First, track. I had listed track at the end of about ten car requests, and to my surprise she went with track over cars. She gave me the following:
- six 2/30 curves. These are the next wider radius curves after the 1/60's, of which I have 20 pieces.
- three 3/30 curves. These are the ones after the 2/30's.
So I'm totally surprised by that. I was guessing at the most that I'd end up with two cars, so the track is not only great, but comes at a great time. This means I'm going to have to redesign and rebuild the existing layout. I'm going to try to modify the current layout by changing the left side. The right side, with the mountain climb and the lead-up to the back straight are really great, but the left side after the back straight and the entire curve leading up to the front straight could use some variety.
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Introducing: The Leyton House Porsche 962C 85
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| My wife made a most excellent choice this year, the Porsche 962C 85, which ran in Le Mans in 1987, She liked the color. I couldn't agree more. It's a gorgeous car, and very easy to spot. The big Group C cars don't handle like the sprightly shorter-wheelbase Classics, so they take a little getting used to. |
It's quite a bit different to the other cars I have, and since that's what I have, that's what I'll compare it to. It will be racing against them, after all, although I haven't decided whether to wait for urethanes or go back to the original rubbers on all the cars. That decision will come later.
Once the top comes off, the most obvious difference between the Leyton House and the Classic cars was the motor configuration. The Porsche uses an Inline motor setup, while the Classics all use Sidewinder motor setups.
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| Screen grab from the Slot.it manual showing the configurations. |
The Inline motor is more forward-sitting on the car, which I think tends to give it better balance. I can imagine a Sidewinder version of this car drifting all over the place with the tail it has. The Classics handle a bit easier through tight turns, but the Porsche can really fly down the straights.
I was surprised to see how much longer it was than the other cars, and not just because of the tail, but just everywhere.
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| Sitting with the Alfa, it's easy to see how much longer the Porsche is. The wheelbase itself is a good half inch longer. That's a long car, and more similar in stature to the Carrera Audi R-18 [but a world of difference in performance]. The guide flag and axle are right up front, much like the Alfa, but that's where the similarities between these two cars end. |
Setup and Tuning
I went with my basic out-of-box tuneup:
- Sand original rubber tires
- Take the magnet out and stick it on the refrigerator to hold up pizza coupons
- Oil and lube axles and gears
- Reset front wheels so they're touching the track
- Add pod and body float
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| To reset the front wheels, take them out, exposing the axle mounts. There are also two plastic axle supports, and those need to go too. The first one will fly off and down onto the carpet when you first take the axle off. When it does, what you'll be looking for is a tiny T-shaped piece of plastic. Once these things are accomplished, your front wheels will be making contact with the track [as it should be]. |
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| Inside of each front axle mount is this little looping holder. It's got two teeth on one end, which are meant to snap into the holes at the top of the axle mount, holding the wheels in the up/off track position. Taking these out and re-installing them in the other direction [teeth facing away from the top hole] will set the tires nicely on the track. If you're so inclined, you could also put in these super tiny 3mm grub screws on the top of the axle holder to control the ride height. |
Once my modifications were done, it was time to get it out on the track and see what it could do. I'm not sure what to expect regarding the competitive level between the Group C and Classics. Will the Porsche make up in the straights what it seems to lose in the curves? Does it really lose anything at all, or am I making something out of nothing as I get used to a car with a tail? And what about these new wider-radius turns? That's gotta matter to every car, I'd imagine.
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| The imaginary miniature photographer was able to get this photo of the Porsche bearing down on him just before being flung into the imaginary miniature bleachers. |
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| The reason I only got one car this year is because she loaded up on track...2/30's and 3/30's, which means I'll need to integrate them into my layout. It'll mean either tear down or figure out a clean way to do it that's still interesting. |
Not only are the new curves going to be faster, but I think they'll end up helping the Porsche. It seems built for a large radius curve, as it can get quite pitchy before giving out in the corners. The longer wheelbase allows for it to punch it out of a corner earlier, as it doesn't get as twitchy coming out. You'd think it would, but on my track it kind of grounds itself into the corner. Gotta go into the corners with a bit more care, however, as the tail will come right out if you don't.
Track Plan
I like the layout of the current track, I must admit, even though all the curves are the same radius [1/60]. I'm going to use every new piece I can, though. I really like the way the right side of the track is turning out, so I'm going to focus on the left side. I want....I need that sweeping left hander.
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| This is the first good idea I came up with, and I'm going to try it and see what happens. With a large layout like this, there's a little bit of flexibility when it comes to fitting those last two parts together. [Brown = 1/60, Yellow = 2/30, Green = 3/30, Brick = 1/30] |
The Tricky Part
Life's pretty easy in slot cars when you have all the same radius curves to deal with. You can pretty much build out evenly and make a good track that will connect in the end. Not so when you start adding wider-radius curves. Suddenly it becomes a game of inches and degrees. It might be an inch off to the side and an inch too short. Or the other way around.
So I did everything in the track plan above [back straight with a soft left kink to a sweeping left turn], but when trying the following S-kink it didn't fit as easily in real life as it did on fake paper. I ended up making the kink with one of the 3/30's as the middle part, which made it not so kinky.
I'm one straight short of stretching the whole layout out a bit so it's taking up more of the table. Thing is, I have to be aware of the change of elevation with respect to the fact that both sides are underneath a sloping roof. So the higher the elevation, the less-wide I can make the track. And I have to consider that I want hillsides in both corners. So I might only have space to add one more straight on each side.
I just thought of something; the drift possibilities on the left side sweeper are going to be sick!
I just thought of something else; time to get the paint stuff out.
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| My wife was right about it being a nice color. It's a pretty car all the way around. I've got a set of aluminum wheels that would fit under it, but I'll need some urethanes for those, as well as the current set. Once the tires are added, that'll be the only new parts. Everything else will remain stock and I'll try to squeeze the most out of the car. |
The Porsche's inline runs a different pinion/gear setup [9/28] vs the Classic Sidewinder [11/32]. The Inline pod is smaller than the Classic and requires two less screws, which means two less adjustments. I like a slightly-loose pod with a little bit of body float to go with it.
I'm curious to see how the other cars are going to handle the new layout, in particularly the Alfa. I expect the Fords to adapt well and probably go even faster, but I don't know how the short-wheelbase is going to benefit the Alfa on the wider turns. Today is Christmas day, and the family is sleeping. I've been up since 4 a.m., quietly shuffling around in the attic. I won't get much of a chance to race today, but I already have a track together. I just need the family to be awake before I can start racing cars.
Jeez. I'm such a kid.
Update:
I couldn't wait and have been sneaking up to the attic on and off all day. I actually put a little something together that I think is pretty excellent:
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| Coming counter-clockwise off the backstretch and into a new softer left hand kink, then through a short straight and into a sweeping left-hander that softens up before another left hand kink. That first left off the back straight can be taken at full speed with most of the cars, which basically extends my backstretch all the way to the big sweeper. Once through the kink it's a quick right and then the front straight. |
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| While a curve, it barely registers a blip on most of the cars. Perfect for changing direction without forcing the car into a skid each time. On the left is the piece it replaced, which was at a much sharper angle. This basically extends my backstretch by another 4-5 feet. |
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| Here's the big left-hand sweeper. Just a little off the throttle going in, and you can pretty much drift your way around the huge corner. That's five 2/30's and then a 3/30 before hitting that left-hand kink. Coming off the straight going in it'll be a bit higher in elevation, [as that entire corner will be cutting through a hillside] working it's way down to ground level by the front straight. Maybe even trying to make the big drop at the kink. |
After spending some time on it, I could learn to love the big turns. So far this layout is excellent, as well as a little surprising. I found that the right side got more technical due to the huge open flow on the left side. I'm able to really give gas through most of the new part of the layout. Each car is responding well to it, regardless of tire. I'm starting my workweek tomorrow, so I don't know when I'll get a chance to time any of the cars. Once I do it'll determine what type of tire they run on.
I don't have to slow down until after the left hand kink on the back straight. I can also stay closer to 3/4 throttle through the left half of the track.
As always, I'll mess with it, run on it, and see how I feel after a few days. Right now it's really fast and a lot of fun. I just blacked out the white lines, so maybe tomorrow evening I'll do some painting.
One more look at the new hot rod:
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| I'll never get tired of looking at this car. Very few breakable parts. |
Happy Holidays
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