I'll keep my opinions to myself at this point and just upload the pics.

Ultra G
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_001b.jpg
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_002b.jpg
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_005b.jpg

More in a minute.

'doba

Ultra G
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_008b.jpg

Flamethrower
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_011b.jpg
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_012b.jpg

More in a minute.

'doba

Flamethrower
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_013b.jpg
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/medium/AW092007-_015b.jpg
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_017b.jpg

Have a look.

'doba

Forgot one.

Flamethrower
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_016b.jpg

'doba

Thanks a lot 'doba. That TJUG looks just I thought it would.

See the little gap on the backside of the magnet hole on the Flamethrower chassis. I'm guessing there's one of those on the TJUG as well. Maybe that's how people can poke that magnet out of there if they don't want to use it.

On the Flamethrower, does the rudder fit sideways behind the "lampshade" if you want to use the pin side in the slot instead?

Looks like the rear cluster gears on the Thunderjet need pressed a little tighter. I'll watch for this when my cars arrive. Also, notice the small hole beside the guide pin......Perhaps some flamethrower Thunderjets are on the horizon.

Cordoba, are the tires on the Thunderjet softer?

TK, the rudder, or blade side of the guide pin will fit behind the lampshade.

I know I'm in the minority, but I like them. The new bodies are beautiful and the new chassis offers somethig different from the older versions./

Like I posted in another thread... I;ll probably buy more from this release then the last 2 combined

Why does the F/T look like its covered in grease? :confused:

from the camera flash or perhaps a sugar frosted coating? nd

The F/Ts look more interesting to me now. I'll try at least one.

The Shelby Cobra looks awsome.

I know I'm in the minority, but I like them. The new bodies are beautiful and the new chassis offers somethig different from the older versions./

Like I posted in another thread... I;ll probably buy more from this release then the last 2 combined

I agree with you 100%. Love the bodies. I want all the tjets for sure and the F/T there is more than a few I want. I salute AW for trying something new with the "leaf spring" for the pickup shoe maybe needs a little more research on getting it perfect but still not a bad idea. I HATE LITTLE SPRINGS IN CARPET! The ultra g also another good idea many of you on here talk about adding traction magnets to your tjets already all AW did is do it for you. If you don't like em I'm sure you can get that little magnet out and drift all over the track without it.

Interesting? Even added it on the MT chassis. :eek: rr

Cordoba, are the tires on the Thunderjet softer?

I didn't really notice much if any difference. The XT tires feels like they might be a bit grippier.

'doba

Why does the F/T look like its covered in grease? :confused:

Just the flash reflecting off the shiny black plastic. Only the gears are covered in some sort of lube.

'doba

So 'doba, how did the Ultra-G run for you? I'm guessing that magnet allowed you to take it out of the box and run it.

So 'doba, how did the Ultra-G run for you? I'm guessing that magnet allowed you to take it out of the box and run it.

The Cobra Daytona runs like crap -- a lot like the first JL T-Jets from a few years ago.

I've been messing with the gear fit, and clamp pressure, and haven't gone any faster. I did a break-in at 33 volts wide open but nothing has loosened up yet. The car can't get out of it's own way, so in that I am a little disappointed. The body is outstanding, however, so well-done on that aspect.

I'm going to try some oil in a couple of key areas, and maybe fiddle with the brush tension -- I don't know -- I always seem to end up going slower when I try that.

The magnet stops it from sliding, which was kind of the fun part for me. I race SG+ and 440X2 cars and those are what I consider to be 'magnet' cars, not TJets. I hope they keep releasing standard TJets because I don't know if I am sold on the UltraG concept at this point.

The FlameThrower suffers from nose hop, probably down to the pick-up shoe spring arangement. I put a bend in mine to try and lower it some, but still has to clear the chassis and I think that is where the spring and shoe and chassis are hitting -- kind of like a 'bump stop' effect. The body is outstanding, however, so well-done on that aspect.

I am thinking of ripping the lighting aspects out of this car and going to a conventional spring set-up. I don't know why they didn't re-tool the brush cup part of the electricals so that the new bar spring faces the other way, a'la the TYCO HP7. The HP7s are very adjustable -- you can lay the spring flat and work up from there.

Hmmm. I have to go play with these some more before I can say if I am pro or con for the new designs.

'doba

How easy is it to remove the magnet and what are the dimensions?

Forgot one.

Flamethrower
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/500/AW092007-_016b.jpg

'doba
Ok so now I see how these picups work, dosen't look too bad after all. I still want to see one on the track, see if it stays in the slot.

How easy is it to remove the magnet and what are the dimensions?

The magnet is super easy to remove just take a small screwdriver from the inside of the chassis and push it out. I myself am impressed with the ultra g. Many of us add the magnet later anyway. AW just did it for us and if you wanna drift around the track its easy to remove it. AW gets :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

So the car turns left and right equally well/badly despite the magnet being on one side?

So the car turns left and right equally well/badly despite the magnet being on one side?

Wondered about the stagger myself, good question!

Interesting question. The answer must technically be no as the center of gravity would be toward the driver side. But I'm guessing that the change in downforce signficantly overshadows the location of the source of that downforce.

A quick test would be to set up a simple "oval" and time the car running clockwise and then counter-clockwise, making sure to clean the tires in between.

Interesting question. The answer must technically be no as the center of gravity would be toward the driver side. But I'm guessing that the change in downforce signficantly overshadows the location of the source of that downforce.

A quick test would be to set up a simple "oval" and time the car running clockwise and then counter-clockwise, making sure to clean the tires in between.

Sounds like a project for the TK solver to, er, solve!

I'm on it...

Also, notice the small hole beside the guide pin......Perhaps some flamethrower Thunderjets are on the horizon.


Took a look at my '57 Chevy. It has possibilities of becoming a flamethrower. So it may be in the works.

On a side note.....What's the voltage/watts on the lightbulbs used on these? It gets hot after a few laps....Put a melt mark on the hood.

Just got my Release 4 cars today. Both Ford GTs and a Shelby. The pick-up "spring" setup makes the Flamethrower chassis junk. I had to remove most of the preload just to get the front wheels to touch the track. At least the front axel fits right. But, even after fiddling with the pick-up tension, the car was hopping around the track like a scared rabbit. The rear tires are hard and it appears that none of them are round. Two more XTraction chassis for the parts bin. Can't say I'm disappointed as expected them to be crap. The Ford GT bodies fit my lighted Magnatraction chassis nicely and that why I bought 'em. It would have been nice if the "lighthouse" was sprayed black or silver to keep the light from bleeding through the hood and down on the track, but that's a nit-pick.

Thanks for the heads up on the light. I hadn't checked, but never got enough laps to get one hot anyway :).

The ThunderJet Ultra G chassis on the other hand is easily the best out of the box chassis I've seen in the entire line of JL, R2, and AW releases. Wheels and tires act round and run smooth. The car zips right along and the stock tires work well enough to be runable. It's relativility quiet and quiets down and smooths out even more with a few drops of oil in the ususal places. I tweaked in the pick-ups to even up the contact patch and didn't feel like it needed any more tweaking. The Shelby body FITS the chassis. I've really poo-poo'ed magnet cars in the past because they were too danged fast to enjoy on my 4x8 layout, but the Ultra G manages to strike a nice balance. Deslots are more abrupt than the old Thuderjet 500 and the car usually winds up on its roof. I gotta hand it to AW on this one. A little better overall construction quality and the addition of a single magnet has made a meaningful difference. I do have to pop the magnet out to see if the chassis is still as well behaved w/o it.

Edit: Pulled the "blue" Ford GT out of the box. That sucker is purple. Even next to any blue object in the house, it is purple. Incadecent light-purple. Florscent light-purple, sunlight-purple.
Confirmed that the light bulb gets too hot to touch after a few seconds of running...ouch!

So the car turns left and right equally well/badly despite the magnet being on one side?

The front end hop offsets any worries about rear traction. The nose goes out first.

'doba

Sounds to me like I wish I could just buy the bodies for the new XT's. Although these wheel hopping cars that could burst into flame at any instant from over heated light bulbs could be fun, I suppose. Be a funny video on you -tube. Fireman Dave.

Edit: Pulled the "blue" Ford GT out of the box. That sucker is purple. Even next to any blue object in the house, it is purple. Incadecent light-purple. Florscent light-purple, sunlight-purple.
Confirmed that the light bulb gets too hot to touch after a few seconds of running...ouch!


If I knew they were purple I would have ordered one. I guess I'll try and get one.

so far 3 out of 40 will get out of there own way,couple bodies are cool!The daytona cobra was a rip of the one I ripped a few years ago from a jl die cast,they even used the same mount design I used on the rear.:)
DRAGjet

Someone mentioned an issue with the Charger Daytonas having a nose-up stance...

Try mounting the new AW Charger Daytona on a Tomy Turbo chassis. It looks 1000% better. I mounted the R4 yellow and red Daytona on a Turbo chassis with white wheels and it's just about the nicest looking car in my collection. Totally cool and sits perfect.

Edit:

The same chassis swap works with the '71 Charger too! I slid a Tomy Turbo chassis under the AW '71 Charger and it's a remarkable transformation. I know this isn't a perfect fix for magnatraction enthusiasts but the Turbo (as opposed to the SRT or Super G+) is a relatively mild magnet car.

The Cobra Daytona runs like crap -- a lot like the first JL T-Jets from a few years ago.

I've been messing with the gear fit, and clamp pressure, and haven't gone any faster. I did a break-in at 33 volts wide open but nothing has loosened up yet. The car can't get out of it's own way, so in that I am a little disappointed. The body is outstanding, however, so well-done on that aspect.

I'm going to try some oil in a couple of key areas, and maybe fiddle with the brush tension -- I don't know -- I always seem to end up going slower when I try that.

The magnet stops it from sliding, which was kind of the fun part for me. I race SG+ and 440X2 cars and those are what I consider to be 'magnet' cars, not TJets. I hope they keep releasing standard TJets because I don't know if I am sold on the UltraG concept at this point.

The FlameThrower suffers from nose hop, probably down to the pick-up shoe spring arangement. I put a bend in mine to try and lower it some, but still has to clear the chassis and I think that is where the spring and shoe and chassis are hitting -- kind of like a 'bump stop' effect. The body is outstanding, however, so well-done on that aspect.

I am thinking of ripping the lighting aspects out of this car and going to a conventional spring set-up. I don't know why they didn't re-tool the brush cup part of the electricals so that the new bar spring faces the other way, a'la the TYCO HP7. The HP7s are very adjustable -- you can lay the spring flat and work up from there.

Hmmm. I have to go play with these some more before I can say if I am pro or con for the new designs.

'doba
I had to file the crown gear boss down slightly to get the axel moving side to side, afer that the utra g+ was a rocket. I also noticed that the armauture is tight and not floating up and down on the brush spring pressure, but I left that alone so the gear doesn't loosen up. :wave:

Well, I'm just waiting for a pair of the new XTs with lights to show up. Guess I'll start off by replacing or removing the light, then tackle the shoe issue. Nothing like getting a new XT just to do repairs on to get them to run without burning down the house. :cool:

But those bods still look good for the most part, even if the fit is a little off. :devil:

Better than nothing! :thumbsup: rr

The two TJUG's I opened ran ok with the little neodots. I removed them to see how they ran and they wobbled quite a bit, but that was because of out-of-round tires. So I trued the fronts and popped on some silicone rears.......They both run smooth, the just needed a little taken off the gear boss for a little less bindng.

The XT Bronco needed to have the springs adjusted. Way too strong......had to bend them down to stop the front wheel hop. After fixing that, I noticed some bad rims that need replacing. And I'm gonna keep the top speed running to a minimum to prevent further hood meltage from the red-hot bulb. I may replace it with a 16 or higher volt bulb.

Well, I'm just waiting for a pair of the new XTs with lights to show up. Guess I'll start off by replacing or removing the light, then tackle the shoe issue. Nothing like getting a new one XT just to do repairs on to get them to run without burning down the house. :cool:

But those bods still look good, even if the fit is a little off. :devil:

Better than nothing! :thumbsup: rr

I really would'nt be happy if I didn't have to work on my cars.

Mic,
Never minded working on the chassis to get the power out of them. Heck, that was expected with the original Tjets and AFXes and the latest rounds too. I'm just afraid of fire hazzards. :) rr

Anyone got lap time comparisons?

These are much slower Montoya,but my 2 and 1/2 year old son loves how they handle!:)

Slower than a Tyco (for example) do you mean? Or slower than without the magnet?

These cars are waaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy slower than a tyco,not even a good comparison.
DRAGjet