Low Budget Race Team

[Ralphthe3rd]

Hey Guys, I just bought this Aurora A/FX Body and Chassis. Ummm...What fer chassis is this / Is THIS a Super Magnatraction Chassis ? And are those TYCO 440X2 Pick-ups on it !?

[Ralphthe3rd]

Let me first say, this wasn't a surprise, and wasn't a Freebie, I was in talks to acquire this from Chappy2(Rob), and paid for a Ready to Run chassis.
Ok, it arrived today and sure looks purdy. And took these pix...




After these pix were taken, I scrutinized the chassis and oiled it, and put it on the track to test. BTW- I should have cleaned the tires FIRST, as they were rather slippery with copper streaks on them, and not the highest quality Silicone tire by any means, and I ID'd them as Buds AFX size tires. Anyway, the chassis runs and slides, actually slides a bit too easily, and doesn't really drift predictably, more like a snap lose style, but alot may have to do with the tire choice. Maybe some Good Super Tires would improve the Drifting action ? I also noted this chassis/motor combo didn't appear very fast, and I also tested it on my Dragstrip, again, not very fast, not as fast as all my Tuffy(new and old). I also noted the chassis didn't coast very much(and I wasn't using brakes hooked up). Sooo... I took the chassis to check for friction and lap the gears. Oddly, I found I really had trouble getting power to turn over the motor in reverse direction to lap the gears for coasting, and I'm not sure why, maybe a connection difficulty ? Also, I added some Comm drops to the comm, of an Arm I didn't ID, except to note it wasn't a Tyco Arm ? Anyway, I also cleaned the tires with my orange Goop and got them squeaky clean. Back to Track Testing. BAM, NOW I Got Power ! Nearly Doubled the Horsepower, but..... that wasn't necessarily a good thing, and made the car rather uncontrollable -even on my Dragstrip. Again, the Tires musta also been a weak link. With all this power, the chassis Now reacts Just like a Tyco 440X2 with the traction magnets completely Removed ! And normally, I use sili-sponge tires on my chassis set up like that.
Oh, one other thing that bummed me out, I had some T-Jet bodies all lined up to fit to this chassis for testing, and none would fit :( The Brass Chass is a bit wider than a normal T-Jet chassis, so my Hot Rod Body, my Willys and even my JL '70 Camaro Body were all too narrow.... :cry:
I haven't accomplished full testing yet, but some points have already come to light, and need to be recognized.
So far, I say the chassis is cool, and would run fast in a straight line very well....albeit with better tires. As far as handling, well, good news is- it doesn't want to highside or deslot in the twisties. Bad news is, it spins out very easily, but again- tire choice would help improve that.
When I originally posted on chappy2's thread about this brass chass, I worried about all that heavy brass up high. Well, I don't really think it's up High now. BUT, I believe the mass of the brass is waay too rearward, and doesn't help traction, as it more likely promotes fishtail spinouts :(

That's my review so far, and I hope it doesn't upset Chappy2/Rob ?

[Ralphthe3rd]

Since my previous post, I made some adjustments... ie- I tried dropping my power supply down from 20v to 15v and changed Controllers to a BRP Nitro 80ohm. BUT, more Importantly, swapped out the rear tires to a set of fresh Super Tires !
Results> although the change in Voltage didn't affect performance any, the tires and controller swap did. With those two changes -this chassis became much more controllable, albeit still Very FAST- which is inherently in an inline trait.
More testing to follow....

[Ralphthe3rd]

First off, I added a Low Down and Dirty Dodge Body....


When I said Low Down and Dirty- I meant it ! Ya couldn't get this low with a T-Jet Chassis, unless you cut out the hood and trunk lid ! FYI- that Body WAS an original Aurora Dodge Charger, that had, ahhh...seen better days, but brought much joy to many during it's lifetime- No Doubt !



Ok now, I worked on JUST the tires, and found the sweet spot so to speak. First off, the "Buds Brand" AFX Size Crappy silicones that came on my car, are, well CRAP. So I tried some AFX size Jel Claws, which I normally hate on gravity cars(ie- no traction mags), but the Jels really improved the handling and started controlling the drifting, that is up until the Jels got dirty, then they got slippery. Next I Tried a couple of pairs of Tyco 440 Size silicone tires, that I think were made by Penn Valley Tires. And Man, what an improvement- Even on My Dragstrip, as all previous tires appeared to be spinning all the way down the track until the Traps. After those tires, I went with another set of PVT's for the Tyco 440 Size rim, but these tires were the lower Profile type. And that's what you now see on the car in the latest pix with the body on. These tires finally tuned the car....and now I'm Very pleased with the results... it hooks up and drifts predictably, but this car will Keep You On Your Toes !

[Ralphthe3rd]

> Brass Chass vs. T-Jet Chass...what you see here is the Brass Chass(w/can motor) mounting a very stripped Aurora Dodge Charger body, weighing in at 30 Grams. vs. an Aurora T-Jet chassis, sporting a repainted JL Dodge Charger body, weighing in at 22 grams.





PS- the Brass Chass weighs alot more- by HO Standards. But that weigh is pretty low in the chassis, and this car has never deslotted yet ! BUT, the weight is also biased rearward, and this causes alot of tail wagging and spin outs....

[RichD]

Ralphthe3rd, that looks like an AFX SP-1000 chassis. http://www.modelmotorist.com/web-content/arsp1000l.jsp
The crown gear has been changed to a modern one.

[RichD]

That CNC machined brass chassis is interesting. It looks like even the extra 8 grams of weight is not enough to tame that can style motor. Besides better tires you might try a taller gear ratio (bigger pinion) to make the car more drivable.

[Ralphthe3rd]

[Ralphthe3rd]

[TeamMadMarsupial]

Ralph, have you tried adding any front weight to compensate for the rear bias of the brass chassis? Have not been able to see if there is even room to try front weight from your pictures. I usually try to balance my cars from front to back to find that sweet spot.
I just got some round stock about 1/8" dia. or so, from a buddy to try as slot car weight. Don't know what its made of, but was told not to carry it around in my pocket or keep it in a room I sleep in?????? Not sure what that means, but I'm thinking if I can build an H.O. scale Ohio Class Submarine......I might have something to power it with?

[Ralphthe3rd]

[Ralphthe3rd]

[RichD]

If you need more weight up front with the brass chassis one option is to use a Fray type brass front end, if you do not want the front wheels to stick out you could use an ECHORR Nostalgia brass front end such as JW's HO Speed Parts sells.

[Ralphthe3rd]

[Ralphthe3rd]

Here's a Nice lil Resin 3 winder Coupe body I got(used) from my buddy Jim Hoar this past weekend. It now uses Original Aurora Tuff Ones Power, but has a divorced front axle to be extra long. The rear axle and wheels came from the Original Aurora A/FX Hop-Up kit, and FYI- they are wider and more deep dish than the AJ's wheels.


The decal on back says Riff Raff Racing and was on the body when I got it....




BTW- I don't plan on painting this body, I'm just gonna leave it as-is in shiny Orange. BUT, I will add some Decal decorations when I find suitable ones :)