# Help me out on Life Like cars



## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

I know nothing at all about them.I have a few that I think I got on trade or god knows where.

But the guys who expressed an interest in being involved in a weekly race night here all chose LL's as the cars they wanted to race.
They are fun I must admit.

So just doing a quikee web search,anyone who wants to get in on the action here could do it pretty cheap if we do LL cars.
Probably like 60 bucks for a couple cars and a Parma Econo.

So what can anyone tell me about these????? Junk????? Waste of time?????? Tuning tips??????

Any input would be appreciated.

Mike


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## dlw (Aug 17, 1999)

Just get the FastTrackers. The T-chassis are a pain. Also look for 2-packs of cars.......better deal. Personally, I use LL's, Tycos and other magnet cars for track cleaners.........AW/JL's are much more fun.


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

Life Likes are a source of debate.. some like them, some hate them.. I like them, but I don't love them. They're fast, sturdy and on some layouts can even beat a Tomy Gplus. I think they're inconsistent though. SOme are faster than other.

AS for tuning tips, I can;t comment... I'm a collector and a home racer. I did put some wizzard rims and tires on one car and it beat the pants most of my out of box cars.

I would be a much bigger fan if they had more body styles to choose from. 

I would say, buy two, bring it to the track and race one of your club members. Even if you don;t go that way, at least you'll have two in your collection


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

dlw said:


> AW/JL's are much more fun.


I agree.But after running each guy a chance to try everything from a stock tjet to SS Wiz Storms and G3s,these were the ones they picked.

What are the different chassis anyways???????? I see 2 or 3 different ones. :freak: 

Mike


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

dlw said:


> Just get the FastTrackers. The T-chassis are a pain. Also look for 2-packs of cars.......better deal. Personally, I use LL's, Tycos and other magnet cars for track cleaners.........AW/JL's are much more fun.


I do the same. The are great for getting the rails ready for the pancake motor cars. But they do come in handy for the kids as they love the magnet cars that run faster than whatever and fly off the track every chance they get. :freak:

Just get plenty of replacement shoes for whichever you decide on running.

:thumbsup: rr


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## neorules (Oct 20, 2006)

Mike--- Please listen to the voice of experience here. The LL T-chassis is the best choice you can make for a low cost racing program. I would recommend putting dbl flanged rims with slip-ons as the only change. We have raced these in our local program and it has been a great success. The cars handle great and are faster with a hardbody than a m chassis in superstock form. The company stands behind these cars. Any problems just send in the car and they will give you a rolling chassis replacement. You can also handicap within your group by letting the less experienced run silicone coated sponge tires and the more experienced running the slip-ons. We can get these cars at fleet farm for $9.89 each add slip-ons and dbl fl rims for about 5 bucks. There is about an hour break-in to get the cars to run normal speed. New people can easily get around the track. I would recommend running .420-.410 rear slip-on sizes. If you run silicone coated sponge run .428--.434. Of course these sizes depend on the type of track you are on. Good Luck with your program. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

I too think the T chassis is fantastic. I do wish that LifeLke used a better naming system as some of the less informed members of its staff are not even aware that the newest chassis is known as a T! The legend goes that the factory in Asia came up with the T chassis with zero input form LifeLike because it was much cheaper to make. Certainly the very first ones came without traction magnets, I had three of those, and this was fixed when LL and the factory had a showdown.

The result is a very quick chassis which gives good bang for you buck. They did miss a few tricks though. They went for a much thinner motor but missed the chance to also make a thinner chassis. The traction magnets are a bit thin, a dia of about 4mm would have made the car a killer with very sure footed handling. As it is the car is a bit all or nothing and crashes tend to be biggies.

Which leads neatly to one of the big gripes I see about the T but have never understood, complaints about the front wheels. Once you fit the usual skimmed front tires (perhaps .355'') they seem fine and not once have I had or heard of a breakage to them in those big accidents. If there is a prob it is the motor shaft, but even that is no big deal anymore as some genius (me!!) has produced adapter tubes which allow the use of standard gears with 1.5mm holes.

This allows the insane 18/8 gearing from the protracker SS cars (with Aussie Touring car bodies if I recall) to be used, an absolutely devestating combo when raced on large European tracks. Other gearing works too. As I say I wish LL kept more control over the names of their products. 

The Fastracker is basically the older M chassis (the one without seperate traction magnets) but the name has been used for the T chassis too from time to time. The powertracker and protracker SS were also M chassis, the former having a skewed arm and the later with those insane gears and long thin bodies.

If my recollection is right the eahorc.com online chassis guide mentions these facts in more detail....


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

Oh the bodies issues, I see people frigging about all the time so how hard would it be to adapt the bodies of choice to fit the T chassis? Plus there are rumours of a UK company making an LL to Tomy adapter.
Anyway, they do make a nice Mustang, the old Rokar Porsches and Datsuns are a direct fit, and the all new Honda (see other thread) so far looks grand.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Thank you gentlemen.I appreciate the input so far.

The more Im reading and the more I am checking prices,these cars will be perfect for beginner race night.

Looks like I can get in a case of them for like 10 bucks a car.So when they are ricocheting off the walls down here,its no biggie.

So I am still a bit confused on the chassis names.The T chassis is the one with the two neo dots??????

Mike


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

Mike(^RacerX^) said:


> Thank you gentlemen.I appreciate the input so far.
> 
> The more Im reading and the more I am checking prices,these cars will be perfect for beginner race night.
> 
> ...


t-chassis is with neo dots and another is called "M" chassis with no neo dots just big square magnets near armature.. I used tyco mostly and let my friends or kids race t and m chassis with no problem.. they are cheap and fast. One problem with t-chassis is when they deslot the car or hit the wall hard or fall down the floor the front wheel would break (they dont have a axle on it like m chassis has) once they break cant use the wheel but i have heard someone saying that you can drill the hole there and add axle there).. hope this helps. 

Wes


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## gear buster (Dec 1, 2005)

I like the M car lifelike.They was the car that raced in the novice amature class in the nationals for awhile.I won the first race I ever entered with one by 32 laps and built one for the next year for a freind who won that year also .They are easy to set up and handle like glue.We used silicon rears 432 orange,on Tomy track,Independent lifelike fronts, reshimed the motor in the block, used a rokar porsche body and a rokar datsun Z body.Limit the shoe travel also helps greatly.
Hope this helps and if you need help setting up a chassis I have a few already done and waiting for tires.
GB


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Montoya1 said:


> Oh the bodies issues, I see people frigging about all the time so how hard would it be to adapt the bodies of choice to fit the T chassis? Plus there are rumours of a UK company making an LL to Tomy adapter.
> Anyway, they do make a nice Mustang, the old Rokar Porsches and Datsuns are a direct fit, and the all new Honda (see other thread) so far looks grand.


Can't remember who I picked them up from on the auction site, I won two great looking LL stocker bods mounted on tuned up fray (for lack of a better reference) style Aurora Tjet chassis. Great lookers and fun non mag runners. Great fit from the wheel length perspective and low to the track as well. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: rr


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Well guys no one is home so I took advantage of this rare occasion and my rural location,and blasted some Tool from the new album off my ipod and into my stero system and did a few million laps with a LL t chassis car I had ignored until now.

Put a set of Super Tire slip ons onto a set of BSRT wide double flanges,and put in a BSRT 20t crown.

Well,with that simple mod,I was able to pull a 4.908 as a hot lap.

My speeds increased dramatically when I drove without brakes.


I like these.You can really blow your brains out with them pretty much straight out of the package.And for like 4 bucks worth of extra parts,your eyeballs will fall out of the sockets. :freak: 

Fun stuff. :wave: :hat:

Oh yeah,BTW.....
What ohm parma controller would you suppose would best for these????
The only 25 I have left is smoked,that would be the one I would assume to be best.

Mike


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

I have an old Rokar Indy car -- that is the chassis that LL used for a while, right?

I remember it being fast and sticky, but then the motor took a dive. I've since lost a pick-up shoe / spring and haven't run it since. I'm probably most comfortable tuning on Tyco 440X2s.

'doba


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

This thread rocks!

I have no clue what you all are talking about, but someday, I hope to.

I look forward to when I have a track to race on, and my focus turns to the types of cars, setups, etc.


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## bigun624 (May 11, 2005)

I use a 45 ohm parma economy controller no problems. I have a tyco oval on 4x8 table. 1.6 second laps with nothing but slipon silicon tires


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

Scafremon said:


> This thread rocks!
> 
> I have no clue what you all are talking about, but someday, I hope to.
> 
> I look forward to when I have a track to race on, and my focus turns to the types of cars, setups, etc.


Scaf,

It might seem like a steep curve at times but U will get there. The fact you use this forum and ask questions proves that out. Sometimes I look back and I am amazed at what I know and, more to the point, all the great people I know....

You could do a lot worse than get a couple of these T chassis, but do you like stock car racing?


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## Rawafx (Jul 20, 1999)

Here is a great tip on checking brush spring tension on the Life LIke "M" chassis. First, get a straight pin(the ones with the bigger plastic heads work well for this)Take the rear axle out, and set the chassis on the track. Apply full power to the lane and while the motor is running put the pin inside the hole on the outside of the brush barrel and apply light pressure and listen to see if the RPM increases. Make sure you check both sides(one at a time). If pressure on one side increases the RPM then pull that brush barrel out and lightly stretch the brush spring. Re-assemble and check again. Sometimes (but not often) then the other side will need a little more. 
Another trick is too take the plate off of the top on the magnets and turn it around 180 degrees. Check to see if the car runs any better. Some will, some won't. 
Also, lightly stretch the pick up shoe springs and see if you pick up any speed.
Check the front tires, some of them have a "ridge/raised edge" on one side. Make sure you put the tire back on with this edge to the outside of the chassis.
Have fun!!!

Bob Weichbrodt
"Rawafx"
A and H Hobbies
Clemmons, NC


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## mtyoder (Jan 3, 2004)

We run T chassis on my firends oval. His oval has 20' straits. I was expierementing with gears and found that thes cars will run quite well with a 14 or 15 tooth magnatraction or tjet crown and don't even get hot. This gear ratio also cuts back the crazy brake these cars have. They also run just as well or better w/o pickup shoes, but you will wear a groove in that spring after a while and have to put shoes back on. There are two things we don't like about these. The chassis break rather easy, front spindles and giude pin area. They are very unforgiving when you get them just a little sideways in the corners. Set up correctly these cars can be really fast. If you wanna make a fast tracker or M-car run, tyco brush springs and a super g+ arm with the shaft trimmed will get you started. These are some of my fastest. More consistant than anything else I have in cornering. THESE GET H-O-T HOT, but don't usually burn up unless they're dragging the track too hard. As with all magnet cars get the chassis as low as possible, sometimes dragging slightly.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

I was almost afraid to ask about these cars as I figured that they were just junk.
But Im glad I did ask.You guys really set me straight with all of this great info.

I ended up playing with this one car until about 4 this morning.

I made a lot of mental notes.Learned alot.I have to,because everyone that comes over here will be hittting me up for tips and help.

The front ends bug me a bit.I feel that there is room for improvement.But again,maybe not.

Played with tire heights.Ive been playing with staggering the rears.Low on the left,and higher on the right.

More testing tonight after work.

Thanks for all the help guys.You all turned this into a really informative thread.

Mike


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

Mike(^RacerX^) said:


> I made a lot of mental notes.Learned alot.I have to,because everyone that comes over here will be hittting me up for tips and help.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Something to try. Pop the motor up and then move the magnets down a fraction with a small flat screwdrver. If they keep going back flush pop the absolute thinnest of thin washers in the hole and put the magnets back in.

I'm hoping to post of a picture of something else can try magnet-wise later...

You should be able to run the car with very tall tires without giving up traction. Also are you aware the guide pin is adjustable? Pull it down so that it rube the botton of the slot and then work it back up in tiny, tiny fractions until it floats everywhere.


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

Here is an idea to try:










These rounds come from K&J magnetic, are a tiny fraction bigger and so force the chassis a little outta shape. You will notice I glued on Marchon rims cos these suckers are N42 (standard LL magnets are N38 or less) and you get masses of traction. The MR1 wheels and very tall tires are the only way to get the car to move, but once it does watch out - this is currently the fastest hard body car in the UK.


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

But this baby may be even quicker, will know on the 27th!


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## neorules (Oct 20, 2006)

So that is the famous red wire arm you've been speaking so highly of. Did you put 4mm cubes in the back. Do your rules allow you to do anything to increase the speed and handling?


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

neorules said:


> So that is the famous red wire arm you've been speaking so highly of. Did you put 4mm cubes in the back. Do your rules allow you to do anything to increase the speed and handling?


The cubes are 4mm x 2mm. We do have one class where modifying is allowed. No balanced arms though, and a limit on number of traction magnets (2) & guide pins (1) plus tyres must be black slip-ons.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Montoya,thanks for posting the pics.

Great stuff!!!!

Mike


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

Car of the night was a fast tracker...beat a few storms...a P3, and a hopped up 440x2...

The car wasnt quite the fastest...but the driver was good and his set up was perfect... :thumbsup: 

I have a lot to learn too....I'm in a whole different class from farting around at home...


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## Franko (Mar 16, 2005)

i find a fastracker a bit touchy with a 45 ohm parma. might try a 60. i like the nascar bodies, they never break when crashed


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