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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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