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Policar


gazza

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Hi Shaynus.

There is not a lot of difference in overall width. I will put an extra photo in my next report. Policar is more modern  version of GP car so it more reflects current cars. Likewise the wheelbase of the Policar is considerably longer. Regards Chas Le Breton

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Policar generic F1 - Stage 2 report continued.

To the track. After running in for 15 minutes I hit the track. Should have oiled while I had body off but did my best to at least oil axles. A proper oil and run in is recommended.

Not unexpectedly the car was all over the place so I did not even look at timing. A couple of 15 second sands and it was much improved.

Final times were close to my Scaly F1 so very happy. 

No where near NSR F1 with its powerful motor. My track although small is a bit of a power circuit so again not unexpected. Best times were about 0.3 secs apart. The Scaly and Policar were within about 0.08secs so clearly the Policar will eventually be even more competitive.

Driving wise the Policar was extremely well behaved although still a bit skittish. Drive was very smooth and throttle response very similar to Scaly F1's Slot-it Orange motor. Cannot wait to run them altogether. The Slot-it "C" tyres appeared fine. My track is not quite as smooth as our other tracks - acrylic paint with Carbothane overlay compared to two pot paint. Not sure about Bowman Raceway but Green Acres was professionally sprayed and baked. Surfaces very similar. The 18th of April will be first trial on Bowman Raceway with Green Acres a fortnight later.

My magnets on the nose cone worked without problem. Next step will be to glue and true the rear tyres.

Regards Chas Le Breton

 

Edited by charlesx
minor wording change.
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Policar generic F1 - Stage 3 review.

Hi Shaynus.

There is not a lot of difference in rear overall width but a big difference in wheelbase and front track.  Policar is more modern  version of GP car so it more reflects current cars dimensions. We only have a couple of NSR F1's in club at present but their width is a problem on 1/32nd track. Better on my 1/24th track.

Review - Tyres now glued and lightly trued. Had to punch hole in tyres to put wheels back on axle aka 1/24th. Car now much nicer to drive and will only get better. My NSR F1 is also much nicer to drive now. I would have to say after a couple of days this car is close to as good as NSR F1 OTB. NSR may have better tyres (Supergrips) but "C" tyres are not too bad.

Policar times have improved slightly to just under 3.6secs and 0.25 behind NSR. The Policar can record this lap after lap however so may have legs on Scaly F1 and even give the NSR a run for its money except on power circuits. The Scaly F1 has achieved about the same fastest time but is not as consistent.

Also tried my Policar Lotus 72 still with original treaded tyres. After a quick sand of tyres to freshen up about 0.2secs slower the generic version and Scaly F1.

My less than stock NSR F1 (magnet/weight removed) is about 0.4secs slower than our fastest full race Moslers. Unlike some clubs we have to date elected to race with no weight for many classes and certainly no sticky/oily tyres. I do not anticipate any change. These cars run beautifully as they are.

Overall I think I will be recommending Policar  F1 to newer members. Some may chose to stay with Slot-it Group C based F1's. These are faster than Group C's but the same dimensions.

Regards Chas Le Breton

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Chas - if you prefer, the bag of bits for the car, included a nose cone clip unit to use instead of the magnet setup. 
The clip was a necessity for the EEC market, as the cars couldn't be shipped with magnets due to safety laws (toys, kids swallowing magnets thing)

- Oh, and the reason for "semi-kitset" packaging is that they are just sooooo dang long - and using a larger box just for the monopostos, would have been a huge tooling expense, and a packaging materials issue, as Slot.it have standard boxes . .  and so on.

- And nice review editions with much helpful and down to earth information for prospective purchasers. Great contribution to forum and FB.

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Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict :ph34r:  *  Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose :rolleyes:)  *  Total kidder  *  Companion of other delusional slot addicts :lol:  

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Thanks Mark. Is that what that funny plastic bit was for. I thought it was for a neck brace for the driver but could not work out how to fit. Aware of rest but do not recall clip being mentioned in other reviews. Sounds like I need part 4 but my magnets are working just fine.

Ta also for your last comment. I do my best.

Regards Chas Le Breton

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Apology/Correction re Policar review.

SLOTSNZ/Mark Burgess has kindly corrected me on front wing fitting. You can buy the extra magnets or make your own as I did but more importantly there is a clip included in one of the packets that can be used instead. Silly me thought this was part of the drivers safety package. How wrong could I be.

As I have fitted and glued in magnets I am unable to try. It is a little black 5 pronged piece which I thought would have been just as hazardous to small children as the magnets. If my magnets fail I will certainly try it. If anybody has actually used I would be interested to find out how it fared during racing.

Regards Chas Le Breton

 

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Policar Generic F1 - Stage 4 Review

Somebody on Auslot or was it FB mentioned they thought Policar F1 went better with NSR F1 tyres. Tried this morning. No apparent difference so I decided to try the reverse. The NSR F1 maintained the same margin over the Policar. My theory is the NSR F1 is about 9gms heavier hence the better traction. I appreciate this is mainly down to the heavy FX180 motor but at this stage anyway I consider both tyres are very similar. At some time it might be interesting to try some Slot-it GP tyres.

Hope this is of some interest.

Regards Charles Le Breton

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I am just pleased that the standard C1 formula tyres on the monoposto work pretty well. It is nice NOT to need to change tyres for wood use.

Someone who shall remain nameless for now, but has a tricky 3 lane wood track south of here, just grabbed sets of wheels, inserts and C1 tyres - presumably to fit to some other brand car.
It will be interesting to get some feedback from him in a couple of weeks. - I'll follow up with him.

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Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict :ph34r:  *  Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose :rolleyes:)  *  Total kidder  *  Companion of other delusional slot addicts :lol:  

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  • 4 months later...

A bit of news from Policar on the track system development.
There will be more news from Policar and Slot.it after the Verona Hobby and Toy show this weekend (It is the Italian national show, which was canceled last year due to Covid.
It is also more-or-less in their backyard, less than two hours from their base in Reggio Emelia.

From Maurizio

Some Policar track news....
If you have missed the news, R5 curve is being manufactured, all moulds completed.

We have also completed the design and testing of the new Power base for lane 3 and 4 and for an improved PB for lane 1 and 2. Manufacturing orders have been placed
Both parts now include one border between the PB electronics and the track. These parts are available separately.
What Greg says is true: in general, the PBs are designed for the homeset racer. Due to safety regulations, the boards and the controllers must include all the necessary means to work within the expected limits, that in my opinion are well suited for 1/43 or 1/64, not certainly for 1/32, where they affect overall performance, because there are current limiting devices on the PCB inside the PB, and thermal switches inside the controllers. We must work within these boundaries.

We are actively working on the Lane Changer and we will show the 3D printed prototype this week at the Verona Hobby Model Show. Mechanical design is almost finished, working on electronics now. It consists of two same pieces. The cut in the middle of the grey section is for prototyping purpose only.

The lap counter with Bluetooth interface is also being developed and we expect a prototype soon.

 

newbase.jpg
 
newbase2.jpg

lanechange.jpg

Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict :ph34r:  *  Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose :rolleyes:)  *  Total kidder  *  Companion of other delusional slot addicts :lol:  

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  • 5 weeks later...
Updated photos of the next colors of the Monoposto cars.
The front suspension has been redesigned to remove the interference with the axle that kept the wheels off the ground. Pins have been added to the chassis so that the wires can be easily routed under the car's nose to conceal them. The chassis has also been reinforced in the area where the front splitter is attached. Some other minor changes such as the position for the Carrera LED, oXigen Hall sensor holder.
No photo description available.
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Quickly read this post before it is deleted or i turn grey again

Gary

http://www.facebook.com/Rallyproxy2017

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
A first look at some of our cars coming later this year!
New POLICAR models, expected in Q2 2022:
Lotus 72E - #1 - 1st Monaco GP 1974
driver: Ronnie Peterson
code: CAR02g
BRM P160 - #14 - 1st Spielberg GP 1971
driver: Jo Siffert
code: CAR08a
NEW MOULD prototype picture enclosed
The BRM P160 was designed by Tony Southgate for British Racing Motors.
Unlike many other British manufacturers, B.R.M. also built their own engines, in this case a 3 liters V12, which in the course of its career won four GPs overall.
In this model, Policar reproduces the car that won the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix held on the Spielberg circuit in Styria, then known as the ÖsterreichRing.
The exhausts of the V12 BRM are faithfully reproduced in 3D printing.
Jo Siffert, a very fast and constant Suisse driver on both Formula and Sport cars, won this race, which was, unfortunately, his last victory.
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Quickly read this post before it is deleted or i turn grey again

Gary

http://www.facebook.com/Rallyproxy2017

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  • 1 year later...

Sheesh, we have dropped the ball a bit on Policar news.
Kicking off today with an update of their track system development.
With most clubs racing on wood in Australasia, we tend to think of plastic track as only a home solution. But in Europe, the vast majority of club tracks are large 4, 6, and 8 lane setups. With 90mm lane spacing, 5 curve radii available, and wide borders, the Policar system was designed with club use in mind. Lane spacing of 90mm mirrors the width of the original “Polistil” Italian system from the 1960s and 1970s, as did the Ninco system which dominated club setups in most of Europe apart from Germany and UK until about 10 years back when Ninco really went into decline after two successive corporate buyouts.

I have a small Policar layout at home, and the grip is very good for plastic, similar to a Matt finish wood track, but lower than treated tyres on hi-gloss track
Below is the components diagram, followed by an example of a recent club track build as example. 56 metres ( 185 feet ). They like them big in Europe!

IMG_2582.jpeg

IMG_2583.jpeg
 

And last, CAD layout and software options available for track design. 
TCAD: http://www.policar.info/software-progettazione-piste-slotcar/tcad
click on 'en' for english in the top left right corner of the page.
Ultimate Racer a free option (I wrote the Policar module for U.R.)
http://www.uracerweb.org/

Also, for MAC, RailModeller
https://www.railmodeller.com/home-railmodeller.html

IMG_2584.jpeg

Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict :ph34r:  *  Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose :rolleyes:)  *  Total kidder  *  Companion of other delusional slot addicts :lol:  

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Hi all.

I agree these new plastic tracks look good but would be costly to build in NZ. Sorry Policar but give me wood anytime. The small wood track I built at the start of Covid only cost me about $200. Admittedly inset copper tape but after 4 years only minor problems and easily fixed or re-taped if necessary.

The new Policar cars however are really good. One of our newer members has one of the decaled Generic F1 cars and it is starting to go very well. My Policar Generic F1 is also progressing. Have just added a bit of weight to continue equalisation pursuit. At moment I have taken up to 70gms from original but will max out at 73gms if necessary (weight of NSR F1). More on this later.

There are so many wood tracks being built around New Zealand and Aussie as Mark says. I like the trend to more flowing looking tracks. There is one in Napier and Omokoroa that look really great although I have not raced on either. These would be difficult to emulate in plastic although not impossible.

If you are considering a new track and money is not a concern another great option these days are the custom tracks being built in Aussie. Transport to NZ is costly but the tracks I have seen look fantastic.

Apologies if I have got a little off track but I like any aspiring slotties to know what options are available.

Regards Charles Le Breton (charlesx)

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I have Policar track and Fleischmann track using the Policar Fleischmann adapter  set up as a two lane. I am liking being able to play around with layouts until I am happy with something. I am not using it as a race track but more of a social track if someone comes over and just a driving track for myself when I want to hide away. It is very good quality and the advantage of changing layouts keeps me amused.

I do have braid ready to build a routed track but it may be a while as I have put a bit of money into the Policar and it is just a good track system  

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Hi Vinno.

I am not decrying plastic track as most of us started with same. In my case 1960 rubber Scaly track with a battery box.

New track such as Policar is far superior to both Scaly Classic and Sport and many others of the older variety. All are fine for a small home track with max. of 2 lanes or perhaps 4.

Plastic track will remain a great entry point forever I hope. My GKS love my track and slot cars starting from about 3 years old although even the 2 year old wants to have a go. While many kids are now glued to their phones we need to keep encouraging new blood or slot cars will surely die.

Regards Charles Le Breton

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Hi Phil.

Nice to hear from you.

Indeed I do. I never used battery box as I initially used my train transformer but did get Scaly one when I could afford.

Just reading book on Germans that lived in Lilyvale, near Launceston during WW1. While not about NZ both my wife and I have a German (Wehner) or Austrian (Novakovich) grandfather. Sounds like rules were similar in NZ - they just had to register. Coraleen's GF's brother got interned at Somes Island in Wellington Harbour for failing to report but GF was fine.

Do you know what is happening with Tasman Cup and Touring Car Proxy as both very quiet. I decided not to enter Bathurst Proxy as Scaly have produced the right 1979 Camaro although I was invited to enter my similar 1970 model.

Hope you are keeping well. We have just been over to visit kids/gks in Perth but also went on Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide. Great trip.

Regards Charles Le Breton 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Coming later this year  from Policar - this is just gorgeous
pc-pwc01-n01.jpg

pc-pw01-n2.jpg 
pc-pw01-n6.jpg

 

 

pc-pw01-n8.jpg

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Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict :ph34r:  *  Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose :rolleyes:)  *  Total kidder  *  Companion of other delusional slot addicts :lol:  

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