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I have both lanes wired and all is good with Depew Speedway !
However (you knew there would be more!)....
It seems that even with the power source turned down, my Scaley Trans-Am cars will not stay in the slot. When I accelerate they pop out even on the straights. It's as if the front of my cars are to high off the track.
Do I need to have "magnet cars" for plastic and "other cars" to run on the wood tracks ?
My Lambo is lower profile and seems decent on the wood !
:text-thankyouyellow:

With the Scaley Transam cars on wood, everything will need to be trued and glued. While you are in the process of truing the fronts grind them so the guide is as far down in the slot is possible without the car becoming a tripod ie running on the guide and back wheels.
You can also add a little weight to the centre of the chassis if it helps on your track...toss the magnets of course.

I don't know what you are using for a power supply or how many volts you are running but here is a tip. Most no mag racers run on about 10 volts. The extra voltage used on magnet tracks is used to overcome the extra drag that the magnet exerts on the car. A well hooked up, no mag car on 10 v. will perform roughly comparable to a mag car on 14 v. acceleration wise. It won't go through a turn as fast though so the slower pace in the twisties is an adjustment that you will have to learn.

Other than the super glue trick on the axle and urethane tires, I run all of my Scaley Trans Am cars stock. I don't race them competitively so ultra ultra tuning isn't my goal.

Bobby if you are staying with stock parts other than perhaps tires, 2 little things that make a difference even once youve fixed the axle slop as above.
1 use some hot glue overtop of the rear bushings , it keeps them in place from spinning in their seats, and from moving around.
2 look at your brushes and if like most scaley you will find the back part of the brush sitting under the front part.
Fold the front up, and then fold the back part back toward the rear of the car and press them down, then put the fronts to their original position toward the rear of the car.
Now you have gained a little more guide into slot availability. If your front tires are to tall then youmwill have to sand them down some to gain advantage of the reduced brush height.
A tad of weight about 1/3 behind the front axle will also help settle the front down.
Having said that, just check the slot for any router debris left over.
Then have fun
All the best
Bob

Buffalo Bob,

As all before me have said, take one car, get it right and try driving that around for 200 or so laps. I'm betting that it gets better as more and more rubber is built up on the track's surface.

Now, both ModlerBob and myself run either Yellow Dog or Paul Gage Urethane tires for outstanding grip both in the straights and in the turns.

I have a Scaley Start Formula 1 car that runs so well on our Palm Bay that most folks just take their cars off and watch it run. All I have done to it is to fix the play in the rear axle / bushing. Bibbster put together a great how-to on it. Basically you remove all the play by coating the axle with Super Glue in the area of the bushing. After you run it in to give some clearance, the car runs outstandingly.

I'm sure that the wood is new to you, but once you get it all figured out, you will love it.

Marty...thanks !!!
I may have to have separate cars for wood and plastic.
Yesterday we raced on plastic, and although finishing 8th out of 12 racers, I had a blast.
Still can't get the speed out of my cars like others can. With 6 lanes racing at the same time almost everyone either de-slots or is involved in an accident.

Bob

What restrictions do you have on the class?

The first thing I do is replace the guide. I use the Scaleauto guide and it is a direct drop in replacement for the stick guide. The stock guide and braid just do not sit down in the slot very far and
the guide blade is very shallow to start with so even if you get it lower into the slot you still don't have enough blade in the slot. If you want to keep the guide the only other way to get it down into the slot is to turn the front tires down to lower the front.
Then I replace the rear end with SCC bushings and glue them in place. And then add a slot-it rear axle and wheels and what ever tire works best for you track..
Then I weight tune the car.

In our club we do a good deal more, Replace the motor with a slot-it orange endbell motor, slot it wheels and axles in the front, We have spec. gearing and the car must weight at least 80 grams. Oh we also dump the interior and use vac interiors too.. Yeah we basically gut the whole car. But that is what works for us. we also run at 10 volts too.

I think your biggest problem from what you describe is the guide issue and a little weight up front.

Chris

I agree with what Mike says.
Tune it for wood and leave the mag in it. If it's good on wood it'll be good on plastic.
Also all the other guys are right on it with the advice -
- tyres that are true and grippy like PG's, a bit of float, get out the axle slop, a little weight and fold back the braids as described will give you a much better car all round for very little cost.

You can always spend dollars on new guides and stuff down the track, but these basic things will give you an immediate and substantial improvement.

You only need one car when properly prepared. The article I did I can't take credit for - there are people much smarter than me on this forum that taught me. I just gathered it all up and put it in one place.