[dazee]

This was a recent new addition to the club and looks like we will be having a class of racing for cars with this chassis in future, so I picked one up today so I can start to prep a car with it.

       

I think this works out at about 25 quid more or less, depending on the exchange rate when you read this.  For this price it is just missing a car body, everything else to run is included.  I believe it uses the Pointer 5 motor.

   

This chassis is a change from the previous ones as previously they used a side winder configuration and now as an inline.  Also the parts are mostly a light composite where previously they used steel.  Here it is side by side with my older Plafit 1/32 chassis for comparison.

   

Will be intersting to see how well this runs as it is very light.  The older ones were heavy but the weight all below the axles so they were pretty solid runners with or without magnets.  It feels a good bit smaller too so should fit some of the smaller car bodies I have.

As with the previous range, there appears to be alot of upgrade/replacement parts available.

[dazee]

Now fitted to a Capri body shell.  Attaching is the familiar Platfit sponge and bracket arrangement used for their other chassis.  
Fitting it I don't feel secure in the strength of some pieces as they are very thin.  I would be worried about possibly breaking them in trying to fit the body if a tight squeeze, or possibly from a crash.  I think the adding of some thin plastic as has been done by some members is not just to stiffen the chassis, but also give a little reassurance.

   

At the moment it has the normal rubber tires fitted so will try this first then probably switch to the Plafit soft set for more grip.  Even so on my little test track it was making some good lap times straight away.

Will set it up for the weekend to try at the club against similar builds.
   

[dazee]

To update on experience of this.

On a club track in the out the box configuration this was not a good experience.  In fact the expereince was bad enough that I did not note any lap times as they were slow and any attempts to go fast resulted in a deslot.  

Someone at the club who has invested some time in working on this chassis for tuning advised that it flexes too much and can use some stiffening of the chassis.  So O cut some strips of .2mm PLA plate that could be attached and several layers to tune it.  The next visit to the track with this configuration was far better.

Although still not getting my fastest times, it was competitive and stable up to a point.  For comparison on this track an enjoyable lap should be sub 6 seconds.  Low 5 second laps will be winning events if consistent for the Scalextric classes.   The car I am testing with so far gets a good reliable 5.4, faster than this and it likes to jump.

My method for stiffening of the chassis was not optimal as it also has the affect of moring the motor and magnet higher affecting the center of gravity and traction.  Also I am really not a fan of the Plafitt arrangement for joining of chassis and body.  These side mounts of plates on foam just always seem a little too hit/miss and flexible to me.

I spend some time designing and printing a carrier for this instead that attaches firmly to the body and then the chassis to this.
This now has the chassis fixed firmly in place, the motor and magnet at the correct height, and removed that chassis flex.  As a bonus I made some mounting points for Tamiya weights in a number of places so I can tune more if needed.

Off to the club again this weekend to see if this all can make it competitive.

[Brumos RSR]

You may want to try the lower body mounts versus the side mounts.  This will keep, the CG lower and slightly stiffen the chassis at the same time.  The pieces are brass and can be trimmed if needed.  

       

[Brumos RSR]

   

Foam is glued to the silver mount and then screwed to the brass (painted black) then glued to the body of the car.  The screws, like Revoslots hold the body to the chassis. Mount is sturdy and the center of gravity and weight are lower.

[Brumos RSR]

Oops!! Working from my phone and posted 2x.

[dazee]

Thanks, I will take a look to see if the club has those when I go this weekend.

Of course if my 3D print carrier works well enough then I may just leave it as is.
Weight of my print is coming in under 6g. Subtract the weight of the steel side mounts it replaces and I think it has good potential.

Under 5's and I'll be happy.

[dazee]

Sadly not an item stocked at the club.  Perhaps a future purchase direct from them next time I go to Yokohama.

Until then, I had a bit of a Mercedes time with my testing at the club this weekend.  The direction I had gone in resulted in an unhappy car.  While still better than the out the box experience with it, it was nowhere near the initial experiment tune it.

Some thinking and I believe I know where I went wrong and what was good about attempts 1 and 2.
Have now gone to a third itteration and this seems a swing back to the right direction - at least according to my little test track.

5 days to wait until I can check at the club again.

2 weeks until the club will hold the first race of this class.  I will need to check that my car complies with the regulations.  It specifies no changes allowed to the chassis.  Which I think I am ok as my modification is now more around how the chassis attaches to the body of the car.

Not sure how the others will fare as regulations also state the car model should include interior/driver.  So far I have not seen any others with interior fitted, just a body shell....

[Brumos RSR]

Ace hobbies has the parts in stock. Trade maybe favorable based on the AUD also.  

https://www.acehobbies.com.au/products/p...1&limit=21

[dazee]

I may well be looking to get some if this current path does not work out.
The main problem I believe is that there is just so much flex in the rear.  From the side mounting points there is literally nothing securing the the motor or rear wheels apart from the 2 thin strips of chassis that attach to those siide plates.  The whole rear is like a swimming pool diving board how it bounces up and down.  And I think the Pointer 5 motor that it uses is quite strong and makes it bounce around coming on and off throttle.

This is at least my view of it.

My fixing plates are now going on to a 3d printed carrier.  The carrier screws into the original body posts on the car.
The rear Plafit axle carrier that screws into the motor has a couple of cutouts in it so you can access with a screw driver to remove the motor.  In my 3d printed carrier I put in a couple of locating tabs that fit this.  This now puts that rear under a little tension and removes that springboard effect.

Really hope it works....