Late last night I was up and got to thinking about something: I've been struggling with getting the front wheels on the ground on the Slot.it cars, and had resigned myself to the fact that I'll have to replace the axle blocks with grub screws if I want to get the two to meet. Then it came to me: what if I just took the axle blocks out? They only seem to be restricting the downward movement of the suspension, and not the upward, as that is handled by grub screws from above.
As I was attempting to take the front axle assembly off, the wheel came off wildly, sending the two axle blocks flying into the unknown. I searched for awhile and then went to bed.
This morning I found the two blocks, but decided to run a race without them, which consisted of only the Class A [Slot.it] cars. Here are the team orders:
#11 Gulf Ford - pod/body float, axle blocks in
#8 Shell Ford - pod/body float, axle blocks out
#2 Alfa - pod/body float, axle blocks out
The decision to take the axle blocks out of the Alfa was based on the older suspension system, with the oval insert, and what would happen if that worked alone. It doesn't use a grub screw from the top, as there is a limited amount of travel the oval insert will allow.
All cars have the same basic construction: if you take out the axle blocks, there are two posts that act as supports. They also will keep the axle in line, yet give it a bit more travel. The wheels on the #8 and #2 touch the ground now, giving more support than previously. Prior to this I was able to slide a piece of paper between the front tires and the track, but now they're making contact.
The race is called "Unlimited" due to me setting the maximum speed on each car higher, depending on the car. I wanted to see how fast each car could go without a uniform top speed limitation.
Results - 3 minute heat:
Car Laps Offs Points
#2 55 0 3
#11 52 0 2
#8 52 0 2
The Alfa's performance increased radically, from being consistently a few laps down in the races prior to now having a clear lead over the competition. The handling improved immensely, and is now more in line with the speed of the car. The shorter wheelbase has a lot to do with this, I suspect, as it just refuses to lose grip. There isn't any upward travel limitation being applied other than from the oval insert.
While the #8 and the #11 tied, it was still a victory for the #8 because it didn't go off. The handling problems it had before are gone now, and there's enough upward travel limitation keeping the wheels on the track. Neither car was skittish or biting in the turns.
Since the improvements for the two cars were so drastic, I have decided that it will be a Class A rule to take the axle blocks out of all of the cars. This should improve the #11 as well, which will start the next race without them.
As this was an invitational and only Class A participated, only they will score points for this round. This shouldn't matter, as Class B is on a two point system per race anyway, and shouldn't have an effect on the total outcome. If, for some reason, it looks like a Class B car is going to become a threat, the Class B part of this race will be run and counted.
Team Standings [after 3 of 20 races]:
Car Points Total
#2 3 11
#11 2 11
#8 2 9
Class B [did not race]:
R18 0 4
SafetyCar 0 2
Next Race: Class A 10-minute endurance race.
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