of SEAT Leons & Fun, A look at the SEAT Leon Safety Car & #23 Monroe Options

[Danni_OLaisip]

http://brakehard.blogspot.com/2010/03/of-seat-leons-fun.html

SCX sent the SEAT Leon WTCC Safety Car to me as a prize to an online contest. I have used it during races but it ends up getting in the way and pushed off the track in the heat of competition so it sat for months. This isn't a problem with the product just a lack of experience at my track. I had run it as a normal car and loved its different feel so much that I needed to get a Leon in race livery. Now that I have two Leons, I've been using it more as a Safety Car while running hot laps. If you don't mind driving you'll find these cars great fun.

The Safety Car has a simple silver/grey paint scheme. I could not help myself and added the logo of my circuit. The headlights, brake lights and roof lights all flash when the car is in safety mode. The interior and bottom of the car are detailed quite well. Switching from Safety to Normal mode is as easy as programming the car to a given hand controller. One time it programs as a normal car the next time Safety mode.

You'll know it is in Safety mode when you place it back on the track it does a recon lap or two. SCX says it is measuring the track so it knows where the pit entrance is but I'm positive that it is finding the lane changers so it can run me off the track. In Safety mode the car slowly plods along the circuit randomly changing lanes and avoiding the pit lane. I have a dual use track (road and oval) so the Safety Car sometimes gets confused and drives through the pit lane. This is usually after it drove the longer road course and having taken the oval on its recon lap. In Safety mode it is programmed to car 6 even on a 3 car system. It would have been nice if it was car 7. It does not need to refuel giving it an advantage on the leader board during a race.

In Normal mode it is as quick as any other Leon. Don't be mistaken. This is not going to be your quickest and most nimble car. I did like it enough though that I needed the #23 Monroe. Despite having a slightly different chassis these two Leons drive pretty much the same. They have the top speed of any other SCX car with an RX-42b under the hood but their short wheelbase and height makes them less agile, quirky, and well - slow. These cars are about a half second slower than other SCX cars on my oval (2.87s) and close to a full second slower (5.00s) on the road course. On the R1 hairpin (a 180° SCXd inner) the car sometimes decides to just lay down. It's not the driver! I know I've taken the corner faster but then the next time she just - tip - lays down. Odd.

The #23 is a brilliant blue and yellow with superb detailing and clean tampo markings. It looks like it wants to race. I really like the lines of this car. The rear wing on both cars is easily removed if you choose to do that before a race. My only complaint about the detailing is that fragile roof antenna on the #23. It is the same frail plastic found on the DBR-9. If you put it on the track consider it gone. There must be a better, more flexible material. When I converted the #23 to digital I needed to change the rim style. The picture shows it mid-conversion. Right now she has 4 matching, white rims from the version 1 conversion kit.

The SEAT Leons are great looking cars right out of the box. The Safety Car is easy to use and when putting in laps on the basement track it provides a fun obstacle forcing you to change lanes. I have found it fun to leave it in Safety mode while I race against it using the Monroe liveried #23. The #23 will race the road course while the Safety Car takes the oval short cut. I swear, IT KNOWS. Darn thing beats me half the time, and while in a race with 3 others there is a good chance the Safety car will win because it never pits. Despite not being super fast, or able to scream through the corners, I find these cars fun to drive. These are not squeeze and go rockets. They demand to be driven.

I will be buying one or two more Leons as equal racing partners. If you can still find a SEAT Leon Safety Car grab one. SCX no longer offers it as part of the 2010 catalog. It would be nice it SCX would sell the Safety Car chip so we could make other ghost cars.

[TheDane]

If you can still find a SEAT Leon Safety Car grab one. SCX no longer offers it as part of the 2010 catalog. It would be nice it SCX would sell the Safety Car chip so we could make other ghost cars.

This is so true; the Safety Car is great fun on the track. Therefore it would be great if they released the chip as a spare.

I just found a SC on eBay and I bought it straight away, to have two “racing” around. Yes it isn’t the fastest car, and I do look forward to receiving the Club Car 2008 and use that 42E motor. Then I’ll have all the fun Ranzumze tells about here (post 12).

BTW I’m sure SCX has a new SC waiting round the corner, (not based on facts merely hope)

[Highlander]

http://brakehard.blogspot.com/2010/03/of-seat-leons-fun.html

SCX sent the SEAT Leon WTCC Safety Car to me as a prize to an online contest. I have used it during races but it ends up getting in the way and pushed off the track in the heat of competition so it sat for months. This isn't a problem with the product just a lack of experience at my track. I had run it as a normal car and loved its different feel so much that I needed to get a Leon in race livery. Now that I have two Leons, I've been using it more as a Safety Car while running hot laps. If you don't mind driving you'll find these cars great fun.

The Safety Car has a simple silver/grey paint scheme. I could not help myself and added the logo of my circuit. The headlights, brake lights and roof lights all flash when the car is in safety mode. The interior and bottom of the car are detailed quite well. Switching from Safety to Normal mode is as easy as programming the car to a given hand controller. One time it programs as a normal car the next time Safety mode.

You'll know it is in Safety mode when you place it back on the track it does a recon lap or two. SCX says it is measuring the track so it knows where the pit entrance is but I'm positive that it is finding the lane changers so it can run me off the track. In Safety mode the car slowly plods along the circuit randomly changing lanes and avoiding the pit lane. I have a dual use track (road and oval) so the Safety Car sometimes gets confused and drives through the pit lane. This is usually after it drove the longer road course and having taken the oval on its recon lap. In Safety mode it is programmed to car 6 even on a 3 car system. It would have been nice if it was car 7. It does not need to refuel giving it an advantage on the leader board during a race.

In Normal mode it is as quick as any other Leon. Don't be mistaken. This is not going to be your quickest and most nimble car. I did like it enough though that I needed the #23 Monroe. Despite having a slightly different chassis these two Leons drive pretty much the same. They have the top speed of any other SCX car with an RX-42b under the hood but their short wheelbase and height makes them less agile, quirky, and well - slow. These cars are about a half second slower than other SCX cars on my oval (2.87s) and close to a full second slower (5.00s) on the road course. On the R1 hairpin (a 180° SCXd inner) the car sometimes decides to just lay down. It's not the driver! I know I've taken the corner faster but then the next time she just - tip - lays down. Odd.

The #23 is a brilliant blue and yellow with superb detailing and clean tampo markings. It looks like it wants to race. I really like the lines of this car. The rear wing on both cars is easily removed if you choose to do that before a race. My only complaint about the detailing is that fragile roof antenna on the #23. It is the same frail plastic found on the DBR-9. If you put it on the track consider it gone. There must be a better, more flexible material. When I converted the #23 to digital I needed to change the rim style. The picture shows it mid-conversion. Right now she has 4 matching, white rims from the version 1 conversion kit.

The SEAT Leons are great looking cars right out of the box. The Safety Car is easy to use and when putting in laps on the basement track it provides a fun obstacle forcing you to change lanes. I have found it fun to leave it in Safety mode while I race against it using the Monroe liveried #23. The #23 will race the road course while the Safety Car takes the oval short cut. I swear, IT KNOWS. Darn thing beats me half the time, and while in a race with 3 others there is a good chance the Safety car will win because it never pits. Despite not being super fast, or able to scream through the corners, I find these cars fun to drive. These are not squeeze and go rockets. They demand to be driven.

I will be buying one or two more Leons as equal racing partners. If you can still find a SEAT Leon Safety Car grab one. SCX no longer offers it as part of the 2010 catalog. It would be nice it SCX would sell the Safety Car chip so we could make other ghost cars.

Hey Danni, could not agree more with your analysis on the Leons, they are a challenge to drive but VERY rewarding. I bought one early on in my SCX accumulation phase, the Red Bull finish model, my daughter took a shine to it and so it was her first very-own SCX. As I am similar to you, like fully even racing, I bought the SCX liveried 39 Mauriel car, mainly red. I find they are pretty fast straight line but their propotions are long, in R1's they flick out there tail and de-slot or roll. One thing to watch out for is the ARS unit breaking, I have had 3 go on Leons. The unique geometry of the car generates a mass of leverage if you ever really do cook a corner. You have the best liveried one I think, I have been trying to get one of the Monroe one's for a while but there is pretty high ebay demand on these. Last year I bought the 'lcxa' black special edition out of Spain, they have not been released in the UK, naturally, it's a bit of a shelf-queen being a little rare. If you are looking for something different -

http://www.getslotted.co.uk/Zoom.aspx?Prod...roductManuID=39

These were a spain-only special that is a limited edition in spain, SCX brought some over for a promo in the UK un-boxed and with no certificates, a couple of UK retailers have some stock they are clearing at discount, a pretty good price by UK standards, the $ is strong too.

I don't know if you have tried the Citroen C2's, these provide a similar characterful performance for analogue track only of course... think your digital aren't you... maybe add a echo to my C2 appeal to SCX if you get a chance, just asking for 1 more livery to make 4 for my 4-Lane. Anyhow, nice post on the Leon and glad your having FUN!!!
Cheers - Bob

[Danni_OLaisip]

I have since picked up the SCX Leon and Tiago Monteiro's #18. I needed to digitize so the rims no longer matched. I used the white rims that come in the kit and painted them to match the cars' colors. I think it looks better than the silver anyway. I'll have to post picks.

Again, these cars are fun when you are not looking to set a new track record. They provide even competition and a challenge. Great fun!

[Highlander]

I have since picked up the SCX Leon and Tiago Monteiro's #18. I needed to digitize so the rims no longer matched. I used the white rims that come in the kit and painted them to match the cars' colors. I think it looks better than the silver anyway. I'll have to post picks.

Again, these cars are fun when you are not looking to set a new track record. They provide even competition and a challenge. Great fun!

Danni,
I managed to get a "as new" Monroe Leon the other day... I think it is the best looking of them all. Now completed my four-set though the Black one is less likely to see the track and will probably try to get a more mundane one for day-to-day use. My SCX liveried 39 is ARS-dead again... hoping to put an order in for spares soon - with international it will be a fair sized order ...
Regards - Highlander

[loadedlarry]

http://brakehard.blogspot.com/2010/03/of-seat-leons-fun.html

SCX sent the SEAT Leon WTCC Safety Car to me as a prize to an online contest. I have used it during races but it ends up getting in the way and pushed off the track in the heat of competition so it sat for months. This isn't a problem with the product just a lack of experience at my track. I had run it as a normal car and loved its different feel so much that I needed to get a Leon in race livery. Now that I have two Leons, I've been using it more as a Safety Car while running hot laps. If you don't mind driving you'll find these cars great fun.

The Safety Car has a simple silver/grey paint scheme. I could not help myself and added the logo of my circuit. The headlights, brake lights and roof lights all flash when the car is in safety mode. The interior and bottom of the car are detailed quite well. Switching from Safety to Normal mode is as easy as programming the car to a given hand controller. One time it programs as a normal car the next time Safety mode.

You'll know it is in Safety mode when you place it back on the track it does a recon lap or two. SCX says it is measuring the track so it knows where the pit entrance is but I'm positive that it is finding the lane changers so it can run me off the track. In Safety mode the car slowly plods along the circuit randomly changing lanes and avoiding the pit lane. I have a dual use track (road and oval) so the Safety Car sometimes gets confused and drives through the pit lane. This is usually after it drove the longer road course and having taken the oval on its recon lap. In Safety mode it is programmed to car 6 even on a 3 car system. It would have been nice if it was car 7. It does not need to refuel giving it an advantage on the leader board during a race.

In Normal mode it is as quick as any other Leon. Don't be mistaken. This is not going to be your quickest and most nimble car. I did like it enough though that I needed the #23 Monroe. Despite having a slightly different chassis these two Leons drive pretty much the same. They have the top speed of any other SCX car with an RX-42b under the hood but their short wheelbase and height makes them less agile, quirky, and well - slow. These cars are about a half second slower than other SCX cars on my oval (2.87s) and close to a full second slower (5.00s) on the road course. On the R1 hairpin (a 180° SCXd inner) the car sometimes decides to just lay down. It's not the driver! I know I've taken the corner faster but then the next time she just - tip - lays down. Odd.

The #23 is a brilliant blue and yellow with superb detailing and clean tampo markings. It looks like it wants to race. I really like the lines of this car. The rear wing on both cars is easily removed if you choose to do that before a race. My only complaint about the detailing is that fragile roof antenna on the #23. It is the same frail plastic found on the DBR-9. If you put it on the track consider it gone. There must be a better, more flexible material. When I converted the #23 to digital I needed to change the rim style. The picture shows it mid-conversion. Right now she has 4 matching, white rims from the version 1 conversion kit.

The SEAT Leons are great looking cars right out of the box. The Safety Car is easy to use and when putting in laps on the basement track it provides a fun obstacle forcing you to change lanes. I have found it fun to leave it in Safety mode while I race against it using the Monroe liveried #23. The #23 will race the road course while the Safety Car takes the oval short cut. I swear, IT KNOWS. Darn thing beats me half the time, and while in a race with 3 others there is a good chance the Safety car will win because it never pits. Despite not being super fast, or able to scream through the corners, I find these cars fun to drive. These are not squeeze and go rockets. They demand to be driven.

I will be buying one or two more Leons as equal racing partners. If you can still find a SEAT Leon Safety Car grab one. SCX no longer offers it as part of the 2010 catalog. It would be nice it SCX would sell the Safety Car chip so we could make other ghost cars.

[loadedlarry]

SCX Digital System Safety Car

Item condition: Used

Ended: Aug 14, 201019:11:32 PDT

Bid history: 42 bids


Winning bid: US $129.00


This was a ebay(usa) sale.
I p.m.'d Ahab jokingly asking if he was ready to auction one of his two he has!

I tried bidding on it, wanted 1 to give to my kids with their first(digital)slot car track for christmas(got outbid-over&over)

Hey Chuck (&scx) I think theirs still a market for your safety/ghost vehicle/chip!!!

Anybody know someone who's tired of their safety car? p.m. me(and no not for $129.00! lol)

[chriswells78]

I saw one on Spanish Ebay last week that wouldn't ship to the us, went for like 35 euro. Only issue was a missing mirror.

[AhabDarab]

Larry if ever I do sell one of my Safety Cars, I will remember that you were the first person to ask.






Ahab out............................

[loadedlarry]

Larry if ever I do sell one of my Safety Cars, I will remember that you were the first person to ask.






Ahab out............................

Thanks!
When I commented to you about that it was more along the line"buy low sell high!"
I was just flat AMAZED that it had 42 bids-it started @$8.00!!!!

Another member in this great community has for sale a plug in box w/ a variable potenceometer(sp). It will give consistent power to a car(even has a manual switch to change lanes) so thats a option I'm considering.

Only 4 months till I(I mean my kids-lol) will be racing. argh tick-tock-tick-tock

[TheDane]

I saw one on Spanish Ebay last week that wouldn't ship to the us, went for like 35 euro. Only issue was a missing mirror.

If any of you find items of interest on eBay, but seller will not ship to US, I’ll gladly act as relay station. Meaning, you buy and pay for the items and ask the seller to send them to me, and I’ll send them to you. Of cause you pay the shipping from me to you.

Sure it’s more costly, but if you want something really bad, it might be worth considering. This way it’s doable, as I have a similar arrangement with a US member of this board.

[Len1775]

Thanks to my good buddies Timo and Marco, I got hooked on these little gems some time ago, and I amassed quite a nice little collection in the interim. My intent was to digitalize them, but held off until I felt comfortable with a solution to address the front wheels.

In retrospect, I'm glad I did hold off on the conversions because I tried them on my routed wood track recently and what a ball they are! So now, I'll tune each to run on wood and use them for Iroc style races. They are some of my favorite cars, especially these two:

[Danni_OLaisip]

That Black Leon is sweet.

Here is my Safety Car with a customized touch.

[Len1775]

That Black Leon is sweet.

Here is my Safety Car with a customized touch.

Awesome touch!
Yeah, that black LEON is my favorite! It was a gift from Marco. I assume it was a Spanish release since the artwork was written in Spanish.

[AhabDarab]

Great custom touch to the safety car Danni.


I have Leon envy Len, that black #3 is hot!




Ahab out..................

[Danni_OLaisip]

re: Ravensring Custom Touch
Thanks guys. It was really easy.

re: #3 Black Leon
It is nice. Makes me want to be able to print white graphics on decals. I know there are ways but those are either with an extinct ALPS or kluges on white paper. Oh well.

[chriswells78]

Geez, those of you who own a safety car may be able to retire soon...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...T#ht_500wt_1154