Hello, I know the basics of these cars, I have the regular versions of tyco 440x2 and super g plus chassis. What I want to know is do these work well with standard afx wall packs and which is faster, and which do you like better and for what reasons. I have given up trying to get my buddies and my girlfriend to race t-jets and magnas, they want to go fast and faster, thanks, Jimmy

I wouldn't recomend using either of those cars with wall packs...
Instead of spending money on a few of those, spend the money on good wheels & tires for the Super G and 440x2 and run the heck out of them.

Scott is just about right. Better wheels and silicone tires, especially on the SG+, will give you a good performance boost. However, both the G3 or T2 will run okay with wall packs in their stock trim. They both have stock arms and all ceramic magnets.

A stock all-ceramic G3 is not necessarily faster than a stock SG+ (with silicone tires added) because the SG+ has stronger traction magnets. The G3 can be setup to run lower than the SG+ and in HOPRA superstock race trim it's very fast and rugged. But once you start slamming it down or running a hotter arm the wall warts are less than optimal, but it will run.

The T2 is only a mild upgrade over an X2 and is not really in G3 territory. If you really want to pump up an X2 you'll need Phase II traction magnets. With these added an X2 with silicone slip-ons can just about hold its own against any super stock. But again, the wall warts aren't the best way to go with stronger than stock traction magnets. They'll run, but at less than their best.

If you want to run hard bodies with slip-on silicones either the G3 or Tyco with Phase IIs are good choices. The Slottech T1 (thundercat) can be configured to run either Tyco or Tomy hardbodies. But for anything less than superstock racing classes the T1 is just way too expensive.

If you want crash & bash friendly lexan bodies look at the Wizzard Storm chassis with double flange rear wheels with slip-on silicones. I think the Storm is easier for novices to make go fast, since it's very easy to work on and parts are easy to find and affordable. But the more experienced builders seem to be able to get their G3s and T1s consistently into the top spots.

If you want crash & bash friendly lexan bodies look at the Wizzard Storm chassis with double flange rear wheels with slip-on silicones. I think the Storm is easier for novices to make go fast, since it's very easy to work on and parts are easy to find and affordable. But the more experienced builders seem to be able to get their G3s and T1s consistently into the top spots.

I'll second that on the Wiz Storms.For the price,and for their availability,straight out of the pack,you cant beat them.Plus they're realatively easy to work on.

I have a bunch of guys that are newbies to the hobby that I work with and have been bugging me to put together a "summer series" on my track.I think I am going to go with the stock Storms and any slip on tire thing.

I realy dig the BSRT G3's,and have built a few that really rip.BUT,it takes a lot of trial and error as well as tweaking until you can get them to go.

Never ran a TCat.Cant see paying the price.

Mike

The ThunderCat is fairly cost competitive for the class of racing that it's targeting. If you take a blister pack Storm and build it up to full SS trim you'll need to buy new rear wheels, new rear tires, new independent front end and new front tires, and new pinion and crown gears. That narrows the price difference down and at least brings it into the realm of the "Slottech Premium" that they have on all of their products. I mix and match parts from all vendors large and small but I do prefer the Slottech crown gears over all others, even on my Storms, usually with a BSRT pinion in a 7/22 or 7/23 arrangement.

The ThunderCat is fairly cost competitive for the class of racing that it's targeting. If you take a blister pack Storm and build it up to full SS trim you'll need to buy new rear wheels, new rear tires, new independent front end and new front tires, and new pinion and crown gears. That narrows the price difference down and at least brings it into the realm of the "Slottech Premium" that they have on all of their products. I mix and match parts from all vendors large and small but I do prefer the Slottech crown gears over all others, even on my Storms, usually with a BSRT pinion in a 7/22 or 7/23 arrangement.

Right,I agree.But if you want to have fun with a bunch of guys who aren't gung ho live and die to race slots,and want to go really fast,you cant beat an out of the pack stock Storm for the price.

Mike

You got it right Mike. That's why most of my race prepped cars are Storms. I also have two race ready G3s, a half dozen or so old P3Es, a handful hybrid SG+/G3s, and a few LL M-chassis box-stock racers, but the Storm is definately my primary weapon of choice over the past couple of years. I've run other people's' T1s and buy plenty of Slottech gears but I don't have any cats in my box because the Storms are working for me and it's too expensive to support more than one chassis because the setups are too different.

For a stock layout you cannot go wrong with the SG+ with a small assortment of double-flange rims and slip-on silicone tires. Add to the mix some different rear gears (ie. 20-24) and you have some VERY significant performance gains. Rest assured that a tyco will not out perform a SG+ on a home layout using wall-packs and similar upgrades. However- depending on the traction mags the SGs have, black or grey 2-dot, the difference may or may not be quite as noticeable.

As for the G3 and Storm debate... LOL I was and will always be a SG+ and Tyco fan (raised on them). The "weapon of choice" for me was already in the box. Once the G3 chassis came about, it was a monetary decision to swap guts from the SG+ to the G3. Much more friendly on my budget than a completely new tooling by Wizzard. I can't bash the P-cars they are fast as are the G3s, but G3s are springs cars not leaf-spring cars, much easier for me to tune, and they take a heck of a beating. Maybe if the technology didn't change every couple years with Slottech and Wizzard I might consider either chassis. But the limited tinkering with the various P-cars has left me with old racecars and parts. Keep it in the slot- laps win races. -Marc

G3 and Storm debate
No debating going on here. Run what you are comfortable with and stay on and you'll always be in the running. I'm pretty comfortable with any brand car, and the more different brands on the track the more exciting the racing will be.

I have lost faith in the SG+ because I'm sick of replacing broken magnet clips, body clips, and shattered chassis. But the G3 chassis fixes all that and a G3 with shimmed gray SG+ traction magnets is a missile. For the same price you spend fixing a SG+ (G3 chassis, double flanged wheels, slip-on silicones) you can also spend on your Tyco 440X2 (Phase II tractions, slip-on silicones, double loop shoe springs) and have a car that will run head to head with the G-car. A stock Tyco is no match for a SG+ because of the polymer traction magnets in the SG+. But Phase IIs in the Tyco level the playing field and you now have a race on your hands. Gentlemen, start you engines.

Good point and maybe "debate" was a bad term. I agree with you 100%, but I will say that the SG+ was less of a toy slotcar than the Tyco. Maybe that explains the stronger mags and flatter bottom. I would have to say that the Tyco 440x2 (narrow) chassis w/ slip-ons and phase II mags will run strong, but when you compare the $10-12 upgrade for the PhaseII mags in the Tyco and a $10-12 upgrade to the G3 chassis, there isn't much comparison. Hence the reason you don't see Tycos competing with P-cars or G3s. On a home track though- you really can't go wrong with either.

Are those Canadian prices? Wizzard sells the Phase IIs for about $7.50 USD which is about the same price as the G3 bare chassis. Yep, either one is a great home track racer. I've converted quite a few of my SG+ to G3 and maintain a small stash of G3 chassis for the inevidable broken SG+ that's bound to happen. I've never broken a G3.

It's pretty obvious from looking at the top three race ready cars on the market today where their inspiration came from. They all have basically the same traction magnet setup as the G3 and two out of three are heavily based on the Tyco brush and pickup setups. Not surprisingly, nobody has copied anything from the LifeLike chassis.

Very true on the chassis evolution- similar to the Gs and Tyco. Haven't bought magnets for the a tyco in years so I will follow your pricing. The newer ceramic BSRT motor mags are excellent for the Tyco as wel, dropping them much lower to the rails to enhance traction.

As for the LL- same what they did to the chassis, although the older Rokar chassis and M-chassis have proven very fast in our Nascar class. The newest chassis can be made to go very fast, but is a nightmare design...

BSRT G-Jet vs AFX Super G + with brass weights?
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=209436