I just bought a "Auto World Xtraction Chassis" at my local hobby shop ( to the tune of 10.99, support your local hobby shop right?) and although the packaging says "AW Xtraction Chassis" the actual chassis says "Playing mantis 2003" If TL has tons of chassis to unload why doesn't offer them at a discount for club members?
hojoe

Did it come in the AW baggie? Does it have the current wheel/axle setup?

Yes, it was in an Auto World bag. And I believe it is the old JL setup, which was my point.
hojoe

maye the aw x-traction mold broke so he ued the playing mantis mold until a new aw one is made

Hmmmmmm..... Thanks for the warning....... I was thinking about getting some bare chassis, now maybe not.....

I know some folks don't like the JL chassis, but the ones I have run fine after doing the tweaks. The only JL/AW chassis I had any 'problems' with is the ones used for the Dukes cars and 2nd set of MOPARS.....The ones with the non-independant fronts. But that's an easy fix. For those who missed that one:

1 - Remove a rim from the front axle. And remove the axle from the chassis.
2 - Hand-spin the rim back onto the axle, to ream the hole out.
3 - Place the reamed-out rim onto a JL Tuff-Ones axle. The rim should spin freely. If it doesn't, just ream it some more.
4 - Install the JLTO front axle with reamed rim.
5 - Remove the other rim and carefully press it onto the sharp end of the 'new' front axle.

You now have an independant front end, which will improve handling. Many people have also used Tyco front tires on these chassis (me too) with good results.

thanks for the tip, dlw

Maybe I got lucky...but the AW chassis I have bought all are quite different in both appearence and performance from the JL chassis I have....

I have a couple JL chassis that barely run at all....while every AW chassis I have purchased runs as strong as my old AFX with a minor oil....

Am I missing something?

Maybe I got lucky...but the AW chassis I have bought all are quite different in both appearence and performance from the JL chassis I have....

I have a couple JL chassis that barely run at all....while every AW chassis I have purchased runs as strong as my old AFX with a minor oil....

Am I missing something?


I've had the same experience. The first Xtracs would be hit or miss as far as their level of "run ability" out of the box. The AW ones have been far superior. Out of the first 24 I have, only have had two that I would consider having an issue. The others were flat out beasts, relatively speaking. Yes, i still tweaked them and added the tires to get them better too. Just part of the game with the pancake cars. ;thumbsup: rr

I've come across several people who've bought JLXT's and AWXT's, put them on the track, and watched them sputter. They'd fiddle with them (though not actually working on them, for fear of breaking them......they're newbies) and get frustrated. I'd ask them can I look at it for a sec......turn the car over and sure enough, the pickup shoes would be bent like an arrow tip towards the track (from the twist ties). I'd point this out to them and explain this is why the cars struggles, then I show them how to use a screwdriver to tweak them into proper form, set the car down, they pull the trigger and off it went. Needless to say, they were happier. Then I ask if they were familiar with the old AFX cars, in which I tell 'em to tweak these the same way to get better performance.


My best runners are series one XT's.

The biggest problem with the JL chassis is the flimsy ass plastic, which causes all sorts of issues. The #1 reason why most JL's run for crap is that the armature plate shifts to the side with the torque of the motor, due to the little 'fork' looking thingy at the front of the plate not locking in with the tabs. The plate shifts, the armatur binds, and it runs like a Yugo firing on 2 cylinders. The AW chassis are made of good plastic so they dont suffer this problem. Plus, I think the armatures might be worked up a little.

I've come across several people who've bought JLXT's and AWXT's, put them on the track, and watched them sputter. They'd fiddle with them (though not actually working on them, for fear of breaking them......they're newbies) and get frustrated. I'd ask them can I look at it for a sec......turn the car over and sure enough, the pickup shoes would be bent like an arrow tip towards the track (from the twist ties). I'd point this out to them and explain this is why the cars struggles, then I show them how to use a screwdriver to tweak them into proper form, set the car down, they pull the trigger and off it went. Needless to say, they were happier. Then I ask if they were familiar with the old AFX cars, in which I tell 'em to tweak these the same way to get better performance.


My best runners are series one XT's.

Wadda ya mean I'm using my pickup shoes for a plow?! :confused: You saying that horrendous scraping noise and deslotting on track joints isnt normal? :p

dlw, great post! :thumbsup:

I've got over 100 XTs and I've got every car timed in on my track on every lane and the times logged in a spreadsheet. The times for the AW cars are not (statistically) significantly lower than for the older cars. However, all the times I have are updated AFTER tweaking the chassis. In other words, if I get a car that seems a bit slower, I give it some attention and its times come down.

Now if you ask me if the new AW cars require less tweaking, I would say yes. They're relatively competitive right from the start.

the pickup shoes would be bent like an arrow tip towards the track (from the twist ties)

I am having trouble visualizing what you describe here, but would like to understand. Can you post a pic, or describe differently?

Scaf (qualifies as an oft-frustrated newbie)

so....what do you do with a chassis that sits on the track on 3 wheels while the right front wheel stands an HONEST 1/8" off of the track, eh?

I pulled this new chassis out of a bag to fit into my newly slammed JLcharger bod.
I was going crazy because I thought my new mounts were crooked, hey!

The Charger came out just beautifuly with a different chassis, eh!

Joez,

I found some of those chassis also. The problem was with those chassis they was pulled before set properly. The only way to straighten is a chassis jig and moreless blueprint the chassis. Reheat the bare chassis in boiling water or a heat a heat source so the chassis will straighten back out. Let cool right and will straighten up. This can be done without melting chassis. Trick is don't let the pan on the burner when chassis is placed in.. :thumbsup:
Another thing I found was wrong drilled axle holes. Only way to find these is mic chassis. :cool:

An 1/8th of an inch is pretty bad. I've had some success in similar cases replacing the front wheel/axle assembly with a wheel/axle assembly from a pullback chassis. The pullback axle has a smaller diameter and so do the wheels. It seems to lower the whole front and get everything hooked up. The tires are more stable and that seems to compensate for the axle slop and the fact that the wheels don't turn independently.
Some cars don't look so bad with different wheels on the front than the rear.

[QUOTE=joez870]so....what do you do with a chassis that sits on the track on 3 wheels while the right front wheel stands an HONEST 1/8" off of the track, eh?

You gut it, and use the parts to hot rod/restore a Magnatraction!

Scafremon, here's a pic of a new chassis (with the skinny shoes):
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/Picture_1.jpg

See the upwards bowing of the shoes (especially the near shoe)? The newer wide pickups are bent more because of the step. What you want is a slight bend in the opposite direction, so the front of the shoes are almost parallel with the chassis, but pointing slightly upwards if possible....Like this:
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/Picture_2.jpg

See how the bow is now towards the chassis, this way there will be more shoe contact with the rail.

Hope this helps.

Hi Scaff, I always take a first look at the shoes and determine if they are slightly convex or slightly concave to the chassis. dlw's pics show it clearly. Some peolpe use a felt pen to black out the contact patch so they can determine the contact alignment. As you progress you'll learn to determine the wear patterns on a clean shoe without marking. In a nutshell: If the mark is forward, you need a more convex bow/tweak. If the mark is back your adjustment needs a little push towards the chassis. The actual bends required are subtle. It should be more of a gentle massage to correct the pattern. The AFX,Magna,Xtrac should glide along fairly quietly. Keep in mind spring tension as well. Correct shoe geometry and proper spring tension will improve the all important current path. Hope this helps.

Bill

[QUOTE=joez870]so....what do you do with a chassis that sits on the track on 3 wheels while the right front wheel stands an HONEST 1/8" off of the track, eh?


make a sprinter out of it they get up on 3 wheels down the straightaways