[Charles R]

Current Stable (linked in first post)

Running the following cars without magnets, Frankenslot guide keels and Paul Gage urethane tires.

 

[Charles R]

Take the mirrors off. There should also be spare mirrors.

I know. I ran into the same issue with two resellers. One handled it very professionally and other rather business like (at best - zero interest in addressing the issue (go away)). Both arrived with mirror(s) off and even the spare mirrors are rather loose. I have the twin to one of them (has turned roughly a 1,000 laps) which is fine... so I don't think it's just me being "picky" Since I love the car so much I'm sticking with it regardless. Now it just might be my experience so I won't call anyone out.

 

[Charles R]

Silicone vs Urethane Tires

My instant take (subject to change). Based on Carrera track and car after turning several laps. For starters I have semi-trued the urethane and simply tried to "level" the silicone tires once mounted. So I guess it's not truly a fair test. Although that is how I would use them so for me I guess it is... However the issue itself might largely be moot as looking for silicone tires for my two Ferrari FXXs they don't appear to exist.

Now I can tell the silicone's aren't trued by the amount of the tire that doesn't get dirty. And dirty they do get... I guess from my hundreds of urethane laps plus my truing sessions. Even so they appear to have more grip. As an example I can plow through the esses as the car stays on a straighter line under speed. When accelerating it feels like the tires are stuck to the track either slowing or speeding you up... I'm not sure yet.

For me it's not about which is faster, rather which is more entertaining to drive. At this point I'd say the urethane as I know their limits better. I'm guessing once I get used to the silicone tires they might be faster and offer a little more of a challenge as I can push the car harder.

 

[MrFlippant]

If the cars with silicone tires aren't sliding way too much, then what you're seeing is the wear pattern more than dirt. Or, maybe there's dirt in the spots that don't touch the track. ;-)
If silicone tires were easy to true, I'd probably like them better.

 

[Charles R]

If the cars with silicone tires aren't sliding way too much, then what you're seeing is the wear pattern more than dirt.

You are right on two counts. The silicone tires weren't dirty. Being not trued the area which didn't touch the track never lost their shine. And they certainly don't mix. After running silicone the urethane tire car drove like it was on ice.

Bottom line I think the silicone tires are faster however the urethane tires are more fun to drive. The silicone tires aren't too far from magnets. They might handle too well and you are either good to go or you aren't. The urethane tires have more play in them and the car handles much closer to a "real" car. You get to drive... sticking with urethane which is nice as my favorite reseller doesn't sell silicone.

 

[Charles R]

I have the layout pretty well set and I'm as happy as a lark. Can't think of anything I want to change (at least for now). Two (twin) cars for turning laps daily and setting records. One car I really like for parade laps. So it looks like I need another challenge... next up might be a real slot car. One I can chip (for Carrera). I'm thinking metal chassis and even a clear plastic body if possible. There is no hurry but I need something to Google search endlessly on.

 

[Charles R]

If you haven't figured out by now I love to tinker (on the surface level only}. Nothing too involved as I don't have the skill, patience or any number of other required resources. However that doesn't stop me from dreaming up ways to use things as they were never attended. I'll walk up and down the store's aisles looking at something and wondering if/how I could use it. Like today in Menards waiting on my wife I spotted something that looked like track supports. Noticed they were on close-out... 25 for $10. Looking closer I noticed they are actually wood post extender insulators (no wonder they are on clearance).

They had several varieties and I zoomed in on the 5" and 2 1/4" ones. Figured the 5" would work for overpasses and the 2 1/4" for smoothing out the rise and fall. For $10 I said what the heck... worse they get returned. Went around the track swapping my painted foam and they appear to work. Side support isn't their strength but the tracks not falling over and they more or less fit under the track nicely. The area touching the track isn't very big so you can tweak their location to "level" out the pieces. Cosmetically they somewhat look like track supports and the yellow isn't half bad. To some extent they match the layout's esthetics. Bottom line their locations still need some tweaking but I'll be using them for now...