11th-Oct-19, 01:45 PM
Johnno posted in another thread that he hadn't tried any Carrera cars because he is "just not sure about them". Well, here's a quick look at some that I have and that I race...
What you get from Carrera is a beautiful model in a pretty hefty display case. I guess a lot of people never take the cars out of the cases (which stack very nicely, by the way), but I think they are fun slot cars to run - not super-quick, but handle well and race well against each other and in some multi-manufacturer grids (think Scalextric, Fly, Revell etc). And they are ridiculously good value. There are distinct themes in the Carrera range - F1, GT3, DTM, retro Group 5 /DRM, retro sports prototypes, road cars, police cars, Pixar Cars and some US specials - the classic Nascars are particularly awesome.
Carrera currently produce cars in 1/43, 1/32 and 1/24 scales and in both analogue (1/43 and 1/32 scales) and digital (1/43, 1/32 and 1/24 scales). The BASF BMW M1 and all the other cars here are 1/32 scale analogue models - what Carrera call their 'Evolution' range. The digital cars are designed to work only on the Carrera Digital 124/132 system, but I'll show how I have converted an Evolution car for racing on Scalextric Digital.
Here's what you get top and bottom - and spares...
The chassis layout on all their models is pretty similar - a fairly flat chassis, inline motor, one neodymium traction magnet just in front of the rear axle and a second (hidden) one in front of the motor. The guide is long and thick for the big 1/24 scale Carrera track system. Every car comes with a spare Carrera guide and a smaller red one for use with other makes of track (Scalextric, Ninco etc) - it's a pretty east swap. Of course, the red guide doesn't work with Scalextric ARC powerbases, so the options are to paint the red guide black, whittle down the Carrera guide to red guide proportions or buy the BRM S-126 'Carrera (shallow blade) guide'.
Behind the guide you can see a direction switch, which changes the direction of the car. Just to the side of the switch is a small panel where the digital LED would be on a Carrera digital car. Otherwise there are four body screws (two front and two back) and a big hole for the car to be screwed to the display plinth. In the spares bag are a pair of wing mirrors - a very welcome addition that comes with all Carrera cars.
Inside, the body holds a nice flat (and light) cockpit interior, giving plenty of space for digital chips and all the internals. In the chassis, you can see brass axle bearings on all four corners and plastic gear in a standard 9/27 ratio. The circuit board holds the direction switch in place and is linked to the pick-ups and the motor via JST connectors. To convert to Carrera digital, the connectors are simply unplugged, the board and LED cover removed and then the correct Carrera decoder screwed in place. It is a neat system that requires no soldering - truly plug-and-play. The motor is an E200 motor which performs about the same as a Scalextric Mabuchi - maybe slightly less powerful - and with the usual manufacturing variation.
Just in front of the motor you can see a screw holding a plastic plate - underneath this is the other strong neodymium bar magnet. The magnet behind the motor is also held by a plastic plate. Access to change the guide flag and the pick-up braids (what Carrera call 'grinders') is via the bottom of the car, but the top can be accessed by removing the two screws near the front axle bushings. Inside you'll find a spring that keeps the guide straight. When running without traction magnets, I like to remove that spring.
Here is another car - a BMW M6 GT3 - that has been prepared for running non-mag on Carrera track...
As you can see, the magnets and the plastic panels that hold them in the chassis have been removed. It's an easy process and straight-forward to re-fit them, if required. No weight has been added to the chassis and the rear wheels and tyres have been lightly trued. It gives a fun car to drive and power-slide round the corners. A little weight and some Paul Gage urethane tyres would improve things even more - as would removing the guide spring, which can cause the car to 'understeer' in the corners and de-slot.
The Carrera GT3 cars look superb, but are heavier and slower than their Scalextric contemporaries - that's why the Digital Slot Car Association (DiSCA) suggests in its GT4 rules that either Scalextric or Carrera is run as a class. I think that is sage advice and the basis for some great GT action.
Here is a third car - a Ferrari 365 P2 - that I have converted to non-mag running on Scalextric Sport Digital for our WHO/digital Goodwood Revival class...
Although smaller, it's still a very similar layout to the previous two cars. On the underside you can see I have replaced the Carrera guide with the red one; drilled a central 3mm hole for the Scalextric digital LED; I have also removed the direction switch, the Carrera LED cover and the rear traction magnet. There is also evidence of digital racing scars - one broken exhaust pipe and one missing (I have it somewhere...).
Inside the car, a Scalextric C7005 'Retro-fit' digital chip has been fitted (with blu-tack) vertically across the chassis just behind where the direction switch board originally was. I have soldered the track-side wires of the chip (yellow & green) to the wires coming from the guide assembly. The motor-side wires (black & red) are soldered via a ferrite man to the motor. The ferrite man acts as a filter to prevent interference affecting the digital chip. The LED is pushed through a piece of black plastic sheet which is glued to the chassis.
Also inside, you can see some lead either side of the motor. My trusty notebook says it is 2g each side, 4g in total. What you can't see in the chassis is a front traction magnet - because I removed it! All the pieces I removed - including the magnet clamps and guide spring - are in the second picture. The stock rear rubber tyres have been replaced with Paul Gage XPG urethanes and these have been trued on the axle. The front tyres have been coated with nail varnish.
On track, the Ferrari is not the quickest of the Goodwood cars - particularly on big tracks with long straights. But it is very nimble round the twisty stuff and is awesome on a home track. It did feature as one of six cars in our recent Goodwood Revival club car rotation race and everyone agreed it was one of the nicest to drive. Another of my Carrera cars on that grid - which split opinions rather more - was the fabulous Wendell Scott Ford Torino...
The Torino is a huge car, running non-mag with Paul Gage urethanes on the back and the BRM S126 guide on the front. It is enormous fun on my ARC Pro home track. It does compete well both on a home track and the big WHO/digital tracks against the Scalextric and Pioneer Trans-Am cars. It is a very different beast to drive, but there's a few of us that really enjoy that...
Anyway - I hope that quick guide to Carrera Evolution cars is useful.
What you get from Carrera is a beautiful model in a pretty hefty display case. I guess a lot of people never take the cars out of the cases (which stack very nicely, by the way), but I think they are fun slot cars to run - not super-quick, but handle well and race well against each other and in some multi-manufacturer grids (think Scalextric, Fly, Revell etc). And they are ridiculously good value. There are distinct themes in the Carrera range - F1, GT3, DTM, retro Group 5 /DRM, retro sports prototypes, road cars, police cars, Pixar Cars and some US specials - the classic Nascars are particularly awesome.
Carrera currently produce cars in 1/43, 1/32 and 1/24 scales and in both analogue (1/43 and 1/32 scales) and digital (1/43, 1/32 and 1/24 scales). The BASF BMW M1 and all the other cars here are 1/32 scale analogue models - what Carrera call their 'Evolution' range. The digital cars are designed to work only on the Carrera Digital 124/132 system, but I'll show how I have converted an Evolution car for racing on Scalextric Digital.
Here's what you get top and bottom - and spares...
The chassis layout on all their models is pretty similar - a fairly flat chassis, inline motor, one neodymium traction magnet just in front of the rear axle and a second (hidden) one in front of the motor. The guide is long and thick for the big 1/24 scale Carrera track system. Every car comes with a spare Carrera guide and a smaller red one for use with other makes of track (Scalextric, Ninco etc) - it's a pretty east swap. Of course, the red guide doesn't work with Scalextric ARC powerbases, so the options are to paint the red guide black, whittle down the Carrera guide to red guide proportions or buy the BRM S-126 'Carrera (shallow blade) guide'.
Behind the guide you can see a direction switch, which changes the direction of the car. Just to the side of the switch is a small panel where the digital LED would be on a Carrera digital car. Otherwise there are four body screws (two front and two back) and a big hole for the car to be screwed to the display plinth. In the spares bag are a pair of wing mirrors - a very welcome addition that comes with all Carrera cars.
Inside, the body holds a nice flat (and light) cockpit interior, giving plenty of space for digital chips and all the internals. In the chassis, you can see brass axle bearings on all four corners and plastic gear in a standard 9/27 ratio. The circuit board holds the direction switch in place and is linked to the pick-ups and the motor via JST connectors. To convert to Carrera digital, the connectors are simply unplugged, the board and LED cover removed and then the correct Carrera decoder screwed in place. It is a neat system that requires no soldering - truly plug-and-play. The motor is an E200 motor which performs about the same as a Scalextric Mabuchi - maybe slightly less powerful - and with the usual manufacturing variation.
Just in front of the motor you can see a screw holding a plastic plate - underneath this is the other strong neodymium bar magnet. The magnet behind the motor is also held by a plastic plate. Access to change the guide flag and the pick-up braids (what Carrera call 'grinders') is via the bottom of the car, but the top can be accessed by removing the two screws near the front axle bushings. Inside you'll find a spring that keeps the guide straight. When running without traction magnets, I like to remove that spring.
Here is another car - a BMW M6 GT3 - that has been prepared for running non-mag on Carrera track...
As you can see, the magnets and the plastic panels that hold them in the chassis have been removed. It's an easy process and straight-forward to re-fit them, if required. No weight has been added to the chassis and the rear wheels and tyres have been lightly trued. It gives a fun car to drive and power-slide round the corners. A little weight and some Paul Gage urethane tyres would improve things even more - as would removing the guide spring, which can cause the car to 'understeer' in the corners and de-slot.
The Carrera GT3 cars look superb, but are heavier and slower than their Scalextric contemporaries - that's why the Digital Slot Car Association (DiSCA) suggests in its GT4 rules that either Scalextric or Carrera is run as a class. I think that is sage advice and the basis for some great GT action.
Here is a third car - a Ferrari 365 P2 - that I have converted to non-mag running on Scalextric Sport Digital for our WHO/digital Goodwood Revival class...
Although smaller, it's still a very similar layout to the previous two cars. On the underside you can see I have replaced the Carrera guide with the red one; drilled a central 3mm hole for the Scalextric digital LED; I have also removed the direction switch, the Carrera LED cover and the rear traction magnet. There is also evidence of digital racing scars - one broken exhaust pipe and one missing (I have it somewhere...).
Inside the car, a Scalextric C7005 'Retro-fit' digital chip has been fitted (with blu-tack) vertically across the chassis just behind where the direction switch board originally was. I have soldered the track-side wires of the chip (yellow & green) to the wires coming from the guide assembly. The motor-side wires (black & red) are soldered via a ferrite man to the motor. The ferrite man acts as a filter to prevent interference affecting the digital chip. The LED is pushed through a piece of black plastic sheet which is glued to the chassis.
Also inside, you can see some lead either side of the motor. My trusty notebook says it is 2g each side, 4g in total. What you can't see in the chassis is a front traction magnet - because I removed it! All the pieces I removed - including the magnet clamps and guide spring - are in the second picture. The stock rear rubber tyres have been replaced with Paul Gage XPG urethanes and these have been trued on the axle. The front tyres have been coated with nail varnish.
On track, the Ferrari is not the quickest of the Goodwood cars - particularly on big tracks with long straights. But it is very nimble round the twisty stuff and is awesome on a home track. It did feature as one of six cars in our recent Goodwood Revival club car rotation race and everyone agreed it was one of the nicest to drive. Another of my Carrera cars on that grid - which split opinions rather more - was the fabulous Wendell Scott Ford Torino...
The Torino is a huge car, running non-mag with Paul Gage urethanes on the back and the BRM S126 guide on the front. It is enormous fun on my ARC Pro home track. It does compete well both on a home track and the big WHO/digital tracks against the Scalextric and Pioneer Trans-Am cars. It is a very different beast to drive, but there's a few of us that really enjoy that...
Anyway - I hope that quick guide to Carrera Evolution cars is useful.