement.

But I will use the originals since they cleaned up very well. Once this was completed I removed the assembly and test fit it in the model. It was all clear now and time for a road test.

This model is now smooth as ever and a pleasure to drive. There is still some tuning to do with weight placement, but we now have a nice running model that will be easily tamed. The power of the motor is more than enough and has decent braking. Gear mesh is just starting to break-in but it is already pretty quiet.

I'm very happy with the end result.

I would not think the tuning I did is a real negative point. We have been tuning these models like this for years to get them where we like them for the tracks we race on. I recently had to rebuild a model by another brand because they used the wrong gear in it. That model ended up costing a lot more than this offering. I simply cleaned/modified existing parts with only a $4.00 set of tires. I can live with that.

In reading about this car on the Scaleauto website, they inform us that this series is designed for the beginner (easy gaming) enthusiasts and that it can be upgraded to higher quality parts. Sometimes things can be lost in translation with these websites. The fact is I would not really recommend this car for a beginner unless they simply adore this version of a Porsche. The model runs out of the box but with the tire rub issue I don't think most beginners will appreciate it. It is however accurate in the fact it is ready to be tuned. Either using what came in the box, or going all out with after-market parts.

For you veterans out there I certainly would recommend it. Just approach this car as you would a Flyslot/SRC model and tune it accordingly. A little tire rub isn't going to stop any of you from enjoying a nice looking model like this one. You will change tires like you do in most cases anyway.

I like the model because it offers a lot of good for a decent price. Cincyslots has it listed for $52.99. In today's hobby that is not bad at all. Looking at the detail level of the model and then add in how easy it is to tune for almost any track, it is more than a fair price to me.

I look forward in seeing what is next in this series from them.

- Harry

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Thanks got to CINCYSLOTS for sponsoring this review.