Conditioning the Carreras

In order to get the two cars I currently own competitive with each other, I've done loads of tweaking, but have ultimately decided that the one thing they both need is a little bit of magnetism in order to run satisfactorily.

The Audi R18 is a fast car, and is handling better than it used to. The biggest problem with it is that it seemingly has no brakes, which makes it impossible to handle going into the corners with no magnets. I'm not sure why it does it, but I suspect there's a reason. I let off the gas and it coasts to a stop. This helps a little going into turns, but it takes a bit more finesse than the other car.

The Audi Safety car is very light, and this affects everything. It needs weight for grip, so I'll need to add some. It handles differently than the R-18, and isn't as responsive. It seems to be back end heavy, and has a tendency to swing out even with tires trued. 

Running each car alone is enjoyable, as each car requires a change in driving style to the other one. The Safety car is aggressive, going all-in into the corners. It's the slower of the two cars off the line by a considerable margin, but it makes up for it coming out of them. With the proper amount of ballast it might start to behave.
The R18 is like a snake, willing to be patient before it strikes. It handles well, as is easily the better car all around. It can overtake the Safety car anywhere on the track at a whim. It has a longer wheelbase, which I think helps it control itself through the corners better.

The two cars together without magnets are not competitive with each other. I wish they were, as that's my preferred way to run them. But since these two cars likely won't be very competitive with the upcoming Slot.it cars, then they might as well be competitive with each other.

These will be my first two cars to use when guests come over. Otherwise my other cars will run without magnets. I expect them to be more responsive to tuning that these ones have. I will, however, be looking into tires for each car.

New Cars Coming

I finally have some new cars coming. This is a relief, as I think I've gotten about as much as I can out of the two I got with the original kit. I probably should have bought some cars right away, but now that the time has lapsed I'm glad I waited. I've found just what I'm looking for at a good price.

My wife and I made a deal to get holiday shopping done for each other early this year after a few botched presents attempts over the last few years. We agreed that we would pick out what we wanted, so we knew we'd like it. I naturally gravitated to slot cars. She asked me to make a list of 8-10, where she said she'd pick 2 or 3 to keep the element of surprise.

The List:

Slot.it Alfa Romeo 33/3 #2
Slot.it Ford GT40 #8
Slot.it Ford GT40 #11
Slot.it Nissan R89C Tenoras
Slot.it Porsche 962 Budweiser

NSR Ford MK1 Gulf
NSR Porsche 917K #15


We spoke over some interesting topics while I showed her each car. Aesthetically she preferred the older cars. She thought they had personality and "looked right". She said no immediately to the Budweiser Porsche because it had Budweiser on it. She also asked which ones were going to be competitive with each other, since she knew this was a sticky point I had with my current Audi etron and A8 pace car.

A pair of Fords would certainly be nice and probably my first choice, but I can't help to think a Ford would possibly be competitive with the Alfa. Something tells me, however, the Alfa is a really fast car. The refusal of the Bud selection renders the Tenoras car moot, which is too bad, since it's probably the coolest of the modern day racers to come out in a long time. And I've always been a fan of the R89C body style.

We spoke about the differences between Slot.it and NSR to Carrera. Here in Germany, Carrera is pretty easy to find. There are dealerships in most major cities, and some specialized shops that sell most everything. Finding Slot.it and NSR cars is more difficult, but the prices are quite good. When my wife realized that Slot.it cost as much as, or sometimes less than Carrera cars, that was all she needed to hear.  NSR, being more expensive due to workmanship and quality will probably price them out of this round of purchasing. I would be surprised if she picked up both NSR cars.

Prediction:
I think it'll be the Fords, with the slim possibility of the Alfa getting tucked in there as well. Either combination of the three would be great with me, and would get me off to a nice start.

I've been researching both brands and have come to determine that NSR might be a little too much for what I'm doing right now. Seems they make a lot of club and commercial race cars, and I'm just looking for some well-modeled and well-build home racers.