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McLaren MP4-12C (Scalextric)

2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  Savage 
#1 ·
Hi,

A friend of mine turned up with his own car to race on my track last night. It was a Scalextric McLaren MP4-12C, C3200. It looks like it should go well, nice and squat and sleek. Trouble is that he ended up rolling over and ending up on top of the armco all night long! Compared with the Ford GT which is a little wider and the Porsche 911 I have which is a little narrower this things seems to be really hard to drive. We sanded the tyres and they have nice rounded edges but even going around a turn quite slowly you see it leaning out and tipping over really easily. Any ideas? Anyone had the same experience?

Cheers,
Damo.
 
#2 ·
I have the super resistant and the high detail version and sadly despite both looking great neither is that fast. I suspect the magnet is a little weaker in both or placed further from the rails or something. The back end on both steps out very easily so you can make them do some pretty impressive power slides but their lap times aren't great compared to other similar style Scalextric cars.

Improving their performance is on my long to do list, so I will be interested if anyone else has an easy way of improving these. It may just be as simple as putting in a stronger magnet from another car, but I just haven't had then time to try that yet...
 
#3 ·
Did you undo the body screws slightly to allow the body to 'rock'?
 
#4 ·
Yes, did that. (loosen the body screws). Also took out the magnet and found it was a very thin one compared to
other Scaley cars, about half the thickness. I might have to cut off the clips that hold it in so I can stick a thicker magnet in it.
I did just lay a thicker one on top of the thin one but it was far too much then. The car could go round full welly and not come off at all.

Cheers,
Damo.
 
#6 ·
These are on my long list of cars I want, to hear that they are more difficult to drive has just put them much higher :)
As long as I get two or more to make sure it's all the same model on the track to even up the racing.

Is there much difference in the handling of the SR to the HD or is it simply the looks ?
 
#8 ·
We tried it with no magnet and rather than sliding like other cars it tips first. We checked into the tyre edge shape and they are nicely rounded so I don't think that is the issue. My friend who owns it is going to get a couple of small round magnets to place on top of each end of the bar magnet and we'll see what that does. He won't be down this way though again for a fortnight but I'll post the results then.

Cheers,
Damo.
 
#9 ·
QUOTE (Wraith @ 21 Feb 2012, 04:47) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Is there much difference in the handling of the SR to the HD or is it simply the looks ?

There isn't a huge difference as if you take the super resistant apart it has an unpainted cockpit without a driver. So from a weight perspective they are fairly similar I would imagine. I think my SR version is slightly faster than the high detail one but I haven't actually measured any lap times between the two to prove that.

The new high detail dark blue one is very high on my shopping list.
 
#10 ·
I've just ordered the limited edition set, but these will never see the track.

I have just seen the new set that comes with two of these in SR, the burnt orange looks amazing, shame it's only SR and only in the set.

The blue one does look amazing, I'm sure after I see mine when the arrive I will be emptied more to get a pair to race. Even if they are difficult to handle as long as you race a pair then both racers have the same issues so the race becomes fun again, which is what it's all about.
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
Assuming you haven't got any out of round wheels, If its tipping over, have you looked at the front ride height and guide setup ?
Ideally you want the front wheels to just touch the track, with the guide in as deep as it will go.
Unless they have changed the design, the front axles are generally fixed, with minimal vertical play, so that is good (apart from the fact they cant be adjusted).
If the front wheels are not actually touching the track, try adjusting the braids to lower it. If it is the round guide, you can bend forward the braids, and pull the braids underneath up and bend them towards the rear and flatten the fronts again, similar in look to how scx braids are. This often can be enough with scalextric cars.
 
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