1/32 ProTrack Spider chassis slot car review at SCG

Pro-Track 1/32 Spider Chassis Slot Car Review

Features:

Composite Construction of Chassis Unit [Bottom View]
Aluminum Set-Screw Wheels Front and Rear
Adjustable Wheelbase and Traction Magnets
Removable Traction Magnets
Scalextric type Mabuchi S (Endbell Drive) motor

Overall Rating:

5 out of 5 tires - SCG Best Buy!!!

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1978 Firebird with Pro-Track Spider 1/32 Chassis

The much talked about Pro-Track 1/32 Spider chassis. SCG has assembled the chassis and placed it under this Monogram model kit body. It blasted through the course, breaking all the track records!!!

Lane	Best Lap Time	Average Lap Time	Chronometer
1	3.781	4.031	0:41.856

This chassis kit does require some assembly but this is not as hard as creating your own chassis from brass sheet. Assembly is pretty much strange forward and the instruction sheets provided with the parts give you hints and details on how to build the unit. Remember depending on what body you choose, you will still need to purchase a body mounting kit for either a lexan #350 or a model kit body #349. The chassis kit #340 comes with the parts for the main chassis unit and the components kit #341 comes with the tires/wheels, motor, axles, guide flag, and various other components. If you wish to run a long wheelbase body, such as the one I had chosen for this review then you will need to solder on some longer lead wires since the ones provided are a little short.

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Construction of the chassis is not all that hard. Once, you have it assembled - attaching the body mounts is pretty much easy. I measured where the mounts should go and used the provided double-sided tape for mounting the metal buttons to the body. They also suggested using Epoxy. The tape method is a bit easier because you can adjust it a bit to get the ride stance just right and remount the mounts if needed to. Superglue was used to mount the traction magnets in their holders The directions suggested that you glue the tires to the rims but they were such as tight fit that I ignored that plus I didn't true the tires as noted since the seemed to be round and good enough for racing at home.

Click for Larger View

The only major problems with the chassis is the too short motor wires and fit problems with the front axle. The front axle seems a bit large for the front wheels so instead of trying to ream out the wheels, I substituted a standard 1/32 axle from my parts box instead. This might have only been a problem with this kit but Pro-Track should take this into account and provide the standard drill-blank axles in this kit instead of the Scalextric-type ones for the price you have to pay for it. Another note on assembly, it would be good to use some thread-lock on a few of the screws/nuts when you have the wheelbase figured out to keep things secure. Now comes the fun part :) The track test...

I couldn't wait to see how this chassis would work on my Carrera 1/24 layout. To tell the truth, I had my doubts with this chassis. For about $65 total with body, mounts, etc. - this 1/32 high-tech slot car better perform and perform it did. The car is very "slot car" realistic in it's control even with the traction magnets. I never removed them since the fun part is driving this car and seeing how far you can take it to it's limit. The chassis is very smooth and quiet, the motor is well suited to the track since it provides a smooth transition throughout the power band from the start to the top end. The traction magnets held the car perfectly around the curves and the straights without bogging it down. Most magnet cars like the ones from FLY give you the impression that the car is dragging on the layout or track. This is not the case with the Pro-Track 1/32 Spider chassis. It drives smoothly around the course with the motor providing decent power, and the tires provide excellent traction. A nice balanced chassis overall.

It is mostly suited to speed freaks and people who enjoy driving the car without it being a handful. The car does have it's areas though where you have to ease off around the sharper curves or the magnets loose their grip when reaching top speed. You can power through the turns without having to worry about the car spinning out. The magnets are adjustable but I kept them in the up-most position which proved to be the best condition for my track. I was surprised to see that it broke all of my track records since the car was such a breeze to control and race. The car drove through the course so smoothly without much trouble if any that I was surprised the time went so quickly for my 10 lap test drive. While testing it further, the car did a best time of 3.413 This is the fastest time I ever got for my track so far. It would most definitely beat any of the stock 1/32 production slot cars out there from FLY, Ninco, ProSlot, etc. hands-down. This is with a model kit body - imagine what this chassis would do with a lexan body, hop-up motor, and some minor fine tuning. For those who like sliding the back end of the car around the curves, this chassis is still for you because you can easily remove the traction magnets..

I am giving this Pro-Track 1/32 Spider chassis a SCG Best Buy - 5 out of 5 tires rating. The chassis is pretty much easy to assemble with some minor problems but nothing really bothersome, the body mounting system is great, and you definitely get your money's worth out of it.

Head back to the main reviews section at Slot Car Garage or check below for more reviews...

Pro-Track #340	Spider Chassis - bare chassis, body mounts and magnet set sold separately
Pro-Track #341	Complete Accessory Kit - less chassis. Includes motor, wheels, axles, bushings, gears, guide w/braid
Pro-Track #349	Body Mounting Kit - hardbody
Monogram #1079	1/32 Snaptite Ultra 1978 Firebird Trans Am - model kit (green chrome - stock or custom)