So, you want to win a 1/32 Scale race?

Let us show you how.

By Mike Steube and Philippe de Lespinay

                   

Now that you have acquired your TSR Club-Racing chassis in kit or RTR form, it is time to race. Depending on circumstances, some minor preparation is needed to bring the car to a level where it will be hard to beat even by finely constructed hand-built cars with scratch-built brass chassis. Below is the sum of our experience with these  cars over the past two years. These instructions are valid for both 1/24 and 1/32 scale TSR cars, with vacuum formed or injected body. For more precisions about the 1/24 scale cars, please click here.

 

1/ Set up for routed wood tracks where a small amount of "spray glue" (traction-enhancing compound) is being used (most commercial raceways and many club tracks)

 

First, make sure that the plastic chassis is straight. Set it on a flat piece of glass or set-up block, and bend it until it rests absolutely flat. Make sure that the little hooks that retain the steel body mount are clear from any molding flash by running a small flat file through them. Remove any surface flashing that may be present from the molding process.

Set the steel body mount over the flat surface and make sure that it is also perfectly flat.

 

 

The second step is to reinforce the chassis for sustaining serious impacts with not the slightest damage, and we have proven now in hard racing that once set that way, the cars are virtually indestructible.

 While the TSR chassis is very strong, some frontal impact may actually unhook the two pieces forming the chassis, and when this happens, it takes up to 10 minutes of racing time to fix!

This chassis has been drilled, chamfered, and a 2-56 body-mounting screw has been fitted. A 2-56 nut has been installed and a droplet of blue

Loctite keeps it from backing. To perform this operation, once your wheelbase has been set, drill one .089" hole (drill # 43) in the plastic chassis and steel pan assembly exactly where shown. While the steel pan needs only one hole, you may drill as much as 3 of them in the plastic chassis (for the 3 possible wheelbase settings) for future adjustments. Place the steel pan over the plastic chassis, make sure that the retaining hooks are engaged all the way and drill through the plastic chassis using the previously drilled holes as guide. Now remove the steel pan and drill a larger  hole (drill # 39) in it to allow the pan to float. Remove burrs from both sides by hand with a larger drill.

 

  Note the location of the reinforcing bolt on the 1/32 scale chassis. Also note that the chassis can be drilled with 3 sets of holes for the 3 positions of the steel body mount if desired. Note that the steel body mount has been trimmed to fit closer to the body.

 

The steel guide pin has been moved to the center of the braided contact. To accomplish this, please read the instructions posted here. This allows the car to drift at a greater angle while racing. Keep those contacts SHORT to avoid electrical shorting when the car is at maximum drift. Please note the chunk of self-adhesive lead that covers the bottom of the steel body mount on its front edge.

 

If any amount of "spray glue" (traction-enhancing compound) is present on your track, the TSR chassis and their sponge tires will find too much traction, lifting the chassis while cornering. This will of course cause de-slotting and you need to resolve this by adding lead weight to balance the car so as to induce rear-end sliding. TSR championship racing rules for the 1/32 scale cars require a minimum car weight of 125-gram with vacuum-formed body and 115-gram with injected body.

 

This chassis has been covered with self-adhesive lead (part # TSC15) virtually everywhere possible. There are no less than 2 layers on each side, plus another thin strip on top! In any case, the loss of top speed (not much) will be amply compensated by vastly increased cornering speed and a much higher level of predictability.

 

 

 Small pieces of lead have also been cut and fitted inside the magnet pockets underneath the chassis, the final touch necessary to attain the minimum weight of 125 grams required by the TSRF rules. While this amount may vary depending on your own testing, we have found that it works well on most commercial tracks, making the car very forgiving and quite fast.

 

 

TSRF offers several vacuum formed bodies made of extremely tough General Electric Lexan. This GT1-98 has been further trimmed to open the front grille and roof air intake, both intended to keep the motor cooler. The TSR ultra-light Lexan cockpit has been fitted with an injected plastic driver, and small details have been added such as wheel inserts and decals. Small touches of paint complete this racer.

 

 

 Last, we bullet-proof the motor's electrical contact by rolling the negative motor lead over the contact rail with the flat blade of a small screwdriver. In case of serious impact, the rail will not jump the lead and interrupt electrical contact. Simple but effective. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SOLDER THE TERMINAL TO THE LEAD WIRE! That is made of stainless steel and it will only lead to disaster.

 

 

In any case. don't forget to use the motor-mounting screws supplied with your kit. Place a droplet of blue Loctite on the threads and tighten firmly. Again, this will greatly enhance the strength of the car in the most severe crashes. Note that the 45-T nylon spur gear can be used on either the Home-Racing or Club-Racing versions of the chassis with equal success. If using the aluminum gears, we recommend to leave the 14-T pinion supplied but to install a 46-T spur gear to make the mesh a bit tighter and shorten the gearing just a tad.

The first 3 cars in the third TSR SoCal Championship Race were set up this way, and the car in this story is one of them, finishing in 2nd place in a very competitive outing.

 

 

With these simple mods, your chassis will be competitive and virtually indestructible.

 

2/ Plastic tracks or routed wood tracks where no traction compounds are being used

 

The recommendations are the same, except that depending on conditions, either the TSR sponge tires or the TSR-Ortmann urethane tires should be used. If the car is to be used with a traction magnet, the least amount of weight is desirable. If the car is to be used without a traction magnet, weight will be necessary to settle the car and apply down force on the tires. The use of sponge tires on a dirty track will fill the microscopic cells with dirt particles and they will soon have no traction.

 

3/ Body mounting tips

 

Whatever injected body is chosen, make sure that it is mounted OVER the steel pan, so that it can be made to "float" side to side, helping the handling of the car. This is why the pin-mounting system is preferred by pros over a fixed body mounting. It is VERY important to make sure that the front tires are not fouling the body either inside the fenders or on top of them. The body must remain as light as possible, so remember that paint has weight too. No excessive coats if not necessary! If using a TSR vacuum formed body, simply punch holes on the pre-marked spots and the body will fit exactly where it is supposed to. Keep the pin tubing at stock length so as to allow side to side floating. It is a good idea to reinforce around the front body mounting with a piece of clear adhesive plastic tape.

 

Be sure to use the TSR Automatic Body-Mounting Tool to properly mount an injected body. Please read the instructions on the Technical Help segment of the TSRF site.

 

 

This injected FLY Porsche body is a perfect fit for the TSR 1/32 scale chassis and makes for a strong contender in any racing class for home racing cars.

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