14 August 2009

NSR Mosler MT900 - Anglewinder

Today I'll present the car that I contested the last year's GT Open, the NSR Mosler. Much has been said about the extraordinary performances of this model on Ninco tracks, but on Carrera, things get more balanced and it faced serious competition from the Ninco Mosler, the Spirit Peugeot 406 Silhouette (also a great racer for Ninco tracks), and a couple of well prepared Ninco GTs too.

This is the looks on my Mosler, which I bought way back in 2007. I bought it for Xmas, and eventually raced it almost a year later.

A racing car should also look cool...

I purchased this car in sidewinder guise, with the astonishing (and brutal) 25.000 rpm Shark motor. The car was much too violent to drive in Carrera tracks in this configuration. This photo shows the original chassis and motor configuration:


The OpenGT regulations required that all cars should present an anglewinder configuration. So, I changed the whole car, only kept the bodywork and NSR wheels from the original car. Here's how it ended up:

Notice that the photo presents the NSR Evo 21.500 rpm motor, which is the one that the car bears today, but the OpenGT was run with Ninco NC6 motors, to comply with the regulations (the NSR motor makes the car one to two tenths of second faster).

As you can see, the car received the all-new Evo-2 chassis, which lower the centre of gravity in comparison to the original chassis. Also, the harder material makes it more rigid, but still suffers from some undesired flex. The front wheels were a nightmare to set, but in the end I used 17'' Slot.It wheels with the 17x10 mm "Z0" tires. Setting the blade guide was also troublesome, and my best configuration was the Slot.It guide for wooden tracks, trimed to fit the Carrera slot depth.

The chassis front detail - the great looking rims come from the Racer Sideways Riley

NSR has its own gear dimensions, and no other slot car brand produces gears that fit this car. Still, the odd 7,5 mm pinions fit really well on the special NSR anglewinder crowns, and the first thing that strikes you when you take the car to the track, it's the great smoothness of the whole system! The car runs smoothly and best yet, silently! I used to joke with the other guys: "Hey people! I'm taking my car to the track, ok?" - just in case they didn't hear it! Also, I used to tell that this must be the only slot car that complied to the European Euro-4 standards for noise and emissions from vehicles!

Grip came from the usual Slot.It P1 compound, smaller 19x10 mm tires. NSR fits the "air system" wheels at the rear, which I find unsuitable - I actually prefer the solid front wheels:

The rear (left) and front (right) wheels that NSR fits to their cars.

I really appreciate the NSR mechanical parts, but it's a shame that they're not "true" 3/32'' standard - there's almost no compatibility with other Slot.It parts. But the larger M3 screws are great, I never had to change one as they are much more resistant than the M2s that most brands fit. I even had to trim the screw that holds the crown in place, as it hit the chassis while rotating - and trimming it worked! Try doing that with an M2...


In the end, the car proved its worth, although most people antecipated it as being THE car to beat in the OpenGT, it failed to live to that expectation. A very competent racer indeed, which may be a killer in Ninco tracks. This configuration was tested on a rally track (Ninco "tarmac" only) and it scored laptimes faster than some rally-preped cars! Imagine it if set up for Ninco!


Have a nice weekend... see you soon ;)

5 comments:

  1. Congratulations Hugo

    You just "killed" one of my last acquisitions, precisely the NSR Mosler already in anglewinder configuration. Just kidding.

    Interesting the "problem" on combining Slot.it e NSR material though.

    Must see the regulations to the new Joined Championships as soon as they will be released to choose between some options in my garage.

    Best Regards

    Pedro Correia

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Pedro,


    Unfortunately, it's a fact that NSR is not a true 3/32'' size parts system. Some other brands are compatible with Slot.It material, like Scaleauto. But Slot.It tires fit really well on NSR wheels. They are very light, so it's always a good choice.

    The previous regulations for the OpenGT had my "hand" on them, actually! For the upcoming series, I guess they will be kept largely unchanged, but we'll have to wait and see...


    Regards ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Say Hugo, it is indeed possible to trim a M2. I've done that on my Fly Racing Alfa Romeo, since the rim screws hit the chassis, causing noise and vibration.
    As for the NSR's Air System rims, I would expect for them to work nicely. After all, when tires are nicely "conditioned", they do tend to form a "bubble" on the midlle section, don't they?
    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Exactly, Miguel, they do form a bubble section - but with the "air system", most of that bubble will turn itself to the inner side of the tire, when in fact they appear to work better if let on the outside.
    Furthermore, I also think the solid rims make
    "regular" tires surface more even (I mean, without the (bubble). With the "air system", the middle section is not likely to "sit" flat on the track.


    How about some tests to try clearing this issue? :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think the rotational inertia throws the rubber onto the track (out from the rim). A point well made by thefact nsr rubber needs to be glued (try super or crazy glue) to therims. I belive this round shape helps corner grip, a lot like a motorcycle tire in my opinion. I think the 2mm tire overlap on the mosler rear tire edges is also designed with this feature of edge grip in mind.

    Considering their low weight and the exceptional nsr gear mesh, I think it's a awesome system.

    Regards
    Dale from Au
    (fantastic blog mate, makes a good read)

    ReplyDelete