Scalextric Cougar Help Sought

[swampdog12345]

Just got the Scalextric Cougar, and I'm having an issue. The guide will not stay in the slot, especially under acceleration leaving a corner. I've tried reducing the diameter of the front tires by sanding them. I've sanded them a ton. All the tread is now gone and quite a bit more rubber as well. The fronts still contact the surface of the track and bear weight. I doubt much more rubber can be removed without destroying the tire. I'm reluctant to shim the guide, because the front of the car already sticks up in a way that looks terrible to me. I have some Slot-it Zero Grips that I can get on the wheel, but their low profile looks unacceptable on this car, especially with the massive gap that is already there between the top of the stock tire and wheel well opening. I've seen mention made in this forum of replacing the fronts with fronts from "earlier Trans Am" models. Does anyone have a size for those? And a source? Or perhaps a size for another brand of tire with a sidewall that looks good on the front of Cougar while having a diameter that is smaller than the stock fronts? Thanks!

[turbokev]

[slothead]

Kev

Is that green #1 Cougar a resin bodied car or a repaint of a Scalextric Cougar? I have both of the Scalextric's Cougars (#14 & #98) but neither has been on the track yet so I don't know about speed and handling. I also have one of the Scalextric all white Cougars that is painted green and is on its way to becoming the #41 of Allan Moffat. The green Cougar with stock tires time trialed in the middle of the pack of Scalextric cars and only 2 Pioneer Mustangs were significantly faster. Many of the other cars have silicone or urethane tires. Not sure if this means the all white Cougar is a better runner out of the box than the race car versions, but maybe because the stance seems a tiny bit lower in the front and it has different wheels.

I want to get one more #98 Cougar and renumber it the #15 of Peter Revson, but would like them all to have the stance on your green one so I guess I'll be checking out your thread to make those modifications. (Also, isn't there a superstition among race car drivers about green cars supposedly being unlucky? Generally speaking, green race cars are rare. Anyone know how and when that started?)

Slothead

[turbokev]

My green Cougar is a Scalextric white version that I modified.. click the link in my post to see the build.

Just to add some data to this discussion..

I had not tuned the Gurney Cougar at all.. so this morning I oiled it up and trued the stock tires.
That's it.. no weight, no loose body screws.. just the way it comes out of the box with the very
basic tuning you would do to any car.. it actually drives pretty nicely but will deslot if pushed in
the corners. As long as you stay within its limits, its a fun car to drive.

I ran the car for 100+ laps stopping every 7 or 8 to clean the tires to make sure I was getting
the best lap I could out of it.. Ran a bunch in the 7.5 range with the best time being 7.498

The green cougar turned a 6.8 on it's warmup lap.. and after 50 laps or so I had recorded
a best lap of 6.428 with low 6.5's and high 6.4's very easy lap after lap.

Also for reference, the stock Cougar weighs 3.11 oz. and the green one weighs 3.32 oz.
Total height of the stock #98 is 41.86 mm and the lowered #1 car is 36.55 mm

Thanks for bringing the Cougars up.. I had a blast this morning playing with mine !

[dreinecke]

Kevin did a great job with his. Here's how I did my Cougar: http://homeracingworld.us/viewtopic.php ... lit=Tuning

[ccobra]

Its about time to check the mail and see if the white cougar I ordered is in yet. I have a white scaley mustang that all I have done to it was change the rear wheels with CB's and a pair of yellow dogs on them. Now with the trackmate I have been able to see what these cars can do. My resins with the printed chassis that I done turn around 7.8 seconds per lap, the slotit GT40 turn a low 6 second lap with one at a 5.999 but the white mustang has turned in a 4.944 second lap time just before it let go and flew off the track. After that I put up taller fencing around the track and am still thinking of adding some chain link around it. Now I better go out and see just what I did to the mustang and check it over for I have another one coming but it is of the Petty livery. By the way, the grand kids always want the White mustang for they can run it at 13.7 volts and it normally stays on the track for them as they turn a mid six second lap, and that mustang sure is noisy but who cares as long as it turns consistent laps like it does, even though the scale speed is through the roof at 240.
I just went out and check this Beast that requires speed vision glasses when you run it and I did modify it. What I did was take a Parma motor screw and inserted it into the top of the flag to keep the flag attached. I put on a Slotit axle with Sloitit 18mm x 36t spur gear with a 11 tooth pinion. Then I added CB 15x12 spoke wheels with yellow dog 1421Y tires. Then I noticed that I hot glued the bearings in place on the rear axle and inserted a trick toothpick to hold the left rear bearing in place. I also added the SCC racing Brushes and added some Voodoo juice to the top of the brushes to smooth out the brushes and contacts. The rear valance and bumper were glued to the body and the driver was glued into place for he was moving around a lot in the interior. And after one of the flights the car had off of the track, I rebuilt the front spoiler with a little piece of styrene and used some of the modelers bondo to fill in the gaps. I never painted it and it is starting to show its age for I got the car in August of 2013. I was just one lucky modeler with this car for it shouldn't run as fast as it does but it does.

[noddaz]

Love the Cougar build...
Especially this step...


That will get the interior out of the way... :lol:

Scott

[ccobra]

Before you all get out the crosses, wooden stakes, and silver bullets, I noticed on the white Cougar I got today when compared to the Boss Mustang, the magnet was located below the rear axle instead of in front of the motor. Since I didn't want to remove the rear axle just yet I placed a small rectangle magnet that I got from PM in front of the motor. Then over to my track and was amazed with the difference in handling. Now I was able to complete several laps with times averaging 5.7-5.8 seconds with a fast lap of 5.620. When compared to the first run it was going at 7.8-7.9 seconds and if I tried to push it faster it would flip or jump the track, and that was even after turning the voltage down to 10 volts. This little Cougar is close to requiring Speed Vision glasses to just see it as it flies by. By the way, after modifying the chassis to lower the stance, were the lights removed?

[turbokev]

[swampdog12345]

Thanks all. Getting out the cut-off wheel I guess.