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Im amased at what happened to my Pioneer Bullitt Charger yesterday. I bought this car when it first came out but I had never turned a lap with it. Yesterday I was running some cars & decided to give it a run. On the second lap the wheel came off. At first I thought, no worries Ill push it back on with some glue maybe, but its not that easy. The hub of the wheel actually came away from the wheel. The car was under no real load, stock tires, no magnet on about 8volts. Has anyone seen a failure like this before on any car? Its a first for me. Im in no way knocking Pioneer, Im sure just a once in a lifetime failure.





I have to say Im a little upset by this as finding a new wheel may prove difficult as I really want to keep the hubcaps. Does anyone have a spare Pioneer charger bullitt wheel they want to sell? Or even a whole backend?

It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Had it happen on a TeamSlot once, and another car. It's been so long, might have been a Carrera.

Turn the wheels down into inserts, and use some metal wheels. It's a little work, but not too hard to do, and you'll be happy with the metal wheels.

Yeah thanks Kurt. Usually if this happened I would be like awesome, its a good excuse to add some aluminium wheels. Ive got my Razor & jig so it wont be an issue but I was kind of hoping to keep this car stock.

I know what you mean, I prefer stock, too. Don't even like to replace tires if I can help it.

I wonder if somebody around here has replaced the back end of one of their Chargers, and still has the original lying around...

Of course, you could check with Jules. He might have something for you.

I think you can glue that. Just take your time and use standard model glue like Testors to allow time for adjustment.

I would take the assembly and mount it in the Razor, then glue the wheel and turn your supply on and adjust the volts down all the way, then back it up slowly and inspect. I find this an easy method to get it as straight as possible.

Then sand to true as usual.

Thanks guys. You think I could glue it Harry? Im not sure how strong it would be. Im thinking now I might just throw some SCC wheels under it & turn the wheels down. Probably the easiest fix.

The only time I've seen a failure like that is when the injection mold tool isn't warmed up. As the plastic flows around the axle's hole it joins together and forms a weld line, which can be a weakness if the plastic has already started to cool.

It's probably 1 in 10,000 chance of happening, and unfortunately it's almost impossible to check during the manufacturing process. Have a look under a magnifying glass and if the break is clean I'd try gluing it back together first. If that doesn't work then turning the wheels down as inserts can always be your plan B.

Model glue is pretty strong, I think it's worth a try???

MIght as well try...worst case scenerio is you have to get a new one.

But if Bruce has some new ones, I would just order a set in case.

I had the same thing happen on a Scalextric Camaro wheel... Unfortunately, after gluing it back together (got it back on nice and true) the hub split on the next outing. Similar to you, the car was on it's first voyage out when it happened.
After gluing using Loctite gel superglue and sleeving the split hub (cut a piece of styrene to go around it) - it has been rock solid since (raced it twice now)
:)

Never seen that before Greg.
Choc-Ice could well be correct but the wheels are moulded on a multi-cavity tool so I would have expected similar failures on an entire batch.

That particular style of wheel was only used on the Assassin Charger, not on anything else so far. This was the Code 584 style hubcap type wheel.

As usual, I'm happy to cover any faulty parts under our unwritten 'warranty'. Just send me your address by PM and a new rear axle assembly will be sent to you.

Incidentally, whilst on the subject of wheels, we now glue on the wheels with Loctite onto a smooth ended axle. This has proved to be a great fix. They are held very, very firmly but will come off clean if you twist them with reasonable force should anyone wish to swap out the standard plastic wheel for a metal set.

Jules

Way to go Jules! :banana-dance:

Can't ask for better service than that! :D

Well it's official that I will be buying myself some pioneer cars in the future as soon as I get over my latest edition of no work.\
Still looking for any job that is close to where I live don't want to travel 60 miles to Pittsburgh each way for work with today's gas prices.

Update I was just informed that I will start a new job doing water proofing on basements I start this tuesday.
Now to catch up my bills then start my slot car funds and in the spring build my new tracks. :banana-dance: