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Slot.It
- The 'Calsonic' NISSAN 390 GT1 - How good is it?
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HISTORY The Nissan R390 GT1 raced at Le Mans in both 1997 and 1998. The car was jointly developed by NISMO (Nissan Motor Sport) and TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing). Powered by a 3.5 litre, biturbo, load-carrying engine rated at 600hp, the chassis was a carbon fibre derivation of the TWR designed Jaguar XJR 15. In 1997, three cars with #21,#22 and #23 were entered by Nissan Motor Sport with undeniably serious ambitions. In fact, the R390 driven by Martin Brundle was the fastest in prequalifying. The race however turned into an altogether different story and the only surviving car came in 12th overall. 1998 saw Nissans return with an overhauled R390 boasting better aerodynamics, reliability and a special ABS system. 4 cars were entered and by the end of the race NISMO scored its best ever result at Le Mans when the R390 GT1 driven by Hoshino, Suzuki and Kageyama crossed the line in overall 3rd. However that year brought a double celebration for the NISMO Team. All 4 R390 GT1 starting the race finished in the top 10 - a real testament to the reliability and speed of the car. |
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MODEL So the model itself has to be one of the finest finished cars yet produced by Slot.it. Attention to detail, always evident with Mr Ferrari's productions, seems extravagant this time round. Finish is crisp, accurate even down to the texture changes on the bonnet and across the centre of the car (see below).
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Decals are all there as per the original even where
you can't see them as in the Bridgestone label on the underside of the
rear foil above.
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Engine detail is hand painted adding yet another dimension
to the car and although the parts of the engine show evidence flashing
where the two halves of the mold were joined, this is only showing up
in a macro camera mode and I am being VERY picky!
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Driver and cockpit are fully painted even down to
the seatbelts and dashboard. Not unusual in this day and age but nice
to see. Look at the black studs outlined on the sides of the roof pillars
an the engine cover clips painted silver - great to see and doing nothing
but adding to the overall effect.
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One detail evident on all the Nissan R390s produced by Slot.it has been the turbo units mounted to each side of the car just in front of the rear wheels. Superbly decorated on the outside and modelled in full on the inside where they are almost NEVER seen. However from a tuning perspective these give alot of problem because when adding weight they sit exactly where you want to put it. I know in Switzerland at least one series dictated that as they are on the car out of the box and no cutting of chassis or body is allowed - they have to stay! |
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TECHNICAL An innovation on this release is the inclusion of the new lowered motor mount, allowing the motor to sit with its shaft below the centre line of the rear axle and the crown gear. The crown gear itself is designed to allow for this disparity and meshes just fine although I have found the normal crown gears also give no problems. To the lower left are three chassis next to each other, the one on the right is from the Test version of the Nissan released between the street version and the 'Calsonic' car. I shows standard Slot.It set up for most cars over the years (with subtle changes only along the way). 28/10 ratio,standard motor mount, standard 'H' magnet and 25K motor. Next to that in the centre is the 'Calsonic' chassis, boasting the new offset motor mount. 28/10 ratio (offset crown gear), standard 'H' magnet and 25K motor. Lastly, to the far left is my Nissan R390 set up. 28/9 ratio (offset crown gear), No magnet, Offset Boxer motor mount, Boxer 24 Motor, 10 grams of lead spaced around the chassis.
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and then there is this little suprise awaiting each new owner... On the right is the standard clip on Slot.It guide for plastic tracks. However this car boasts a new guide not, to my knowledge, expected or heard of until now. A close look will show a tapered guide flag both front and back, which alone will help the car on all tracks especially in the sharper corners and when crossing those never perfectly aligned joints. On top of that yo uwill see the front edge of the guide is pre chamfered ! This has been one of the easiest and most successful tweaks to a guide you can do and stops the guide cracking across raised joints. The fact you no longer need to do this with your Slot.it car is a huge bonus. |
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ON THE TRACK Well nothing new really, most of us know Slot.it cars and how well they perform on all and any track system. Yes there have been problems with past releases on various guises but Slot.It always go out of their way to sort these for their customers. A basic tune up and alignment of all running gear is advised, but not required, to get them running fast, smooth and consistent in no time. What do I suggest? Check motor cables are not fouling the guide or front axle, check the rear wheels are aligned with the body and chassis and that the crown gear is aligned with the motor shaft and pinion, loosen the body screws slightly, set the braids to be even in height and length. |
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What will the Nissan R390 GT1 run with? Well other Nissan R390 GT1s (see right and there are more planned) and any cars from the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1997 and1998 of which you will find plenty to choose from in the slot world. Reprotec also produced this car but they are not as good nor as detailed so for the money (around 40 EURO for the Slot.It ones) I would go with the Italian brand. |
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Then do not forget the street version! Not the most popular amongst racers but well up there in the popularity stakes with kids. It only comes direct from Slot.it in metallic red but Overdrive in Germany produce other colours (see left) if red leaves you cold. |
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As always a set of well installed lights will add value and fun to the car, this is an Overdrive kit sold pre installed but yo ucan do it yourself and most other brands of after market lighting will fit including Slot.it of course. A word of caution - The rear lights of the Nissan are small and exterior to the bodywork. In fact the four units are only 3mm across each. You WILL find it very tricky to get rear LEDs looking good. In fact very tricky which is why I havent given you a pic!
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© Swissracer (Allan Wakefield) December 2005
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 25th May 2013 - 10:29 |