#66 - or - To Infinity And Beyond

Every time you get a new car, there are a series of things that you can do to it to get it "setup" for your track. Things that are all minor, yet together improve performance dramatically. A setup is a thing I do on every car, often more than once. Slot cars are extremely sensitive to adjustment, so it's possible do a perfect setup for you. And you'll know when it's that perfect setup because it will be driving just how you like it. 

Such is the case with every car, such is the case with the Chaparral #66. He limped a bit out of the box, and an overexcited me did a quick setup on it. 

When I ran the Chappies against the Matra yesterday, I couldn't help thinking that maybe the problem lies in me not giving it the full treatment, instead going quick-n-dirty. So this morning while waiting for my box of clips to arrive, I decided to spend a little time with the car, going over everything. 

First thing I noticed were there was still some factory tread on the tires, so I needed to put them on the sandpaper for a bit longer. I reminded myself to do that at the end. I checked the drivetrain and axles to make sure there wasn't any binding anywhere. I didn't think there was, but there's no way that there's nothing wrong when the car was almost half a second per lap slower than the #65. 

I lubed and oiled the car again, getting everything this time. I cleaned up the extra and made sure everything else was nice and secure. I set the body up for medium/medium float and ran some laps. It performed much better this time, almost running as confidently as the #65. I think I really need to run a race to determine what both of these cars can do. 

So the Car Flinger is pretty interesting. If I'm trying to set a hot lap, I really have to pay attention to it. It's almost like slowing down for the inside of a 1/60 curve, except it'll throw you. It takes very little to catch air. 

I see myself using this sometimes, but not all the time. I'm going to keep it in the mix for awhile, trying some other stuff out, but ultimately I'll have enough track pieces to keep myself interested without having to resort to using it much. I will use it anytime I need an overpass, though. I think for that it's pretty great. 

Another little thing that's kinda turned into a cool and important thing: that new DS 3503D controller. I got my box of clips that I was waiting for today, and part of that order was 4mm banana clips for the controller. So they come, I take 'em out, run upstairs to see if one of them is going to fit in the spot. Hmm...touchy. Not so easy. Might get easier. Okay, maybe I should just go ahead and put it together and deal with getting it to fit after. Sounds like a hassle. Wish I could just pop off the connector from the Carrera plung....

This is how my brain works sometimes. The answer to my problem is not only staring me in the face, but it's openly, outwardly mocking me. I popped off the Carrera connector and a bit of cable, did the totally easy wiring, taped it up and within 15 minutes away we went. We being me and my controller. 

The DS 3503D Controller.

So now I can say it: that DS 3503D controller is perfect for my racetrack. It's got great midrange response, plenty of top end, and can be feathered around the tricky parts. 35 ohms seems to be just right for running the Slot.it cars on Carrera track. It'll be a great home controller, and is a breeze to operate. Not too sensitive that a noob would pick it up and crash a car, but still plenty of gusto. I can see it successfully running other brand cars as well. 

Additional Notes:

I've been running the #66 throughout the evening, getting better performance and a smoother ride. I think it was just down to the setup/tuneup. So instead of waiting until I had time to run all the cars, I just ran the #66 against the #65 and Matra's previous times. Before the #66 ran a 2:35, and tonight it ran 2:27. That's just behind #65, and there's probably still room for improvement. Of course I haven't done really much at all to the #65 yet, so there's going to be all kinds of opportunity to increase speeds. 

I also spent quite a bit of time with the new controller, which means I was on the outside lane. So there were all kinds of fresh experiences tonight. I think the controller is going to be fantastic, and I don't expect any problems. Running on the outside lane is interesting. I don't know if I like it any better than the inside, but I do like being able to switch lanes when I want. Plus the ability to now race against a drone car makes a big difference. I'll still do my races in the more traditional [for me] time trial manner. I'd rather have hard numbers for the important stuff.