Hi all, just starting to get back into HO racing again with my kids as posted before. On the way home from work tonight I picked up a pair of fast trackers that are below. I like them and they seem good for starter car. what are your thoughts on them? Thanks in advance.

Rusty :wave:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/larryrhodes/LifeLikeFastTrackers9CaseyKahneand1.gif

I have these cars aswell. They are not to bad. Much better than the cars that Life-Like put out a few years ago. They were ugly. Life-like did a good job on these cars. Overall I still prefer the AFX/T-jets which are more fun to race in my opinion. I would give them a B+.

All depends on what you like. You have two basic categories of HO cars - magnet and non-magnet.

Magnet cars (such as those shown) have extra magnets on the bottom of the chassis to hold the car onto the rails. These cars can be wickedly fast. Because the magnets hold them down, you can go faster than non-magnet cars.

Non-magnet cars do not have traction magnets and therefore no magnetic attraction to the rails. They do not have the top end speed of a magnet car, nor can you drive them as fast even if they did.

Both styles have their fans and detractors. You have to decide for yourself whether you like one style or the other. Or both.

Joe

Thanks Guys. I do love the magnet cars but I plan on getting some of the older T Jets just for nostalgic reasons. Knowing me I'll start a collection of all the different types and race them accordingly.

Rusty Cragers :wave:

The cars you purchased are great. Life like has had 3 phases of bodies:

1) first NASCAR releases from mid 1990s. Nice cars
2) Morphed car bodies from early 2000s...looking nothing like a real car.
3) The latest release are nice accurate looking bodies

We have had some great 4 lane races with these cars. They are easy to drive and typically very evenly matched.

Enjoy!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, Alabama

Thanks for the feedback Jim. So far I like them although I think they are getting close to needing pick up shoes already as we have been racing the heck out of the cars. When I replace the pick up shoes, do I need to replace the springs at the same time or can I replce them every other change? Also I am gonna look into making a 4 lane track with some help from Santa :p.

Larry AKA Rusty Cragers

The springs should last forever. I have some Life Lke cars that are almost 15 years old and the springs are original.

You will love these cars in 4 lane racing.

Jim Norton
Huntsville, Alabama

To really enjoy Lifelike cars, set up a long straightaway, add some silicone tires, the listen to em whine/scream down the backstretch!!! RM
P.S. Jim, you ever head north up I/65???

I have quite a few for the younger racers that need to go like a bat out of you know where. Great for them because the Aurora stuff goes too slow to their liking. Plus I don't let them run any of those anyway. And they clean the track rails pretty good for the other cars. ;) rr

Thanks guys. Looks like I am ready for shoes already. With only two cars in my garage, they are getting a whole lot of track time. Hoping to get out and get a pair of super g's this weekend.

Rusty :wave:

Rusty,

Please send me you address and your boys names. I will send out a suprise for them and you too. Welcome to one of the best places to be for our hobby.

Dave

Hi guys,

My family and I are just starting HO slots as well. I have an AFX track and and picked up a #20 Home Depot car from this series. Unfortunatly, it is getting stuck in the turns. It's as if it's catching something. None of my other cars do this?

Is this normal for this brand? Also, the box said they have really strong magnets. I was hoping to be able to wiz around the track without having to slow down - just for fun :P - but it's spinning out a lot. What's going on? Are these some of the strongest magnet cars out there? It seems like the G+ car from the AFX set is stronger.

Thanks!

My personal opinion is that while the dot magnets on the T chassis may be magnetically stronger, their size tends to make them a little more unforgiving. On some of the other cars where the footprint of the magnet is larger, you can sometimes tell when you are running "on the edge", so to speak. That feel is the point where the car is starting to slide out, but has not completely lost magnetic traction with the rails. With the small dots however, there's no room for error. When you lose it, you lose it.

That's not to say there is anything wrong with the cars. Every brand or chassis design tends to run differently and part of the fun is learning how to "drive" each of them. There's a whole range of experiences to be had in this aspect of the hobby, and sometimes you find a particular class of cars that you prefer. I know I definitely have my own set of favorites. :hat:

You'll also note that many of the race clubs have multiple "classes" of cars they race. This is why.

PS It all starts "where the rubber meets the road". The first step in improving the car's performance is by replacing the stock rubber tires with silicone ;)

Hi guys,

My family and I are just starting HO slots as well. I have an AFX track and and picked up a #20 Home Depot car from this series. Unfortunatly, it is getting stuck in the turns. It's as if it's catching something. None of my other cars do this?
Thanks!

It may be that the pickup shoes are getting slightly twisted under the chassis and wedging themselves on the side of the rail. The early JL X-Tractions do this. I had an Aurora G-Plus do this to me a lot just yesterday.

Other than trying to bend and/or file the shoes a little, I don't know the recommended fix for this, although I'm sure there is a simple one. You can either wait for someone to post, or maybe search through the tuning section for any threads concerning the pickup shoes on the early XTs. They may date back to 2002-2003.

Joe

Here's a couple more tips, and they are related.. Wipe down the track before running the cars. Dust, and other airborne contaminates will ruin your traction. The magnets aren't the only thing holding the car to the rack.. Also, clean your tires. Dirty tires = no traction. I am constantly cleaning tires and my track, because of their location (next to the kitchen) , and the fact there's 3 smokers in the house, and the dust, my track is always a mess, and needs constant cleaning. Changing to silicone tires will give you more traction, but they also pick up more dirt. Make cleaning part of your slotcar routine, and alot of your traction woes will disappear. As far as the sticking in the curves issue, it sounds like a twisted or a worn pick up to me too. I have one car that does the same thing. I have yet to resolve that issue, but I'm not giving up..

UtherJoe

One other consideration is the slots themselves. Plastic track is not made to tight tolerances. As you put the track together, the slots don't line up perfectly. This will be especially noticable on curves where the guide pin will tend to ride the outside wall of the slot. Make sure there is a good transition from one piece to the next. If there is a small lip where the guide pin can catch and hang up, take a small file and file down the slot opening until you get a smooth transition.

Another possibility is a high rail at some point. Again, rail height isn't consistant and magnet cars will be more intolerant of high rail than a non-mag car. It could be that a rail which is too high will come in contact with the traction magnets and basically hold your car to the rail.

Joe

Thanks guys, some real good information posted.:wave:


Rusty

Rusty, Cragers are not something to let go to waste. Go polish 'em! :drunk::hat::freak::dude:

:eek: I polish it often...:wave::(