[Pendleslot]

I have taken great interest in reading many of the topics which have been posted already so i thought lets have a go and see where this one goes......
The Fly Racing series now has a new car to race against the Porsche Gt1 98. The Saleen S7R has had the 'treatment'. In reality its probably only had the same treatment that most club racers would do to prep a car for a race meeting. All unnecessary weight has been removed, interior, lights, grilles have all been either removed or replaced with less detailed lightweight replacements but the results are quite staggering a weight loss of 12grams from a standard body. Running gear is virtually identical to those fitted to the latest version of the Porsche Evo2RS, with alloy wheels, slick tyres, 27z crown, 10z pinion and Evo2 motor and NO magnet

The best work is on the chassis, at first glance it looks identical to the standard chassis except for the motor mounting, closer inspection reveals that it no longer clips under the side skirts of the body and the front of the chassis has been modified so that it allows 'body rock' this is also helped by a new longer body screw located at the rear of the chassis. The screw is almost twice the length of a standard one but is only threaded 2/3rd of its length. The top part is unthreaded which when slackened allows the chassis to float quite freely.
It shows me that Fly have managed to develope a race car which should be 'on the pace' at most clubs in a non magnet class.
However, with a RRP of £44 in the UK is it worth the money? Sean

 

[Doug]

When I bought my Evo2 RS (for £43.95) it just didn't go. I hadn't realised that it was a racing slot car, and was miffed to find that it had a whole bunch of problems. Those are now fixed and it goes quite well. As a racer it's fine, but as a replica model (which I know its not meant to be) it's very plain.

Would I buy the Saleen S7R to race with it? Perhaps, but I'd rather somebody else that had one brought theirs for a race. I don't need two of these.

 

[MK2-Escort]

I have a FLY Porsche EVO2R, and it also has a few problems.

The motor keeps popping out of the fixing, which is very frustrating. I don't want to glue the motor to the car, so I just wedged an old tyre against the motor and interior. Does any one else have this problem, and if so how did you fix it?

Cheers

MK2

 

[moped rider]

I suspect this car has been developed with one eye on the market in the USA.

Given that this may be the case however, remember how much flack the Slot.It Audi took from folk in the USA who have a preference for running with magnets.

So much so that the Slot.It Porsche will have a magnet and a sidewinder option. There is no doubt in my mind that the sidewinder magnet option will be the preferred choice in the USA.

So I am surprised that Fly have developed this lightweight car and not included a magnet as standard. Vanquish MG have done the same with their lightweight range, no magnets.

In my lightweight cars I want to see magnets. Else what is the point. A stock T/A Mustang or Camaro with magnets will outrun these lightweight cars.

I accept the Spanish and Italians prefer not to have magnets, but as all the manufacturers are keen to export, you would think they would consider the demands of export markets more than they appear to.

Slot.It have adapted. It time for others to follow suite.

Moped

 

[Jimmy in Greece]

moped,
I'm fairly sure this was designed specifically with the Spanish endurance crowd in mind. The give away is the gearing and motor and no magnet. FLY and Slotit have really been fighting it out in these series with Slotit it being on top recently.

As a Magnet car racer I like the EVOR-series and the new Saleen because they offer good starting points for light race cars. The prices are a bit high though and I'm afraid that this will limit the appeal in most countries.

Jim

 

[mtucker666]

MK2-Escort - use insulating tape and wrap that round the motor. Glueing is fine - use a hot glue gun which will give a strong bond but can be broken w/o damaging the chassis.

I've got a Evo2RS and I think all the developments are negated if you chuck in a magnet (also found it bent the chassis so it grounded). The major gremlin I had was the crownwheel did not have any clearance in the chassis hole - I had to expand it. Sloppy QA. Other than that and normal glue and truing this is my fastest non-magnet car I've got and allows you to run very aggresively w/o fear of deslots.

Saleen - these have not done so well outside Spain (not how many special offers are on them) mainly I presume due to the fact the the 1:1 have been succesfulin Spanish races but not elsewhere. However I bet the racer will sell well although the RRP is steep.

Matt

 

[Old-GetSlotted]

Well they are here and definitely in your face - will they take the non-magnet mantle off the Evo2RS or Slot-it?

Check out our Whats new for 1/9/03.

Whats New @ GetSlotted

GetSlotted

 

[Mecoprop]

It appears that some people just can't get their head around pure simple logic.
There is absolutely no point in making a car a few grams lighter if you are going to utterly negate the entire exercise by immediately sticking a big nasty magnet in it. The magnetic attraction massively outweighs the small loss of weight.
Utterly pointless.

 

[moped rider]

By the same token a car that is featherweight can put no traction down at the back end.

What is the point of making a car lightweight only to end up putting weight in to get the car moving and give it balance?

And I am sure that the Saleen has plenty of balance and traction and lead weights will not be required.

Moped

 

[Jimmy in Greece]

Mecoprop,
You're not going to suck me into that discussion. If motors had unlimited power for a given small size you might merit an answer. By the way, your pure logic is flawed.

Moped,
I think the location of the weight they removed is more important than the actual weight. Weight high up in the car is bad.

Jim

 

[Tropi]

I'm with Meco - but I will switch the base starting point around a little.
The presence of a powerful magnet can be so overwhelming that the loss of a few grams weight from the car is insignificant by comparison with the magnet's power. In extreme cases, it doesn't even matter from where the weight is removed - the magnet more than cancels it out. SO, fro that base line, I see no point in lightening the car unless it is absolutely MASSIVELY obese and unwieldy. I don't believe the car under discussion is anything like that.

Sean started this topic to consider a particular car, one that HAS no magnets, so perhaps we should save this particular aspect for a separate discussion.

 

[Ken R]

The original question of "is it worthy of its own class" is interesting in the context of club racing where driver skill is the test as opposed to ultimate car building ability where experience and investment will make it difficult for some to ever compete.

I don't have a club to join so i speak in the hypothetic, but I personally would be very interested in running a one make, PREMIUM out of the box series. The cost of this vs modifying a standard car to racing spec is neutral if not cheaper so I like the fact there is a racing spec car that can be bought and run practically straight out of the box.

I am non-magnet as a rule and own the Evo 2R.

In hindsight, I wish I'd known they were upgrading the gears to Slot-it for the 2RS as this would have been an imporvement and I would have waited.

The popping motor is annoying and until I remodelled my track to its current config with a 15' straight I had never experienced this (prev track was twisty with only a short 7' straight). Its an easy fix with a piece of fibre tape or a couple of well placed glue drops...

I must admit it was kind of cool in a BAR Honda kind of way the first time it happened as I came out of the hairpin and dropped the throttle onto the long straight only to have the engine POP right about where third gear would be called for...grinding noise, followed by high rev whirring and a coasting overpriced piece of scrap!! (okay, popped it back in and it works fine but you get the pic)

As for selecting the Saleen chasis / body combination for a one make series, I'm not so sure its the best choice out there, although it could add some variation to a field of Porsches if it proved to be on equal footing as a runner.

Slot-It Audis would be my first choice. They seem smooth, fast and balanced. They look great too. Just find one of the many 24 hr race sites that run as a 1 make and the Slot Its look fantastic in their fantasy liveries.

The Fly Porsches would be my second choice, they look good too.

And the Saleens...third at best. Mostly asthetic. Don't those front wheel wells look overly huge for the tiny tyres?

Here's a couple of pics of my racing Porsche in its Raymond Racing colours. Only mod is Pro Slot F1 rear tyres (they are particualrily tuned into my Ninco trc for some reason, must be the rubber compound on the abrasive surface). Its a great runner and will hold the track record once I set up the timing equip. (I am awaiting the SI Audi in le mans race livery before I buy one of these...)

Take care, Ken R