Ban Scalextric F1?

Moped yet again your comments regarding Ninco track are untrue. You have now released the identity of your previously posted "senior racer" in Inte and I can state to you right now that all,yes all of your comments regarding Ninco are nonsense. Complete and utter nonsense.

I assumed that the point raised initialy concerned fragility of F 1 cars from Hornby? On this basis our club members have decided not to race magnet F 1 anymore. This is at every level from `Junior Newbie` to the `Old Guard`. No matter how good a driver you are, and in my opinion racing magnet cars is not a test of ability,then you are prone to an off. We have tried crash and burn as well as marshalled races and the result is the same... a high speed off as the magnet loses effect , crash, crumple and a collection of F 1 parts, a runner no more.

Wankel put it better than me. Scaley F1 are difficult to control because they are either on or off, very seldom does the back end give a little so you recover. It`s either on or off...big time off!

It doesn`t matter what power you use and here I would have hoped that Moped would have given us some credit for having a brain,then the effect is the same. At home if your track is placed on top of carpet then you may get away with it but not on a club track.

The problem is that someone at Hornby thought it would be a great design idea to have a seperate nose cone. Bad move. If that comes off as it does quite easily then the whole front axle arrangement is un protected and ends in bits. Glueing the nose cone on is not the answer.

Some options to consider might be...

Use older solid Scaley F1 cars with a PS mag or similar fitted. they are superbly fast and survive crashes.

Use SCX magnet cars. To me they are not too fast, stay on but still need skill although they too can suffer from front end weakness.

Use non mag F1 which are still very fast and enjoyable, requiring more skill to keep on the track. Not Scaley but SCX old F 1 87`s or the new up to date F1 cars.

Moped. Please send me your postal address so that I can send you a piece of Ninco track. You have been persuaded to believe the points that you have previously posted. You and the half witted accomplice are both wrong and misleading people who don`t know the difference. Let me suggest that you examine the more rigid section of Ninco that does not dimple, bend warp etc etc etc etc. Total and complete nonsense. Subject Sport track to the same club use conditions as Ninco and all you will end up with is a pile of junk. I used Sport to build ten of the biggest tracks for the telly, we had unlimited support and endless supplies of brand new boxed Sport track. It was found wanting in many aspects and is a very poor second to Ninco. I`ve used , I say again USED both and my opinions are based on experience, my own and 235 club members.

I like the Scaley F1's a lot, but mine are shelf queens now for exactly the reason stated - when the grip runs out they're gone, and when they hit something they break.
When I first got mine and was using them regularly, I ended up making some crash barriers out of foam sheet - the stuff they use for underlay with wooden floors. You can get a big roll for a couple of quid at a DIY store. At least this way they hit something a bit more forgiving and break less!
Of course this was on my home track so it may not be useful at a club track. And it doesn't solve the problem of when the cars hit each other...

Rob

And mop, when you criticise Ninco track so strongly and then later admit you've never experienced the alleged problem, it does tend to completely undermine your entire argument!

QUOTE (alfetta @ 16 Oct 2004, 11:41)This may sound rude, it isn't intended. But the answer lies in learning to drive. I find that F1 is far more difficult to drive than say GT or saloons. You simply have to drive whithin the limitations of both self and the cars. If Scalex cars don't do the business, then surely the obvious answer is don't use 'em.

Alfetta
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Driving Scaley F1s on high ohm controllers is a nightmare. They run like an on / off switch and exhibit the behavior mentioned of flying off at amazing speeds.

I personally love the Scaley F1s. They are blindingly fast right out of the box especially the '03 models, and I'll have an '04 soon. They can easily keep pace with some of my motored, slot it equipped, metal bushing, wide sticky tired, heavily magged GTs.

Mag / non mag, both are fun, just really different. The Scaley F1s do hang their tails out some if you are driving them very fast and very smooth. It's really hard to be as smooth as they require for long stints. I've run 50 laps without deslotting a Scaley F1 on numerous occassions. The key is to pace yourself. Never try to make up ground in one or two laps. It won't happen.

Scaley F1s are silly fast. If you want close competition, no speed and lots of tail slide, get the Scaley Beetle Cup cars that my wife had to have. They have no power, no tire, and practically no magent to speak of. You can run lap after lap slapping fenders in every corner. I also like Scaley Nascars for the same sort of driving, but they are so long you tend to deslot other drivers on tail out turns.

I have plenty of SCX F1s too, but right out of the box, they are no match for a Scaley F1.

My advice is this: Don't ban them. Let everyone else get SCX cars. Practice driving your Scaley F1 (preferably an '03 Renault). Get really smooth with it. Then jump out front every race and stay there. Watch the SCXs fly off into the hinterlands trying to keep up.

Of course I've never raced on Ninco track, just Sport, Scaley/SCX, and Carrera. The Scaley F1s really shine on the smoother Sport and Carrera tracks.

QUOTE Jonny is 100% correct - it's complete balderdash

It is not balderdash and even Jonny's track suffers as does evey Ninco circuit I have tried where heavy magnets are used. There is simply not enough reinforcement ribbing support underneath, but lets say no more about this.

Jonny himself admitted that the studio lighting when filming "Short Circuits" was very hot. That is the root cause of the issue that Jonny had. Black flexy track will expand under intense heat and conditions experianced in a film studio are not typical of typical club or home environments.

QUOTE And mop, when you criticise Ninco track so strongly and then later admit you've never experienced the alleged problem, it does tend to completely undermine your entire argument!

When did I say I haven't experianced the problem. I have!

And it leads to a very random performance for my heavy magnet cars. There is no consistency between one Ninco circuit and the next. It depends very much on how much magnet racing has taken place on that circuit and how much the Ninco plexy track has stretched and sagged in the middle.

In fact I have no problem at all asking every club racer whose club has Ninco track to have a look at it next time you are running heavy magnet cars. Check out the performance on the curves and start asking questions as to why there is so much inconsistency in performance and handling of your car. This is an issue I have never had at the Wrexham circuit which is the only SPORT club circuit I have visited. It only happens when I visit clubs with Ninco track and it is frustrating beyond belief!

But this is off topic as goose has a wood track and clearly these issues do not arrise so it has to be something else.


Moped

Plexy is OK when the air conditions are warm and it is not an issue at all indoors in Spain. Do you see the Spanish running circuits out of doors in direct sunlight?

It is when you have direct sunlight shining on it that it heats up to super temperatures like road tarmac and asphalt and you know what happens to tarmac when it gets very hot. Studio lighting can be much hotter than direct sunlight!


Moped

EDIT and yes, I do edit my posts a lot because they are subject to so much scrutiny. I try and make them as clear as possible and if it helps to add a few words or an extra paragraph in hindsight I will do that.