A Mod of a new nature

[steelo]

Hi all, I am new to all this. I have no experience at modding at all. I do have a mod idea of a totally new nature.

Some of you will remember Mattel's Sizzlers. They have been rereleased as a Target exclusive and I have been playing with my old Fat Track with some friends and we came up with the idea to try our bit clones and zip zaps on the Fat Track, but we cannot seem to get the speed needed to climb the insanely high banked turns (around a 65 degree 5 inch tall bank (this is just a guestimate)). We would love to find either 1/64 or 1/43 scale r/c cars that are fast enough to make these turns (the straight away pieces of track are 4.5 inches wide that is where the scale becomes a factor. The widest the car can be is 2 inches to allow side by side starts and passing).

So here is the dilema, if there is not a car that is available at this time that fits our requirements we were wondering if it would be possible to mod an actual Sizzler or some type of hybrid so we would be able to have cars that are fast enough to make the banks and also allow us some control over the passing action on the straight aways.

I have been trying to get more information on the motor that is used in a Sizzler from some of the Sizzler experts online but haven't had much luck yet. Perhaps someone on here has one or can buy one and test the motor to find out if there is an equivalent r/c motor that can be used.

I do have some links I can provide to sites that offer longer lasting batteries for Sizzlers and small mods that can make them faster if this will help.

I realise that I am asking alot and I really do appreciate any information anyone is willing to provide.

Thanks in advance,

steelo

EDIT: Thought this might pique some more interest in these babies.



Want to see how fast these little suckers are? Video of Sizzlers, Ferrari XV's and XV Racers running on a Fat Track at the same time can be seen here: http://racegrooves.com/hb/fea/TrackT...VsFerraris.MPG

Image and Video are property of racegrooves.com not mine thanks.

[Namuna]

I was able to find some info about the Mattel Sizzlers, this is indeed a cool idea for micro RC!

Do you have more info about what they're called at Target?

If you need more power at the 1/64th scale, you'll have to dig into the guts of the cars and upgrade/mod them. Dual-Cell, LiPo and such upgrades have been done and will probably achieve what you're looking for.

If you want to step it up to the 1/43rd scale, then you're talking about the Epoch "Indoor Racer" (You'll want the spec-2). I'd be willing to wager they'd have the juice needed right out of the box...But that 2" limitation takes them out of the running.

Please do give more info though, you've very much piqued my interest!

[steelo]

The cars are still called Sizzlers and are only available at Target in store not online However you can get them on ebay pretty easily too as well as some of the vintage cars.

SizzlerKing's website is probably the best with information and has links to other sites with good information as well his site is here http://www.geocities.com/baja/trails/6896/indexa.html

He actually answers emails and this is where I found out about the new Sizzlers. Make sure you look at everything on this site there is alot of information on just about all the history of Sizzlers.

My problem is the lack of technical information on these great cars. SizzlerKing has pictures of just about every car and track setup. I never realised that there were that many track layouts available. You can find Fat Track sets on ebay too.

I also think everyone here will be interested in the way the cars charge. Go to SizzlerKing's site he explains it way better than I ever could.

If we can find r/c cars that will work on the Fat Track setups we can figure out some of the limitations together and perhaps find someone to fabricate track mods as the only really useful track parts available are the banked turns and straight sections. I'd personally like to see some flat turns, hair-pin turns, esses and chicane sections like the ones that are available for slot cars.

Mattel also made cars called X-V Racers that have been proven to work on Fat Tracks, but like the Sizzlers you can only charge them and let them fly on the track. From what I have read they don't take as long to charge and don't run as long. These have been discontinued.

I was in Wal-Mart the other day and saw another Hot Wheels car that may work on the Fat Track too. Turbo Glo's. The are more similar to X-V Racers and appear to have the speed needed to make it around the Fat Track as well. I will pick one up and let you know how it works out. I also saw these at K-Mart.

[steelo]

Ok I bought several things today I got 1 Turbo Glo, 2 X-V Racers (which are called Ferrari XV now) and 1 Zip Zap SE James Bond Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and a tire kit for .97 cents.

I will break down each test results.

Turbo Glo - 10 Second Charge. Almost as fast as a Sizzler, but not quite there. Most likely due to the much shorter charging time and also that you use 3xAAA for charging instead of 2xD that Sizzlers use in the Goose Pump. The car is plenty fast enough to make the banks on the Fat Track, however I don't like the short run times at all. Edit: Tried a 90 second charge and it had no effect.

Ferrari XV - 30 Second Charge. Just a tad bit faster than the Turbo Glo. Edit: I tried these on a 90 second charge and they actually lose traction for the first 20-30 seconds (cool and annoying at the same time). Probably due to the fact that they are lighter than Sizzlers. I am willing to bet that these cars are toe to toe with Sizzlers. They are bigger (1/50 scale) than Sizzlers. There is still plenty of room to race them side by side. The charger/launcher it comes with is too big to launch with on the Fat Track though.

Zip Zaps SE - 1 Min. Charge. Ok this car is stock so I really wasn't expecting much from it in the first place. It comes stock with the red 21,500 RPM motor and 12:1 gearing. This car actually did alot better than my Char-G clone (it was stock too). It made it about half way around the bank before it nosed down to the bottom of the bank. They didn't have the motor upgrades at the Radio Shack that I went to so I will see if I can find another one around so that I can try this again. I am actually really impressed with the ZZSE. It has a nice controller and it is proportional enough for my purposes. Once I can get these up to the proper speed I can see some major fun happening.

The motors in the Sizzlers, Turbo Glo and Ferrari XV's all look like slot car motors so I don't think that we will be able to mod the cars (at least not with Bit or ZZ technology), but I'll let you guys decide.

[Namuna]

Thanks for the updates steelo,

Any chance for pictures?...Or better yet, video!

[steelo]

I will see what I can do with the video (my video camera is a piece of junk). I'll take some pictures later today and post them for you.

Edit: I finally got the body off of my Sizzler and this is the battery information BST NiCd 1.2V 1/3AA150 14260H

There is no information printed on the motor at all, but I think I saw a picture of the motors on someones webpage. When I get the motor information I will post it.

I found the images of the motors here they are





This is what it looks like inside the Sizzlers chassis.


I am still waiting for a reply from Mike Grove (The Sizzlers Guru, this guy knows just about everything thing there is to know about Sizzlers) on the exact motor information, but when I get it I'll post it.

Images are property of sizzlers-hotline.com not mine.

[steelo]

I finally found out some motor information.

MOTOR SPECS: Mabuchi SM-02 electric motor.

Specifications:

Dimensions of case: .740" x .709" x .375"

Weight: 85 gr.

Length from ends of drive gears (for Chopcycles): 1.24" Output shaft diameter 0.057" and outside diameter of nylon gears 0.157"

These motors have identical specifications to the Mabuchi SM-020-14100 motors which at 1.2 volts: no-load 10,800 rpm, 0.10 amps and maximum efficiency comes at 7,800 rpm, 0.26 amps, 0.017 oz-in torque, output 0.10 watts, 31.5% efficiency. Stall torque is 0.06 oz-in.

Edit: Sorry edited again I am losing my mind LOL! Still have to find out what the gear ratio is on these bad dudes. Everyday I get one step closer to my dream of r/c racing on this track.

The Ferrari XV's have 2.4V DC printed on the bottom of them. I wonder if this is why they are as fast as they are with such a short charging time.

I am learning alot about all of this as I go. It is so fun and educational at the same time

That's it, it's decided, I'm going to put one of those motors in a ZZ.... or ZZMT Maybe

[steelo]

Jazz32 if you are serious about that you can buy just the motor here http://www.sizzlers-hotline.com/motors.htm the price is listed on Mike's site. Cheaper to buy one of the new Sizzlers at Target though and just gut the motor out of it.

Mike also has 450mAh NiMh batteries for these cars. I don't know if that is of any use to anybody for the the purposes that we are talking about, but they are supposed to increase the run times of a Sizzler 8 times (30 minutes on a 6 minute charge).

Just think 30 min run time without a dual cell mod or having to mod a charger. Just use a female 1/8 inch recepticale and use the Sizzlers Goose Pump to Charge off of 2 D cell batteries.

Keep us updated on your mod. I would love to see the results.

[steelo]

Well I went out and got a couple of 1/43 scale cars I saw at Wally World today and they are a huge success!!! They are not perfect but it is a start. They are NASCAR liscensed cars called Front Runners from Team Up. I saw these at RS too but they are packaged a little different. I got the Dale Earnhart Jr. car in 49 mhz and the Jimmy Johnson car in 27 mhz so I can run 2 cars at a time. I paid $12.95 each for them.

If anyone has done any mods on these cars please let me know. I am hoping I can make these cars fully proportional at some point.

These cars are not proportional at all That isn't really a big issue for now though. On an oval track there won't be any problems. Actually with any current Fat Track configuration I don't see a huge problem.


One thing I need to address now is adding higher walls to the track. Even with the Zip Zap SE I was occasionally jumping the wall of the track in the straights when attempting to pass a stationary obstacle.

I went to the local TRU last night and the only Super Slicks they had were trucks and I could tell right away they were way too big for the track. I would like to see one with a ruler set down across the width if I could. Also would like to see and Epoch the same way.

I still would like to try to get a Zip Zap SE around the track just to see if it is possible.

For my track modification ideas to work I would need full proportional on the steering and throttle.

At least I am making progress. Once I get the walls designed and put up I will put some pics up and maybe some video just so everyone can get an idea where I am going with my plans.

I was thinking more about the Sizzlers motor's too. Since it basically is a slot car motor it would never have the capability to have reverse would it? Please let me know if I am wrong on this one.

[steelo]

Well I finally bit the bullet and called Mike Grove to try to get the gear ratio information that I am looking for on the Sizzlers, but I got his answering machine. I left my phone number and email address so hopefully I will hear back soon from him. I'll post response when I get it.

[Namuna]

Stopped by the Target today, was shopping for other things but I ALWAYS stop by the toy section in case there's anything interesting.

...And indeed there was today! They had the Sizzlers. Cars, the "fueling pump" and 1 18' Fat Track left. So I picked up the Fat Track ($30).

I can't wait to give this thing a run! It looks very promising!

[steelo]

Sweet, can't wait to hear the results. I know you have the right cars to try stuff out on it too. Let my know your opinions and what I will need to get for my zzse's.

[steelo]

Thought I would post some pictures for size comparison.


From Left to right: Zip Zap SE, Hot Wheels Turbo Glo and Hot Wheels Sizzler



Here is a size comparison of 1/64 1/50 and 1/43 scale cars.

Front row 1/64 Scale: Zip Zap SE, Hot Wheels Turbo Glo and Hot Wheels Sizzler.

Middle 1/50 Scale: Hot Wheels Ferrari XV's

Back Row 1/43 Scale: Front Runners by Team Up Blue Car Jimmie Johnson 27mhz Red Car Dale Earnhardt Jr. 49mhz

[steelo]

I added a picture and a link to a video of some of the cars in action to the original post for everyone to see how cool the track is and how fast the cars are.