Fly Cars??

[jlong]

Can anyone tell me how Fly cars compare to Scaley and Slot.it? The two I am looking at in particular are the Ferrari 512S Coda and Porsche 917K. I understand there is a premium 512S that comes with a sidewinder motor and is a better performer? I am running on Scaley Sport Track on Parma 45 Ohm controllers.

[Wet Coast Racer]

Hi, if you take a look at some of the 'Stuck' threads in our Tech Q&A Forum you will find some useful info on how to fix them up to run the way they ought to.

I'm pretty sure that both of the cars you're referring to are sidewinders - Fly generally try to emulate the arrangement of the 1:1 car.

[SlotsNZ]

If you mean the new releases, the Ferrari 512 is in their alpha series and is an inline. The 917 retains the sidewinder setup of earlier 917 releases.

Fly QC is legendary - or maybe that should read notorious.
They have great bodies, but their functionality is not high out of the box. They are an "all plastic bits" car most at home with magnets on plastic track like scalextric "out of the box". But they do not have the consistency of scalextric QC.

That said, if you learn how to tune them, they can be fixed up to go quite nicely, but they wll never be in the league of a Slot.it which is engineered and refined with balanced alloy parts, podded motor and drive system, and really really designed to run well without magnets on plastic or wood.

I love my Slot.its, and I love being able to make my FLYs run "well" but it takes some work and time.
Mostly I get mine going wel with no parts swap apart from softer braid and better tyres. Other guys replace spur gears through to axle and wheels.

Here is a good general treatise by a UK guy on tuning these.
http://www.freewebs.com/atadd/upgradingflyclassics.htm

[jlong]

Thanks for the tips. I'm a box stock rookie racer and favor the construction of Slot.it.

[wheelszk]

Thanks for the tips.

[s.o.f.]

For the 917 I would say treat yourself and buy an NSR. I tried Keys and Slots and it is probably the best RTR I have experienced. It isn't quite as accurate a replica but you will have way more enjoyment running it for an extra $50 or so. IMHO

[Modlerbob]

If you have already experienced the drive of cars from slot.it and are not ready to attempt "tuning" on a Fly model another alternative would be to get the Fly body and mount a Slot.It HRS2 chassis under it. We have done that with a few cars here in central Florida with excellent results. The mounting system is easy, especially if the sides of the body are straight and vertical.

[aww4]

As you continue to learn and gather knowledge in the hobby, you may end up enjoying the challenge of getting a FLY car running perfectly. When I was starting out, they gave me nightmares. I now order them up like a drunken sailor and look forward to fixing the minor issues. Believe it or not, I am disappointed when I get one that lacks the usual needed TLC. Fly makes wonderful cars of many makes/models, dont count them out just yet! Good luck!

[SlotsNZ]

Originally Posted by aww4

As you continue to learn and gather knowledge in the hobby, you may end up enjoying the challenge of getting a FLY car running perfectly. When I was starting out, they gave me nightmares. I now order them up like a drunken sailor and look forward to fixing the minor issues. Believe it or not, I am disappointed when I get one that lacks the usual needed TLC. Fly makes wonderful cars of many makes/models, dont count them out just yet! Good luck!

wot he just said.

Of course, I think that makes us some kind of perverse masochists, but he is dead right...... a very satisfying job to make them hum.

[tim neja]

Originally Posted by aww4

As you continue to learn and gather knowledge in the hobby, you may end up enjoying the challenge of getting a FLY car running perfectly. When I was starting out, they gave me nightmares. I now order them up like a drunken sailor and look forward to fixing the minor issues. Believe it or not, I am disappointed when I get one that lacks the usual needed TLC. Fly makes wonderful cars of many makes/models, dont count them out just yet! Good luck!

Yes Fly cars are okay--once you replace most of the wheels and tires and gears to help them run smoothly! But they have a lot of nice looking cars--but you'll need really know how to tune them to have them run even close to a slot-it out of the box. Still--if you're more concerned with how they look then how they drive--Fly has some great looking cars.
T

[jlong]

I looked at NSR Porsche 917's on ebay and they look pretty impressive.

[68DEVILLE]

I will agree with Tim, and lets not forget that if it was not for Fly, slot cars would look like crap today.
They did set the standard of great looking cars in the past.
If you are running mags they are easily tuned, but if you are a purist on wood they will be a challenge.
I have to say I love my Fly's and the Vipers that they made and all the other cool rides.
Have to say I could go on for ever.
From A to Z they offered a great range of great models and now the guys on the top are picking up the rides like Capri's and Porch 911 GT'S.
They did it in the mid 2005 and up, and the companies that we praise as gods today where parts guys at that time.
So now you go out and pay the same thing for a NSR, and back in the day you would have bought the premium parts and you would have a great running car.
Sure back in time you would ***** about paying 60$ or more for a Fly.
Now you are paying at least 100$ and up if you can't find a deal on a NSR.
Sure you can get a NSR today for around 70$ if you got the connection?
The Company that has been most fair to us home racers has been Slotit they have kept their prices in a fair state while they have been pushing their envelope forward to catch NSR.
So what do I make out of this?
Do what ever you like ..... have fun racing slots.
Sure guys from the 1:24 has come along on this site like Tim and Barnster that did not have a clue what happen back in the day.
Dennis S has always been part of 1:32.



Nesta

[sweendog1969]

Honestly its been a crap shoot for me. While all the Fly cars I've purchased have been visually great, Some have been so messed up out of the box they wouldn't even move. On the other hand I've had some that where awesome out of the box. They are no slot-it but stock running gear and some grippy trued tires like nsr they are not that bad unless you have bad wheels.

[MG Brown]

Fly Classics are beautiful cars generally speaking... they have made some with accuracy problems but generally the cars look the part.

My experience is that quality control is "variable"... I've seen nearly everything possible wrong with these cars but nothing that can't be "fixed". If for instance you get a car with a broken or out of round wheel, you may have trouble finding an "original" replacement since Fly spares are scarce (this is why I buy the spares that I may not necessarily need at the time when they are available; who knows if you will be able to get them when and if you need them?)

I suggest finding a Fly 908/3 for your first Fly Classic. For some mysterious reason these particular cars seem to be more consistent runners but still look great.

[jlong]

Originally Posted by 68DEVILLE

I will agree with Tim, and lets not forget that if it was not for Fly, slot cars would look like crap today.
They did set the standard of great looking cars in the past.
If you are running mags they are easily tuned, but if you are a purist on wood they will be a challenge.
I have to say I love my Fly's and the Vipers that they made and all the other cool rides.
Have to say I could go on for ever.
From A to Z they offered a great range of great models and now the guys on the top are picking up the rides like Capri's and Porch 911 GT'S.
They did it in the mid 2005 and up, and the companies that we praise as gods today where parts guys at that time.
So now you go out and pay the same thing for a NSR, and back in the day you would have bought the premium parts and you would have a great running car.
Sure back in time you would ***** about paying 60$ or more for a Fly.
Now you are paying at least 100$ and up if you can't find a deal on a NSR.
Sure you can get a NSR today for around 70$ if you got the connection?
The Company that has been most fair to us home racers has been Slotit they have kept their prices in a fair state while they have been pushing their envelope forward to catch NSR.
So what do I make out of this?
Do what ever you like ..... have fun racing slots.
Sure guys from the 1:24 has come along on this site like Tim and Barnster that did not have a clue what happen back in the day.
Dennis S has always been part of 1:32.
Nesta

You're right. 1/32 has come a long way in recent years. My first stint with 1/32 was back in 98 with an SCX Nascar set which I bought on impulse. The cars looked and performed OK but not well enough that I stuck with the hobby. Came back in 2009 when I stumbled on a hobby shop case full of beautiful 1/32 cars and a black and flamed Carerra GTO jumped out at me. Have been a once a month car guy ever since. I still have my first SCX cars with the funky steering system (that easily comes apart) and they just don't compare to today's stuff.