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Product:
NASCAR:
Kurt Busch Sharpie #97
Manufacturer: Scalextric
(C2595) |
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Scalextric have released NASCARs back on to the
market after a 4 year long hiatus. There have been
the ASCARs (the Brit versions) but, from a purists
and a racer perspective, they weren't quite the
real thing. From a purist you need to have a NASCAR
liveried Chevy or Ford and from a racers viewpoint
they have got to be a sidewinder. Without a magnet
on my home track there is 0.5 second a lap difference
between the in-line and sidewinder (in favour of
the sidewinder) NASCAR and at my club track the
lap records are about 1 second different - this
equates to about a 10% performance difference.
So 4 years have been far too long - I only can presume
due to the difficulty and expense in getting the
myriad of licensing agreements needed to accurately
reproduce these cars. Has the wait been worth it?
Looks
I'm not an aficionado of NASCARs but the shape and
livery accuracy look pretty much spot on from the
photos I sourced. The livery and paint scheme are
crisp and clear - Scalextric are class leaders in
the quality and consistency of their paint and tampo
printing. Additions to the basic shell include a
rear aerilon needed to keep the car on the track
when it starts to reach the giddy top speeds of
210mph (!), photo etched front grill and wheel rims
that look basic but on close up inspection are to
be really admired.
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Comparing it to the Ford Taurus of the previous
Scalextric generation there are no immediate differences
however on close up inspection there are subtle
differences which I presume make it more an accurate
shape. However from the racer perspective I noted
the following - the track (width of rear wheels)
is slightly (about 1mm) narrower and the guide to
rear wheels is slightly shorter with 1mm more overhang
at the rear end. These are only slight differences
but differences that could make a difference in
handling characteristics.
Scalextric have kept the same motor and same gearing
as the previous sidewinder version which is extremely
welcomed.
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The major difference is in the cockpit (in terms
of detail) and the guide, which is now the standard
quick change version - I find this works really
well, even for club racing. The cockpit can be examined
in detail by firstly removing the body top (4 screws)
and then the two middle screws (I threw them away)
which secures the cockpit to the chassis. The figure
has some nice harnesses printed on him, the roll
cage, window flap (don't know the technical term!),
gear lever and extinguisher are all present and
correct.
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On the track
OK on to my Sport track with the magnet in place.
As usual with Scalextric ultra smooth and no problems.
The magnet does not overpower this model on Sport
track and it still allows you to slide the tail
out and recover. It gave a very satisfying drive
although I found I was getting excessive wheel spin.
After about 10 laps I decided to whip out the magnet
and try again.
I oiled up the moving parts and noticed the rear
tyres were extremely oily which explained the wheel
spin. I cleaned them up on some sticky tape and
put her on the track. The car was really smooth
and handled beautifully comparing well to my well
sorted NASCAR. However after about 3 laps I lost
all grip and I noticed the tyres had again exuded
a lot of oil. I cleaned them up again and did some
timed laps. On my current layout my well sorted
NASCAR laps in an average of 9.86 seconds over 20
laps with a best of 9.52 seconds. Once the tyres
are warm I can lap consistently in the 9.6s. With
the new NASCAR I average 10.8 seconds with a best
of 9.62 seconds - basically the car straight out
of the box is quick but the tyres exude their oily
residue and loose all their grip.
Solutions for this - well it might be I've got a
dodgy pair of tyres but they are quite nice - they
are soft and when clean are grippy. You could change
them for pairs off the back of other NASCARs or
you can try to cure them. I found giving the rear
tyres a good squirt of lighter fluid and then flooring
them on a straight helps clean up the tyres and
keep them clean for longer. I did this about 3 times
before the race evening and once again before each
heat.
So in terms of out of the box performance they are
extremely competitive - with some basic tinkering
you'll get about another few 10ths:
• run the motor in to improve top end and braking
• glue the motor, rear axle and tyres on to hub
• true the rear tyres and clean with lighter fluid
• true front tyres reducing their diameter so just
off the surface and varnish them
• change to softer braids
• clip off excessive bit of plastic in cockpit,
e.g. rear axle holders
• enlarge screw holes to aide movement
• scrape around chassis to aide free movement
Other tinkerings I have found to be helpful are
shown in the following picture:
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I'm going to run this car and my old Ailtel livery
in my clubs forthcoming NASCAR championship - it
will be interesting to see which one comes out on
top.
Conclusion
Well if you are an oval racing fan then I'm sure
this and the other newly released NASCARs are already
part of your collection. Even if you are not a NASCAR
follower you need to experience the door banging
duels that is the epitome of NASCAR slot car racing.
They are hugely robust with few details to fall
and offer really close racing for both experienced
and newcomers. They also offer a level of detail
that will please those eager for accuracy in their
models. For those that have some sidewinder NASCARs
from the previous release then be pleased that these
latest models offer performance parity. Basically
these offer something for everyone and I recommend
them wholeheartedly.
Tucker Rating
| Quality |
Work
Req. to run |
Performance |
Desirability |
Total |
% |
| 9 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
33 |
83% |
| Good
= High |
Little
= High |
Good
= High |
Desirable
= High |
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