SCX JAS HONDA ACCORD wheel upgrade!!!

[Cosmic Bilby]

G'day Guys,

I've had an SCX JAS Honda Accord WTCC car sitting on my bench for yonks now and everytime I look at it the standard wheels give me the shivers (in a bad way). In short, they suck.....





Being a "Hondaphile" (Bi actually, cars and bikes), and owning an Accord Euro (Accura TSX) as my 1:1 transport, this little model means way more than it would to most.

As far as 1/32 models go, this one is pretty unremarkable, its OK, not perfect, but I knew if I could beat the wheel thing I would be able to make a really nice runner to use here at home....





I really wanted to try a set of the SLOTING PLUS wheels that I've seen on the net so that's what I chose for this model. They come in several styles and offer a range different dimensions, I chose the "America" style.

I also used Sloting Plus 55mm hollow axles, some Sloting Plus brake rotors (discs) and a Slot.it 27 Tooth (aluminum) crown gear.

The build was pretty usual SCX for me, the front plastic bearings were swapped out with Scalextric Sport metal bearings and glued in place.





The chassis components were "glued and trued" as per standard HRW fare, front tyres (stock) were capped with CA glue.

Motor was a "Smokey Yunick" prepped 42B.

Rear tyres are Paul Gage XPG urethanes.





I did have a couple of minor hickups in the swap out. The SLOTING PLUS discs I received wouldnt fit on the actual wheel hub, and being metal I didnt have time to drill them out (a small "medical" emergency at home). I found some plastic CARTRIX rotors in the parts bin, so a quick session with the dremel got them sorted out.

The other issue I had was with the grub screw size on these wheels. When will the leading manufacturers get together and work out an industry standard for this stuff????? Very frustrating, I'll get a hex key with my next order and add it to my evergrowing collection of hex keys....





Do I like the car after the swap out??? You bet, it runs as smooth as silk and turns very quick and consistent lap times on our home track (best of 2.1 seconds). Perhaps I'd choose the Sloting Plus "BBS" style wheel next time for this particular model, I may do this at a later date....

....But for now, I'm just wanting to run laps with it :)

[redlynr]

I'm a big fan of these cars... They can be quite a treat when sorted, as you have found...

A pic from a proxy race one of mine is in currently...





Cheers

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Usually, I don't like wheels like that, all detailed and expensive, but its usually just a matter of the era of racing I model most often. Those wheels look perfect on that car, as great looking as the same wheels on JPGT cars, and I like the look of them a lot. I figure a few sets of these might be worth it, but as a standby wheel, most of the manufacturers are in outer space in terms of reality pricing. I may start milling my own, or at least go back to turning wheels I can put inserts into. Good winter project. (which is kind of a joke, considering who is reading this, eh?)

[Cosmic Bilby]

Yes!!!

Thats the "Russian" livery Accord that Mick and I were talking about in the other thread....

....Do I need another slot car?????

This hobby sux sometimes :P

Rob, I totally agree regarding the price on some of the aftermarket wheels out there. I normally don't do the aftermarket wheel thing, preferring to use stock components on my tune-ups (rear tyres being the general exception).

This was a bit of a "special" for me though, I love the model (yes, warts and all), its a slot car I can relate to, but I did think long and hard before spending nearly as much on a set of wheels as the car itself....

Besides, the stock wheels were just hideous!!!! I had one hub crack when I initially stripped it down some months back, so I thought blow it, I will make this one a bit special.

I'm glad I did, the little Honda is a blast to run, very, very stable, something it wasn't before on untrued plastic rims....

[FootScoot]

They even look Good on Mustang's. :)

[Cosmic Bilby]

OH YEAH!!!

We have one of those Mustangs on the shelf that I was wondering what to do with :idea:

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Yes, people have given me several pairs of aftermarket wheels and they really make a difference. Some are really superb, of course they are the ones that cost a fortune. And to make it worse, they are so damned good looking that you just have to buy 4, not 2!

I was referring to the reversed seasons down under earlier. ["Good winter project. (which is kind of a joke, considering who is reading this, eh?)"]

[redlynr]

[FootScoot]

[ListerStormGT]

The Honda looks great with that wheel upgrade, they look good on rally cars too.

[FootScoot]

They look great on anything! :) Even VW Beetles. :)

[FootScoot]

How about some "Atlantis" wheels on an Escort "Cossie".

[Cosmic Bilby]

Thats a nice set of rims too just quietly!