Monday January 12, 2004

Ninco Evolution?

The Advancement of the McLaren F1 GTR

By Dave Dobner And Harry Wise

One model by Ninco has long been a favorite of slot car enthusiasts is the McLaren F1 GTR. There are many reasons for this from the styling and model chosen, to how well they perform on the track. Luckily Ninco seems to notice what models are popular as they have re-released some of our favorites and another GTR has found its way here.

This McLaren however brings to light just how many changes this model has went through over the years. Early versions of this hot rod even had stickers instead of Tampo-printing, different tires and chassis and of course motors. I wanted to bring this up for those of you just joining us in this hobby that might find older versions and expect them to be at the standards of this model.

This release captures the prototype very well according to the photos I have seen and should please most scale enthusiasts. I have seen some slight differences in the shades of red and of course wheel size, but for the most part Ninco has brought us another good effort in 1/32nd scale in my opinion. Ninco has always seemed to strike a great balance of decent scale detail and performance for me and this model follows this history.

Overall fit and finish of the 5 models we inspected are very good with Tampo-stampings being clean and crisp throughout. Again, Ninco has managed a dirt-free even clear-coat that seals everything in place and is durable enough to protect these markings over time as I have found out. The only clear-coat missing is on the rear window engine/air induction cowl in the rear and you notice a slight color difference. This is hardly noticeable and certainly should not prevent you from enjoying the model.

Wheels and tires are the same as Fina livery release and this is a good thing for myself. These tires are some of the best Ninco has brought me over the years that require minimal sanding to get them true and the tread-less design and tire compound allows for excellent grip. These tires are also a part of this model that Ninco has upgraded over the years as early releases came equipped with the familiar Ninco treaded design.

However, just because it looks the same doesn't mean it is. Once we turned the car over we soon realized things were going to be a little different. One thing that Ninco has been famous for is updating the motor included in some of their models and such is the case once again. This new release has the NC-5 "Speeder" motor rated according to Ninco at 20,000 rpms compared to the venerable NC-2 (18,100 rpms) that is found in the Fina livery.

As stated, this motor change isn't anything new either. Even before the NC-2 the ever popular NC-1 (15,700 rpms) was the power-plant of choice. In other words, enthusiasts have become used to this and have been upgrading their models to identical motors in order to have a more even racing field. Depending on your style of racing has a lot to do with the upgrades or modifications you will perform. Athina Zarkada and Jim McLaughlin have some excellent tips on chassis tuning in their Slot Car Tuning Tips and I highly recommend you take a closer look at these as they work wonderfully.

But what if you are like me and just an average modeler? Well the good news is that the motor difference between the NC-2 and NC-5 isn't a large amount. Yes, the NC-5 has more torque and rpms, and thus will beat the NC-2 down the long straights. These 2 cars in the hands of intermediate to advanced enthusiasts will most likely need a motor change (either both NC-2 or NC-5 depending on your preference) to make them even once again. With a price range of $14-$16.00 for these motors, the added investment is well worth it compared to trying to tune the cars with different strength motors. I have heard reports though that under a Dyno after break-in that these motors are closer than you might think, so if you find your models to be close enough then there is no need for a motor change.

If you have even older releases you will notice that Ninco included a removable motor mount to allow you purchase another mount to fit in the NC-2/5 sized motors. The best part about this whole motor issue is that you can either move UP to the NC-2/5 series of motors, or if you prefer the milder NC-1 you can move DOWN. Hopefully the photos show you just how easy it is to perform either modification.

Another "evolution" between these models is the replacement of the older Ninco bar magnet to the stronger button magnet we see today. This causes a issue if only you utilize magnets at all, but even if you do it is easily cured. Because these models have left plenty of room for either lead or additional magnets, they can be magnet-tuned easily by simply adding a additional magnet such as the "Tweak-It" from SlotCarPlace directly in front of the old style magnet.

Not only can these be tuned in this manner, but there is some work you can do to the front end to make the model handle even better. The new models have a spring-loaded guide to them that most enthusiasts could do without. Luckily removing it is painless and prevents any excess pressure upwards on the body and allows you to tune the front easier in my opinion. You might also want to fan or spread out the braid away from the guide blade for some tracks such as Artin Carrera for the best electrical conductivity.

These models have some front axle free-play to them and eliminating it is rather easy if you have a Dremel or similar Moto-tool. As you can see from the photo there is a good amount of side to side free-play that needs to be removed for optimal performance. Using a standard cut-off disc in our Dremel we trimmed the axle as shown. Just twist the wheels in your hands and they should pop off very easily.

After you have trimmed this axle you might notice that the edges have a slight burr to them, preventing you to re-attach the wheel evenly. Using any type of sandpaper you can remove this excess burr easily and your wheel should slide on smoothly. I use a drop of Super Glue on the tip of the axle to make sure the front wheels are secure.

Now that the side to side free-play is cured, another modification you might want to think about is removing the excess vertical free-play in the front axle. I have learned that removing this free-play really helps these models handle much better, especially if you are running without magnets. Again this is very easy to accomplish and in seconds you are ready for the track.

You can use just about any material to perform this but we like to use excess Plastruct tubing as it is just easy for my fingers to work with. First, set your car on the track or a set-up block and allow the car to rest all the weight it can on the front guide, this puts the front wheels exactly where they need to be for this modification.

Now all you need to do is slip the tubing or your preferred material under the axle and secure them with adhesive. As you can see with front spring removed and this excess free-play eliminated your front guide will rest flush with the track rails providing excellent contact in both electrical and within the track slot. Eliminating the excess front body roll makes these cars easier to control in the corners, giving you a more flexible overall feel to the model.

Although it might look like a lot of work it really isn't. Out of the box this model will run fine...these are just a few tips to try and squeeze a little more handling ability out of this model. Without these mods a box-stock model has an average of 5.4 seconds and is still fun to drive. With the mods completed we can get times down to the 5.0 range with a fast lap of 4.9. As stated earlier, this happens because the car is just easier to control in the corners and allows us to carry more speed into and out of them.

This model is one of the nicest slot cars that Ninco makes in my opinion. Great looks and decent performance have turned it into a favorite here and if you have not tried one already I can only suggest that you give these models another look. The fact that older versions as well as brand new ones can be tuned evenly makes it a line of models that can provide close, challenging racing for anyone's stable.

- 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!

Many thanks to Dave Dobner for the additional research and the time he took photographing and performing these modifications!

Below Are Some of the Ninco McLaren F1 GTRs Available Over The Years