Ok Guys.... with all the choices in chassis out there....

Give me your top 5 and why?

Mine are:

1. AFX Magnatraction. Runs well on every track I've ever run, easy to work on, always tweakable. Holds the track well, but not too well, if you know what I mean ... you can still slide through turns. For my money, the most versatile chassis ever made.

2. Aurora Thunderjet. All time classic, we all know the score here.
Most of the same features listed above, the Godfather of HO chassis.
You must pay respect!

3. Tyco 440 X2. Runs smooth at all speeds. Holds the track well, but you still can send it into the wall if you're not careful. Sturdy, easy to mantain. Removable rear axel is a winner.

4: AFX Gplus. The father of Inline magnet cars. Not the Lexan Blur bullets of today, but even though I was just a punk 10 yr. old or so when these came out, I remember it being a big deal among my friend's slightly older brothers. I didn't own one until I was 12 or so ... and I was amazed. We used to have drag races... 4-6 kids would bring their cars and their straights and we would set it up on the sidewalk in front of my friend's house... Gplus cars were not allowed. The only chassis we ever banned from the strip.

Fast, sturdy (too bad the F-1 Bodies were so frail though), fun to work on,
With the chassis clip you could use any AFX body with the long wheelbase.. which kinda bummed me out. I always wanted a Gplus Baja Bronco

5. TOMY SRT. Fast, smooth, hold track well, Easy to work on, fits most AFX style bodies. What's not to like?

Honorable mentions:

TOMY SUPER GLPUS... love them, some are more fragile than others.

TOMY MEGA G... All I can say is thanks and when can we get some mussle cars and hot rod bodies for them? When are you going to sell parts?

Dynabrute... sidewinder design, brass chassis. FAST!
Should have been more popular than it was. Price issue?

Wizzard Patriot and Storm: everyone should have a few bullets, sometimes you just want to run the car and space ... A Wizzard on a Life Like track is almost impossible to de-slot. Good chassis for beginners to run.. they like the speed and they HOLD the track.

Micro Scalextric: Like the Tyco, runs super smooth at all speeds. Braided picked up cleans rails. Some people haven't been as lucky as I've been with them. What can I say? I really like these a lot. I just wish Micro Scalectric did some Hot Rod or Mussle car bodies. Only so many novelty bodies or euro cars an American boy like me can stand.

TYCO HP-7 ... straightforward design, low maintenance. Nice handling, smooth running. Priced lower than the comparable TOMY TURBO


WHAT SAY YOU?
:freak:

BSRT G-Jet ---- This is the car that got me back into the hobby. Not too fast, not too slow, a ton of fun to drive, enough said.

BSRT G3/G3R Super Stock ---- Blazing speed, yet they can still handle, it's like trying to tame the beast, I love them.

T-Jet fray style ---- a little bit of speed in an old school package, I love kicking the rear end out in a corner and then cranking it up again on the straights!

AFX Magna-Traction ---- The first cars I owned as a kid. Thousands of hours pretending I was Richard Petty equals joy.

AFX G+ ---- See AFX Magna-Traction, except replace Richard Petty's car with a 6 wheeled Elf :)

1) JL Fast & Furious X-Traction. Same as AFX magnatraction, only faster and smoother.

2) AFX M/T fast enough, but I can still see them.

3) Tyco HP7 smooth, fast, and will still fishtail.

4) Tomy Turbo or SRT with the traction magnets removed and run at 12 volts. Similar to AFX M/T, but with more torque.

5) Aurora Tuffones. Lots of sliding and plenty of speed.

These are not in order.

All time favorites, top five,.......hmmmmmmmm.....let me see.......

1. Tyco 440x2 - I like this car in the pan or narrow chassis. Durable, predictable, and pretty consistent. This car is fun to race in all sorts of configurations, modified, neo, wizzards, push on silicons, or just box stock with the stock tires. The design is so good, even Mattel can copy them.

2. Aurora AFX Magnatraction - To me, these seem to be the most realistic driving cars ever made, much easier to tune than the Tjets, and less finicky. Era correct. I can watch a 70s road race or Nascar race, and duplicate the same moves and slides with a AFX MT. Great bodies. It looks like what you are driving. A wide range of great looking bodies from all sorts of racing that all handle well. The torque band and brakes seem to match the scale. All these elements combine to make the second best chassis ever made.

3. Tomy Turbo - Way too much power for the traction magnets on these. The cars are geared for sheer speed, not handling. Just keeping these cars in the slot is half the fun. These cars run sideways and half turned over all the way around the track. Most people I know don't like running Turbos because it takes so much to get used to, so much top end speed. If your running a 16' straight with 18v, you better let off about half way down, or you'll be on the floor looking for shoes and springs. Momentum is an issue, and quite possibly drafting.

4. Rokar/LifeLike M chassis - One of my first cars when I started getting back into slot cars in '91. Good speed, great tires. I joined a SuperG+ Nascar series at a local track. The track owner just about laughed me out of the building when he saw I wanted to run my Rokar STP #9 with my stock Tyco controller that I had put clips on. No one objected, because nothing could compete with a SuperG+. I ran third in that series(out of 15). I like the fact that the motor magnets are also the traction magnets. The way they are placed couldn't be done better. These cars have a very controllable slide. As LifeLike took over, I found that the cars were getting inconsistent. out of the package one would fly and handle well, one would fly and fly off, one would handle because it wouldn't fly and so on. Still, a great chassis for stock cars or sports cars.

5. Tyco HP7 - Slower than the 440x2, better than the HP2, these chassis were usually cheaper than other cars out there. We used these cars for our dirt car class because with stock tires they slid all over the place. Easy to set up and easy to maintain, the HP7 seemed to even the field and make the real racers stand out. They could be found in discarded race sets, thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales everywhere. For a little kid, probably not the best car to start with, so you could always find em used somewhere. Not so much now.

Honorable Mentions

AW Ultra G Xtraction - This new chassis is fast becoming a favorite of mine.
Mattel HPX2 - Not as good as the 440x2, but I'm glad some are still being produced.
Aurora AFX - Like the Turbos, fast with no traction. These make great drag cars.

That's the line up according to Rich. I think time will show that I'm right.

Vote for me :thumbsup:
Rich

T-Jet and all it's lineage... slim line through the Magna Traction...

BSRT G3/G3R only. they fly.

For me it's the AFX Magna-traction and it's modern spin offs from AW. They are fast enough to be fun, slow enough to see, squirrelly enough to have to drive and grip enough to get through a banked turn. And I like the scaled size a bit more than the T-Jets. My old brass pan-pancake cars that I raced just prior to the MT coming out are a close second.

-Paul

Coming from the late 70's early 80's, the cars everyone ran then are still my favorite: Maggie Tracs and Aurora G+. I do enjoy the newer SG+ and of course the Mega G's for sheer speed and riding the edge but I also appreciate a T Jet.

Magnum 440's have to be mentioned as well but they weren't so easily worked on/tinkered with like the Aurora/AFX offerings.

I missed that its top 5. I'll add my other 4 later.

T-Jet and all it's lineage... slim line through the Magna Traction...

Aurora Slimline, T-jet, AFX, Magna-traction, Specialty chassis. That's 5. And I agree whole-heartedly.:thumbsup:

BSRT G3/G3R only. they fly.

I agree-The G3R is my choice of favorite chassis.I switched all of my "old" SG+ cars to the G3 chassis.The new SG+ chassis is a close second!!!:thumbsup:

I think a lot of the responses to this will boil down to what you like to race and / or what you enjoyed as a kid or when you first were introduced to the hobby. Nostalgia trips are always fun.

1 -- Tyco 440X2 has to be #1 by me. It's a fast inline magnet car that while under Tyco control was pretty consistent across the board. Easy enough for a technical dullard like me to work on with just a set of needle nose pliers also. We've used this chassis in both narrow and pan racing classes for years and the racing has been very good.

2 -- Tyco HP7 would be my #2. No it doesn't handle great but that isn't the point. Neither do tjets and no one complains about them. The HP7 grips a little better than an all out slider, but still gets tail happy when driven hard. Mastering an HP7 slide is half the fun. Metal NASCAR bodies on an HP7 riding on the stock rubber is as close to real NASCAR as you can get in HO scale -- running an overweight tire grinder that is over-powered and under-tired.

3 -- Tomy Super G+ is my #3. This car is an over-achiever straight out of the box with it's adjustable timing. Replace the rear tires with some proper rims and a nice set of slip-on silicones and you can get low and fast for real cheap.

4 -- AFX original G+ is my #4. I only had one growing up -- a gold Charger #11 -- but on my rinky dink little Tyco set-ups it kept pace with my original 440s. Later, on bigger tracks, I came to appreciate what a torque-y beast of a chassis the G is, growling & sliding and winding out.

5 -- Auto World Tjet-500 is my #5. A lot of people hate on the Tom Lowe cars because of the QC issues, and I do too. But this car gets a spot in the top 5 because they are cheap and quick. If you get a rocket, you'll have fun sliding around at stupid speeds for a tjet. If you get a dog, it becomes donor parts - no big deal. For cheap Made in China and brought to us for the lowest dollar possible slot cars, the AW Tjet 500 is OK.

Unfortunately I am not old enough to have seen the rise of the original Tjet, although I do have a few now and enjoy the novelty of running them. My first cars were the button style Tyco chassis, think they were HP2s, and I remember they broke pretty quickly. The HP7s were more sturdy a short time later.

Anything from Slottech = the BEST!!!! :p

SG+...Taught me how the race Inlines with traction magnets

Tyco 440X2...legendary performance especially on TOMY track with phase 2 tractions...kicked many a SG+ in the tush with my Narrow chassis set up....

BSRT G3 The outter shell replacement for the brittle SG+ chassis...allowed the SG design to show it's full potential

Slottech Thunder Cat (T1) What the Tyco could have been is what the T1 is. Even though it has been practically replaced by the T2 and T3...the original T1 revelutionized racing by re-establishing the Tyco style bulkhead system that can mount a Tyco narrow body or with a modified G body clip, mount a A.FX/Tomy Hardbody. The T1 is still a formidable challanger to any G3 chassis to date and is still avalable in soft, medium and Flexiable styles.

SRT Is the most underated performance chassis around.....the way it's designed won't allow for a lot of hop up's but you can change the armature and some other things and race it as a Restricted Class Hardbody racer that can fly..


Yo!

Aurora Tjet.... Slow and steady for this old timer LOL :woohoo:

Aurora Tjet with the "hop up" gears..... a little faster, but still slow enough for this old timer.

AFX Magnatractions..... mainly because I like the AFX semis and trailers

AW Xtracs....... They will fit nicely under the AFX semis

AURORA TJETS....did I already say that.....oh well.....i'm old and sometimes forgetful. :jest:

1. X-Traction
2. HP7
3. X-Traction Ultra G
4. Tomy Turbo
5. Marchon (for kids to use mindlessly)

1. Any G3 platform (box stock, G-jet, Superstock, modified, polymer, and grey Tomy super G+)
2. Tomy Turbo/SRT
3. AFX/JL/AW Magnatraction
4. Tyco HP2
5. tied between Marchon & LL M chassis

ok, so thats technically 14, not 5 :hat:

AFX Non magnatraction--Gotta love anything that slides, has torq thrusts, and accepts a 1/64 body.

Aurora SuperMagnatraction--Technically, I like the cats eye/blazin brakes/speedshifter variants the best, since the rear axle boss design allows for gearing options and a saver.

Tyco Curvehugger--TONS of untapped potential, if theyd have just designed the pickup system a little better. Easily remedied though, a little filing and those fronts can do thier job. OR, convert to braids and go sick. The best versions are the earliest ones with the double flux collectors, centerline style wheels, and a greenwire motor. Plenty of power, and likes to slide. Thats magnetic traction done RIGHT.

Tyco HP-3--The 'Jeep chassis' suffers from the same pickup design as the CH, but one of these was my 1st tyco ever, and I figured out how to fit it with larger tires for the offroad look. Mod the pickups, make sure you have the greenwire arm, and it has the perfect grip/slide mix. Add braids and it screams.

Amrac/Rokar/LL x2-- Again, magnatraction done right. Plenty of power and can still slide around. And I love nearly anything with Ansen slot mag style wheels.

Matchbox Powertrack/Speedtrack--Easy to convert for 12 V use, no magnetic traction, and EXTREMELY versatile and adaptable for us customizers. Yet another that I managed to get big tires onto and still fit 2 of em side by side on a regular track.

Tyco HP-7-- In stock trim, a great beginner chassis. Stuff in some better motor magnets and it'll surprise you.

AFX MagnaTraction - I love these guys, they are easy to work on, fun to drive (rookie driver to the seasoned pro) just enough traction to enjoy the track, not enough traction to keep the cars wide open.

AFX - My first true slot car love, these are fun to drive too, but until you learn how to handle the raw power your gonna destroy bodies. I think my younger brothers hold the worlds record for "wall shots" with these guys. I know I had to learn how to do major surgery to my cars because of this chassis (In 1972 my dad and I went to Dick's Hobby-land in Cranford, N.J. to get my first AFX car - I picked a orange/black Daytona to race at a friends house, my first track came Christmas of 1972 and of course it was AFX)

everything after the above is really just something else to race with, so I'll outline my major memories with some standouts:

Teejet - My friends all had a few cars each as they all had older brothers, I learned to drive on these cars at my friends houses. I used to look forward to rainy days so I could turn laps at their house. (We used egg timers and set them for 3 minutes, 10 races per day, most laps won) We even had a little trophy (converted bowling trophy from someones brother) that you got to have till the next race (we called it the T-Cup)

g+ - I loved the look of these until I sent a Lola T-330 into a corner at too high velocity (can you visualize the horror on my face as the wing and mirrors went sailing after the first wall shot - car was maybe with me for 15 minutes until it needed major surgery)

Magnatraction Specialty - one winter we had truck and van racing (we even had a contest to see who could roll your van the furthest from the track) - looking back that was a blast. I actually snapped the top off of a Model A doing the rolling when it went too far and my friends mother was vacuuming with her Kirby (she pushed forward - the Model A pillars gave out on contact after rolling 10+ feet across the floor)

Xtraction - passed the love of slot cars onto my sons through these guys.


thanks for the topic, brought back memories

Pickeringtondad

This really is a great thread! Thanks VJ for startin it up. I always like to see what other folks like racing and why. It's all got me thinking.......
What's your favorite body to run on your favorite chassis?

1. Tyco 440x2 - pan chassis - '74 Dodge Charger stocker
http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/97/l_9e8559e652c36f0033ec95f8ce4dc040.jpg

narrow chassis - '77 Oldsmobile 442 stocker
http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/38/l_8030849930f344748288feca6835599c.jpg

2. Aurora AFX Magnatraction - '73 Dodge Charger stocker
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/12/l_f9f51484355b41b1b41112ee817905b1.jpg

3. Tomy Turbo - '85 Ford Thunderbird stocker

4. Rokar/LifeLike - '92 Oldsmobile stocker/ '93 Chevy Lumina stocker

5. Tyco HP7 - '77 Chevy Monte Carlo
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/18/l_d77ef670ed44428d8f3d46dee95c91e9.jpg

Thanks for the replies guys. Lots of great stuff here.
I probably should have made it a top 10 list, huh?

The LL M chassis... a winner, no doubt.

Marchon.. a great workhorse that stays cool, even with a diecast body on it...
cheap too. Can be had for 5 - 6 bucks.

AW chassis... anything but the Super III is fine by me.

Matchbox... a surpise choice, but a good one. Sliders deluxe!
Very simular to the Ideal chassis.

And props probably should be paid to the Atlas Zinger, the first inline chassis.
Too bad they used such crappy magnets though. This car should have been faster than it was.

And last but not least, Lionell of the 60's. I have 6 - 7 of these cars and they kick a t-jets butt. These chassis are FAST, especially with some silicones on the rears. Big box motor stuffed into a small, light chassis. The original HO big block!


keep the stories coming!

I see I'm not alone in running HO cars on 1/43rd scale track.

Gonzo

1) Wizzard Storm: Simple design, super rugged, fast, infinitely tunable, extremely easy to work on, integrated body mounts, Tyco parts compatible, low cost of ownership, ...

2) Boss Riggen: Closest HO ever came to having a factory produced slot car with performance and handling characteristics of the larger scale slot cars.

3) Aurora A/FX: the TJet evolved to its highest form with body sized to match the rest of the modern HO slot car world. First 'cake car that felt like a real race car out of the package.

4) Tomy AFX Turbo/SRT: Plug and play, and play, and play. Standard rear hubs for easy tire upgrades, standard AFX body mounts allow the chassis to work on a very wide range of bodies.

5) [Tie] Rokar/Life-Like M Chassis and Aurora G-Plus: Two great chassis sharing a common heritage and design philosophy.

The Tomy Super G+ and its close cousin, the BSRT G3, would probably be next on the list and the TJet and its clones not too far back, as are the Tyco 440/X2, and TycoPros....

This really is a great thread! Thanks VJ for startin it up. I always like to see what other folks like racing and why. It's all got me thinking.......
What's your favorite body to run on your favorite chassis?


5. Tyco HP7 - '77 Chevy Monte Carlo
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/18/l_d77ef670ed44428d8f3d46dee95c91e9.jpg

Wow! Where did the Monte come from? Nice Car!

-Paul

1) Auto World X-Traction
2) Aurora AFX Magnatraction
3) Life Like H chassis
4) Tomy Turbo
5) Original Aurora AFX

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL

1)Tyco 440x2

2)SRT

3)HP7

4)G PLUS

5)WIZZARD P3


Wes

I'll have a tall stack of assorted flapjacks!! :lol:

1. Aurora Tjet. Precision crafted and durable as heck. Slow enough for my purposes. How many toys from the 60's can you think of could handle that much abuse when used, sit in attics and basements for decades and come back to life with a few drops of oil and a little cleaning. Remember, I'm the oddball of the group. I want slower!
2. AW Tjet. Too fast as is, but with a few $$ worth of Aurora parts fairly drivable.
3. AFX. Well balanced between speed, handling and drivability. Multitude of assorted bodies and parts.
4. Xtraction. Same as above.
5. Non Mag AFX. Squirrley lil sucker that forces you to drive, but still loved.

OK, so I got pancakes on my mind!! I really haven't tried the older Tyco, Bachmann, or Eldon so I can't comment on them. The newer Tyco, Lifelike and the sort are just too fast for my purposes. What pleases me probably won't please you, but that's what makes this hobby great!!! We can all be satisfied with our selections without stepping on each others toes. They all have their advantages and disadvantages and they're all FUN!!! Now, where did I put my Red Oil Syrup????? :wave:

Wow! Where did the Monte come from? Nice Car!

-Paul

Courtesy of Doba Engineering out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Thanks!

Wow! Where did the Monte come from? Nice Car!

-Paul

Shoe, if ya came to chat once in a while you'd know it was a Monte Doba!;)

As for my favorite chassis, I'd have to say ...

the one that runs ...or the one I have parts for!

Love them all! Just depends on my mood as to what I'm gonna run. For the most part I like geared chassis like the T-jet, Lionels and to some degree the AFX pancakes. They have a flywheel effect that still retains some of the original connective tissue to real automobiles.

Give me something that will slide out, has exploitable limits, and doesnt defy gravity.
Inline mag racers are great and I truly appreciate lil' electric rockets; but I do tire of them quickly as they are either in the slot or out thereby lacking those unique whoa I'm sideways in ....whoa I'm sideways out....whew "I made it after all" moments.

1. AFX G-plus....mo' bang for the buck
2. Magtration either one
3. Tjets or tuffones neat to model and bang with the hammer
4. Atlas.. surprized not to see this one awesome slider hard tires so you can fishtail a whole lap before they bite...
5. Wizards.. cuz i can still see them lol....and Billliam can't

D'oh! Good eye, AFXToo....Forgot all about the Riggens. Ive got a handful of Toybaron's repro pieces and they run great. Lots of fun barreling full tilt in the straights, and sliding thru the turns.

My favorite is the one I am working on or running at the moment... While that is generally true, I still am loyal to my first love, the venerable TJet. She got me into the hobby. Of course, the little darling was never fast enough and I had to pursue any available means for hopping her up. I guess that makes her high maintenance - like my wife and two daughters! This all means my second love was the AFX as she came pre-hopped up realive to any prior TJet variation.

Back in the day, Tyco Pros, Riggens, or other inlines were the mortal foe of my pancake mistress. Now I am older, more tolerant, and appreciate all inlines for their more efficient layout and better speed. However, the TJet and AFX are the two that still get me giddy when I get another one.

:drunk::hat::freak::dude: