Saturday August 09, 2003

New Carrera Chassis Revealed!

What makes these 2 new releases from Carrera so special? Well for the past year we have heard about the new design changes Carrera would be employing to the chassis and gearing to make them even better than before. Finally some of them have arrived and its time to take a quick peek at these new changes!

These cars have plenty of new items to them, so let us get right  to it shall we? First we see that a new magnet has been added to the bottom of the chassis. This new magnet is a bar type that is also adjustable with the use of the included shim. 2 screws mount this bar magnet in place and you have the option of removing it or removing the shim to provide a little less magnet. With the previous Variable Magnet System still in use, there is more than enough magnet here for almost any enthusiast.

The next new change is a welcome one for many of us. Carrera has decided to employ all new gearing which will help these cars perform more like they should. These cars now have a 9 tooth pinion driving a 27 tooth crown gear instead of the older 10 to 26 set-up. This slight change in gearing plus the larger pitch in the gear system makes these cars have more pronounced braking action, plus a slight increase in acceleration which were traits they needed in the eyes of many.

We also see that the older plastic bushing design is gone, with new brass bushings in their place. On some models this makes a difference as the body and sometimes even the chassis itself is closer to the rails, but on my 2 models this wasn't changed. Many enthusiasts feel brass bushings are a significant improvement over plastic and given the older style Carrera used, it is a very welcome addition.

So what does all this do for performance? Well of course the new additional magnet make these models much faster than before, or rather they corner faster. Our little Jag has lap times at an average of 2.82 which is very quick indeed. This new gearing combined with the new bar magnet makes braking much more precise with acceleration just slightly lighter than before. It is lighter due to the increased drag from the new bar magnet, however you can see a difference in overall "punch" if you remove the magnets.

One quality hasn't changed...and that is they still are some of the smoothest, whisper-quiet models they were in the past. I am one person who always liked the Carrera models before, and now they are even better. If these new releases are any indication of what the new Classic NASCARS will be like we are in for one FAST holiday season.

- Harry

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

Thanks go to Slot Car World  for providing us with these new releases!