Tuesday January 04, 2005

Carrera F1 Surprise

It seems that certain models kind of arrive without much fanfare or hype, yet they soon become favorites of many enthusiasts based on performance and scale appeal. Other models are almost completely forgotten, sort of hiding behind more popular releases. The Carrera F1 series of models fall right into that category for myself as The Classic NASCARS and muscle cars have taken the forefront here. I finally decided after speaking with members on our forums and reading the praises of them, to grab a pair and find out for myself if I had been missing out on something.

Taking a quick look at both of these models told me that I was. I do not follow the F1 series in the 1:1 world that much, but thanks to our great hobby I get to enjoy them in scale. Hopefully you take the time to look at the photos and decide for yourself if Carrera has done a good job of re-creating these famous machines. After looking at many photos on the Net, I certainly think they have...at least good enough for my racing tastes.

The overall fit and finish of both these models were very well done. I was particularly impressed with the Sauber as I looked into the blue paint and seen the Sauber "watermark" that adorns the prototype right where it should be. Clean and crisp Tampo work was found on both models with no runs or fades. The overall detail level for a model like this was satisfactory for me and I was looking forward to getting these models on the track where they belong.

Right out of the box these models do exactly what most of us expect them to do: RUN. If there is one trait of Carrera models that stands out for me, it is the whisper quiet operation. The first pull of the trigger on both of these models soon revealed a smooth and quiet model with better throttle and braking response than I had anticipated. It still is not as defined as other models, yet these cars reacted surprisingly well on both acceleration and braking. What I really liked was that even with the new chassis that has the rear bar magnet and the traditional variable magnet up front, this car had to be driven...not simply escort the magnet around the track. My first lap times were in the 4.2 second range and this was fast enough for my racing tastes.

Looking closer at the model, I found that the wheels and tires were very round and true. The tires are of a medium compound that provide a decent amount of grip with the magnet. I did take the time to do a light sanding on these tires and this helped the cornering ability a fair amount. The wheels do seem a little on the small side compared to the prototype, but they still provided an acceptable scale effect for me.

Underneath we find the 2 magnets that are equipped on this new chassis along with a deep guide up front to help keep this car on the track. The guide could have a more tri-pod effect and sit even lower in the slot, but right where it is gives more than other cars in it's class. Having a guide deep enough to prevent unnecessary de-slotting is a very important trait for me, and is one reason why I like this model as much as I do. 4 screws, plus the rear wing that snaps in place hold the body to the chassis. After removing them you can see the inner workings of the chassis and wiring. The 9 tooth pinion drives a 27 tooth crown gear and in classic Carrera style is well lubricated to say the least.

After putting the model back together, it was time to head back to the track for more testing. The first thing I did was sand the tires like I mentioned earlier and see how much that would effect the model. It was clear that it helped a great deal as my lap times fell to an average of 3.9 seconds.

Now, some of you feel that "performance" of a slot car is simply just top speed. I am not one of them. Other factors like a smooth drive train, concentric wheels and tires, and above all control mean a great deal to me when describing performance. I say this as any car can be made to be "fast" by just loading them up with magnets. However, I like a car that has a decent throttle response and one that is more forgiving in the corners when I add a little too much finger on the trigger. These cars have these traits and make them some of the most fun I have had racing this series.

So what about without the magnets? Well the first thing I did was just remove the rear bar magnet and tested it with just the middle variable magnet in place. Here is where I kicked up my fun factor a notch or two! The variable magnet still provided a good pinning effect overall, yet allowed this car to have some slight drift to it, making it a much more forgivable model to pilot. Lap times of course were not as fast, with averages in the 4.7 second range, but again, the speed did not dictate my fun factor.

Then it was time to remove all the magnets. So after removing the body and ridding the model of the variable magnet it was back to the track. I sanded and cleaned the tires but this car was still a slippery beast to say the least. A set of silicone tires would certainly make the difference but I did not have any on hand (IG#7004). Still, although it was a handful the car was still very smooth and had virtually no hop or signs of imbalance. This showed that at least on plastic track, both of my models had very good wheels, tires and axles along with a very good chassis.

Some of you might want to see a comparison of this model to others such as Scalextric. Out of the box, the Scalextric model with it's new heavy bar magnet and more powerful motor simply make it corner faster and have more top speed in the straights, so it really isn't worth comparing them. That is not to say it is a better model. I found that the Carrera car was just as much fun to drive, if not more so due to the ease of control.

And here is where I stop comparing or tuning one to try and match another. The reason why is because I don't see any need to. We have been racing virtually brand and series specific cars for some time now due to the great availability of models. Why waste time, effort and more money trying to tune different models when there are enough in each series to simply race them against themselves? Soon the Ferrari will be available here and makes the total line up of Carrera F1 models at 8. This is more than enough selection for our racing and I will continue to simply just race them against themselves. If you judge your models by how strong a magnet it has, then you might be disappointed with this latest Carrera release compared to the Scalextric, but in it's own right it is a very good slot car that delivers miles of fun.

In the end I am glad I decided to grab a pair of these models. They have more than enough strong points that I would recommend them to almost anyone in our hobby. Fast and smooth out of the box with more than acceptable scale detail. I think these models would be excellent candidates for a new series on your home track, especially if you are a fan of F1.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!

I would like to thank Carrera for providing us with these new models!