What are the parts I need to look for to tune my cars? Tires, pick-ups, etc....and where's some good places to go to get them?

Mind, I'm just starting out...so I just need the simple things first, and then I can go from there. ;)

Thanks,
Mike

Whats types of cars do you have?

Great Question Mike

I am just getting to that point too . What should you do to prep the new cars that you get.

For parts, try one of these places:

http://www.jaghobbies.com
http://www.budshocars.com
http://www.slotcarjohnnies.com

Excellent places for parts.

If you need a few items for 1 car, a few JL/AW pitkits should help. Mind you, the AW Xtraction kits have the wider shoes......which can help with those routed tracks with wider slots.

With fall coming, the shows will be coming soon. Richfield's show is on Halloween, and the Chicago and St. Louis show are too far away. You can really stock up with good parts deals there.

Here is an article on Tjets you might like...
http://howorld.fsmra.com/archives/howto/tuneup/tjet/pgtuneup.html

Here is an article on Magnatraction/X-Traction...
http://howorld.fsmra.com/archives/howto/tuneup/magcars/mt/mt_xtra.html

And you should probably visit www.slotcarracing.com and check the sections on Slot Cars and Parts & Tools.

What are the parts I need to look for to tune my cars? Tires, pick-ups, etc....and where's some good places to go to get them?
Thanks,
Mike


:wave:

Hello-

If it's vintage we can probably help.......what are you looking for?


--------------------------
www.SlotCarJohnnies.com (http://www.SlotCarJohnnies.com)

Nightshade, here's a Yahoo group based in middle Tennessee:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TennesseeHORacing

You'll have to join the group, but you should get some good slotcar networking with these guys.

Wow guys. Many thanks on this.

I should have mentioned that I am using all new Tomy track (4 lane - please, go take a look at Nightshade's Newest Layouts on the Track Building page and let me know how bad they are.... :rolleyes: ).

Right now, I have a couple SG+ stock cars (Citgo & Zerex) and several of the JL Fast & Furious XTractions. I am planning on moving some of those to a faster chassis, to which I received excellent info about on an earlier topic below.

I will be getting some more XTractions for their bodies (e.g. Corvette, Hemi Cuda, Challenger, Dodge RAM, Dodge Viper, Grand National, and maybe a Nomad or Willy's) and going with faster chassis for them too. Nothing real competitive....something around the SG+ area. I am also looking around in the antique shops down here in the deep south. You'd be surprised at what one can find down here.

Although I love NASCAR to death (Bristol was fun btw. Alway is...and always loud! :thumbsup: ) my track isn't really set up for NASCAR, so I am going with GT style cars from several different makers (Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati (if they ever make one), Lambroghini, Corvette (if I can find one), Nissan, and Aston Martin (again, if they ever make one :cry: ).

I kinda like the look of Dashes Cheetahs too....

So, I hear Tuff One's tires are good to go with, and something other than the copper shoes I have now. Other than that.....I'm looking for a little help with what is good for home racing and looks authentic (no white tires for me please :) ). I'd rather capitalize on your collective experience where I can and not spend a lot of money purchasing something that just isn't worth it.

So, based on the bodies/chassis I mentioned above...any tried and true parts out there I should look at?

I was wondering if there were any standard upscale parts for the G+, SG+, Turbo/SRT, 440, T-Jets, XT, etc. chassis that just about everybody uses....which I can then go ahead and get. I understand that there are also those parts that are based on personal preference.

I just don't want to get something on my own (not knowing what it is I'm getting) and then mentioning in a thread how bad it worked, to which one of you veterens comes back to say "we don't generally use those...these are what most of us use". Hehehe Of course...that's when you say "Well....we had to go through the pain of finding out the hard way. Now it's your turn Cherry!" :p

Any additional help would be appreciated. The info y'all have provided above is great too though! Again, many thanks on that. I'll be going to those spots to get parts once I know what it is I should be getting! :wave:

Mike

Will there be any kids using your track? If so, you're going to need glue and lots of it if you're planning to run the winged Fast & Furious bodies on SG+ chassis. The Viper wings and other parts (bumpers) on the X-Traction bodies will also be at risk.

The SRT and SG+ chassis are basically ready to run and require very little tweaking or maintenance. They go faster than you can react on your size track so it wouldn't make much sense to spend more on them. Besides, as long as all four drivers have comparable reliable cars, the racing will be fun.

TK,

Thanks. Good info on both the kids using the winged cars and the chassis.

Are there parts that would help handling though? I seem to have read (I know....big mistake, hehe) that springs...or was it shoes.....could help handling on cars.

Maybe this info is for those of you who have driven slots so much that you can 'feel' when a car is about to deslot....and for an armored tank driver like me it wouldn't help at all. :)

Good reply though....if I'm just racin'-n-ridin' around the home track, true stock should be just fine. Unless some better parts really could help keep me from deslotting.......hey! Has anyone tried supergluing their tires to the track? I bet I wouldn't deslot then! :thumbsup:

nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.

silicon tires is one of the best upgrades you can do to help handling. Its also pretty cheap and if you learn to make your own even cheaper. also try wizzard ho, scale auto, and slottech.

if you do get silicon tires round off the outer edges.

www.supertires.com www.wizzardho.com www.scaleauto.com www.slottech.com www.hoslotcarracing.com www.budshocars.com