F1 Monoposto - Policar info

[Dave Kennedy]

There have been a few questions about the optional magnetic connection to hold the nose of the Policar F1 car in place. As is mentioned here in the instructions the magnets for this aren't sold with the car, just a clip to hold the nose in place. The magnets are optional, CN10 is the part number for these magnets.

[Dave Kennedy]

[32lbking]

These cars look pretty interesting Dave. Thanks for posting.
Randy

[Gascarnut]

The little dimples and holes in the nose and wing that help to locate the wing in a horizontal orientation are a little on the small side for really positive location when using the magnets. I found that cleaning the paint off of both the wing and the nose of the body helped a little to improve this location.

Also, if you're going to use the little clip instead of the magnets, I suggest using a touch of Shoe Goo or similar on the section that mounts in the nose of the body. That way you won't lose the clip when you knock the wing off.

Ask me how I know...

[jraggio]

I realize this is an older thread, but hoping one of you can help me. I just got this car and am setting it up now. I knew it didn't come with a traction magnet, but looking at it now it doesn't seem there is an obvious place to even add one. Is that customary? I ordered the CN10 magnets for the nose and also ordered a CN02 bar magnet, assuming it would fit. Also, regarding the rear spoiler it really feels kind of flimsy and doesn't really snap in to the provided slots. Is some super glue needed here? Thanks.

[chrisguyw]

I realize this is an older thread, but hoping one of you can help me. I just got this car and am setting it up now. I knew it didn't come with a traction magnet, but looking at it now it doesn't seem there is an obvious place to even add one. Is that customary? I ordered the CN10 magnets for the nose and also ordered a CN02 bar magnet, assuming it would fit. Also, regarding the rear spoiler it really feels kind of flimsy and doesn't really snap in to the provided slots. Is some super glue needed here? Thanks.

Hello, I would strongly suggest using some flexible glue (Lepages 100, Shoe Goo etc.) instead of super Glue for your wing(s),.........super glue is very brittle and has very low shear strength and will likely just snap off in a crash,....a flexible glue will give you a better chance of things staying attached in a crash.

As you have noted, there are no magnet pockets designed into this chassis, most applaud this (me included) but that subject has been beaten to death many times, ....nor are there any really good places to place a magnet on top of the chassis/pod, and no real places to grind/drill a place to set them into.

Your best bet, if your rules and chassis/track clearance allow, is to glue a magnet(s) to the bottom of the chassis plate, using Shoe Goo or preferably E6000 .........the CN02 bar magnet is very likely too thick to allow you to do this, but Professor Motor have some thinner neo magnets that may well work.

Professor Motor PMTR1030 is a thin bar magnet that may well work, or the PMTR1037 (round neo wafer thin magnets) would be my choice,...one glued to each side of the rear of the chassis.

Cheers
Chris Walker

PMTR1037 NEO wafer magnets ........very thin, and much smaller than the pic.

[jraggio]

Thanks, Chris. I’ll give the wafers a look. I though perhaps a bar could fit in front of motor, but wasn’t sure if that was worth while give rear magnets probably have more of an effect? I was a little surprised when there was no place to put a magnet given the website said “magnet not included” instead of “not supported”. I may also just upgrade the tires and try some weights. Then again probably no place to put them in the rear either?

[jraggio]

BTW, what is an “unapproved” post?

[chrisguyw]

Thanks, Chris. I’ll give the wafers a look. I though perhaps a bar could fit in front of motor, but wasn’t sure if that was worth while give rear magnets probably have more of an effect? I was a little surprised when there was no place to put a magnet given the website said “magnet not included” instead of “not supported”. I may also just upgrade the tires and try some weights. Then again probably no place to put them in the rear either?

Hello, none of the Policar F1 cars ( Classic or Monoposto ) come with magnets, nor are they designed with magnets in mind, so if you have not yet tried running/racing without them, maybe this is a good time to try ...........with some tuning, a bit of weight, and the right tires, any car can be made to run extremely well without magnets,.........have a look at some of the videos of the various proxy races here on HRW, you will be amazed at how quickly a non magnet car can be made to run.

As far as weights, there are plenty of places to add them, sometimes you just need to get a bit creative

Cheers
Chris Walker

PS this is a Policar "Classic" F1 car,...weight on the chassis plate and on the motor sides.



This car has also had several other modifications,......but, tires and a bit of weight will make your car very enjoyable/quick.

[jraggio]

Thanks for taking the time to share these pictures, Chris. It is helpful. I'll give it a try. You've done some clean work here.

QQ, for tires I should get silicon for a plastic track? Thought I read that urethane and foam are limited to wood tracks? How do I figure out what size to get?

The two front od screws in your photo looked to me that it might be able to accomodate the CN02 magnet. I'd have to dremmel some slits in the pan as well. Is having a magnet in front a waste? Really needed in the rear, right?

Another thought I had was that the small CN10 magnets I ordered to hold the nose on come in a pack of 6 I think. Thought I might glue some of those on the underpan, they are fairly thin I think.

[chrisguyw]

If you are using magnets, the type of tire you choose is somewhat irrelevant, as the magnets provide far more grip/handling than any type of tire, and once the magnet lets go, no tire in the world will save you. Better tires will help, but, the improvement when using magnets will be very small.

As far as type of tire, foam/sponge are generally much more suited to wood tracks, and they do work best in conjunction with some sort of traction compound/tire softening agent, so, I would suggest you choose either urethane or Silicone. There are several manufacturers that make tires for the Policar wheels (Paul Gage urethanes, QuickSlik Silicones) to name a couple/

If you keep your track relatively clean (dust it often) Silicones are fine, but if you tend to run on a dirty track, urethanes are the better bet,......what are you running on your other cars ??

Generally, magnets do the most good when positioned towards the rear axle, but, by all means experiment with their positioning, and a glue like ShoeGoo will allow you remove them fairly easily for repositioning. Try not to "overmagnet" the car, as magnets do place strain on both the motor and the running gear.

While I do not use/like magnets, I do put a lot of them on to cars for folks at the shop, but, invariably once they see how well they can run without them,and learn to tune their cars, they are discarded, and of the many classes we run, none allow magnets.

Cheers
Chris Walker

An example of cars set-up without magnets.......





Both of the above cars go round our 135Ft. plastic Policar track in under 9 seconds......which is about the same as an out of the box magnet car.

This is a fuzzy pic. of the track, still under construction.

And this one will go round in under 8 seconds.........

[jraggio]

9 seconds is impressive for that track. What make are the top two cars? My best time on my 52 ft Scalextric track is 4.7 with a Slot.It Ford GT. All my cars are using stock tires and I for sure could be better about cleaning the track. Getting the sense that magnets kind of hide dirty track and crummy tires ...

[chrisguyw]

9 seconds is impressive for that track. What make are the top two cars? My best time on my 52 ft Scalextric track is 4.7 with a Slot.It Ford GT. All my cars are using stock tires and I for sure could be better about cleaning the track. Getting the sense that magnets kind of hide dirty track and crummy tires ...

Magnets hide all the issues with any car,.......the best way to create a great magnet car is to remove the magnets, fix all the faults ( bushing alignment, out of round front and rear tires, ride height, warped chassis', gear mesh/ratio etc. etc.), remove as much weight as you can, glue and true the best compound tires for your track, and then put the magnets back in.

PS The 2 "plastic" cars above are modified/tuned NSR's.

Cheers
Chris Walker

While I do not race with magnets, I do build a few for customers, and this one is laps the Policar track in 5 (ish) seconds........very very light (50gms incl. the body),....the less weight the magnets have to counteract, the better the car sticks.

[modelersc]

Beautiful workmanship!

[P944guy]

I found that the Policar F1s don’t make very good magnet cars, but really good magless cars. Turn down the power to 60 % or so and you will be amazed how much better the car handles. Since you have the Magic app you can individualize the power easily in the car setup. And get the 1224G25 tires for the car. The spoiler can be glued in with E6000 . It holds well and is removable if necessary.

Mike M.