Homecoming Race

This is not the start of a season. I know I said that in the last post, but the fact of the matter is, this time of year is a bad time to think that additions aren't going to be made to the track. The holidays are nearly here, and the focus once again is on slot cars and track.
I picked up 8 straights recently, which significantly improved my layout possibilities, as well as my opportunity to air the cars out on a true straightaway longer than the 5 pieces I was previously able to muster.
The reason I'm not starting the season now is that I know I'm going to be adding more track shortly, likely in the form of curves, which I also need. If this happens, I'll be rebuilding my table to go larger in order to take advantage of the possibilities. As it stands now I'm at 16' across, which is significantly larger than my previous table. The plan is to go the entire 18', then bring the ends around a bit for a U-shape. The depth is too narrow to afford a curvy infield, so I'm going to make up for that in other ways.

But anyway, let's get on to today's 30-lap race. This is a reminder of the cars running:

Alfa #2 - [last season winner] PG urethane tires
Shell #8 - PG urethane tires
Gulf #11 - C1 rubber tires
R18 - Stock rubber tires
Audi PC - Stock rubber tires

Cars were run at various times throughout the summer, some more than others, although time was spent on each one. No outside parts were added to the cars since the last season, and none of the cars were tuned prior. You could consider this an end-of-summer shootout, probably.

I got this layout by starting with an oval and adding the few track pieces I have extra: 2 1/60's and 4 1/30's. Added a bit of a challenge, but I'm sure looking forward to adding more curves now that I have the extra straights.

Results:

Car            Time            Lap                 Offs
Shell #8     1:55.99      [1.86]                   0
Alfa #2      1:56.69        [1.9]                   0
Gulf #11    2:13.86        [4.4]                   0
R18           2:47.69         [5.5]                  1
Audi PC    3:05.05         [6.1]                  0


If I don't get some tires for the Gulf car, it's not going to be competitive, I know it. Urethanes are just that much grippier than rubber. While both the #8 and the #2 ran pretty much where I thought they would, not so for the Gulf.
I was curious to see what the Carrera cars would do. While I ran the controller at 5 Power for the Slot.it cars, I stepped it down to 2 Power for the Carreras, and it was still too much. Slippy, slidey, all over. They're going to get some urethanes too.
Overall, I think if I ran a season based on this, the Shell car would win it. It's got a slight edge in the turns over the Alfa.

So at this stage I'm going to continue running the cars on the track until new track is acquired, then I'll paint that, design a good course and we can get down to business. Any cars that might appear will be added to the mix regardless of condition or class. Once I feel that the additions have stopped, which should be by the end of the holidays, then I'll start up the season. Until then I'm going to go back over each of the cars and get them ready for a nice long winter of racing.

New Improved With More Track

I said I'd be back when I get either more cars or more track, and I'm now prepping and painting eight new straights. I got them in the post today and made a quick layout to test it. Such a huge difference in fun and playability.

Couldn't wait to add them to my track and try it out. This is going to be excellent. Inside lane measures 970cm.

Earlier today I took apart my previous track, as well as the temporary table* it was sitting on. I added a few more pieces to extend the table to 460cm [just over 15 feet] across and 5 feet deep. I was able to easily run fun curve sections and still have nine-segment straightaways. It's likely the final table that will be made will be roughly like this, but fully extended to the roof on both sides, and coming back a bit at the wings.

I will need a grabber. It's going to be difficult to get into the corners when a car crashes. It's totally worth it, however, as I'd rather have the space used for something, even if it means it'll be a little tricky to grab the cars once in awhile.

Tonight I prepped the track pieces I just got and laid the first of two coats. Tomorrow morning I'll do the second coat and the next day I'll assemble from a track plan and see what happens.

Prepped. I went back to my previous paint post to remind myself what not to do this time. I think I got it. I used wider tape, which was easier to trim, and did shorter sections. I trimmed in the gutter to the outside of each rail. I also went over the white lines with a black permanent marker.

This part is really easy. Took about ten minutes to lay the first coat. This is your standard latex exterior house paint, in this case Silver/Gray. I made sure to take up any extra paint that may be left over by dry rolling after laying the first coat. I suggest two coats, as it's still not quite covered with just one.

Here's the finished product. Dry to the touch in about 8 hours.

First layout. I wanted to see how long I could make a straight and still make the rest of it interesting. I need curves now.

Once I come up with a satisfactory layout, I'll tune the cars and set up the next race season. It's a bit risky starting one so late, as the holidays are coming and I may have to add a car or two [or more track] to the mix if I'm lucky. That'll change everything. It's likely I'm in for some pretty big changes now that I have this much track to deal with.

*I call it a table, but actually it's a collection of tables, end tables, bed frames, cabinetry and other odds and ends. It's sturdy enough, but I can't stand on it or anything.

Reviving The Safety Car

Since I've had my track on the table, I've gotten the Carrera cars back out and started trying to tune them to be somewhat competitive. Prior to dropping out of the championship, I had taken the magnets out, and in doing so, accidentally snapped one magnet in half.

Running the Safety Car without magnets just wasn't possible. It has too much weight and slides around everywhere. It's a great car and fun to drive, just don't try to race it. It's also probably one of the least expensive Carrera cars you can find, as loads of online retailers are selling them at huge discounts.

With its tendency to whip the tail out, this car makes a great drifter.

In an effort to get it up to speed, I put the magnets back in, but they were way too strong. The car would whip around the track at a truly unfair pace. So, I took half the magnet out that was broken, and put it in the forward position of the car.

The magnet can be seen through the six [of eight] square holes going across the bottom of the chassis. 

This made the magnet roughly as wide as the slot rails, and no wider. Now it has a tendency to break out at high speeds, just like the Slot.it cars do [without magnets]. This goes a long way towards getting this car competitive, and it might bring it back into the competition. It'll still be in a magnet class, but it'll race.

The R18 is next.

__________

Also, I rebuilt the table, widening it to about 10 feet. This allowed me to try other layouts, so I went with a version of an old favorite:

Nice fast track. I sunk the backstretch into the layout a bit.

Shot of the Alfa going through the backstretch:

Beauty.

Off The Rug

I took advantage of some spare time [and spare stuff] and put together a "table" to put layouts on. It's pretty much square, at about 8' x 8':

Layers: coffee tables, doors [w/out handles], shelving, rug. So technically, I'm not "off" the rug.

Having a square space kinda limits what I can do regarding layouts. This one is slapped together and is okay, but not a favorite. The various shelving pieces make great track gradients, especially when put under the rug. There are about two cheap ikea bookshelves worth of wood slats there.

Fun factor increased tenfold, and I can either sit on a chair or stand up and have much better view and control of the cars. It's more worth it to me to walk around to the other side of the track to reslot a car than it is to crawl around on my knees all session.
This revived both lanes as well, and I've been switching back and forth with the SCP-1 controller. My biggest fear now is having a car go off the side, so I decided to break out the barriers I never use:

Track with barriers attached....for about 15 minutes.

Let me say this: slot cars are expensive. There's a reason I don't have more track and more cars, and that's because I don't have a bunch of money. But this is the first time since I've had this track in forever that I've used the barriers that came with the kit. They were so ignored that they were buried deep in a box somewhere, along with the attachments.

And while slot cars are expensive, they're also great to look at. And putting these red and white blinders up just ruins everything. I'd rather risk losing the car over the edge than to put those up. You might think I was insane for doing something like that while running cars without magnets, but it's only me, and I haven't lost a car yet.

So they lasted 15 minutes and about two laps with the R18, plus a minute or two for some quick pics, then they were off and back in a box. They'll never be seen again. For about 0.16 seconds I thought about painting them, but figured it probably wouldn't work. Anyway, I don't need a wall to run my cars around on, I'll stick to the inside lane for now.

I mean, seriously. Maybe painted totally white, but then it's still a wall. I just want a run-off.

Back To The Garage - Tires

Now that the race season is over, I was able to take apart the cars and get them back into top shape. Since tires have become the focus of much of the improvement, special emphasis has been put there. There have also been some additions.

At the beginning of my race season I decided to try it to see how competitive the cars were with each other. That's what someone would do if they suddenly got three new cars - pit them against each other. And since I was making it up as I went along, it was easier to understand the improvements made and how the cars were affected. For example, racing against drone cars proved pretty much pointless as the Slot.it cars blew away the Carrera drones in every respect.

The biggest surprise to me was how each track design revealed things about each car. I would think I'd have a car figured out, all running great, and the next day I'd design a new track and it would suffer all over it. That kind of showed me that a car has to be fully thought-out in regards to tuning, and not just kinda tuned for the specific track that it might be running on at the moment. It made a difference whether a car had to negotiate a 180º, or a 45º or a switchback. The Alfa, for example, would rip right through a switchback, and handle a single-piece 1/60 turn with maximum dexterity, but it would get really loose in a 180º. The Shell Ford, on the other hand, would lumber through just about any turn, yet feel more planted and handle the sharp turns more like a wave than a jerky curve. It has a nice little drift without making you feel like you're losing control. More like you've got a lot of control, and this is what you can do with it. There's confidence there, and it's built-in to the car.

Slot.it Ford GT40 #8 - This car is running so well right now I think it would easily sweep a series. 

I'm at risk of creating a tire war, and I don't think I have the proper tires in order to truly judge each brand, so I'm going to say right here that these are the tires that I have, and that's what I'm going to use for the future, so I will be talking about them.

I mentioned that I got a couple sets of Paul Gage urethane tires, and they really are fantastic. There's a noticeable difference on my track between the PG's and the stock C-1 rubber tires from Slot.it. Not that the C-1's aren't good tires...I think they're pretty great for what you get on a car in the box...but I think that urethane is simply a grippier compound than rubber. I plan on revisiting a few tracks and times from the earlier races and see what the cars can run now with the urethanes. I especially like the sidewalls and how much more realistic they look. It makes the rear tires seem more substantial.

The Alfa Romeo is also setup on Paul Gage urethanes. While the grip is certainly better, the overall difference isn't as noticeable as with the #8 Ford.

Recently on Slot Car Illustrated's forum, tire manufacturer Super Tires had a few contests, and they gave out free tires and wheels of their latest design. I won a set of Boogie Boy tires on some new 15x10 wheels. While a bit larger than the standard for my cars, I couldn't resist trying them to see what they were like.

Super Tires Boogie Boy. They're the ones that look like you ran over E.T.

Here's the thing: they're silicone. I've read all over the place that silicone tires don't play well with urethane and rubber [good buddies]. At first I figured I would wait until I got a set of urethane Yellow Dog Super Tires [soonish], since I had never thought about running silicone and cleaning track, etc. I had always planned on rubber. Urethane is much more at home in the environment of my attic.

Then I thought about it: I've been pretty much only running one lane all this time, so why not let the #11 car run the outside lane. Fair enough, I'll go with the "plan B" of silicone tire usage, which is to let them clean the track as you go, since they'll pick up all the loose crap anyway. Give it a tapedown every 25 or so laps and after three or four times you're in good shape.
Once there, the results are very impressive. While the car has a change in its stature due to the larger wheels, it still grips better than the rubber did. This bodes well for if I decide to get silicones in the future, as they are every bit as grippy as urethane. I guess it just matters how much I'm willing to do in prep to get racing. I can say now that I prefer a standard single pass wipedown of the track with a lint-free cloth, and am not into alcohol or any other weird chemical things. I'm hoping to stay away from too much of that sort of thing in slot cars. If it doesn't play well with latex paint, then it's not going on my cars.

I think the color is cool. It's fun, it's only on the tread and not the sidewall, and you only notice it really when it's sitting. Okay, maybe a little bit when it's moving. These tires go to the practical edge with very little room for adjustment as they're larger than the standard size for the car. The right sized wheels and tires would make this car scream.

[side view] Looks fast. I'd need fronts too. 

The Super Tires 15x10 wheels are pretty fantastic. Tires fit like a glove, and there's loads of patch. I plan on looking for a car that these would fit better on. I suspect it would be something in the Group C category, of which I haven't bought any cars yet.

By the time I get to the bottom of this post, I can pretty much convince myself out of using silicone, but I could totally see why someone would. They're mighty fine and seem like they'd last a very long time. Many people swear by them. You could almost say that the silicone/urethane/rubber issue is one of the more opinionated topics of all slot car racing. For me, not so much. I find benefits to each, and could certainly argue for each one.

I believe I'll be doing mostly urethanes from here on out, although I do want to try a few sets of the softer compound rubber tires that are available. I also want to try some more generic urethane tires so see if there's a noticeable difference to me at my home track. At 3.50 a set, I'd be a fool not to try them. The PG's are great, but the shipping is brutal.

Final Race: 100-Lap Super Sprint Reverse [Race 20 of 20]

The big race is finally here! After running practically neck-and-neck the entire series, it all comes down to the last race of the season.
There were a few rules established for the final:

1. Race winner would receive the 5 points for the win PLUS a bonus point for winning the race. This would avoid any tie.

2. The race order is flopped 1st and 2nd. This is because I had the Shell Ford on the track first. It will race first, then the Alfa, then if the Alfa isn't as fast as the Shell Ford, the Gulf Ford will run. Otherwise if the Alfa wins, the Gulf Ford doesn't need to run. It won't have any spoiler capabilities at that point.

3. All cars start the race in the same shape as the race prior. There has been no tuning, cleaning, or hair removal from any of the cars for this race.

Scheduled for 100 laps on the same track as the previous race:

Pretty fast track. Each car reacts differently to it.

RESULTS: [after 20 of 20 races]:

Car                     Time            Offs              Points             Champ Points Total

Ford #8            4:41.72            0                     3                               78
Alfa #2             4:35.00            0                   5+1                            83 [WINNER]
Ford #11              DNF             -                     -                               48

__________

Pretty much the only view anybody had of the Alfa all day. Looks good with those Paul Gage urethane tires on the back.

The Alfa's split time of 2:20 to the #8 car's 2:21 was just the start of it. The Alfa got grippier as it went along, and by the end of the race it was flying. It was very loose at first, so it was probably a dirty tire issue that caused the early wobbling.

__________

I don't expect this car to do much more losing. It's a spacer away from perfection.

The Shell Ford does well on some tracks, not so well on others. It did well here last time, but this time was a little sluggish. It didn't rip around the turns like it usually does, but kind of lumbered through them. I definitely have to call that a handling issue. Either way, not a good day to race in imperfect condition.

__________

This car did much better in the first ten races than in the second ten. Some of that I blame on me getting a late start on the car. I had already started modifying the other two and didn't get around to doing anything to it until about race 8 or so. And by that time it was already going wrong. The handling problems are the primary issue [although not lately].

The Gulf Ford didn't race, as the Alfa had already beaten the Shell Ford, so the Gulf Ford wouldn't be a spoiler at that point. I'm a bit disappointed in how the car ended up. 48 points is pretty dreadful. It was not very competitive, and I think my next move is going to be working on that car. It needs it.

__________

About racing in imperfect condition...sometimes I don't have all the time I'd like to be able to run proper races with long tuning sessions before and all that. Sometimes I have to slap 'em on the track and run 'em. Today was one of those days. It's a normal thing that can happen. Worked pretty good here, as I didn't have all the time to prep and overthink things.

So that's it. After 20 well-fought races, where for a good portion of it it could have gone in a number of directions, the Alfa Romeo has won the championship. It was closer than the points in the end made it out to be, and it came down to the wire. I thought the Alfa would win, although the Shell Ford never gave up, which made it cool to root for. Either way would have been great, so I'm happy that the Alfa won. It's a great slot car.

Well, that was fun to do. I learned a lot, and even though 20 races doesn't sound like much, it took me 4 months [I think] to do.  Some things worked, others didn't. There will be some things I'll do differently the next time around, which will happen when I get either a new car or more track pieces, whichever comes first.

100-Lap Super Sprint [Race 19 of 20]

It's all come down to this, the final two races of the season. With two cars neck-and-neck in points, it's anybody's championship. Today's race is 100-laps on a very fast track with a huge curve at one end:

The big corner in the left side needs to be taken with care, but is frequently not.

Layout:

That's SIX straights on the backstretch, and it drops pretty quickly into the big corner from there. The brick red color curves are 1/30s.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The Cars:

The three cars have been pretty extensively modified [for me, anyway] since the beginning of the season, and these last few races is the end result of those improvements. Because different things were done to different cars, they were no longer going to be as evenly matched as they were when they started out. I didn't add everything to each car, instead going with trying to improve the car rather than just slap more parts on it. So here is the breakdown:


The Alfa

Sitting pretty on those Paul Gage urethane tires. I like the profile of them.

I have paid more attention to tuning this car than I have the others, I'll admit. In doing so, I have made it the favorite to win. It gets more laps and has had more care put into it than the others. I think the reason for that is that, even though it was a little fidgety at first, it always felt like it had the most potential. I expect that is due to the length of the car and how it handles compared to the longer Ford.

I spent significant time truing and sanding the tires, all the while monitoring them every 50 laps or so to see how they are taking to the track. In case you're curious, I have found no issues running urethane alongside rubber, and haven't experienced excess track dirt or slippage because of it. Urethane slot car tires run absolutely fine on a track that uses primarily stock rubber tires.

I've said it in previous posts, and I'm going to say it again: urethane feels like a significant improvement over stock rubber tires. Grippier, smoother, quieter...all add up to faster. The tires reacted well to sanding, and the track did the rest.

I also added mounting screws to the motor, which I did on all the cars. The Alfa, prior to that, seemed pretty secure, but I did it anyway. Can't say the same for either of the Fords, as they both needed it.

The Alfa has rubber washers on the body mounts and pod screws, which gives it a bit of a cushion and stops a lot of vibration. I also have been experimenting with adding a little weight, and put 1/2 gram right in front of the motor to give it a little bite.


The Shell Ford

Another beneficiary of Paul Gage rear tires. I plan on getting urethane fronts for all the cars as well.

The Shell Ford got the other pair of Paul Gage tires, as the lap time improvement meant I couldn't race one car on urethanes while the other two ran rubber. That wouldn't be fair. So given the points totals up to this race, I decided to give the co-leaders similar tires. As they both have the same wheel radius [yay me], it was easy.
I did not, however, do as much sanding to the tires as on the Alfa, preferring to see what was making contact on the track first, and adjusting from there. No idea why I did it that way, other than to see how urethane might react differently than rubber. Sure didn't seem to matter much in the big picture, as the tires took well to the track anyway. I'm sure the proof is in the details, though.
The Shell Ford also received the motor screws and rubber washers. I also flipped the spur gear back to the inside configuration, as it sits better on the pinion. It's a close fit, but I spent time with it to get it right, and now that the rubber washers are in the pod, I don't have as much looseness as I did before, so it's better in the corners. It feels like a beast compared to the Alfa, but it's still remarkably nimble.


The Gulf Ford

It's up to the Gulf car to be Team Rubber today.

Due to the Gulf Ford being out of contention for the championship, it didn't get the tires, and had to run on the stock rubber. It had been averaging about 4 seconds less per 100 laps than the other cars, so I was expecting about double that due to the tire differences. The Gulf car also got the motor screws and rubber washers, as well as an overhaul, and is still in excellent shape. The rubber washers are the most noticeable improvement with this car, as it pretty much corrected the handling issues. I'll be buying a set of urethane tires for this car on my next parts purchase, although likely from another manufacturer, probably Super Tires. I can get them here, and that's cheaper than importing.

So for the Gulf, this race will be to compare improvements w/tires over improvements without.

_________________________________________________________________________________


RESULTS:

Car                     50 Laps               100 Laps           Offs            Points

Alfa #2               2:20.27                4:35.00               0                   5                                                      
Shell #8              2:27.36                4:45.25               0                   3                                                
Gulf #11             2:25.36                4:48.99               0                   1                                    


The Alfa was truly dominant. It ran a much faster first 50 laps than the Shell car did, The Shell car started off a bit more conservatively due to the difference in size. Also, it reacts to power a bit differently, so I set the cap on the Slot.it SCP-1 controller to the maximum speed from 6, what the Alfa ran, to 5 on the Shell Ford. I had to do this, as level 6 is just too much juice for the Ford in the corners. As the race went on, the Shell car did much better.
Could the difference in time spent on the tires amounted to a 10 second difference in 100 laps? Hard to say. It's not like I didn't treat the Ford at all, I just didn't spend as much time on it as the Alfa. I suppose they could still need work.
The Gulf Ford was quite surprising, notably because this is the second race in a row where it hasn't gone off. Not only that, but it ran a downright respectable time against the urethane-equipped cars, and actually beat the Shell Ford in the split.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Championship Standings [Race 19 of 20]:

Car                                Points                      Total
Alfa #2                              5                             77
Shell #8                             3                             75
Gulf #11                            1                             48

One more race. I said there wasn't going to be a tie, and here's how I'm going to do that. The winner of the last race will receive one bonus point on top of the 5 points for the win. There will be no tie.

Can different slot cars from the same manufacturer be competitive with each other? Absolutely. No question about it, even when you start doing modifications.
All in all, this has been a great series. I've learned a lot doing this, and have had interesting challenges along the way. I'm planning on buying some more track soon, and once I do that I'll start up another championship run. I might even add a car if I can swing it. I'm thinking a Matra.

One more huge race to run. I'm going to go over the past designs a pick one for the last race. Once I have that and have a chance to try it out, then I'll run the last race. It'll be a 200-lap marathon.

Proxy Update

The Targa 2 Proxy is still months away, but I've already started with improvements. Since they made Class B suitable for just about anyone who owns a classic Slot.it car, I would make some modifications to hopefully help me pull away from the pack a little. I still fully expect to be a back marker, but if there are even just a few other Slot.it cars competing, then I have a chance to not come in last.

Last? Well, it's my first proxy race, and I'll be competing against some long-time proxy racers, so I certainly don't have the edge. I've had help, gotten great advice and assistance from one of the podium finishers last year, and it has really paid off. But I'll be realistic in my thinking, and who knows? Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I picked up some parts, and still have more to buy before the car is truly cooperative/competitive. 

What $50 worth of parts looks like. Some are so small they come in pill capsules.
L-R: rubber washers, motor screws, 2mm grubs, 3mm grubs. 2nd row: Paul Gage urethane tires [2 sets rears], 1 meter braid.

The first adjustment to the Alfa came by the way of the rubber washers, which were put on the body posts and in the front pod connections. Everything is now much smoother, quieter and more responsive. That loose car clicking sound is gone. Body "float" takes on a new meaning now, and is more like body cushion. The body now sits on the washers with slight pressure.

Next came mounting the motor with motor screws. This was an easy fix and they went right in. 

Motor mounted with gold mounting screws. I didn't use a washer on the rear one due to constraints. 

Then came the tires. I needed a set of urethane tires for the races, and picked up some on a recommendation. The Paul Gage tires are certainly good, and have already improved times on the track. 

Here's a comparison of the Alfa on the same track with the last race's time at 50 laps:

Race 18        2:40.44   [3.2 per lap]

Proxy Test    2:28.83   [2.96 per lap]

3.2 seconds per lap has been pretty much a standard for my faster cars, so shaving 3 tenths is significant. The PG tires have incredible grip, and feel almost like magnets. 

I have more to do to the car before I'm satisfied, and I'll need to order the parts to do it, as they were sold out at the place I got these from. Mostly waiting for longer grub screws to secure the front axle a bit. Once I can do that, I can work on finding the perfect balance for the car. Until then, I'm focusing mostly on rear end and getting it running properly. I've got six months til race time.

50-Lap Test Track Sprint [Race 18 of 20]

The time is finally here to get some racing in. Been a long time, but the move is mostly finished and I'm finding a little time in my day to have some fun. I'm on the rug in the attic, but at least I'm running. I've got more space here and can move around at will.

Today's race is a 50-lap timed sprint on the Test Track. This has been the only design I have built since moving, and I'm going to stick to it for the rest of the races:

This design has proven to be one of my favorites to race. It's got just enough of everything, and running the inside lane is always a challenge.

CAR MODIFICATIONS:

Each car had rubber washers added to the mounting posts, as well as to the front two pod connections. They were then tuned and balanced and tested for 500 laps or so each before the race. Each car started off with clean tires and a 50-lap drone warmup.

Rubber washers were added to the mounting posts to help kill vibrations and help with float, pictured here right behind the axle in the center.

RESULTS [Race 18 of 20]:

Car                      Time              Offs      Points

Alfa Romeo      2:40.44                0          3
Shell #8            2:40.31                0          5
Gulf #11           2:44.18                0          1

Yes, you read that right. Just over a tenth of a second won this one. Pretty impressive that the Shell and the Alfa are that competitive with each other. I figured it would be close, but not that close. I considered running the Gulf car again, as I think I was taking it a bit easy on it as it's prone to coming off the track, but these cars are seriously planted now and there were no offs. But I'm going to leave it as it is, as giving it a 2nd chance would be cheating.

The results compared to Race 17, which is the same length on the same track, are about a second slower, but I attribute that to me not having much time to race. I've run previous trials over the past few days that have shown the cars to be quite a bit faster than before. I'm sure the next race will show that.

STANDINGS [after 18 races of 20]:

Car                Points                 Total

Shell #8            5                        72
Alfa #2             3                        72
Gulf #11           1                        47

For the standings to be so close with only two races to go, especially considering this race was determined by a tenth of a second, is pretty impressive. These cars are great. Mauricio, you guys at Slot.it make some great race cars.

Next race will be 100 laps, with the final a 200 lap endurance race. In case of a tie, a 50-lap shootout will occur.

More Modifications Coming:

Over the next few days, I'll be receiving parts in the mail for the cars. Spacers, screws, weight, tires...a whole mess of things. I will be adding parts to the cars, and these modifications will count for the last [hopefully] two races. I'll document everything and include it here.

Almost Ready To Race

Now that we're more moved into the house, I've been able to lay down my track and do some work on my cars. I'm hoping to run some more championship races shortly, although each car will have had significant work done on it. That will all be documented here.

To start, the Alfa and the Shell Ford have both been mounted with specially-designed rubber gaskets between the mounting posts and the body. The purpose is to eliminate vibration through the car, and it truly works. This also changes everything regarding body float. No longer do you go from tight to a quarter turn and have a floppy body. There are now varying degrees of softness with the body float will attain, giving it better flow in the corners without so much of a radical shift in body weight. It also seems to improve acceleration, making it smoother and more immediate.

The Shell car has seen significant improvement because of this, and has also quieted down considerably.

The Gulf car is going to be treated differently. It'll have the gaskets in the body and in the pod. If it works and is an improvement, I'll do it to the other cars as well. If not, then it'll only be like that on the Gulf car.

The Track:

I'm keeping the favorite and most recent design through the next race. Here's where it's situated now:

Eventually I'll have a table. Gotta buy the wood first. Until then, back to the rug, which I'm totally fine with for now.

Parts ordered [yet to be delivered]:

• 2mm grub screws
• 3mm grub screws
• 6mm grub screws
• lead weight
• 1m braid
• .6mm spacers

My First Proxy Race

I'm going to enter my first ever proxy race: GVSCC Targa 2. It takes place in Western Canada, mostly British Columbia and will near the end of the year. Here's what I'm sending:

This fits the bill perfectly.

The classes according to the rules:

Class A

These cars must have competed in the Targa Florio before, and including 1964. There is a maximum

width for the rear tire tread – 8mm or 5/16 in. (0.3125 in.) Although this is a class maximum, effort should be made to match tire sizes to the real cars.

Class B

These cars must have competed in the Targa Florio in years 1965 to 1973. There is no tire limit for this class, but again, effort should be made to remain in scale to the 1:1 car. 

Class B it is. I plan on some modifications: new motor, screws and grubs for security and control, and new urethane tires from Paul Gage Tires. These modifications won't start until well into the Spring, so I'll be able to complete this championship before committing to changing the car. 

I'm considering buying another Alfa for home, as I can't count on this one coming back in the same shape it'll be going out. It would be nice, but I need to expect the worst.

Other Rules:

1. Cars may have any chassis type, made of any material.
   
2. Bodies must be reasonable scale representations of the 1:1 car made from hard plastic or resin. No clear bodies will be allowed.
   
3. Chassis may have any motor alignment, inline, sidewinder or anglewinder.
   
4. Wheels may be of any type, but should look scale for the car being modelled. For example, no
   O-ring front tires, and front wheels must turn. Limits in class A can be exceeded only with
   documentation for the real car.
   
5. Rear tires may be URETHANE ONLY. No rubber, sponge or silicone tires will be allowed.
   

6. Any gear ratio is allowed. Be advised that most of our tracks are quite technical, with short straights and lots of turns. None have extra long straights.
   
7. This round of the Targa Proxy will have an open motor rule for both classes. Entrants should carefully balance the power to weight ratio to achieve the best driveable proxy car. It is not recommended that motors be more than 25K. Class A cars with the thinner tires may run better with lower rpm motors. Your call! Over power at your peril. All races will be run at 10 volts.
   
8. Car clearance should be at least 1/16 inch to protect track surfaces. Spur gears may be closer but a car will be disallowed if the gear touches the track.
   
9. Guide flags should be of the standard size and depth. Deep wood or Carrera guides are not recommended. 
   

In The House

Not completely moved-in yet, but completely moved out of the apartment. It's still very much boxes and piles around here, but I did manage to get some temporary electrical up in the attic so I can see and plan.
Originally I wanted to make an 18' track along the width of the attic, then I got greedy and decided I wanted the 24' along the roof instead. But now I'm back to the 18' and I think I'll be happy with that. It makes more sense for the room and avoids having the monolith in the way.

I did make it out into the garden with the cars the other day, and now that I have working internet, I can do stuff like upload pictures again:

I love shooting outside in overcast weather.
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It really brings out the color in the cars.
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Good to see the #11's typical unwillingness to sit still for the picture.
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Racing will commence in a few days. I'll be sequestered up in the attic while some windows are being installed in the house, and plan on setting up a track to finish the championship.

Could Be Racing

Another installment of "why am I so stupid?"

At least I didn't send my computer over there. I could have raced tonight, and probably could have done the last three races between tonight and tomorrow morning. But nooooooo....

So, I started window shopping again. I want a Matra, and a couple Group C cars. I found a site online that has them at good prices, so hopefully we could make that happen soon. I also found a commercial track near my new house, and I'll be checking that out soon. It's called Garage Racing Center and it looks to be pretty good. They even run some Slot.it races.

But that's not why we're here. We're here to talk about slot cars.

This is why I love slot cars. How cool would it be to own one of those 1:1 and drive it? A Ford GT40 all race-ready. It would be insane. I know for a fact that I'll never be able to achieve what is required to do something like that. And that's why I love slot cars. It doesn't have to be full size to be great. And the amount of mechanics involved makes it more than just a pretty car to look at.
My wife doesn't like video games because they don't allow the imagination to work, nor is there much in the way of hands-on. But what she likes about slot cars is they are a game you have to work on. The better a slot car is set up, the better it'll run. It becomes a series of achievements to get to the next level, or tenth of a second.
The car in this picture is barely bigger than a pack of cigarettes, yet is has loads of things to tweak and adjust. There's so much great detail on 1:32 cars that they seem bigger in pictures than they actually are.
Yellow might not be your thing, but I gotta say that it really helps see the car. The painted gray track makes a huge difference, and between the two there is no trying to follow a black streak around the track. This matters to me as I like to see my cars. Plus, look how damn pretty it is. I mean, seriously.
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As I was shopping/picking my cars last xmas, I was under the impression that "a couple" was two cars, so that's what I went with. Two Fords, as I considered they would be pretty compatible with each other. But biting me on the ankles was this beautiful Alfa Romeo. It was driving me a bit crazy, and mentioned to my wife that I was having trouble deciding between cars. She made the decision for me in picking up both of them. I know the Alfa doesn't look like much to some, but this car is so addictive, and is the first car I put on the track during a session. I've mentioned here plenty of times its great handling, quickness and speed, but no matter what I would say, it would be an understatement. While a pretty car, this is actually a very well-made slot car, and that puts it into a separate category. Yes, the Fords are well-made, as is many Slot.it cars, but the length and balance of the Alfa is just fantastic. It's the car you want to RACE.
That doesn't make it dominant, however. It's only ahead by two points in the championship, and the Ford #8 could win it. While it explodes through technical sections, it's length becomes its weakness in faster sections, not getting as secure of a grip on the road as the Fords do. That makes it a tricky proposition to drive well, and requires care. Its rabbit-like reflexes will throw you off the track if you're not paying attention.
Oh, and by the way, that rear-view mirror hasn't come off yet, and it has had plenty of opportunities.
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Prettiest car of the bunch? Possibly. Fastest? Could be. I haven't forgotten that this car largely ran perfectly right out of the box. I didn't have to do anything to it, and I probably screwed it up somehow tweaking it. Had I left it alone, it would probably be leading the championship.
There are times when my idea that getting two Fords so they would be competitive with each other really panned out. Problem is that they are usually competing for 2nd place. This Ford runs quieter than the other one, largely due to the motor on the #8 car riding loose in the mount.
As far a photography goes, this car is by far more difficult to shoot well. The other two step right up and photograph quite well. This one only gets good when all of the settings are manually adjusted, with flash and long exposure. I'll be making a lightbox soon to take proper shots, but until then this one will have to do.
____________________

The next race will be in my new house. Not sure when that will be. I'm hoping that it will be one night when I have the time to set it up and enjoy it. It won't be long and I'll have a semi-permanent track and will be able to go up there anytime and race on it. I'm looking at getting more track next. I have been unsuccessfully designing a track to fit my attic, but I think I need to run on a table for awhile until I find what's fun.
Funny part: I'll be taking the current carpet in my apartment and using it in the attic in the new house. So the rug-racing will not have gone far.

Going Crazy

I've had two chances now since taking my track over to the house to do a race here at the apartment. Most of the stuff is out, and I absentmindedly [a bit] took my track over as well. I've got loads of stuff to do, but I like stopping at the end of the day and having some fun, but I took my fun over there.

I found a race center not far from my new house online today, and I'm going to check it out as soon as I can. There are two in the general vicinity, and I'm going to check out both. This one seems smallish but is nearby, and the other one is pretty well known, apparently, although a bit further away.

If I can get over to this place and rent some open track time, I'll run my final races there. That should be pretty fun and relatively easy to do. It would also be a hell of a way to end the series, I think.

So I'm kinda going nuts without my race cars, even though time is running out to do much about it. We have at least two more weeks here, so I'll be bringing them back, I think...that is, if I can do it in a way that won't make my wife think I'm trying to get out of work. I just need to have some fun.

I need to have some FUN!!!

Moving Day

Today is small stuff moving day. That includes my track. That will mean the last three races will happen at a new location. I boxed everything up last night and it's sitting here, ready to go.

Three races left and two cars almost neck-and-neck. The Alfa [69 pts] leads the Shell Ford [67 pts].

I was hoping to get one more day of racing in here before moving, but it doesn't look like it'll happen. Curious to see if I'll get a chance to do anything at the house within the next few weeks. There's a lot to do.

50-Lap Sprint [Race 17 of 20]

I'm getting pretty low on available time here on this rug. The move is happening soon, and I may not get another chance to lay the track down and finish this series before packing up.

So, today's race is a 50-lap sprint on an old favorite track due to time constraints:

RESULTS [Race 17 of 20]:

Car                     Time          Offs        Points
Alfa #2             2:39.19          0                3    
Shell #8            2:38.99          0                5          
Gulf #11           2:44.86          0                1

The Gulf car really had a loose end on that round, cutting down its overall lap time. The Shell car, on the other hand, was quick and grippy, as was the Alfa.


Championship Standings:

Car                     Points          Total
Shell #8                  5                 67
Alfa #2                   3                 69
Gulf #11                 1                 46

Reminder: Glue Your Tires

The other day I reported that I had a mysterious cut in my tire, which I discovered after trying the CRV setting again on my controller. It causes cars to be tremendously fast, and I prefer the speed limited option for my small track.
I had come to the conclusion through advice that I needed to cut my motor shaft so the tire wouldn't rub. I was talking to guys on SCI about it, when one of them happened to mention gluing tires, which I had somehow completely overlooked.
I can't even tell you how much of an improvement it is.

When a car's tires aren't glued to the wheels, the wheels can spin independently inside them, which makes a car lose acceleration. Also, in high revs, the tire expands, and that's what caused the cut that I got in my tire [it was pretty superficial and eventually went away after a bit of racing].

To glue the tires, I used a standard, all-purpose craft glue. I put a few drops on a toothpick, then [with the tire off] I spread the glue thinly around the thick middle of the wheel. Then I re-attached the tire, rolled it a bit on a hard surface, and let it sit for awhile. The tube suggests that it's totally dry in 10 minutes, but I gave it overnight.
The next day I sanded the tires and ran the cars for a few hundred laps each. ALL of the cars improved in acceleration, didn't chatter in the slightest, and were much more responsive. The Alfa probably improved the most, as it was suddenly very grippy and VERY fast.

I encourage anybody reading this to glue the tires to the wheels on your slot cars. It's a very easy improvement and will really help lap times.

Road Race [Race 16 of 20]

Despite the cancellation of Class B, the following races will continue to be run with a 5-point format [5/3/1].

Today's race is a 100 lap time trial on a an open-style track with one 180º turn:

Because I recently spent so much time tuning and troubleshooting the Gulf car, I had to re-adjust my driving style to suit it. My plan was to focus on fewer offs, so I drove all the cars a bit conservatively. I also did not apply my standard banking to the curves, preferring to lay the track totally flat on the rug.


Team Orders:
Shell #8 - Fresh tires, 1/4 Front/Rear Body Float, no Pod Float
Alfa #2 - Fresh tires, 1/2 Body Float Front / 1/4 Body Float Rear, no Pod Float
Gulf #11 - Fresh tires, 1/2 Body Float Front / no Body Float Rear, light Pod Float [middle section loose]

[each car was run as a drone for 2 minutes prior to the race to warm up the tires]


RESULTS [Race 16 of 20]:

Car                     Time          Offs        Points
Alfa #2             5:23.12          0              3                            
Shell #8            5:21.49          0              5                                    
Gulf #11           5:25.52          1              1                      


Split Times:

Car                  [1-25]      [26-50]      [51-75]      [76-100]
Alfa #2           1:21.10     1:20.12      1:20.62       1:21.27                                                                    
Shell #8          1:19.33     1:19.77      1:20.70       1:21.67                                                                    
Gulf #11         1:21.08     1:22.47      1:20.84       1:21.12

[fastest segment times in blue]

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

This was the tightest race in a long time, possibly ever. Considering it was a 4-second split in the field, that's pretty good. The Gulf car did remarkably well, and suffered only one off. That affected the end result, although barely. Had it hung on throughout the race it would have been very close.

The three cars are in a very happy place right now. I plan on leaving them there for the time being, and only tweaking them occasionally. I think I've found the settings I like for my track.

Championship Standings:

Car                Points            Total
Shell #8             5                   62
Alfa #2              3                   66
Gulf #11            1                   45

The Gulf #11 has been mathematically eliminated from winning the championship today, and will now play the role of spoiler for the rest of the season. It seems more than up to the task. It's just unfortunate that it had to go out of contention this early. It'll be a bummer to break the bad news to my wife, but this car needs parts and won't be a real contender until it gets them.

It's still a neck-and-neck race to 1st in the championship, and the Shell #8 continues to prove its worth. There's a nice feeling knowing that whichever car comes in first is totally fine by me. I've had fun trying to tweak the slower cars to beat the fastest one, and the third segment of this race proves that I'm getting somewhere.