# Auto World Cars?



## 440 (Feb 23, 2008)

I stopped in at Zepplin's on Route 23 North in Wayne, NJ for those familiar with the place. 

I was looking at some new cars. But the store has changed since I was a kid. They used to carry Tomy and Tyco/Mattel cars but now they only carry Auto World cars. I found a car I liked but opted out of purchasing because I have no experience with AW; I used to buy only Tyco and Tomy when I was younger. So, I'm wondering who has experience with their cars? Are they any good?


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## win43 (Aug 28, 2006)

Auto World took over Johnny Lightning slot cars. They certainly aren't the old Auroras, but they are what they are. You will probably have to tweak them a little to get the maximum out of them. There was (maybe still is) a gear problem with some of the Auto World Tjets. I'm not really familiar with the X traction, but others will help you out there. Some of AWs bodies are pretty cool and there isn't much else out there as far as those chassis (Tjet and Xtraction) without spending big bucks. So buy one, try it, and decide for yourself. HAPPY SLOTTING!!!!!!

Jerry


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Compared to the Tyco's and Tomy's, you will find them difficult but by now there are alot of tips out there to make them driveable. On smaller, unstable (unmounted) tracks they can be a nightmare. Like I said, mi caja es su caja...lol...if you plan on coming over here's some of what you will get to try (excluding what I know you have):

Stock Aurora T-Jets
"Fray"-Style Aurora T-Jets 
AFX MagnaTractions
JL and AW cars, about every chassis variation made.
Tomy Super G+
Slottech Ceramic Super Stock
BSRT G3


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

AND......If you come over to race at Genes, We have autoworld cars for sale for probably 6.00 less then what you saw in the store, and no shipping fees.....both tjet and xtraction.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

440,
Go ahead and jump into the world of pancake motors. After awhile, you'll be like a rat on crack. :freak:

Next thing you know, you'll have a slew of the AW things trying to get them tweaked out. Plus you'll have some great fun and a whole bunch of us here to comiserate with you as you go through the process of learning the skills involved in tweaking these monsters. :woohoo:

Welcome aboard! :wave:rr


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## dlw (Aug 17, 1999)

The AW's are a higher skill level car, as they don't have the magnetic downforce as Tyco's/Tomy's/LL's/etc., but you should definitely get some. After you tweak and tune them, you'll love them. The AW/JL cars are the 'Green Eggs & Ham' of the slotcar world.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Hi Nick,
There were a couple Tyco twinpacks hanging behind the counter, but that's about all the magnet car stuff I saw. Some carded track and that was about it. I will be delivering some Tyco/Mattel track to them for sale so that they will have a larger selection. I hope to do that in a few weeks.
T-Jets and AFX (X-Traction) are for those who like to tweak and tune. I love them as do a whole lot of others. You may or may not find them to your liking. You won't know until you either see them in action or buy one.
The JL cars are the forerunners of the AW stuff and can still be found for good prices - usually around $10. They started coming out around 2000 and the company was sold (and eventually ended up as AW) sometime around 2005.
If you like to tinker, they are great. If you want a car that zips around the track and sticks like glue, then the JL/AW stuff is not for you. To each his own.

Joe


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Take the plunge. Whats the worse that could happen...?

Oh yea...fergot about the complete and total slot junkie thing...LOL.


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## AZSlot Racer (Dec 5, 2007)

I've got a couple of AW cars, a Thunderjet 500, a couple of Flamethrowers and an XTraction and they are all terrible. I haven't messed with any of them yet but not one of them will make it around the track consistently, the Tjet often deslots on the straight sections. To call them a "higher skill level car" must mean you need to rebuild them completely before you intend to use them.


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## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*Race proven?*

At our last race, we had a nice 6 lane Tomy track. One of our classes was a new idea.....We called it an "Out of the Box Race."

The cars were AW X-traction. What we did was take 8 or so brand new cars in the box and drew for the car one would race. Then, we had a few minutes to get the cars ready.

This is what we learned. Out of the box was a mistake as the range of performance varied greatly. Some cars were a pleasure to drive, others were dogs. The impression we had was that this probably was not the best class of cars to try an Out of the Box race.

HOWEVER....After the big race, a few of us did a little tune up and checking of the cars. What we found out was that a basic tune-up and about an hour of running created a very competitive and enjoyable group of cars to race. Break in is crucial. All then ran very even.

Now, these AW X-tractions are some Of our favorite cars to race. So, I can give these cars a great review. They take a little tunning but are a blast to drive once they get "in the groove."

Jim Norton
Huntsville, Alabama


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Ready to....not run.*

I guess one could say that with the second generation pancake cars a large portion of quality control is left up to the owner. I rekon thats how they think they are keeping the price down.

The actual car cost is about the same as an out of the can entry level inline mag car. By the time you buy a few new era pancakes and shuffle everything around and add some minor upgrades, or bring an affordable vintage car up to snuff in the same fashion; argueably the costs are about the same to create some good new era pancake runners...less your time....snicker 

While there was always the occassional dog in the old days (I'm pre-jurassic), it was few and far between when compared to today's experience of "here's a pile of slot junk we threw in a purdy box for you...sort it out yerself!" 

Yet still ya might get the luck of the draw and recieve one of the rumored Holy Grail decent runners. Good luck 440...they can be great or horrible...but not impossible....make sense? LOL.

All the help ya need is right here on HT.:wave:


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

Man, I guess I've been REALLY lucky. I have never had one JL or AW car run out of ther box. Sure, some needs to be tweeked.. but for the most part, all I do is swap out the rear tires with silicone rears, oil it up and I'm ready to go


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## 440 (Feb 23, 2008)

Sweet, thanks for the replies. I think I'm gonna pick one up but will more than likely wait till this weekend after I test one out at Gene's. 

I do love to tinker and rebuild stuff. So, they are more than likely be right up my alley. The AW cars may be a good challenge for me since keeping the mag's going 'round the track is easy. 

As for the two packs over at Zeps, I didn't really notice them. Although she did have the one portion slid open because I was looking for some silicone tires I thought I glimpsed a car hanging on pegs but wasn't sure because I couldn't see it too well.


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

videojimmy said:


> Man, I guess I've been REALLY lucky. I have never had one JL or AW car run out of ther box. Sure, some needs to be tweeked.. but for the most part, all I do is swap out the rear tires with silicone rears, oil it up and I'm ready to go


You _ARE_ really lucky. I'd say about 75% of the JL / AW cars I've purchased have either been dogs or complete crapwagons.

Some really haul the mail but a lot of them take a good bit of screwing around with just to get some decent speed and consistency out of them.


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## EBasil (Jan 11, 2000)

A few years ago, we had a variation on the "out of the box" or "box stock" race described above. We were using JLTO's and had found that there could be some variations on the cars right out of the box :wave: , so we picked 4 cars that were run-in and tuned fairly well, took off the bodies and made _those_ the stockers that we drew poker chips out of a hat to race (the cars have/had a dot of paint pen on one side in r/w/b/y ). You'd draw a chassis, then tune it and mount a body in 5 minutes. Close to box-stock, but the cars ran better.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I have never tried an AW car, but I have a few JL cars that I've opened and ran. I haven't really noticed any dogs and I haven't spent a whole lot of time tinkering with them.

The problem I have with them right now is that I think my track is overpowered and my controllers under-ohmed (is that a term?) to run them properly. I am using 22v Aurora power packs (one per lane) and 60 ohm controllers. The cars are simply uncontrollable; especially one T-Jet Corvette I got in a trade - this thing is so fast it's unbelieveable. However, at 22 volts it's either stopped or at top speed. Until I get a variable power supply and lower the voltage, along with some 90 or 120 ohm controllers, I won't be able to enjoy them or really find out what I've got.

Actually, at 22v a lot of cars are just too twitchy.

Joe


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## AZSlot Racer (Dec 5, 2007)

Alright, maybe I was a little hard on the AW cars I've got. This thead got me to do a little research on how to make these cars run. There's a thread in the tuning forum called "JLTO Tuning Report" by limiting brush travel, adding O-ring fronts and truing the rears the Ultra G Cobra I have has become a fun car to drive. I'm sure silicone would make it better and I'm going to try the front and rear axle mods after I collect the parts. It was already a looker now maybe it will be a fun driver.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Looks great! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Don't forget the fun !*

I'm not a racer, but I can imagine it must be fun and a labor of love for most who are. I wouldn't think it would be too much fun to open my car up 5 mins before a race, only to find I drew a woofer. Labor of love can stretch into plain old labor, so that ain't fun in my book. EB has the right idea I think though. Since the AW and JL cars DO need help right out of the box for the most part, I think a break-in period is pretty much essential. Whether home racing or club racing it's not much fun when your car runs like doo-doo. You're on the right path by working the chassis over before you grade it AZ. I'm not convinced you'll find every car will perform well even after you massage it, but they should at least be "better". Trued silicones should help alot and I hear some guys even chuck the rear axle in their dremel to "break in" the gear train. Good luck and let us know what you find out from your testing. Always good to hear a fresh perspective. nd


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## dlw (Aug 17, 1999)

AW cars do need some tweaking. A shame the factory in China isn't as good as the Aurora factories.....But when you correct the 'problems' your car came with (look up the various tune-up tips threads in the forums), these cars run very well, rivaling original Afx/Aurora Tuff-Ones cars.


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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

The QC of the Johnny Lightning/AutoWorld cars is all over the map. It's a shame too. You CAN get much better quality out of Chinese Factories. Tomy appears to have the ability to do so. The modern AFX cars have been very consistent.

FWIW: I've had fairly good luck (most of the time) "bottom feeding" the low-end T-Jets on eBay. Most of them sell for the same or less than a new JL/AW car. They aren't perfect, but there's someting about bringing a 30-40 year-old slot car back to life.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

twolff said:


> They aren't perfect, but there's someting about bringing a 30-40 year-old slot car back to life.


 This is the best part of the hobby for me - well, okay, it's tied with collecting. Because I don't race and just run cars at home, I spend almost all my time with cars that don't run quite right. Once I get a car running near what I consider to be as good as I'll get it, I usually don't run it much any more. It's the one's that need tuning that usually take up most of my time - and I love it.

Joe


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## RacerDave (Mar 28, 2006)

I agree with the above. I get the most enjoyment in this hobby now from picking up old project cars on the bay and bringing them back to life. Dave.


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## ScottD961 (Jan 31, 2008)

I agree with you , racer dave but instead of buying them off the bay I buy them here. I have gotten a lot of really good deals off of a lot of really cool people right here. I would rather give the money to my fellow slotters anyway !


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Ditto

Diamonds in the rough are a joy. Even if I get a real t-turd they still have a place here. Through continous "bottom feeding" your spares inventory increases to the point where you have enough "its and bitties" to get ya going!


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## 440 (Feb 23, 2008)

Ok, I couldn't wait till this weekend to pick one up at Gene's so I picked one up at Zep's today for $16. '69 Charger. Nice looking car. Got it home opened the box and tossed it on the track. It ran from the get-go. It seems a bit slower than my Aurora's, my step-son's Aurora SRT AFx (but then again, none of the cars that I do have can keep up with that.) or my 440x2's. But it's quiet and seems smooth. 

The one thing I did notice that I don't particularly care for is the plastic guide-pin and the fact that it "fish-tails" around turns. I noticed the rear can be almost 90* out from the rails. The pick-ups still make contact and it continues to go but I've noticed it'll "hop" out of the groove. Not sure if its the plastic guide-pin or the fact that it seems like its not weighted properly in the rear. I also don't like the front axle, seems to me like if you get it going fast enough that passenger side tire and wheel will come flying off. But overall, I like the car. I do like to tinker with stuff and this car will be my project car since all of my other cars; while stock run pretty damn good (well, with the exception of my Corvette [Tomy Aurora] which is extremely tired.)


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Nick,
I'm going to guess that the Charger is an X-Traction which would make it a repro of the old Aurora Magna-Traction. This car is not going to be anywhere near as fast as a Tyco 440x2 or a Tomy (Aurora) SRT. It's not designed or intended to be.
If you never had pancake cars growing up, then you need to understand that they are a different animal from the magnet cars (440x2s, HP-7s) you grew up with. They do not have magnetic attraction to the rails like magnet cars, and therefore will deslot easier and fishtail. Using them at the proper voltage, with the correct controller and with good tires is essential to enjoying them. You have to drive them.
Going back to the JL days, the XTs have had a problem with the front tires falling off. You replace them with inexpensive O-Rings. Either go to the hardware store and buy size #78 or check the forums for a thread by Ligier Runner on AFX replacement fronts. You can buy bags of 100 O-Rings for $2.
There's no need to worry about the plastic guide pin. All Aurora cars, until the G Plus, used them. In fact, you will find that a plastic pin is quieter than a metal pin on plastic track. You will also find the blade side to be smoother on plastic track than the pin side; because of it's length, the blade will get hung up less in track joints. You will have to shave the length of the blade if you use it on Tyco track - the blade is designed for Tomy track which has a deeper slot.
Pancake cars are a lot of fun if tinkering is something you enjoy.

Joe


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## dlw (Aug 17, 1999)

Cool, 440. The fishtailing is kinda like teaching you to respect the curves. You have to drive it as if you were in the car while it runs on the track. 

Now for the tinker part......Check the pickup shoes to see if only the front tip is contacting the rails. That is bad........Using a small screwdriver, gently bend the pickup shoes until you get a longer contact patch. This usually smoothes things a bit. After that, check the rims for trueness, then sand off any tree-nubs (usually found on the rear rims), these transfer through the tires (kind of like The Princess and the Pea) and makes a bump that can cause hopping.

These couple step should smooth out your car a bit.


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Hey Nick I'll set you up with a *homemade shoe tweaker*. 

They are kind of exotic, so they're real expensive. :jest:


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## valongi (Dec 23, 2007)

Count me in the camp of not being overly impressed with AW cars. I like some of their looks, but out of the box they do require tweaking- that which I haven't been inclined to do just yet. But this is a hobby that's hands-on in setting up and fine-tuning tracks and cars. I'll be educated by T-jets and AW cars alike.


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## 440 (Feb 23, 2008)

SwamperGene said:


> Hey Nick I'll set you up with a *homemade shoe tweaker*.
> 
> They are kind of exotic, so they're real expensive. :jest:


Gene, I had been using a screwdriver but that looks like it works so much better. 

:thumbsup:

I did cut down the guide-pin like it was suggested and I did kind of "tweak" the shoes but it was already making some decent contact. 

I do need to modify the front axle. Joe and I are going to do that on Monday afternoon since I'll be in his neck of the woods.


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## buzzinhornet (Jan 20, 2000)

twolff said:


> The QC of the Johnny Lightning/AutoWorld cars is all over the map. -snip- The modern AFX cars have been very consistent.
> 
> FWIW: I've had fairly good luck (most of the time) "bottom feeding" the low-end T-Jets on eBay. Most of them sell for the same or less than a new JL/AW car. They aren't perfect, but there's someting about bringing a 30-40 year-old slot car back to life.


I really enjoy this also. But, I treat my JL/AW cars like I do my old Aurora cars. I like to "rebuild" them till they run the best that I can get 'em. 

GP


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

In reality, tweaking and tuning of pancake cars is one thing; inexcusable lack of quality is another. While I don't think anyone expects an JL/AW car to run perfectly out of the box, what we should expect is a complete car with parts which do not need to be immediatly replaced. After all, if the parts are no good to start with, why give them to us at all?

There is no reason for bent axles, out of round tires or wheels, and bad gears. There is no reason to supply these on a car if the first thing you have to do is replace them. If you cannot do something right, you are better off not doing it at all.

I gladly accept having to work in the gears, tune the shoes and adjust the brush tension. That is part of the fun. What I cannot accept is having to immediatly replace parts.

I finally took a real good look at the three JL XTs which I have as runners. Two run pretty well right out of the box, while the third seemed very tight. Upon closer inspection, it appears that the third one does have a bent rear axle causing it to bind at certain points. So now I have to replace that in order for the chassis to have any chance of being decent.

Also, in looking at all three chassis from the rear, it certainly appears that the gear plate does not want to sit flat/square on top of the chassis. This will be hard to describe, but a close inspection of all three shows that the two "walls" which come up from the back of the chassis and hold the gear plate are not parallel to each other. The "wall" on the driver side is bent outward on all three. That is just poor quality control and there is no excuse for that.

Joe


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Nick....

If you got the early Charger with the skinny shoes, they probably came out of the box looking like the top example:










They're real thin, so you gotta watch when bending them that you don't put a belly in them, if you do the car will stop suddenly in sharp turns cuz the shoe falls off the rail. I find that if you get it flat, then put a light bend about a third way up from the hook, these shoes are killer.

If you have the later Charger with the wide shoes, just make sure the contact area is flat, then adjust at this bend:










Put it on a loose piece of track to check if you got it good (hold up to light and look at shoe-to-rail contact).


Joe I did a little tech piece about crooked XT gearplates a while back, sounds like this could be what you're seeing: 
http://slotcars.yuku.com/topic/381


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## AZSlot Racer (Dec 5, 2007)

I read something somewhere about building an independent front end for a T-Jet using 1/16" brass tubing & sewing pins. Does this help AW cars, and what exactly do you need, do the wheels fit over the tubing and the pins press in to hold them on? If someone has any other tricks to make these things run better I'm listening. Thanks


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*cheapo custom front ends*

1. stock tjet hubs (you probably have these)
2. 1/16 hollow brass tube (hobby shop)
3. long sewing pins (i like brass jewelry pins from craft stores)
4. wheel collars (used for R/C planes, cars; hobby store)
5. o-rings for tires

cut a length of brass tube, longer than you think you need. i used a dremel with a cut off disk.

polish the rod to make it pretty and reduce friction. 

cut a pin about 3/8 - 1/2 inch long and give it a little bend so it doesnt easily fall out of the brass tube

bore out the axle hole on the tjet hubs so they rotate on the 1/16 brass axle. i chuck a 1/16 solid axle into a dremel, spin it, and use it to ream the hole in the hubs. a drill bit by hand would do the same. if the hole is too big the hub will wobble, you dont want that. you just want it rotate. you only need to do 1. its sounds harder than it is. 

assemble as follows: pin, hub, wheel collar, chassis, wheel collar, hub, pin. 

if the axle is too long, trim some off until it fits nicely. 

the wheel collars provide some extra weight to the front end. plus, their SHINY! (bling). and they have a hole in them you can use to put a drop of oil on the axle.

here are pix of the front and wheel collars. 

i think these fronts look nice on the dash hot rods, they add some bling to the front (kind of like big chrome wheels, chrome brake components, and chrome suspension on a street rod)

another cheap front end is to just buy the brass hubs from wizzard ($2) instead of the entire front end kit ($7), and use the hollw brass tube and sewing pin trick from above.


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## AZSlot Racer (Dec 5, 2007)

I don't have any parts lying around yet, stuffs hard to come by here in Arizona. I'll just buy a handfull of the wizzard hubs. Thanks for the detailed instructions they're exactly what I needed


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*pins*

one thing i forgot to mention is that you want a pin with a big head. small head pins sometimes arent big enough to cover the hole in the hub. crafts stores sell jewelry pins that have nice big flat heads. you can get a pack of 80 in various lengths (longer than you need) for about $4


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## dlw (Aug 17, 1999)

AZSlot, all JL/AW cars (except the 2nd release of Bowtie Brigade thunderjets, 1st release of Dukes XT's, and 2nd release of Mopar XT's) come with independant front ends. If you have one of the above mentioned, all you need is the indie front end brad used for the axle. Just use a rear axle to ream out one rim (this will be the independant wheel), and press the other rim onto the sharp end and you'll have indie fronts.


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## 440 (Feb 23, 2008)

SwamperGene said:


> Nick....
> 
> 
> If you have the later Charger with the wide shoes, just make sure the contact area is flat, then adjust at this bend:
> ...


I grabbed a later Charger. Suprising enough is that they didn't need much "tweaking" out-of-the-box. I just bent it a little bit towards the bend more to get them to contact a bit more.


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## AZSlot Racer (Dec 5, 2007)

I put a set of wheels off a Tomy Turbo on a AWTJet, made a new axle for the rear out of 1/16 piano wire, slipped the regular Tomy turbo axle in front for now (didn't want o ruin the wheels in case it didn't work). Got me thinking a set of Magna Traction wheels would look nice. This setup is much better than stock or even the Cobra with stock wheels and axles.


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## sped (Nov 20, 2004)

Hey AZ, 

That looks nice. I always liked how well AW did this new body. It looks like the wheels don't even stick out from the body. How wide is this body and its new rear track with those wheels. Did you have to dremel the wheel wells? This makes me want to try a custom using this body.

SPED


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Good lookin car AZ!


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## SplitPoster (May 16, 2006)

AZ, that came off very well! Much more realistic looking, stance looks good. Great improvement.


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## AZSlot Racer (Dec 5, 2007)

Thanks guys. I kept the dremel away, don't really like cutting bodies up. The wheels do stick out some kind of high school hot rod style, still need to glue the gear to the new axle, the wheels don't look even in the pics. I'm going to order some Magna Traction wheels from ebay, I think they'll look even better. Silicone tires should make it easier to drive, it's much better than it was


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## buzzinhornet (Jan 20, 2000)

Drag racer style! Looks good AZ. 

GP


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## OlneySlots (Mar 14, 2008)

*Super III O for 2*

I have purchased 2 of the new Super III cars from Auto World and the result was bad. The first one made it 1/2 the way around the track at a good speed then slowed to 1/2 speed and never improved after that. The second one that replaced the first had a out of round rear tire to start. With new tires it made it around the track a dozen times with the performance of maybe a old tomy turbo or a good xtraction. It then slowed down to half speed and that is how it stayed. One of traction magnets came loose and had to be super glued in place.

Do not waste your money!


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

OlneySlots said:


> I have purchased 2 of the new Super III cars from Auto World and the result was bad. The first one made it 1/2 the way around the track at a good speed then slowed to 1/2 speed and never improved after that. The second one that replaced the first had a out of round rear tire to start. With new tires it made it around the track a dozen times with the performance of maybe a old tomy turbo or a good xtraction. It then slowed down to half speed and that is how it stayed. One of traction magnets came loose and had to be super glued in place.
> 
> Do not waste your money!


 

Goes then slows down....sounds like another case of one or both brush screws backing out.

What size were the rear tires you put on the second one?


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## OlneySlots (Mar 14, 2008)

I checked out the car today and noticed the brush screws. One was backed out and it is now running better. Has anybody tried nail polish or lock-tite to keep the screws in place?


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Nail polish will work in a bind, Loctite Purple (hard to find) works great, AFXToo posted a link for VibraTite, which works good but you gotta watch the amount you use...no more than a pinpoint drop.


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## noddaz (Aug 6, 1999)

*Ok.... I have been watching with interest...*

How do people vote for these cars overall?
Since the MSRP is close to what Racemasters cars sell for is there a comparison?

Maybe a new thread should be started with just that topic...

Scott


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Scott, they are not without a couple flaws but they are a lot of fun and certainly "tweakable". I think that overall it is a decent entry into the inline market for AW. I don't think there's a real comparison to the Tomy line given their maturity in the market, nor should we forget that they are a massive company with tons of R&D $$$. And they were not without flops (ie Super Magna-Traction). Think along the lines of a G2 or P1...it's a start.

My vote on the Super III is :thumbsup::thumbsup:.


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## noddaz (Aug 6, 1999)

*That may be.... But.*



SwamperGene said:


> Scott, they are not without a couple flaws but they are a lot of fun and certainly "tweakable". I think that overall it is a decent entry into the inline market for AW. I don't think there's a real comparison to the Tomy line given their maturity in the market, nor should we forget that they are a massive company with tons of R&D $$$. And they were not without flops (ie Super Magna-Traction). Think along the lines of a G2 or P1...it's a start.
> 
> My vote on the Super III is :thumbsup::thumbsup:.


Johnny Lightning Tuff Ones. MSRP $12.99
Needed some "tweaking".

Johnny Lightning X Tractions MSRP $12.99
Needed Some "tweaking".

Auto World Tuff Ones. MSRP $14.99
Needed some "tweaking".

Auto World X Tractions MSRP $14.99
Needed some "tweaking".

Add a traction magnet and you have Ultra Gs. MSRP $16.99 (?)
However, the chassis STILL need "tweaking"....

And here we are.
The Super (needs some tweaking) III. MSRP $24.95

There are certain things (Needed some tweaking) that I was obviously willing to overlook on the earlier cars. At the $13 price point and the $15 price point I bought quite a few. And I bought a bunch when they were blown out on the Bay. Ultra Gs I have 2 or 3. (A traction magnet on a pancake chassis? . Not my thing...)
But at a $24.95 price point "needs some tweaking" just does not make it anymore.
For now I think Racemasters will be getting my hard earned dollars...
Sorry, just my "needs some tweaking" .02 worth...

Scott


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Geez Scott...you did ask, sounds like your mind is already made up. 

Maybe I should've defined tweaking regarding the SIII, shoe and brush setup is all that's needed to get the cars going good, we've seen no serious issues yet save for the rear tires not fitting through a tech block. As a comparison, Racemaster's GT40 doesn't fit through a block either, something Steve Russell admitted to dropping the ball on.

Maybe us guys in PA get all the good cars, we race JL/AW products fairly regularly without a problem. Heck last week we had a guy open a NIB JL Fast and Furious car, change the rear tires, and he took second place in our MT/XT race. Only his second time on the track too. I ran an AFX that gave me brush arm trouble and ended up last...everything has it's issues once in a while. :freak:

Maybe we can get you up here sometime to compare, it's alot of fun. :thumbsup:


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## 440 (Feb 23, 2008)

Actually, the AW cars are becoming my favorite. The more I fiddle around with my newer ('06) AW Xtraction car the more I love it. In fact I've my eye on an AW TJet over at Zepplin's that I'm going to pick-up this week. 

I'm really glad I took the plunge and bought the AW car that I did. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I want to be able to toss a car on my track and have it stick but lately, the only thing I've been running is my AW.


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## noddaz (Aug 6, 1999)

*Maybe it is...*



SwamperGene said:


> Geez Scott...you did ask, sounds like your mind is already made up.
> 
> Maybe I should've defined tweaking regarding the SIII, shoe and brush setup is all that's needed to get the cars going good, we've seen no serious issues yet save for the rear tires not fitting through a tech block. As a comparison, Racemaster's GT40 doesn't fit through a block either, something Steve Russell admitted to dropping the ball on.
> 
> ...


Gene, I guess my mind IS made up on these. If you are happy with these cars, that is ok with me. My beef is with the home office. If AW wants my money, they have to earn it. So far (in my opinion) AW is not living up to it's bought name or it's history.
And thanks for the invite. I REALLY need to get out racing more.
Scott


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

noddaz said:


> There are certain things (Needed some tweaking) that I was obviously willing to overlook on the earlier cars. At the $13 price point and the $15 price point I bought quite a few. And I bought a bunch when they were blown out on the Bay. Ultra Gs I have 2 or 3. (A traction magnet on a pancake chassis? . Not my thing...)
> But at a $24.95 price point "needs some tweaking" just does not make it anymore.
> 
> Scott


Scott and Gene,
I think it matters what is meant by "tweaking".

If "tweaking" means oiling, bending shoes, adjusting brush tension and a break-in period, that is acceptable tweaking.

If "tweaking" means replacing axles, replacing gears, straighting the chassis, fixing sloppy axle holes, replacing out of round wheels and tires, or shaving the chassis for a better fit, then I think you are talking about a poor quality product.

As I mentioned in another thread...



grandcheapskate said:


> A major part of the quality discussion depends upon whether AW's intent is to make a toy, a (true) hobby quality product, or a top line serious racing product. My opinion is that the JL and AW T-Jet and XT era produced a toy chassis on mostly hobby quality bodies. And, at the prices of the early TJs and XTs, that was acceptable. As I said before, when adjusted for inflation, a $10 JL/AW is cheaper than a 1960s/1970s Aurora. But when you move into the $25+ range, you have to produce a better quality product; it's no longer a toy. While it may not approach the level some consider to be the price point of a serious racing chassis, it is priced higher than than a toy chassis.


Joe


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## tjettim (Nov 29, 2005)

I saw a sample last night.This example had no chassis mold issues,
the casting was good.With some slip on sils the car ran ok.The
motor magnets are a high quality polymer but are probably too
thin to take much lowering of the car without the arm getting hot,
the neo magnets are fairly strong.I feel with some time I could
probably get one competetive in box stock against SRTs,LLs and
super Gs.It most certainly will not be dominant though.Someone
needs to see if a pair of Wizzard Storm neo motor magnets can
be fitted in one.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

The SIII chassis is too narrow to take Wizzard magnets. 

Has anyone taken a Gauss reading on the SIII motor magnets?

Even though the Super III bears superficial resemblance to a Patriot it's really a mix of Patriot (brush arrangement and monocoque chassis), Tomy (arm layout), Tyco (arm timing, shoe springs), and Life-Like (neo tractions) inspired technology. So far I've found that the only drivetrain parts that are interchangeable between the Super III and any other car are the brushes, brush springs, and pinion gear, and even then it's not a direct swap, you've got to make some accommodations. Across the board we're discovering with the Super III that a few small differences in key areas has resulted in big differences between it and other breeds.


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Other interchangeable parts...

LifeLike rear axles fit nicely with no gear rub, and the LL wheels are the same diameter as the SIII wheels. Tyco rear axles fit very well too but the wheels are smaller.

:thumbsup:

The biggest thing that stops a SIII against an SRT is body weight. The chassis is actually a hair lighter. Actually, even that needs clarification, that'd be going against a GT40, I think it'd be either car's game with say a Daytona Coupe or most any other stock SRT bod. 

If these were run together as a lexan-bodied class, the SIII would easily put a hurtin' on the SRT as would be expected with poly motor mags.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

Thanks for pointing out the additional interchangeable parts. I have plenty of Life-Like rear end setups.


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## lenny (Feb 29, 2000)

SwamperGene said:


> If these were run together as a lexan-bodied class, the SIII would easily put a hurtin' on the SRT as would be expected with poly motor mags.


..had AW had the foresight to actually put body tube holes in the chassis. A small detail but one that should have been included. Plus the AW body weighs in at an incredible 4 grams! What were they thinking?


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

AFXToo the LL rears will be the ticket for racing these, gear diameter is good as is mesh with the AW pinion. As a host with a Tomy setup I plan on having a dozen or so on hand just for SIII races, it'll allow everyone to keep tire size consistent should they practice with the stock rear and it solves the passing issue.


Dan...is that the '05 Mustang that's 4 g? An SRT GT40 is 3.7-3.8...not much difference. So far the Taurus is getting my "big load award" :lol: at like 6.3, surpisingly heavier than the '70 Mustang which is 5.6.


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## lenny (Feb 29, 2000)

SwamperGene said:


> Dan...is that the '05 Mustang that's 4 g? An SRT GT40 is 3.7-3.8...not much difference. So far the Taurus is getting my "big load award" :lol: at like 6.3, surpisingly heavier than the '70 Mustang which is 5.6.


The AW 'Zip Zap' black Mustang is 4.1. I'm surprised that the SRT GT40 is that heavy at close to 4 grams. I have a TOMY BMW M1 body that is under 2 grams.


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## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

SwamperGene said:


> Scott, they are not without a couple flaws but they are a lot of fun and certainly "tweakable". I think that overall it is a decent entry into the inline market for AW. I don't think there's a real comparison to the Tomy line given their maturity in the market, nor should we forget that they are a massive company with tons of R&D $$$. And they were not without flops (ie Super Magna-Traction). Think along the lines of a G2 or P1...it's a start.
> 
> My vote on the Super III is :thumbsup::thumbsup:.


How do you figure the SuperMag was a flop? Its a simpler design than the old G+ yet it out runs and handles it everytime. At least in my experience. That chassis spawned the catseyes, speedshifters and blazin brakes and really that chassis frame with its wider rear axle area accepts a tomy Super G+ or Turbo axle as a direct snap in provided you use the matching pinion gear. If I were Tom Lowe, I would've knocked that off, made some tweeks like a multi position front axle and released it in place of the SIII since its tried and true.

Gene, I think you refer to it as a flop since it was Aurora's last chassis they designed before Tomy took over and replaced it with their own. That one wasnt really out very long and didnt get into too many hands from what I see in their scarcity on the bay.


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Actually I meant it because at the time the Tycos were perfoming much better on the track and the Super Magnatraction wasn't a big leap from the G+ which very few of us liked back in the day, at least on our local tubbie. Granted they probably were already looking at the end and didn't sink as much into R&D by that time, so that could be a factor too. Of course right around that time real cars, beer, and girls were invented, so nothing much mattered for 20 years or so. :freak:


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## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

SwamperGene said:


> Actually I meant it because at the time the Tycos were perfoming much better on the track and the Super Magnatraction wasn't a big leap from the G+ which very few of us liked back in the day, at least on our local tubbie. Granted they probably were already looking at the end and didn't sink as much into R&D by that time, so that could be a factor too. Of course right around that time real cars, beer, and girls were invented, so nothing much mattered for 20 years or so. :freak:


OK, that makes a bit more sense. Dunno about the tycos outperforming them tho. I have some HP2s and curvehuggers that really scream. I believe these were the tyco offerings at the time, but none of them can touch the supermags I have. Some of my old tyco CH cars can give a 440 a run for its money too.


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