In this blog post I will look at some of the tune-up parts available on the Jadlam website that can be used with a standard Scalextric car. I’ll be improving our test car and creating a second car \u2013 a monster of a Mustang!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/8.1-1.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nSlot.it and NSR performance parts<\/h4>\n
Over the past twenty years, Slot.it and NSR have been at the forefront of creating high-performance slot cars for home and club racing. Both companies started by producing tune-up parts for racers \u2013 and many of their parts will fit into a Scalextric car. Having said that, the Slot.it and NSR components are specifically designed to work in a performance slot car – throwing powerful motors or super-sticky tyres at a Scalextric model won\u2019t necessarily make it faster round a lap. Instead, carefully selecting \u2013 and then testing \u2013 tune-up parts can make a big difference…<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/8.2.1.jpg\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nUpgrading Our Mustang GT4 Project Car<\/h4>\n
First of all, I need to set a benchmark time. The Mustang is as it was at the end of Part 7 – Body Float<\/a> \u2013 a well-tuned machine with standard parts \u2013 plus a fresh scuffing of the rear tyres. A two minute run on my Jadlam SL6 test track<\/a> gave an impressive 27 laps<\/strong> and a best time of 4:17 seconds<\/strong> \u2013 we do have a pretty good car now. Can we improve it? I\u2019m going to start with a couple of small changes…<\/p>\n One easy way to improve body float is to use a screw that has no thread under the head. This allows the screw to move more freely without it being so loose it risks falling out. Losing screws is something that has happened quite often to the Mustang in these tests \u2013 and that can cause a short circuit or power overload if the screw falls into the slot. I\u2019ve replaced the standard screws with Slot.it SICH53 Metric screws<\/a>, but the CH51 version<\/a> is a few millimetres longer and will be a better choice on some cars… The important thing is to use a \u2018small head\u2019 metric screw \u2013 the large head versions won\u2019t fit in the Scalextric underpan.<\/p>\n The new screws certainly give a better \u2018rattle\u2019 and more front-to-back movement. However, during a couple of warm-up laps, the car didn\u2019t feel quite right. The rear of the body was very loose, so I tighten that screw to give more normal body float \u2013 and the behaviour of the car on track improved. I guess that goes to show how even small changes need to be tested and tweaked \u2013 and that\u2019s a reason why I\u2019ve changed only one thing at a time during this Tuning series. A two-minute timed test run gave 26 laps<\/strong> and 4:17 seconds<\/strong>. No difference, but no risk of the screws falling out!<\/p>\n Using a thinner, softer braid helps keep the front of the car stable and using copper braid gives better conductivity. Many slot racers use NSR Ultra Soft Braid<\/a>. This is available in 1 metre rolls for you to cut to the length you need \u2013 or in ready-cut packs of ten<\/a> (enough for five cars). There\u2019s also a choice of bare copper braid or tin plated. The plated braid<\/a> is more rigid and harder wearing. The bare copper is softer, but needs more regular tweaking.<\/p>\n Although the NSR braid is the racer\u2019s choice, it might not be ideal for you – especially if you race on digital layouts. It needs more care and attention and can also get damaged on lane changers and crossover pieces \u2013 any strands that break off are likely to cause a short circuit \/ power overload on a digital or ARC powerbase. A more robust alternative is the Slot.it SISP19 Competition braid<\/a>, which is a little thicker.<\/p>\n Cutting and fitting braid to the Scalextric Easy Change guide requires a bit of practice. Make sure you use a pair of sharp, heavy-duty scissors to cut the braid cleanly. First, remove the original braids, measure the length and cut a length of racing braid about 2-3mm longer. Insert the new braid into the slot at the back of the braid plate, lining up the trailing edge with the rear of the plate. Then wrap the longer end down, forward, up and back. Repeat with the other side. Finally, insert the braid plate on the guide \u2013 back first and then the front. Make sure the plate sits exactly over the guide plate underneath. If it isn\u2019t, you won\u2019t get full power from the track.<\/p>\n With NSR Ultra Soft copper braid fitted, how did our Mustang get on? The new braid did need some laps to bed in, but I felt it gave a smoother and more responsive drive. A 2-minute run gave us 27 laps<\/strong> and a 4:25 second<\/strong> best lap. The Mustang hasn\u2019t tended to understeer, so I\u2019m not surprised the new braid didn\u2019t give any big improvement. I did like how the Mustang drove with the NSR braids, so I\u2019ll keep them on the car.<\/p>\n Reducing front grip and getting the tyres to only just touch the track is crucial to tackling understeer \u2013 as we saw in Part 6 – Fixing Understeer<\/a>. This isn\u2019t a problem for the Mustang \u2013 the front is set up nicely and all we did was to true the front wheels and tyres and then add a coating of nail varnish to reduce the grip.<\/p>\n If the wheels are lifting the front of the car, it is possible to fit low-profile zero-grip tyres \u2013 both NSR and Slot.it make them. However, the front wheels of the Mustang are big and wide \u2013 and none of the zero grip tyres I had in my spares box would fit. Looking at the dimensions, the Slot.it SIPT15 zero grip tyres<\/a> are probably wide enough. These might be a good choice for Scalextric GT cars. I use the SIPT19 tyres<\/a> on the narrower BTCC front wheels \u2013 these tyres are low profile, zero grip and work very well.<\/p>\n Rear grip has always been a big issue with the Mustang. With careful truing and softening the rubber with some oil, I have achieved a decent balance of grip and handling with the tyres that came with the car. However, I want to see if simply fitting some Slot.it or NSR tyres would have been an effective shortcut.<\/p>\n Performance slot car tyres come in various compounds and sizes<\/strong>. Getting the right compound for a specific track surface can be a tricky process. If you\u2019re racing at a club, ask what other people are using. Most of the Scalextric GT and BTCC cars first released after 2016 have wheels that are the same size and profile as the \u2018European standard\u2019 hubs made by Slot.it and NSR. This means that tyres from those brands will fit the Scalextric hubs perfectly. For these cars, I like the Slot.it P6 compound tyres<\/strong> for racing on Scalextric Sport track \u2013 although I\u2019m starting to experiment with the new NSR \u2018RTR\u2019 (ready to race) tyres<\/strong>. The benefit of both compounds is that they need very little preparation \u2013 you can slip them on the wheels and off you go.<\/p>\n For the Mustang, I\u2019ll run a tyre test with a pair of Slot.it SIPT24 P6 compound GT tyres<\/a> and some bright red NSR 5260 RTR GT tyres<\/a>. The NSR tyres are also available in black here<\/a>.<\/p>\n I ran the Slot.it P6 tyres first<\/strong>. These are slightly narrower (9mm vs 10mm) and lower profile (21mm vs 22mm) compared to the Scalextric tyres. On the test track, the car felt much \u2018tighter\u2019 \u2013 in that the rear didn\u2019t step out as much. But when it did, the car broke away and I couldn\u2019t save it. That meant I was reducing my corner-entry speed in some places. As we saw when I softened the Scalextric tyres with oil, more grip can make a car trickier to drive \u2013 especially one with a high centre of gravity like the Mustang. We solved that in Part 5 – Fixing Oversteer<\/a> by adding some weight to the underpan to lower the CoG. In a 2-minute run, the Slot.it P6-shod Mustang covered 27 laps<\/strong> and set a best time of 4:21 seconds<\/strong>. Not bad…<\/p>\n With the red NSR RTR tyres fitted<\/strong>, the car was sensational. The NSR tyres are the same width (10mm) and lower profile (20.2 vs 22mm) compared to the Scalextric tyres. What made the NSR tyres so good was the extra grip combined with a more predictable sliding behaviour when I passed the limit of adhesion. Of course, the lower profile tyre will get the magnet closer to the track rails and give more magnetic downforce, but I\u2019m pretty sure that wasn’t the whole story. A 2-minute run gave 29 laps<\/strong> and a best lap of 3.96 seconds<\/strong>. And it was a much more predictable drive than with the Slot.its. As an off-the-shelf replacement, these NSR RTR tyres definitely get my recommendation. That\u2019s a first sub-4 second time for the Mustang and a record 29 laps in two minutes. Awesome!<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ll leave the project car there for now \u2013 with the NSR rear tyres, braid and Slot.it screws<\/strong>. Those will stay on the car for the next step in Part 9 – Removing the Magnet<\/a>. However, we\u2019ll now go off on a bit of a tangent \u2013 a quick look at other upgrade parts, fitted in a completely new chassis…<\/p>\n There\u2019s no time for a blow-by-blow walk-through of how I built this second car. Essentially, I stripped out all the components from the chassis \u2013 apart from the traction magnet and the flat bit of the DPR hatch. I then built up the car with performance parts \u2013 some from my parts box and some borrowed from an NSR Audi GT car.<\/p>\n From back to front<\/strong>…<\/p>\n So how did it go?<\/strong> Well\u2026 it was certainly a monster! Not wonderfully refined though… Of course, I went against my own advice that underpins this Tuning series by throwing all the parts together and not testing each one individually to see what improves the car and what doesn’t. I ended up with a car that was too powerful and rather top-heavy for the twisty little SL6 test track. I added about 12g of weight into the underpan and that settled it down. On a larger track, the MX16 motor would have space to express itself, but not so much on the SL6…<\/p>\n It took a while to learn how to drive the Monster Mustang effectively, but I finally committed to a timed run and put in 28 laps<\/strong> and a best time of 3:85 seconds<\/strong>. The car was eleven hundredths of a second faster over a lap than the final magnet version of our project car – but it was a challenge to drive on the SL6 track.<\/p>\n Had I bought all those parts separately \u2013 in addition to the cost of the Scalextric Mustang \u2013 I would have spend much more than buying an NSR GT3 model. And I\u2019m still left with a less than perfect chassis\u2026 the NSR and Slot.it cars are designed to get the best out of these high-performance parts, a Scalextric model isn’t. But how much faster would an NSR GT3 car get round the SL6 track?<\/p>\n Moving the wheels back onto my bog-standard NSR Audi R8 (like this one<\/a>), I fairly effortlessly banged in 30 laps<\/strong> and a fast lap of 3:37 seconds<\/strong>. That was with the NSR magnet fitted and timed with LapTracker (the white NSR guide doesn’t count laps with ARC powerbases – a swap to a Slot.it guide is the best fix). With the magnet removed, I managed 24 laps<\/strong> and a best of 4:67 seconds<\/strong> \u2013 which is right up there with the Scalextric magnet cars and an impressive non-magnet benchmark to carry over to next time.<\/p>\n Hmm… if you want a super-quick performance slot car, I suggest you buy one <\/strong>– don\u2019t spend too much of your money throwing tune-up parts at a Scalextric model. After all, a carefully-tuned Scalextric car can be pretty quick and great fun to drive with just the parts it comes with.<\/p>\n I hope you enjoyed this look at upgrade parts<\/strong>. If you’re tempted to hop-up a Scalextric car, it certainly is fun –\u00a0 although a pack of those NSR RTR tyres looks the best value upgrade, followed by the bronze axle bearings… If you want to smash your lap record, then take a look at performance cars like the NSR Audi R8<\/a> used in this post – and do have a read of my introduction to Slot.it and NSR performance cars<\/a>. Next time, we go non-magnet racing with the Mustang.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So you want to spend some money looking for that \u2018unfair advantage\u2019? Tuning the Scalextric Mustang GT4 has – so far – been all about getting the most out of the standard components. I\u2019ve not used a single upgrade part. I think this is the best way to understand how a Scalextric car works, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5,13,6],"tags":[29,44,39,30],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4723"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4723"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5624,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4723\/revisions\/5624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Better Screws<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/8.3.1.jpg\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n2. Racing braid<\/h4>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n3. Front Tyres<\/h4>\n
4. Rear Tyres<\/h4>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nBuilding The Monster Mustang<\/h4>\n
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