[Dopamine]

I love Carrera cars and have been delighted to see the brand receive more and more praise over the past year or two, slowly shaking off its reputation for heavyweight and poor performing models, so it comes as a bit of a disappointment to find they've produced another model with a silly front ride height, this time the Ferrari 458 Italia.

I've complained previously about Carrera's Corvette C6R's high nose and accepted that as a one off error by Carrera, but now we've been served with more of the same with the Ferrari 458. What a shame.

As slot fans, we've never had it so good: a huge choice of cars at affordable prices and mainly of a quality that we could only have dreamt of a decade or so ago. Carrera have ridden the wave, produced a bunch of great cars at keen prices and improved their brand image a lot. Now they risk mucking it all up for the sake of engineering their models with a sensible front ride height. What are they doing? Us slot buyers are a fussy bunch and a good reputation is far easier to lose than it is to gain, so please Carrera, stop these self-inflicted wounds. You've got a lot of loyal fans of which I'm one, but after the Corvette and now the Ferrari, I'm getting nervous.

Carrera 27383 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 - Sebring 12 Hours 2011 - High nose version.

Apart from the front ride height it's a fantastic model and looks a lot better from other angles, but there's that nagging thought in the back of my mind that it could have been so much better.

Carrera 27373 Chevrolet Corvette C6R - Le Mans 24hrs 2010

 

[strongbow]

I was interested in the 458 too, is there an easy way to move the front axle higher?

 

[richardtheforth]

On the plus side, at least they'll get round your Scalextric banked curves nicely...

 

[zendragon]

just take all the carrera rubish from under the body and replace with hrs chassis simples
Zen

 

[Nomadic Racer]

Hi,
It may be an optical illusion, but the guide doesn't seem to be sitting in the slot fully!
Are the wheels solid with no vertical movement? If this is the case, you could modify the position of the front wheels & hence lower the front. Swapping the front tyres for low profiles will have a similar effect.

Rob

 

[Keeto]

Dopamine,

I know my solution does not fix the chassis ride height issue you describe but:

I shortened the fronts posts by about 3mm. That dropped the body by at least 3mm.

As you probably already know you can't do this to the Corvette because the body and chassis hugs each other.

I agree with you though that Carrera should not have done this from the start. I'm nearly sure the pre-release photo's of these cars did not have this issue....

 

[nino barlini]

Hi guys! Dopamine, I share same comments as you. Nice cars but their front height looks like a "tractor". I made some changes in my 458 to minimize this strange look and the result was satisfactory. I'll try to post some pictures later.

Keeto, nice job on yours too.

Cheers

Ricardo Bifulco

 

[Dopamine]

QUOTE (Nomadic Racer @ 13 May 2012, 10:47) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>It may be an optical illusion, but the guide doesn't seem to be sitting in the slot fully!
Are the wheels solid with no vertical movement?
It's not an illusion. The wheels are rigidly fixed and do hold the guide and braids far too high above the slot. On the Ferrari and Corvette it's a relatively simple fix to modify and lower the car, but 1) this should have been done by Carrera at the design stage, and 2) I baulk at chopping up a brand new car as the collector in me likes to keep cars as original as possible.

QUOTE (zendragon @ 13 May 2012, 11:26) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>just take all the carrera rubish from under the body and replace with hrs chassis simples
This quote perfectly sums up my disappointment. The stuff under Carrera's bodies isn't rubbish and is no worse (and often better) than the stuff under Scalextric's, SCX's, Flyslot's and Ninco's bodies, but Carrera have a reputation to shake off. They've been doing so slowly, but now take several steps backward with their ride height issues.

I'm assuming that the ride height is just sloppy attention to detail at the production stage, but maybe there is a reason and need for it to be as high as it is; Carrera's banked curves, possibly? Is anyone from Carrera reading this and willing to comment?

 

[GregK]

"Send it back, otherwise there's absolutely no point complaining. Returns are the only way manufacturers can be encouraged to improve their quality control."

 

[Dopamine]

Nice one.

Seriously though, if it had a fault I'd return it without a second's delay, but it's not a quality issue. The quality is excellent, it's just the final design that lets it down.

In cases like this I often feel sorry for Carrera's model makers. These are extremely skilled guys who must be as disappointed as me when they see their lovingly crafted models mucked up in final production.

 

[JAK]

As we're into optical illusions, I'd say the back end was also too high compared with the photo of the actual car.

Is the problem more that as slot cars are intended to be driven round short lengths of plastic track (which are subject to distortion due to (mis)use) they have to be manufactured with an unrealistic body height compared to the actual car which is driven on flat tarmac?

I thought all slot cars had an unrealistic body height - most modern car we have is the Scalextric MGB which has a body height of 8/32" yet actual car data gives ground clearance of 4.5".

Carrera's reputation would go down much quicker if the car beached on every track joint.

On the bright side your Ferrari looks as if it could be lowered quite a bit if you follow the previous advice.

 

[Dopamine]

Yes, I think we all accept that compromises have to be made due to the nature of the track on which the cars run, but look closely and you'll see that the car isn't level; the front is higher than the back. If the back clears the track, then the front could/should have been manufactured at the same height. It would look a lot better and would probably satisfy much of our complaint.

 

[dangermouse]

You may be right on the banked curve question. I notice that some of the Carrera cars have a sticker on the box saying not for 30 degree bank - so perhaps this is their way to allow the car to be used on set tracks with banked curves.

I am also impressed with the current crop of Carrera cars - every bit as good as the competition in terms of performance and quality IMHO

DM

 

[not alone after all]

Carrera do model their cars to run on banked curves. Hence front ride height. On the 1:24 scale models the front ride height is adjustable to run on non banked tracks. Maybe they could build that into the 1:32 scale stuff too. Just a thought.

 

[Dopamine]

QUOTE (Keeto @ 13 May 2012, 12:23) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I shortened the fronts posts by about 3mm. That dropped the body by at least 3mm.

I've just done the same and it now looks a lot better. It was also necessary to trim several millimetres from the front of the chassis to allow it to sit tight on the shortened posts. Without trimming the chassis, it's still possible to clamp the chassis to the shortened posts, but it fouls the inside of the body moulding and causes distortion.

Before trimming

QUOTE (strongbow @ 13 May 2012, 07:50) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I was interested in the 458 too, is there an easy way to move the front axle higher?

It's possible, but a little more work than shortening the body posts. The advantage of moving the axle over shortening the posts is that the guide sits deeper in the slot and the braids are closer to the rails.

To move the axle, you'd need to cut the front bearing holders away from the chassis and glue them 2-3mm higher, but that then causes the axle to foul a part of the guide assembly, which itself then needs to be cut away. I don't know what this surplus bit of guide assembly is for; possibly a mounting bracket for lights on a digital model? As mine is analogue with no lights, I can't be sure.

Whichever method you choose, it's relatively simple and the result looks good, so it won't put me off buying more 458s when new liveries are produced. Lowering the rear looks to be a lot more complicated though, and I think you'd then run in to space problems with the engine fouling the underside of the cockpit, so I've left it alone.

QUOTE (not alone after all @ 13 May 2012, 21:55) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Carrera do model their cars to run on banked curves. Hence front ride height. On the 1:24 scale models the front ride height is adjustable to run on non banked tracks. Maybe they could build that into the 1:32 scale stuff too. Just a thought.

That seems like a very good idea. If they were to design the 1:32 cars with chassis that could be moved up and down by a few millimetres and then fit removable spacers, everybody would be happy.

 

[Flag Slot Racer]

This is a bit of an old topic, but has anyone reduced the rear ride height as well on the Carrera Ferrari 458? The original poster thought the motor would rub, is this true?

I'm so torn between this and the Black Arrow version as it just looks so amazing. If they were similar in cost, the Black Arrow would be a no-brainer, but they are expensive and I will immediately have to replace the 28k motor as that is WAAAAYYYYY too powerful for my track.

Heath

 

[GRUNZ]

Hi Heath
I think you are comparing apples with oranges here. First you guys in the US can get a carrera model very cheaply and I think you could find it on ebay for nearly nothing. So I would go and get me one to test it and experiment with it.

The Black Arrow is a completely different beast: it is more on the par with slot.it and NSR cars.

If you are thinking about extending the grid for your GT cars on your track then the carrera is the way to go. Put a pair of paul gauge tyres and the car will be a sweet ride. Also very easy to chip.

 

[Dopamine]

Yes, it's possible to reduce the rear ride height, but to do so requires removing the lumps of solder on the motor's casing, cutting away some of the rear bodywork and/or chassis, and grinding thinner a small section of the cockpit tray to make space for the motor. I now also swap the Carrera guide assembly for a Ninco sprung guide, and the results are excellent.

With Carrera cars priced as they are at the moment, they are great value and a cheap way of getting a big grid of well matched, well made, robust and enjoyable cars.

 

[Flag Slot Racer]

QUOTE (GRUNZ @ 18 Nov 2015, 11:35) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi Heath
I think you are comparing apples with oranges here. First you guys in the US can get a carrera model very cheaply and I think you could find it on ebay for nearly nothing. So I would go and get me one to test it and experiment with it.

The Black Arrow is a completely different beast: it is more on the par with slot.it and NSR cars.

If you are thinking about extending the grid for your GT cars on your track then the carrera is the way to go. Put a pair of paul gauge tyres and the car will be a sweet ride. Also very easy to chip.

I know. It's just so beautiful! It's twice as expensive as the Carrera though and I would need to change the motor and detune it to perform on par with my other cars. I wish they had chosen a lousier livery.

@Dopamine Thanks for the response about lowering the rear. I may give it a grinding and see how it goes. I think it would go better with the suspended guide too as that would help get the guide deeper in the slot. The last Carrera I had was a stinker (the 997), but one of my friends has the C7.R and the Aston Vantage and they run great on my track with very little tuning, so I'm excited to see how the Ferrari does.

Heath

 

[Dopamine]

Using Ninco guides transforms the cars for me, and it's simple to do, particularly on the Ferrari. No adapters needed.

Here's how I do mine:
Dismantle the standard guide assembly, retain the piece that screws to the chassis and has the guide holder post, chuck the rest away. Trim the remaining piece so that it has space for the wires to rotate as the guide moves, then screw back in place. To get a perfect contact between braids and rail, trim the guide holder so that the guide sits at exactly the right height for your track. It might look as if the new trimmed guide mounting will be weak, but I've done this mod on dozens of Carrera cars and none has broken yet.

For some cars it won't be possible to use the original screw mounts, as you'll need to reverse the bracket to make space for the guide's rotation. In those cases I glue the bracket to the chassis. Again, no breakages yet, or expected.

This is what it looks like from the underside.

This is typical of my finished mods. You'll notice that I've replaced the front brass axle bushes with nylon ones. That's because I race on Ninco track, which even when new doesn't have a perfectly flat surface and cars perform better on it when they have a small amount of vertical travel for the front axle (unless you don't mind having the front wheels in the air over any depressions). I glue the nylon bushes into the chassis, then ovalise the hole to provide the required amount of vertical travel, usually 0.5 to 1.0 millimetre. With these mods, Carrera cars are as nice to drive as Slot.it, NSR and other more expensive brands.