Does anyone make splined axles for the scalextric cars?

Does anyone make splined axles for the scalextric cars?

I'm not sure I've seen any splined axles for 1/32 slot cars. Most of the nice upgraded ones are smooth and allow you to install nice upgraded gear sets that use grub screws to position and attach to the axle.

Any 3/32 axle set to the length of your car's current axles should work fine. It's just a matter of IF anyone has a splined axle at all.

PD2:thumbsup:

The club rules prohibit putting on aftermarket wheels.Regluing
wheels on seems to be a common practice.As an H.O. racer,
I find this unacceptable.

The club rules prohibit putting on aftermarket wheels.Regluing
wheels on seems to be a common practice.As an H.O. racer,
I find this unacceptable.

I understand what you are saying - actually, my club does the same thing. The car must remain stock, with the exception of removing the magnet. The only thing that can be done are truing the tires, and gluing any loose parts, such as wheels to axles, motors to motor pods, mirrors, wings, etc. Oh, and you can lube the gears and bearings/bushings and you can treat the tires, but only with a list of tire treatments they recommend in order to keep the track from peeling - painted wood track.

So, yes, regluing is a common practice and works well.

PD2:thumbsup:

Generally, the wheels don't need to be removed and it is best to leave them on the axle to keep a good snug fit on the axle. If you need to shim the axle, you can cut a small notch on some plastic nylon axle washers and then just snap them onto the axle. This prevents having to remove the wheels.

Best regards,
Brian

My brand new Scalextric car's wheel came off when I
went to remove the stock tire.It came off and went
back on way too easy.In H.O. we need pullers to get
them off.Like the Auto World H.O. cars,I think these
1/32 cars are aimed more at the collector.

Like the Auto World H.O. cars,I think these
1/32 cars are aimed more at the collector.

I'd disagree with you there Tim. I have had a few cars that the wheels came off that easy and went back on that easy, but like Brian said or I said, a simple fix and they are back together just fine. The ones that are more aimed at collectors are cars like AutoArt, some Carreras - although Carrera has a variety of cars where some are aimed at kids only or some are aimed at collectors - there is another company called something miniatures (can't think of the whole name right now), some of the FLY cars are DEFINITELY collectors, but FLY does have a line that they specifically call their Racers. As for Scalextric, NINCO, SCX, Slot.it, Slotter, NSR, and others, I'd beg to differ. And yes, even within those lines you get a flake or a lemon from time to time that you have to spend time with or shelve and grab another one.

The draw of the cars is the scale detail that is available and, in some race cases, the scale racing realism of how they handle. But at the end of the day let's face it.....they are toy cars, no matter the scale or brand.

PD2:thumbsup:

I think if I buy another 1/32 car it will be a 'Slot.it' or a
'Spirit'. It looks like the club might let them run against
the other cars if a 1 ohm resistor is put in the car to slow
the motor down.Even though they cost more they seem
to have the good wheels and guide flags stock.The lead
wires look bigger also.By the time a Scalextric is upgraded
it would probably cost more anyway.

I think if I buy another 1/32 car it will be a 'Slot.it' or a
'Spirit'. It looks like the club might let them run against
the other cars if a 1 ohm resistor is put in the car to slow
the motor down.Even though they cost more they seem
to have the good wheels and guide flags stock.The lead
wires look bigger also.By the time a Scalextric is upgraded
it would probably cost more anyway.

Yeah, Tim, for what you get with the Slot.it or the Sport version of the Spirit cars they come with all the upgrades already. Slot.it has been making some quality race cars that can be taken straight from the box, do some light sanding on the tires and they are ready to race - really race! Spirit is working out the distribution and could definitely heads up compete with Slot.it - their Sport line is VERY awesome cars, though I have heard that they have had some variances in quality - every now and then someone gets a lemon, but the Spirit team in Spain is quick to help, when they can get a chance to respond. The slow response to these issues should clear up as their US disty gets more established here.

Slot.it makes a chassis called the HSR and HSRII. These are some great chassis you can build your own 1/32 setup on. It allows you to install your own axles, gears, motors, wheels, tires and even allows you to mount your own body to it. Many guys get this chassis, build the chassis with the motors and what not they like, then buy a snap or glue together 1/32 model car and build the body and install it on the chassis - sounds familiar to HO, huh? ;)

Any way, yeah, I think you will be a lot happier with the quality of the Slot.it. Let us know when you pick one up!

PD2:thumbsup:

Are there any companies that make a good car with interchangable bodies
like in H.O.? It is nice to just have a few realy good chassis and a bunch
of different bodies.If not which company uses the same platform for every
car-ie. same style motor and mounts,same magnets and location? Every time
I flip a 1/32 car over it seems to be entirely different,even when the same brand.

Are there any companies that make a good car with interchangable bodies
like in H.O.? It is nice to just have a few realy good chassis and a bunch
of different bodies.If not which company uses the same platform for every
car-ie. same style motor and mounts,same magnets and location? Every time
I flip a 1/32 car over it seems to be entirely different,even when the same brand.

Unless you go to TRSF, Parma, or do one of the HRS chassis, or even go a step further and make your own chassis, no one makes it such that the bodies are interchangeable, unless they are the same manufacture, make, and model of car.

It's funny, because I asked this same question and even stated that in R/C, Kyosho makes Mini-Z cars AND they have what are called crystal displays of bodies that can be popped off the display chassis and mounted on any RTR car's chassis.

From what I have been told and what I've seen thus far, no, there is no one that makes bodies that can just be dropped on to any car's chassis. I thought it was a great idea, but some of the "guru's" I kicked it around with said that there was no way it would sell as the bodies are the majority of the costs in making 1/32 slot cars.

PD2:thumbsup:

Seems like they would save money not having to tool up new
chassis molds for every new model.For a hobby shop to carry
spare parts, it must be a nightmare.

Seems like they would save money not having to tool up new
chassis molds for every new model.For a hobby shop to carry
spare parts, it must be a nightmare.

I know what you mean - made sense to me. Although, some are getting it a little. They offer liveries already painted and tampo and now more and more are doing the white body version for you to paint, although, you still get a full RTR car with it - go figure.

Closest thing to doing this if you want different bodies is to find guys like Hot Laps and others that make lexan and/or resin bodies. From there, you can put them on almost whatever chassis you would like. This is some what similar to what HO does.

PD2:thumbsup:

I know what you mean - made sense to me. Although, some are getting it a little. They offer liveries already painted and tampo and now more and more are doing the white body version for you to paint, although, you still get a full RTR car with it - go figure.

Closest thing to doing this if you want different bodies is to find guys like Hot Laps and others that make lexan and/or resin bodies. From there, you can put them on almost whatever chassis you would like. This is some what similar to what HO does.

PD2:thumbsup:

I think the problem with interchangeable slot bodies is that they won't be scale in appearance. I think the 1/32 slot car consumer is much more concerned with scale than the 1/10 rc car consumer. As a result, having a mini copper with the same wheelbase as a Enzo Ferrari is not as acceptable in the 1/32 slot world as it is in the 1/10 rc world.

I think the problem with interchangeable slot bodies is that they won't be scale in appearance. I think the 1/32 slot car consumer is much more concerned with scale than the 1/10 rc car consumer. As a result, having a mini copper with the same wheelbase as a Enzo Ferrari is not as acceptable in the 1/32 slot world as it is in the 1/10 rc world.

Hi 2000-redrider!

I do agree, in 1/10 scale R/C, typically all you have are lexan bodies that are in various types of vehicles and they all pretty much fit most 1/10 R/C (of course, onroad bodies with onroad chassis' and offroad bodies with offroad chassis').

The Kyosho Mini-Z R/C cars that I made reference to are 1/28 scale, hard body cars - yes, a few of them have been made with lexan bodies, but the majority of them are all hard bodies. Kyosho will make both an RTR setup for these cars and then make crystal display bodies that you do not have to buy a complete RTR setup just to get a different body on the car you race or have setup. And yes, even in this line of cars they have about three chassis types, which means that the crystal display bodies have the potential of three different chassis layouts, but, at least they make various bodies for the three varieties of chassis'.

Hope that helps explain what I meant and was talking about.

PD2:thumbsup:

Hey PD2(name?),
Can you tell me what tire treatments your club recommends? I'm an HO collector/sometime racer mainly, but I have a Monogram Shelby Daytona and Greenwood Vette, in addition to a vintage Eldon blue chrome 69 Camaro and red chrome 69(uhh,68?) Mustang. I want something to improve traction of the stock tires. I find the bodies to be relatively heavy on the new cars, but I do like the detail, and running 1/32 is a refeshing change every once in a while. I have a bunch of questions about new cars, as well as vintage Eldon, as I don't have nearly the experience in 1/32 as in HO:
1-What can I do to the Monogram cars in the way of tuning/tweaking to improve performance? Eldon?
2-How do I do it?
3-Are there aftermarket "slip-on" high performance tires? Does Monogram/Revell offer any?
4-How about aftermarket wheels/axles/gears for these type of models/racers?
5-What's the best lube for these cars?
6-Can the new cars run on home 1/32nd tracks?
7-What is the best contemporary home track for the money.
8-What is the best vintage home track(i.e. Revell, Eldon, Strombecker, Scalextric, etc...)?
Either way, I'd like to have a home set to race on occasionally. If it's cheap to get, even better! I'll trade H.O. cars, parts to get one...

Don't get me wrong - I dig the new cars - but to my casual eye, Monogram, SCX, Carrera, Fly and such are quite different from the classic Parma and similar commercial track type chassis - although there are definite improvements and some really neat engineering on the higher end cars - differentials, adjustible magnets, steering, digital, scale handling characteristics exclusive to a particular model - overall they seem kind of primitive(or maybe I should say simplied?) compared to the metal racing chassis I remember from the 60's/70's. I mean that it seems the emphasis was taken off of the design of the chassis, and put way more on the body detail. Even the vintage Eldon 69 Camaro and Mustang that I have - that type of home set car like similar vintage Revell and such - with light, monocoque frame-type, inline, sometimes articulated chassis seem somewhat more sophisticated to some degree. I may be totally wrong, but that's how they seem to me anyway.
Thanks guys, in advance, for your help... :freak:
Gene

I think with silicone tires and an adapted downforce magnet,
many of the older cars would be competetive.I wish I kept
my Cox Cheeta with the Magnesium chassis.In the old days
the Revelle track was the preferred brand.Now, I am not sure,
but I raced on a large Artin tracked layout and it seemed fine.

Here's a quick reply to your questions:

1-What can I do to the Monogram cars in the way of tuning/tweaking to improve performance?
I personally don't think the Monogram cars need any more performance but you can put on some after market tires and more magnets. Some people actually take out the tractiuon magnet and install a motor with less power to make these run more like a big cool looking T-Jet.
The best thing you can do to Eldon cars is put on some afteramarket tires - I think Professor Motor has some or on Ebay look for Tiny Motors tires for the Eldon cars.


2-How do I do it? Check out HomeRacingWorld.com

3-Are there aftermarket "slip-on" high performance tires? Yes.
Does Monogram/Revell offer any? No but Professor Motor and others do.

4-How about aftermarket wheels/axles/gears for these type of models/racers? Yes

5-What's the best lube for these cars? Use the same stuff you use on your HO cars.

6-Can the new cars run on home 1/32nd tracks? Yes.

7-What is the best contemporary home track for the money. You'll need to define "best" - I have a four lane Artin but I have also have had Carrera, Scalextric Sport and Classic along with SCX and I've had fun on all of them.

8-What is the best vintage home track(i.e. Revell, Eldon, Strombecker, Scalextric, etc...)? Revell, Monogram, Scalextric 1/24 3 lane tracks are all very good, Strombecker was good too and is typically easiest to find. Don't let anyone give you Eldon. But there's really no reason to use vintage track - trust me I did only when I had to - it is just so much easier to use the current track systems.

Hi Gene!

First, let me use RMMseven's replies as he has done a great job of capturing some of my thoughts as replies - what I'll do is add a few other parts and pieces (if that is cool with you and RMMseven):

>>1-What can I do to the Monogram cars in the way of tuning/tweaking to >>improve performance?
>I personally don't think the Monogram cars need any more performance but >you can put on some after market tires and more magnets. Some people >actually take out the tractiuon magnet and install a motor with less power >to make these run more like a big cool looking T-Jet.
>The best thing you can do to Eldon cars is put on some afteramarket tires - >I think Professor Motor has some or on Ebay look for Tiny Motors tires for >the Eldon cars.

As RMMseven pointed out, the biggest tuning/tweaking you can do to improve performance are the tires. An after market replacement tire would probably be the best for getting better traction on the tire side. Ortmann makes a great tire (http://www.professormotor.com/cat_ortmann.shtml) - Super Tires are another one to take a look at (http://www.slotcarcorner.com/Store/SuperTires/SuperTires.asp).

If you want to use the stock tires, our club has limited us to certain tire treatments that we can use to get the most out of our stock tires. First, I'd recommend doing some sanding of the tires to knock off the shinny, slippery coating that stock tires some time have, but as you do this make sure the tires are trued up too - if you do not have an inspection block for your 1/32 cars, get one and put the car on it. With the car on it, begin inspecting the rear tires contact with the surface of the block by looking at the rear wheels at eye level. If you see any cupping of the tire, uneven areas or if when you push the car through the block and allow the rear wheels to roll over the surface of the block, you see daylight between the tire's face and the surface of the block, then its time to sand or true the tires up. I usually do this with various grit sandpaper glues to a small, thin block of wood and then place the car on the track with my trigger rubberbanded down to WOT and then, while making sure the car won't launch and the wood block won't fly off, I let the weight of the rear end of the car begin to sand the tires against the wood block. If your tires are loose on the wheels or slip, get something to glue them down to the wheels as this too is important for tuning/tweaking for performance sake. Once the tires are where you want them now you can treat them with some product. My favorite right now is Tiger's Milk tire treatment. If your local shop does not carry this or you cannot find it, the other treatment that a lot of guys use is lighter fluid. Sounds weird, but believe it or not it has done words for a poorly hooking up car. When treating the tires, if you have not had a night before the race to prep, the best thing to do is just put a few drops of Milk or fluid on the tires directly and just work it around with your fingers, making sure that it gets all the way around the tire - set it on the track and pull the trigger....the car may act like it is doing a burn out, but that is ok...let it go until it gets traction again and then wipe up whatever may have come off the tires and onto the track. If you do have a night to prepare, put a lot of Milk or fluid on the tires and flip the car over on its roof and let the car soak it in over night. When you get to the track, you will be good to go.

I know we have talked mainly about tires and tire treatment, but, if your car is still not getting better performance or is having wheel hop issues or things like that, then another thing to do is also consider the true or roundness of the wheel and the axles. We all know that they cars are punched out in factories in mass quantities. There is a chance that the wheels and/or axles are not 100% round. Wheels are easy because before you glue your tires to the wheels, you can check and see if the wheel wobbles or has any plastic flashing that may throw the roundness of the wheel off. Remove the plastic flashing and if need be, sand the wheels to true them up too. This can improve a car's handling quickly because no longer does it have rear wheel hop or an area that could potential deslot the car or even create a condition where the rear wheels have no contact with the track.

Final thing that I recommend with these "big body" cars as I call them. When you put the bodies on the cars and screw the body screws down, back the screws off about 1/4 to 1/2 turn. What you want is for that body to "float" or rock back and forth on the chassis. What this will do is shift the gravitational pull put on the car, in a turn or adverse condition, from the whole car to just the body, keeping the chassis, guide and wheels firmly planted on the track and in the slot. This has helped SEVERAL poorly handling cars to become even more stuck in the slot...and that's a good thing!

While there are other tips and tricks that can be performed with all cars, these are the most common ones that everyone should do before doing any others. If after you have done this the car is still handling bad, come back and describe what is happening and we can definitely help you further

>>2-How do I do it? Check out HomeRacingWorld.com

See above as I think I've covered things with what I added. And yes, homeracingworld.com has several HOWTO's that can help too. But you are always welcome to ask more questions if you are not 100% sure.

>>3-Are there aftermarket "slip-on" high performance tires? Yes.

See above as well - Try some and see which best suit your driving style. Everyone swears by one brand or another, but to me, its totally dependent upon driving style.

>>Does Monogram/Revell offer any? No but Professor Motor and others do.

Agree. Again, see my first response above.

>>4-How about aftermarket wheels/axles/gears for these type of >>models/racers? Yes

There are plenty! In fact, the link I gave you for Super Tires above is Slot Car Corner - take a look at all of his aftermarket parts as he has come up with some great stuff to improve most all cars. NSR makes some sharp looking wheels too and as for axles and gears, Slot.it appears to have a lot of aftermarket setups for axles and gearing. Browse around and if you find something you really like give them a try.

>>5-What's the best lube for these cars? Use the same stuff you use on >>your HO cars.

For gearing, look for a white lithium type of grease - using sparingly as you don't want that stuff on your tires and ultimately killing all of your work to get more traction. For bushings/bearing and axle contact points I use Super Lube (http://www.super-lube.com/) - again, sparingly, but often. For the motor, I use ZEP 45 (http://www.dieselmanor.com/Accessories/zep45.asp). Both are great on these cars!

>>6-Can the new cars run on home 1/32nd tracks? Yes.

Agree. About the only thing I ever have issues with are the Parma cars, but that is mainly due to the fact that they require a lot more voltage than my home track is giving them.

>7-What is the best contemporary home track for the money. You'll need to >define "best" - I have a four lane Artin but I have also have had Carrera, >Scalextric Sport and Classic along with SCX and I've had fun on all of them.

Agree - it all depends on what you define as best. Best for traction? Best for size or scales that can be run? Best for permanent setup? Best for not breaking every time you set it up and tear it down? Etc. Several factors that can lead you to YOUR track decision.

>>8-What is the best vintage home track(i.e. Revell, Eldon, Strombecker, >>Scalextric, etc...)? Revell, Monogram, Scalextric 1/24 3 lane tracks are all >>very good, Strombecker was good too and is typically easiest to find. >>Don't let anyone give you Eldon. But there's really no reason to use >>vintage track - trust me I did only when I had to - it is just so much easier >>to use the current track systems.

Gonna have to rely on RMMseven on this one as I have not done much with vintage track sets - I have an Eldon and I think a Cox set that my uncle had when he was a kid that he gave me, but I do not run those mainly due to the fact of how old they are.

Hope this has further helped you out! Good luck and have lots of fun!

PD2:thumbsup: