# AFX Magna-Traction: Slide 'em if you got 'em



## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

My oldest asked if he could get a Porsche if he did OK in his first tri-mester this year in middle school. 
He did OK :hat:, so I gave him this Carrera I found on ebay which arrived in remarkably pristine condition. Shiny silver electricals, ski-shoes and (white!?!) silicon tires out back. It is by far the smoothest & quietest of any AFX orig, MT or XT chassis we have. 

Here he's sliding it out of the carousel at Redline Raceway, where a 12-12-15-18" series of curves dumps you out onto the front straight.

Slide 'em if you got 'em...



Click on the pic for a short (don't blink!) video if you like this sort of thing.

Rolls


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

SWEEEETT!!!!!! :thumbsup:

Wes


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

my all time favorite AFX body!
Cool sloooo mo!


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Way Cool, Those Porsche bodies are also my favorite, Has your son seen the Orange & Blue one?

Boosted


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## Static Addict (Nov 2, 2010)

That is cool!! I wonder if you have an overall pic of your layout.....would love to see the entire thing!


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Sure there is Static!!! Rolls' track thread is here... http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=285340


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

*I'm the newest fan of the Porsche body...*

*VideoJimmy* and *Boosted *- You guys are way ahead of me on this Porsche body. 

I have many favorite AFX bodies for many different reasons, but somehow the Porsche Carrera had always escaped my attention. Never really grabbed me from the pics I'd seen of it, though it always looked nice enough. But I'm a fan now. 

Placed on the track, I now "get it" -- it sits soooo low and the body is finished and proportioned beautifully. The detail, especially on that rear clip, is outstanding. Very cool. Very, very cool.










I guess I'm pretty late to the party on this AFX body, but at least I see its unique goodness now.


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## Static Addict (Nov 2, 2010)

slotcarman12078 said:


> Sure there is Static!!! Rolls' track thread is here... http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=285340


Thank You! :thumbsup:


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

Static Addict said:


> That is cool!! I wonder if you have an overall pic of your layout.....would love to see the entire thing!


*Static_Addict*,

*slotcarman* is on top of things, as usual! Follow that link for all the gory details. 

I really do need to take some updated pics (really!), but here's the layout in Tracker 2000 and as it looked many months ago on the table. At least it'll give you an idea and it's probably the least wordy answer I can give you to your question.

Enjoy!

Rolls


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## Static Addict (Nov 2, 2010)

Rolls...very nice! I read your build thread....quite impressive. Some very slick engineering! Your track plan looks action packed and fun. I'm curious...is there anything you would do differently if you had it to do over again?

Static.


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

That's an excellent and tough question. 

I always think about what an extra 2' of length would bring. Long straights are a great element in a circuit, esp. with super fast mag cars, but with my beloved original AFX and MT, too. 

I'm sooooo glad I dropped the idea of a 5x10 table and went with a 4x12, which turned out to be a 4.5 x13. 

The pretzel could be even bigger -- it's elevated and in the middle of the circuit, so I was afraid it might get in the way, but it doesn't at all. Its very cool to be able to slide around it right in front of your face, as opposed to the other big curves which tend to be at either end of the table.

I would've used more track clips earlier, instead of trying to "cheap out" and assuming they wouldn't be as helpful once the track was more "nailed down." They are veeerrrryyy helpful. _Tomy track clips are the enemy of Tomy track nubs._ Find 'em cheap and buy a lot. 

I toy with the idea of doing routed straights. It would eliminate sooo many track joints, and the labor of dressing them. And routing straight sections seems easier than the whole track. And I have 7 significant (over 100") straight sections.

In retrospect, the 5 things I'm happiest that I did and that might be helpful to think about if you're starting a design or build were:

1. Running the track *extensively *with temporary supports to tune the layout over months before investing in more permanent wooden support and associated carpentry. Oh, & also with different chassis types. Thousands of laps.

2. Really investing in supporting the track, especially the elevated sections, pretty well, so wiping down the track is as painless as possible. The l-girder table style has helped a thousand times in allowing good support and fine tuning of detailed curve profiles. I couldn't do it any other way.

3. Making the track sort of modular. It's been incredibly helpful that the track is really made up of about 12 modules that can be taken apart and worked on separately. This doesn't show in any way, and is really applicable mostly to complex layouts, but it has saved me a ton of headaches. A ton.

4. Getting my kids involved in decisions about the track from the beginning and throughout the build, though still not enough. This has made the track a family thing, a viable alternative to video games and a lifelong memory, I hope, rather than Dad's folly which takes up the dining room and is an escape from the kids. 

5. Building a looong lap length with a good variety of challenging turns, but still having lots of speed and no hateful spots that you dread more than respect. This is all personal taste, but I'm never ever bored with the track and it races great with a ton of spots where you can squeeze a few hundredths of a second if you're willing to do the work of knowing them thoroughly. 

Great question. You really made me think. Hope it helps!

Rolls


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## win43 (Aug 28, 2006)

AMAZING :woohoo: Track

Cool Porsche too :thumbsup:


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## Static Addict (Nov 2, 2010)

Thanks very much for the thoughtfull answer Rolls. I really appreciate you (and everyone else) taking time to help me out!



Static.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

I have one of the Orange & Blue Porsche's that I posted for a T-jet, and set up the chassis like a truly wicked Fray car, only this one has a Tuff Ones 5.0 ohm armature, a set of Nachos super mags & Super II brush cups. It is truly a fun car, And will easily out run most magna-traction cars. But I have to say it is the Porsche body that makes it handle. I was able to get it mounted so low that I have the slightest little rub marks in the bottom of the front air dam from the Tomy track rails. BTW the 510 Datsun also seems to handle well too, & now that I think about it I could use a stable mate for the Porsche, might just have to start looking for a donor body, maybe a sugar daddy clone car, This just might have to happen, maybe a full brass pan T-jet this time? 

They truly made some great cars, I just wish I had all the cars I trashed as a young racer. 

Rolls I really like all your elevation changes, we did them on our track & it is so nice to see the cars like you mention. I cant tell you how many times I have watched the video, its just really cool, and the steering correction & fish tale are super.

Boosted


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

I discovered that Porsche recently too. Love it. I have the orange and blue one, and I'm keeping my eyes open for a white/burgundy one like yours.

--rick


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

Great slide out Rolls...Always loved my Orange and Blue Porsche as a kid.

After hanging out here on HT many bodies I never really thought about now are some of my favorites. Lolas, 917s, Shadows and the list goes on and on.

Hmmmmmmm now you have me thinking Rolls...Thanks for posting this up!

Bob...need to dig up my Porsche Carrera from the parts drawer...zilla


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

*RC Cola spilled, but carry on anyway*

Porsche 917-10K brings on the slide action... Check out the RF wheel off the ground... I love a chassis that'll go the distance to keep ya in the slot! She's a keeper.

Have fun!

20 seconds of orig AFX love. Click the pic for a smile...


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## Super Coupe (Feb 16, 2010)

Now that's some serious slideways action.Way to hang it out there and still keep it going.
>Tom<


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## jtslot (Apr 3, 2010)

that was just the best ive seen,thank you for sharing


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Awesome camera work, very cool slide, you gotta love those big radius corners, just about as fast as a straightaway.

Boosted


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

One of my top 20 favorite curves on the track!!  Sorry I didn't get it framed up quite right, though, but it's pretty clear to me that you guys see through to the beauty of a sliding AFX car just fine!

One day I hope to get all of my old AFX chassis tuned well enough to hold onto the slot against all odds like that. :thumbsup:


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