Mini Slider Racing Guide
By Mike Shelby
Introduction:
- The Team Losi mini slider is a great way to get started in the hobby of RC racing. This car is not only a great value but also offers a driving experience like that of larger scale RC cars.
Features:
- 2.4GHz radio preinstalled that can be used with any 2.4GHz transmitter
- Coil over Oil filled four wheel independent suspension
- Ball Bearings
- Realistic roll cage
- RX-280 High-speed motor
- Industry standard 3-wire electronics
- Chassis will accept 6/7-cell NiMH packs
- 6-cell 1100 mAh Ni-MH battery pack and wall charger included
- 4 AA batteries for transmitter included
- Scale front and top wings
Oval Performance
- The slider shares most of its construction with the Mini-T the main difference being a longer wheel base composite chassis complete with roll cage.
Tires:
- The stock tires provide decent traction on carpet, but leave the chassis loose enough to drift controllably like a full size sprinter.
Motor:
- The Losi Speed Motor comes standard and with the right gearing is capable of producing a fair amount of power
Gearing:
- The stock gearing seems a little sluggish, luckily different pinion and spur gears are available and affordable. I encourage you to experiment with gear combinations to find what’s right for you. If your motor is hot after running it you should go down one tooth on your pinion gear.
Transmission:
- The slider shares its transmission with the Mini-T which has always delivered optimum performance. The one thing to watch for with these transmissions is to make sure the slipper clutch is tight before running. Use caution when tightening the locknut do not over tighten this could create more problems in the long run for you.
Batteries:
- The stock batteries are 1100mah NiMH packs that give a decent punch when you’re on the throttle. I recommend having at least two batteries for racing because if you run a battery pack and charge it back up three or four times in a row it wont last very long.
Suspension:
- The oil filled shocks are bouncy with the stock springs but drive-able. You can experiment with different weight shock oils to make your ride handle better.
- Losi also offers upgrade springs which will allow you to fine tune your suspension. A standard spring combination for carpet oval would be the hardest spring on the right rear, softer spring left rear, softer spring right front, softest spring left front.
- Keep in mind that softer rear springs provide quicker acceleration and harder rear springs provide more top end speed but a loss of acceleration.
- The front springs are crucial to steering, hard front springs can cause a tight chassis condition where the front end wants to slide when cornering. Soft front springs can cause a loose chassis condition and make the front end hook and slide the rear end out. It is important to find a good balance because in RC racing hundredths of a second can be the difference between winning and losing.
Hopefully this will help you in finding a decent race setup. If you have any more specific questions don’t be afraid to ask.