Summer Leftovers Race Pt 1

I'm going to run another race. This one will be almost identical to the Summer Salami, a 50-lap inside lane affair. Why? Because I like the layout and have done quite a bit of work on the cars. There is, however, one change to the layout. I have moved the incline to the hill right up against the turn going into the straight. This seems to be taking car of flying cars, as they can't get up enough speed to catch air when there's so little runway. The apex now has four track pieces, so there's no issue at all with the hill being a distraction.

Since I've been doing work on the cars, I'm going to run each through the track and write a breakdown of what I did. Last night I picked apart a few cars and did some stuff, so I want to check them against time. 

Chaparral #65

In a post a day or so ago, I mentioned that I wasn't going to give the #65 the same treatment as the #66 to see what times would be like. Thing is, yesterday I was running the #66 and #65 back to back, and the #66 felt better with the weight in and all tuned up. So last night I was tuning the #65, when I noticed that it was a little light in the nose and wouldn't stay down. That's the same problem the Matra had, and I fixed it with weight added just behind the front axle. 

So I did the same thing here. I had to. If I didn't, it would have underperformed. I didn't run lap times between the two cars before adding the weight, so I won't know if either car was faster, but the #66 just simply felt faster and more planted than the #65. 

I also did a full lube, oil and cleaning to the car.

Summer Leftovers Race Results 

Car            Time            Lap           Offs         

#65          5:42.55          6.84            0           

In the Summer Salami Race, the #65 ran a 5:34 at 6.68. So it turns out I haven't fixed the problem with this car. Perhaps the weight was having a negative effect. We'll have to see how the #66 runs to really know. If both turn in slower lap times than the Salami times, then it might be the case. 

Boy it sure felt smooth when I was driving it. I was pushing pretty hard and didn't wreck once. It's got that smooth GT40 feeling to it, but it also has that extra level, like the Alfa does, were you can push it and hang right on the knife's edge with it. Why it's actually going .2 a lap slower than before? I don't know. I might take the weight out for the next race, though. 

__________

The Matra

I couldn't wait to get this car back on track. I took it apart yesterday and messed around a bit with the front suspension, tried getting rid of some vertical looseness in the front axle, only to try it, not like it and reset it back to the way I had it. So the car got a thorough lube, oil and cleaning.

Summer Leftovers Race Results 

Car            Time            Lap           Offs         

#65          5:42.55          6.84            0           

Matra      5:29.73          6.58            4  

As I was running it, it felt better and a bit faster than the #65. It just felt like it had the bite needed to make it through the tighter turns on the right side of the layout. Thing is, the car crashed four times, all my fault, and all various places throughout the track. I think that's due to a combination of things: the car's ability to run on the edge and my exuberance regarding it. 

There's a thing I've noticed about these cars. If you have a particular body style you like and it's a well-built slot car, the effect it'll have on you as an owner/operator of the thing feel more tangible than if you were just racing anything that would move. In other words, it'll become your favorite. When I got the first three cars, the two GT40's and the Alfa, I had a blast with them all, but I had a particularly good time with the Alfa. It was the most fun car to race, and felt like I could run it harder than the other two cars. 

Fast forward to the additions of the Porsche and the Matra, even though they came separate. The Porsche was fast and fun, but it didn't have that edge. The Matra, however, did have it. Suddenly I had two incredible cars along with more very very good cars. Those three cars took up the first drawer in my slot car pit box. The Matra and the Alfa were so similar in ability that it took me to another level of confidence while racing. And what that did was made my lap times better. If you're always riding on the edge, you're putting in the best time. 

The #66 Chaparral is looking like it could be in that group as well. It's going along roughly the same path the Alfa and the Matra did: started off good but with potential to be much better, and over a little time got there. I think the Chaparral is getting to that point where it's going to be an unstoppable force. But the Matra, I think, is already there.

__________

The Porsche 962C 

I put the #5 GT40 on the track, intending to run it next. During warmup it was coming off the track all over the place. Something's not set up right, so I put it back in the pit box and grabbed the Porsche. It's responding well to tuning and seems to be ready to race. I loosened the float up 

Summer Leftovers Race Results 

Car            Time            Lap           Offs         

#65          5:42.55          6.84            0           

Matra      5:29.73          6.58            4  

962C       5:32.42          6.64            1   

Man, the Porsche was just flying through the left half of the course. Just absolutely killing it. But the right half...the side with purely 1/60 curves slowed it down considerably. But once the track opens up, the Porsche hauls ass. That's kind of the way I expected it to run. Maybe not so hot through the tight sections, but like a bullet through the straights and larger radius turns. It had one pretty spectacular crash, but otherwise ran very well.

__________

Using Your Surroundings

 I have, what I would call, a pretty sweet table to build slot car tracks on. I made it myself, it came out great, and it really makes a difference when you race on it compared to the floor. I love it, and would do it all over again if I could. 

I'm going to miss having all this room.

But I'm lucky. I have a place to build a table. Or should I say had? Life changes, people change, things change, and change has to happen. I'll soon be moving out of this house with the sweet table, and I'm bummed about it. Sure, the attic has it's ups and downs: occasional wasps, bees, cold, heat, etc. But it's got my table in it. 

Well, that's changing. I'll be back in a small apartment soon, similar to the one where I got my start. And I'll be on the rug again soon. But this time I will be coming with loads of track and cars. Almost more than I need. 

If you're reading this, you're probably thinking I'm going to try to make this huge bummer seem like it's not so bad, and that's what I'm going to do. 

We all gotta start somewhere. Pictured is the box kit, painted, with the original Carrera cars, the R18 and the Safety car. Also pictured is furniture moved out of the way.

One thing I learned about having a table is that it gives you a lot of pressure to do something about it. Whether it's building an awesome track, trying out new things, or just racing all the time, there's a certain bit of pressure when you're staring at a monolith. I feel compelled sometimes to drive a car around, even if it's only for a few laps, then I won't pick it up for a couple of days. 

You have the space, you've built the table, now get to it.

When I was on the floor, time and space were both limited. I had to tear down the living room, clear the space, build and run the track, break that all down, clean up and reset everything before the wife came home. Well, I'll be living alone, so I'll have time and space. I plan on still doing things on the floor, no table. But I'm also thinking about what I'm going to do when I get down there. I did a lot of racing when I had not much to work with, but now that I have enough track to almost run the entire apartment, things should get interesting. 

Over times additions were made. Notably here some straights and some 1/30 curves. Also got my first batch of Slot.it cars.

It's likely most of the tracks will have a small footprint, but more overpasses and stuff. Hard to say at this point. I may be totally content to just make very basic tracks to do car tests and races with. Either way I'm going to be going back to that Saturday Morning thinking when I race. I'm referring to my childhood and how I only could race on weekends, usually early Saturday morning. So the sessions were bigger and more intense. I also know a couple of guys who would probably have fun racing while we're grilling, so I might be taking the track other places as well. 

So what's my point? My point is, if you look down in your living room and see some space, get your kit out and set it up. Make a day of it. Just do it. Sure, I always wanted a table, and I always will, but slot cars are fun, dammit. Even if you're on the floor. Just make the best of your surroundings.

I'm proud to be retaking my RugRacer status.

Summer Salami Outside Lane Time Trials Pt 2

 I got a chance to run a few more of the remaining cars for the Time Trial. It's been interesting so far, but there are still some more cars to come. 

The #11 Gulf GT40

This car has been seeing more laps recently, and due to the repair to the suspension it's running much better. During the time trial, it still seemed a little skittish, but I felt like the pace was good. 

The Time Trial

Car               Time        Lap         Offs          

#11 GT40   3:03.18     7.32          0

Not a bad run. Beat the Matra by 3 seconds overall. Makes me think something might be wrong with the Matra, since so many cars are beating it. But the #11 drove one of it's better times of all time today. Nicely done. 

__________

The Alfa Romeo

It ran such a good Summer Salami race that I had to run it as is. No fancy tricks. During the time trial it ran great. No offs, so it got a fantastic flow going. It's also incredibly nimble when there isn't much track to work with. Add to the fact that it can take the faster parts of the track pretty much like all the other cars and it sits at an advantage.

The Time Trial

Car               Time        Lap         Offs          

#2 Alfa       2:53.39     6.92          0

Fastest car yet, beating the #8 GT40 by 6 seconds overall. Dang fast. It just handles so well. This car is going to remain competitive for a long long time.

__________

#5 GT40

Hope you had a nice vacation, buddy, because it's time to go back to work. He ran the time trial like a lightning bolt. Don't know what got into this car. Maybe he just really responds well to the controller. 

The Time Trial

Car               Time        Lap         Offs          

#5 GT40     2:52.19     6.88          0

Fastest car yet. Even faster than the Alfa. Ran a tremendous race. Felt like the best GT40 of the three, but not the fastest car. Turns out it was. 

During the time trial, I noticed the last two cars I drove were skipping over something in the far left 180° turn. I took it out and took a look inside, but didn't find anything. I put it back into place, started up the #66 Chaparral's time trial, and the car deslotted there twice in the first two laps. I don't have time to change it over just now, so that last car will have to wait. 

Sometimes Weight Can Get You Down

 I mentioned a few cars had struggled over the hill with lightness in the front end. It was too hot to race today, so I decided to have a little pit session and add some weight to a couple of cars. It doesn't feel like they need to be heavier, just have a little bit more evenly distributed weight. 

First on the block was the #11 GT40. Once I got the front suspension issue sorted out, it got light going over the hill and was bucking a little during acceleration. 

I cut a lead square about 5/8" and put it right behind the front mounting post. Perfect place for it, and that little bit made the difference.

When I did this to the Matra, it responded by kicking ass forever. I don't know if the same thing will happen here, but I've had this car so long I'm hoping something will work. 

I also decided to do one of the Chaparrals, since both of them are doing the same thing. Since I hadn't run a time trial on the #66 and hadn't replaced the track pieces that were screwed up, I went ahead and added the weight. 

I did the #66, but I think I'm going to wait a little on the #65.

I'll run the trial in the morning for the car, but then tomorrow night I've got another race lined up. So I might skip the time trial altogether for the #66. As it stands I'm going soon into crazy time, so I might be here a bit more sporadically in the near future. Things are about to get really screwy.

But before that happens, I want to have some definitive numbers. I think I can do an endurance race tomorrow if I'm lucky. If not I'll do another race, but re-tune all the cars beforehand. Maybe make a track change or two as well. Something big either way. And special. 

I'm also going to scrub the idea of having a championship just yet. I've got ideas for that, but it'll have to wait a month or two before I'm ready to tackle it. 

__________

UPDATE: I went ahead and skipped the time trial for the #66. It wouldn't be fair now that I've added weight, and I'd rather get to a race than a time trial. Sure, I could just add up what I got and call that a race, but I really didn't prep all the cars before doing it, so I don't think it's fair. 

Adding weight to the #66 really made a difference. It's even more planted than before, but now has a much better flow through the turns. More deliberate. No weird tossing around of the car. I didn't add weight to the #65 yet, and I might not just for the sake of comparison, so we'll see. If it suffers for it, then I might change my mind. 

Summer Salami Outside Lane Time Trials

 I got a little time today, so I started up on some outside lane action. I normally run on the inside lane for a few reasons: there's more room for movement using the outside lane as a border, I design tracks with the inside lane in mind as the primary/only lane, and my Slot.it controller is wired to it. The controller comes off easily enough, but since I'm the only racer here I set it up the for the inside lane regardless. So essentially I think of it as a one-lane track and not a two-lane track. 

Well, today is different. Since I got the DS 35ohm controller I've been using it off and on, so today was going to be the first time I've done a dedicated race with it. 

It may look small, but I have freakishly big hands. The handgrip is actually the same size as the Slot.it handgrip.

Since I'm using the outside lane of the same track I ran last race, I'm going to run this short time trials first and see where everybody is before committing to a 50 lap race. The situation is very different. Instead of having the electronic controller with all the great settings, I have just the analog trigger. This is going to have an effect on some of the cars, as they run better with a little help from the electronic controller settings. Be that as it may, we are here to race. So we'll start off with the time trials. In a way, this could be quite revealing about which cars might be easier to drive, more responsive to control, and how good of a performer in general that they are. 

Cars were not tuned or treated in any way prior to the race. The weather is mild, and it has been raining [this matters in my unprotected attic], which are good weather conditions for racing. I picked the first four cars I had out today and started with them.

The first car was the Porsche:

Slot.it Porsche 962C #11 Leyton House

I thought I would start off with the Porsche because I thought it was going to be the car that required the most power and the most gentle touch of the bunch. Just from how I have to set the electronic controller to get it to run fast, I have to apply that sort of thing here as best as I can. I ran some laps to get used to the car/controller combo, then ran the race. The car didn't seem all that fast, but it also seemed like it was missing the braking ability from the other controller. It couldn't slow down enough to get through the turns without sliding out, so I ran a bit slower than I would have with the other controller.

Time Trial

Car      Time        Lap        Crashes   

962C   3:17.89   7.88            2

Normally I'd be concerned with an almost 8 second lap out of a car that recently ran a 6.64 on the inside lane of the very same track, but I know this is different, so I'm going with it. Besides, it's a time trial and not a race. So there won't be any official scoring. There will likely be some tuning done to some of the cars before the actual race begins. With that said, the Porsche was sluggish.

__________

Up next was the Matra:

Slot.it Matra 670B. Have you bought one of these yet? It's my firm recommendation you do so.

This glorious car has an innate ability to conform to just about any track situation. It's such a smooth runner it's almost criminal. It was the first car I tried the DS controller with, and they went great together. I was very much looking forward to seeing what kind of time I set. 

Time Trial

Car      Time        Lap        Crashes   

962C   3:17.89   7.88            2

Matra  3:06.92   7.44            2 

That's quite a difference between these cars so far. I was expecting the Matra to set the high bar early, and it has. But now it looks like the Porsche got thoroughly spanked. So be it. I don't think the Porsche and the DS controller are the best pairing. It needs something faster. But the Matra was smooth as butter through it all. Super easy to get a groove on, could run at a fast pace and still not risk crashing. It did crash twice at the same turn pretty much everybody else crashed at, which is the left after the hill. 

__________

And then came the #8 GT40:

Slot.it GT40 #8

The GT40s are curious cars. The three that I have all run very much different than each other, even though they share similar traits. This car is quiet and solid. It's usually the faster of the three. Usually. I ran the time trial and it handled great. It really had no problems ripping up the track. 

Time Trial

Car            Time        Lap        Crashes   

962C        3:17.89     7.88            2

Matra       3:06.92     7.44            2 

#8 GT40  2:59.28     7.16            2 

Well, would you look at that. Here I thought the Matra's time was going to be the time to beat, but it has just been handled, and quite easily, I might add, by #8. That's pretty special. Now I'm curious to see what the rest of the cars are going to run. 

__________

Next up, Chaparral #65:

From the Slot.it Chaparral 2E Can-Am 1966 Collector Set

I had planned on stopping at the GT40 and heading downstairs to start this post, but I talked myself into running one of the Chaparrals as well. Glad I did. This car really is great at imitating all the good characteristics of the rest of the cars. It's planted like a GT40, rides like a Matra and handles like an Alfa. I have a feeling one of these two Chaparrals are going to be in the #1 slot soon. 

Time Trial

Car            Time        Lap        Crashes   

962C        3:17.89     7.88            2

Matra       3:06.92     7.44            2 

#8 GT40  2:59.28     7.16            2 

#65 Chap 3:02.37     7.28            2

Very nicely done. Even beat the Matra. Something tells me the winner of this time trial is going to be the car that gets along best with the controller. #65 certainly does that. It ran the trial very well and wasn't troublesome in any way. 

Interesting how so much of this relies more on finger dexterity and restraint, rather than hitting it hard. Now that I've run four cars [the rest will come in the next post], I've got an idea of what I can expect from the rest. I think the Alfa is going to lay down the best time, unless it doesn't get along with the controller. 

I think I'm also going to run a head-to-head comparison of the controllers on the inside lap with one car. I know they'll lay down different lap times, just curious what they would be. 

You're probably wondering why I don't just use the lap times I just got for the race. Well, 25 laps really isn't enough time to get a flow going. By the time you've run the race your car is just starting to get good grip and a solid flow. So many crashes happen early in a race, but not so much later, and if you look back at it, I don't usually have more wrecks with more laps. I don't usually crash more than 2 times at 50 or 25 laps. 

But it is all going to come down to this controller and which cars work best with it. The more I think about the Porsche, but more I believe it to be true. The thing about it is, it has a stronger motor, 23k as opposed to the 21.5k motors in the other cars. It also has a 9/28 gear setup instead of the 11/32 the other cars have. It's an inliner, the rest sidewinders. So when the other cars all have a similar response to the controller and the person running it, dropping in a car with that much of a different setup is going to matter. This is where I'm going to likely have to score by class when I expand my Class C cars. They all run that same 23k inliner 9/28 pinion/gear setup. So a load of 962s and 956s would be very competitive with each other. Funny part is is that they'd probably be a little slower than the Classics on the whole.

I hope to get the other four cars run in a day or two.

When does it become Collecting?

I had the house to myself this morning, so I took my coffee upstairs and ran the race cars. No timing, no tuning, just putting them on the track and riding around. I ran each car 20 laps or so, and as I went I started thinking about how many cars I had, and when does it become collecting? And what is collecting, exactly?

My race cars. All from Slot.it.

Slot cars have been around for a long time. Even from the early days, cars were modeled after the full-sized machines of the day. And over time, as slot cars got progressively more popular, more and more replicas were being produced. So it became very easy to put a collection of many cars on your track. When I was 7, 8 years old, I spent my allowance on HO cars for my track. I was always on the lookout for the fastest, most indestructible car I could find, so I could beat my brother at our version of racing. I got so many cars my mom gave me a carrying case for them. L&M Lola, #66 Chaparral, so many great cars. 

Fast forward to now, and while the scales changed, the attitude remained the same. The difference is that now I know why I'm like I am. Over the years I've been a fan of lots of different forms of racing. If there's a class of cars, I'm a fan of the racing. I like making things go fast, and slot cars fit that desire perfectly. Naturally one would gravitate more towards their favorite type of racing, mine of which is 60's and 70's Le Mans endurance cars. Something about that era of racing is just the most exciting, dangerous, crazy, intense, and absolutely death-defying. So that's why I have the cars that I have.

So when am I a collector? Each of the cars above was a gift, whether birthday or holiday present. We did it that way so that I wouldn't get too crazy with it. So I didn't. I was patient, and I think it shows. Eight cars isn't all that much in the big picture, especially compared to a lot of other slot car fans. Some fans have collections so big they need spreadsheets to keep control of everything. But when does it become too much to really handle? 

I'm starting to look at other classes and brands of car. Reason being is because I'm nearing a maximum on what's available from dealers for Slot.it Classics. Not that there aren't cars out there, but I'm looking for cars that are still widely available and not highly priced, as opposed to the high prices on some cars that are here and there. They exist still, as each car in that picture proves. But I'm also looking at other classes. I have a Group C car, and have started looking at more of those, especially the earlier ones. There's still good availability and I could probably field close to a dozen of the 956/962 today. 

The first rivalry. They're like my little babies.

I'm looking at other brands as well. Policar, a subsidiary of Slot.it, has a pretty nice collection of vintage F1 cars, as well as some very good looking classic Ferraris. And since the Policars have Slot.it parts, they may even successfully mingle with what's in my collection now. If not, then I would race them in their own class, which would mean owning at minimum 2-3 cars no matter which class I chose from.

It might seem like I'm being nitpicky, but I'm trying to field as wide a group of competitors as I can before having to split things all off. That's kind of why I'm not looking at GT3 or LMP or other classes. And while vintage F1 cars would never have run against Le Mans Classics, they could on my track, especially if they were similarly outfitted. There's also the aesthetic to think about. What you want to look at. What is important to you in your mind? 

Thankfully slot cars is a hobby that has enough for practically every type of fan. Cars perform better than ever, great stuff continues to be made, with loads of 3rd party cars coming out all the time. So there's always something to tease you out there. 

The next great rivalry, perhaps?

So to answer my own question, I guess I am collecting. I'm a collector. But I'm a racer. Every car I will ever own will be run on my track. And if it gets to be too much, where I can't find the time to satisfactorily tend to all the cars and keep them running great, then that's when I'll stop collecting. But by separating them into classes, I could focus on a batch of cars at a time, which might be easier. The races will be longer, but that's okay. I'm going to have more time to dedicate to doing that soon. There are a million great cars out there, but I know I could only handle so many before I have too many. Eight cars is working for me right now, which I'm happy about because I didn't think I would get past 3 cars for the longest time. But I can totally see having another 8 cars from a different class and doing the whole thing no problem.

Collector? Yes.

Collector of shelf queens that never are unboxed? No

GT40 Tuneup update

 I ran two of the three cars that I had planned on running after the race to see if I could get any more out of them. Two of them, the #66 Chaparral and the Porsche 962C both improved by .2 seconds on their lap time, which was great for both cars. I didn't, at the time, run the GT40 because I was in a rush. So I ran it this morning. 

The race itself was good, and I felt like he set a pretty good pace. I discovered that he's a little lighter in the nose than the other two GT40s are. It's especially noticeable on the overpass. Instead of going over at a relatively parallel plain, the front lifted, causing the car to de-slot three times. It also crashed once on Turn 1. None of the other cars have lifted like that, so I'm going to be putting some lead in. That lifting could be indicative of other issues, and could certainly affect overall performance. 

Official Race Time: 5:54.37   Lap Time: 7.08

Post-Race Checkup: 5:39.09  Lap Time: 6.78

So that brought the #11 a little closer to the pack, and in fact faster than the #5 car's original time. Still 3/10ths off the lead pace. I'm still somewhat mildly satisfied with it. It did improve the most of the three, even if it is the slowest of the three that ran. And while it's good that it's back in the pack, it's BACK in the pack. That's nothing you wanna be okay with. Get out there and win!

So before the next race I'll be adding some weight to the front and double-checking that everything is running right. I'm hoping to trim 1/10th more from the lap time. 

If you look back at the history of this car from when I got it, you'd notice that it always seemed to be off the pace, with the occasional exception. But mostly it has been an underperformer. It didn't even figure into the competition in the 20 race championship. And while it wasn't my primary running, I tried to keep it running competitively. It just hasn't been able to run consistently fast laps. 

So that's about it. I'm going to run an outside lane race with the new controller next. Same track layout, but it'll be much different. I'm curious to see how some cars do, knowing that they need a little help from the electronic controller to control them. We'll see if the analog controller will be able to do that. 

How About Some Love for the Alfa?

 The #2 Alfa Romeo 33/3 from Slot.it. 

One of the first three cars I got, the Alfa Romeo stands out as easily one of the most fun cars to drive. It absolutely dominates the curves and shorter tracks. Some cars have a specialty, and you'd think this car would too, but then it goes off and wins a race on the longest, fastest track I've built yet. And it handily beat the competition. 

If you've read from the early days here, the Alfa has had a pretty glorious reputation, routinely beating the two GT40s. It won the first championship, which is why its photo sits on the top of the main page. It is an absolute animal. No other car I own is so short, so spry, so wide or so quick.

And the funny thing about this car....this car, the Slot.it Alfa Romeo 33/3 #2, is that it came from the factory with a warped chassis. A slight warp, but enough of one that some of the German online stores mentioned it in the description. I didn't buy it off one that did. In fact, I didn't even know about it until after I had it for awhile and noticed the warping myself. What ends up occurring is the rear part of the side panel is low enough to drag on the track. It was already pretty low to begin with, so any lower would be problematic. I couldn't figure out a way to make the body conform to the chassis warp, so I took the dremel to the bottom of the side panel. I took off as little as possible, so it still will occasionally make a scraping sound around a turn. 

But I'm totally okay with all of that. It's okay if the car has a curious, however minor defect. It just makes it that much more of a challenge to perform well. Strangely enough, I haven't noticed any real performance issues, although I'd sure like to get another Alfa so I can do side-to-side comparisons. 

This car won the Summer Salami. It beat the Matra, and did so coming cold out of the garage. The Matra has had laps on this track. The Alfa has had not many. Ten. Fifteen tops. That sort of thing happens when you get new cars. They tend to get run more often, especially if they're good. And the Alfa obviously is a very good car, despite it's warpage. It kinda gives it more personality, if anything. 

The Original Three. 

I have a thing for the Classics, that's obvious. Also for Slot.it, also obvious. If I was going to try to explain where the Alfa fits in the competitive realm of Slot.it cars, I'd say it's the short-track and technical track dominator. It makes other cars feel heavy and cumbersome by comparison. 

What happens if none of the cars can catch the Alfa? I mean, he's been beaten before, but what would happen in a 20 race season? Would a car like the Matra, which is essentially like a longer Alfa, be able to beat it? Or is it just dumb luck and the Alfa happens to be tuned the best? I don't know. The Alfa has gotten comfortable in its skin, so it almost tells me what it wants. I can't remember how long it's been since the setup cost the Alfa a race. I'd have to look, but I think crashing out was more of a thing than performance ever was. 

I'm very happy with how this car is doing. That it can come out of the garage to win like that is pretty epic. It needed virtually nothing to win it. And it needs nothing now. It has very quickly improved its odds of winning races. I don't expect it to win everything from here on out. I'm just really happy it won this race.

You could be thinking, but dude you could decide who wins the race easily and just write whatever shit you want. 

Yeah, I could, but I don't. I don't even look at the clock when I'm racing. I push Start at the beginning and Stop at the end. I don't know the time until then. So all I have to work with while doing the time trials is the car before me. Since I don't know the absolute time while driving, I can't do a race comparing to it. So every car has to put in the best race it can. And when you do it that way, it's really easy to think a car is performing one way and their result is something much different. I've run cars I'm sure had a chance to win, but ended up not only not winning but being in the lower end of the pack. 

So I like to keep an element of surprise. I suppose I could get a decent lap counter, and set it and forget it. But I like the mystery. If you're driving in a race, you don't have the time to go checking your lap times with competitors. You race. That's what I like to do. And that's what the Alfa Romeo is very good at.

Post Race Car Checkup-date [Update]

[Update]: When I first did this report, I didn't get a chance to run the cars. I finally was able to run two of them, so I added that information to this report. Hope that isn't confusing. 

I got a chance to run the three cars that I worked on yesterday, hoping that there would be some improvement there. Each car needed work, and all three had specific issues that needed to be addressed. 

With the #66 Chaparral, I think it's been mainly a handling issue, so I reset everything and started from scratch. I went with a med/med float, but it took a bit because doing a quarter-turn on the front screw wasn't like doing one on the back screw. So you'd get tight/med, or med/loose. So I had to do a half-turn on the front and a quarter-turn on the back. 

I set the pod float to medium, which gives it just enough play to free up the pod a little. By doing that the pod is a bit separate from the rest of the chassis, so the car doesn't get twisty on acceleration. It also helps with acceleration in the curve, allowing a bit of suspension flexibility through the pod. A car setup with medium pod float and medium body float will feel well-planted and sturdy in the turns. 

I ran some laps tonight to see how it runs now, and it seems to be running very well. I haven't done any timed laps yet, so I don't know if there's actual improvement yet. But it feels much more responsive. I know it's got at least .2 more speed in it. I'd be surprised if I didn't improve it, if even just a little bit. But I think this car has potential, so it's easy to keep at it. 

I have now run 50 timed laps, and it went great. Car was fast, smooth and had a quickness that I hadn't seen before. Also, it ran all 50 laps without one crash. Here's the results:

Official Race Time: 5:41.68   Lap Time: 6.82

Post-Race Checkup: 5:33.08  Lap Time: 6.66

Okay, I didn't plan that. That the #66 came out with a lap time of.....nevermind.

Now that's certainly a difference. That time puts him in the Top 5, as well as in front of its twin, the #65. Putting everything on a med/med float worked. I could definitely feel the difference in the handling, and it had that acceleration thing the Matra has, where it just whooshes away. It didn't once sound like it was working hard, it ran smoother than it has yet, and it was never at risk of coming off the track. 

When you have a field that is as close as this one, a .1 second improvement in lap time is pretty good. A .2 is pretty extraordinary. It usually means that you've come across something pretty big and gotten past it. The #66's history is brief but eventful. But now I think I've gotten it into the range of the other cars. As long as I know that it can maintain those speeds, I won't think something is wrong with the car. So yay.

__________

The Porsche had suspension and front axle issues, so I tended to them, resetting the car to med/med float. It was tight/medium, but that wasn't my intention originally, so I think it had to do with the body maybe being knocked out of whack from a crash or something. Not sure. Either way, once I reset everything, I felt pretty confident that it would run better. 

I was right. It certainly did run better. It might even be the most improved of the three. The secret is to master the rear end, and I think the setup got me going in that direction. I might have to loosen the body float in the back a little, but we'll see. 

I also repaired the vertical play in the front axle, bringing everything more in line. I got some laps on it, and it seems to be going through the corner with a better balance, and not feeling so loose. It's acting a lot like the Matra, which is a very good sign. 

I was also able to get the Porsche on the record for 50 laps now that it has been rebalanced. Strangely enough it crashed 4 times. Here are the results:

Official Race Time: 5:42.55   Lap Time: 6.84

Post-Race Checkup: 5:32.68  Lap Time: 6.64

Another example of two tenths of a second being an impressive improvement. I can't explain the crashes. All four happened at separate locations [also weird]. Regardless, it still ran a pretty good time. 6.64 puts it just behind the Matra, which means it is a competitor. No doubt about it. 

The car itself felt well-balanced, although the room was hot, and that always seems to affect race cars. But whatever, I think there's always going to be a little bit of tail to deal with while driving this car. I'm okay with that. This helps me feel better about the upcoming Group C additions. I was a little worried I'd have to sort by class. I don't want to do that just yet if I don't have to. 

So congratulations to the Porsche and the Chaparral as well. Nice recovery to both of those cars. 

__________

The GT40 needs the most help. I realized I can pretty much start at the beginning with this car. 

It had a ride-height adjustment screw come loose and was wedged in a weird place, binding the front axle. Otherwise I set it up med/med float, putting it more in line with the other GT40's. 

I ran some laps, and I can tell there's an improvement. but it's hard to tell without running some timed laps. I'm hoping for a .2-.4 per lap improvement. It isn't much, I know, but I've found that it's better to tune in smaller increments than in radical flourishes. 

I'll be re-running these three cars against their times for the Summer Slam. Oh yeah, speaking of that, I just noticed Harry over at HomeRacingWorld named his race Summer Slam, so I'll be changing mine so there's no confusion. After all, he's got more advertisers than I do. By the time you read this, I will have changed it, although I'll keep this little bit here.

Oh, re-running these three cars will not affect the standings or championship points. They'll just be performing a curiosity. If there's no improvement, I'll take any of the cars back to the garage for more work. The whole field is only separated by half a second on a 7-second lap. That's pretty tight. But if I can get two of the three cars running better from this, that'll be good. All three? I'll take it. Stay tuned.

Post Race Car Checkup

 I wanted to take a look at some of the cars that didn't do so well in the Summer Salami race. There were a few, and each didn't perform well for different reasons, as it turns out.

First up will be the last over the finish line: the #11 GT40. When I only had the three Slot.it cars, the Alfa and the #8 GT40, this one was a pretty good race car. It wasn't until I really started exploring tuning options that the other cars left it in the dust. Don't know how it happened, but it did. There's fundamentally nothing different between it and the other two Fords, so it should be able to keep up.

When I opened up the car, aside from being a little dirty the chassis and its contents were otherwise okay. Nothing seemed out of place, although there was some binding in the front axle. I took a closer look and noticed that the small adjustment screw that sits over the axle had fallen through and had wedged in between the axle and the chassis. It's hard to say how long it has been like that, but there was a good amount of dust and crud down the hole the screw usually goes down, so it had probably been there for awhile.

I have to think back to just exactly what was giving me trouble with this car. I've had a lot of performance letdowns with it, mostly due to it feeling lethargic with its handling. Could I have just found the problem? Maybe. I think it's a stretch. But if it was binding while going around a curve, that could be a problem. I'll have to get it on the track in the morning and see how it does. 

I also reset the car to medium/medium float. It had been set a little tight on body float, and it didn't need to be. This will put it more in line with the #8 GT40. Hopefully.

__________

I have an issue with the Porsche 962C. I want it to go a little faster. It's got a problem where it gets a little boxy in the turns, so you can't keep the hammer down. Strangely enough, it kind of reminds me of the way the Audi R-18 drove that I have. A lot of the action is in the front, and the meat is in the back. That's fine and all, but ultimately I'd like to have a little bit more balanced race car. I don't think that letting that massive backend get lively is the solution to better lap times. I gotta get this car more planted so it can win races. The Group C car is my future. There will be more Group C cars showing up, and I'd like them to be competitive. Showing up in the lower half of the pack isn't very competitive. 

I took the top off and, the thing about this car is that it has the rear body mount screw on the tail, as opposed to near the rear axle. Having the mounting screw that far back makes it tricky to set body float on the car. It tends to be tight until it's too loose. When I took the screws out, one of them gave me a little difficulty, springing the body a little bit when I got it loose. I decided then that I need to reset the suspension and ride height. The float was medium tight/medium, so I loosened the body just a little bit to go med/med. Everything else was otherwise in its place, so I focused mainly on getting the right amount of float. The ride height stayed pretty much the same, and I did a little tighten up of the front wheels. They had a little up/down play in the axle. Kinda the opposite problem the #11 GT40 had. 

I know there's a good place for this car to be, and it just isn't there yet. It was almost 20 seconds off the race pace. I'd accept 10 seconds, but not 20. Especially not on a track that's practically built with this car in mind. It should be hauling ass out there. But I don't call coming in 7th hauling very much ass. 

We'll see if the adjustments to the float and suspension helped the car. The wiggle test felt better, and it didn't seem like it was set to tight/tight. But y'know, this car is a bit of a work in progress, so it might take awhile before it really starts to kick ass. I believe it has it in itself to do it. I'm going to have this track up for a bit, so I'll be able to run tuned laps and see how the numbers compare. 

__________

I also wanted to check the #66 Chaparral, since I had been having a bit of a rough start with it, got it running better, and yet still was off the pack lap pace by .2 of a second. The problem with the #66 is that it has a twin, the #65, so it can't make excuses. It should run just as fast as the #65. But it's not. While it ran some pretty fast time trials once, it still hasn't shown a bit of consistency yet. It's such a beautiful race car, though. 

So I opened it up and nothing looked off to me. I did a lube/oil, adjusted the front end a little because I had been doing that with the other two cars tonight, and then went about setting the float. Pod float seemed to favor one side over the other, as one screw was tightened a bit more than the others. I guess I could have done that while prepping. My mind wanders sometimes. 

I'm going back to a med/med float. I figure I'm going to mimic the #65 until we've gotten up next to him, then start making little tweaks and adjustments there. Much more satisfying than shooting fish in a barrel. I could try stuff all day and end up being completely wrong about it all. 

So that was all pretty informative. I feel like doing this has been good for everyone involved. The cars as well as the people. 

I might have to get to thinking about racing the outside lane of this layout. I think it would be pretty cool to try it with the new controller. Might be worth doing.

2020 Summer Salami - 50 Lap Main Event Pt. 2

This is Part 2, a continuation of the 2020 Summer Salami. If you need to get caught up, start there. 

The racing so far has been hot and fast, and the field is starting to take shape. Let's look at where we are as of this morning:

Car       Make       Time         Lap       Crash       Championship

#66        Chap      5:41.68      6.82          1                                   

#11        962C      5:42.55       6.84          1                   

#11        GT40     5:54.37       7.08          1                           

#10       Matra      5:31.53       6.62          0                  

#8          GT40    5:32.71       6.64          0                                      

orange denotes leader

It looks like the smart money has so far paid off, with the Matra doing what was expected of him, which was to take the lead. The #8 GT40 almost caught him, and was literally only a few track pieces behind. 

After that the rest of the field starting turning over more conservative lap times, with exception of the #11 GT40, which was well off the pace. Really what we're talking about is a lap time of about a half second difference from first to last. That's pretty dang close. 

So let's get caught up on what the track looks like:

The entire left side of this track, from where the straightaways are on the right side, is extremely fast and fun. Just about every car rips through there.

First up today is the #5 GT40. He's thrown down wicked lap times and has been a solid competitor since he showed up on the scene. As solid of a slot car as they come. Does he have what it takes to pull it off? Can I add any more cliches in here? Let's find out!

The Race

Car       Make       Time         Lap       Crash       Championship

#66        Chap      5:41.68      6.82          1                                   

#11        962C      5:42.55       6.84          1                   

#11        GT40     5:54.37       7.08          1                           

#10       Matra      5:31.53       6.62          0                  

#8          GT40    5:32.71       6.64          0              

#5         GT40     5:41.86        6.82          0  

Nice racing! At first I thought he might have had it in him to pull out that little bit extra, but whenever I tried it he started to get twitchy in the corners. The tires were clean, but it just kept happening. I got it into a more steady groove, but it was off the pace by then. Fell into the middle of the pack, running an almost identical time to the #66 Chaparral.

__________

Next up, the other new guy, #65 Chaparral. He came out of the box in much better shape than his twin, and has put up good numbers in tests. The driver is still getting used to the car, so mistakes might be made. He has had a significant number of laps in it, however. 

The Race

Car       Make       Time         Lap       Crash       Championship

#66        Chap      5:41.68      6.82          1                                   

#11        962C      5:42.55       6.84          1                   

#11        GT40     5:54.37       7.08          1                           

#10       Matra      5:31.53       6.62          0                  

#8          GT40    5:32.71       6.64          0              

#5         GT40     5:41.86        6.82          0  

#65       Chap      5:34.22        6.68          1

Whoa, that was close! Off the lead by 3 seconds. Very nicely done and puts it into a solid third so far in it's debut. Very nice feeling race car. I can definitely tell the difference between the two Chaparrals. This one just has a much better planted feel. I could probably push it a little harder. 

__________

So that leaves us with our last entry, the #2 Alfa Romeo 33/3. The Champion of the first 20 race season, and always a threat. It has seemed to me that it prefers shorter, more complex tracks than the big flowy ones, but it still likes to go fast too. This car, like all the cars before this race, got thorough going-overs to make sure it was in tip-top shape. So here we go:

The Race

Car       Make       Time         Lap       Crash       Championship

#66        Chap      5:41.68      6.82          1                     4              

#11        962C      5:42.55       6.84          1                   2

#11        GT40     5:54.37       7.08          1                    1       

#10       Matra      5:31.53       6.62          0                    7

#8          GT40    5:32.71       6.64          0                     6

#5         GT40     5:41.86        6.82          0                    3

#65       Chap      5:34.22        6.68          1                    5

#2         Alfa        5:25.27       6.5            0                    9

Holy Cow! Out of nowhere, and I mean nowhere! Dude, when I said this car prefers short twisty tracks, I meant it. I've seen this car get beat way too many times on longer tracks. But this? Holy crap. That's a 6 and 1/2 second lap! Okay then. And that means the Matra can actually be beat. I think it's still too early to call the Alfa the fastest of them all, but dang. Nice work, Alfa. 

So there it is. I think it's a pretty good format. I think crashes are indicative of more than they look. Every car that ran well didn't crash. Every other car that crashed suffered from it. 

Alfa, Matra, Shell GT40 are one, two, three. Nice work everyone. 

Disappointment: Porsche 962C. Was hoping for more.

A Quick and Dirty Look at Slot Car Controllers

 So you have a slot car set, and you've had time to get some new cars and some more track to make it longer. You've gotten better cars than the ones you originally had, but they're so hard to control that it's almost not fun anymore.

The controller should definitely be a consideration. It's the interface between you and the car, and the better it is, the better your racing will be. It really does make that much of a difference.

There isn't a slot car manufacturer alive that's making a worthwhile controller for slot car racing. Most are subpar and frustrating at best, uncontrollable at worst. Thankfully, there are quite a few companies out there that continue to make great controllers.

On the left is the standard Carrera Evolution thumb controller. One grabs hold and pushes the red plunger down with their thumb. On the right is the Slot.it SCP-1 controller. It uses a finger trigger as is much more ergonomically comfortable.

When you buy a Carrera Evolution racing kit, you get two of the thumb controllers with it. I don't like these. Never have. When I was a kid, I had an AFX set that had finger-trigger controllers, and it was excellent. But trying to drive with your thumb just wasn't instinctive for me. I don't have the sensitivity in my thumb to get really touchy with the plunger. 

The controllers themselves are clumsy for driving. You have such a limited range, slow, slow medium, then BANG! Whipped into a wall. There is no middle ground. The one good thing about them: they're cheap. You could throw your controller into a wall in frustration and get another on ebay for six bucks.

So time to upgrade. There's just no point fighting it anymore. You've looked at controllers, saw all the different specs, got intimidated and moved on. But now's the time to do it. Take the plunge[r]....

The DS 350 3D Controller. It's a finger-trigger too.

The thing with nicer controllers is that their origins are with racing when it was in its commercial track period, a.k.a. the golden years of slot cars. Most controllers are setup with particular resistances. This was originally done so you could run different cars on those huge commercial tracks and get way more speed than you could on your home track. The controllers are built to work with special circumstances. Sure, there are controllers that'll work with everything, and we're going to talk about that in a minute, but if we're talking about the next-level, ready-to-win controllers that are still good on the budget, then we have to talk about these.

DS is one company that makes slot car controllers. There are a host of them, ranging in resistance depending on what you need. I did a lot of research online before purchasing. I wanted to make sure that I was getting the proper resistance rating, or very near it, for what I was doing. After reading multiple suggestions of going with a 40ohm controller to race well with Carrera cars on Carrera track, I gave myself a little more room and got a 35ohm controller, so I'll have a little more control all the way. I'd still get the power, it just wouldn't be so much of a last-plunge punch like the Carrera controller. 

This controller runs up to medium speed about halfway depressed, then starts a more gradual upward curve. This allows me to maintain speed while being able to feather the throttle through the turns. There's is no black/white, on/off feel to this controller. You can actually feel and understand what's happening. Suddenly you become much better at high-end control as well, as you've got more room to move. 

I'm a drummer. Been so for many many years. For a drummer, the thumbs are like an on/off switch. While they do a lot, it is mostly of the hit/don't hit variety. The fingers, on the other hand [I'm full of them today], have so much more control over the power, accent, speed, etc of the stick. Sure, the thumb's doing stuff too. You need your thumb. But in this case its acting more like a fulcrum than a fine-tuner. 

Fingers are just better for doing the sort of stuff like slot car racing than thumbs. In fact, aside from being a contestant on Jeopardy, I can't for the life of me think of any other time or place in life where the thumb-plunge is used in any way, shape or form. Anywhere.

So, you now have your new controller and you've tried it out. It costs almost as much as a cheap car, but you notice the improvement right away. But you only bought one. What happens now? Do you buy a matched controller to what you just bought? Or do you maybe get something else with a slightly different resistance rating? Could control some of your cars better. Never know. 

Or, you could look at the next level: electronic controllers.

The SCP-1 again. An impressive piece of kit.

"I'm not insane. No way I spend three cars' worth of money on a controller that's way out of my league."

Yeah, I thought the same thing. But in case you don't remember or haven't read the old days of this blog, the SCP-1 was gifted to me by a kind colleague on a slot car forum. I still find them available online nowadays for around 80 bucks, which is pretty good. Would I pay that now if I didn't have one? Damn straight.

It's hard to justify spending crazy money on a controller. But here's the thing: you don't need two of these. Just the one for you. Get yourself a nice 30-buck-chuck like the DS controller and your friend will be able to race you no problem. 

But electronic slot car controllers are a different animal. Yes, you still have the same basic trigger-finger throttle, but there's so much more. And it's these things that set this unit apart. This allows total customization of controller to car, with the ability to adjust on the fly, and do a host of other things. 

Being able to dial in each race car adds a huge thrill to racing. So much you can do. Power trim sets how much power you want to have how fast. Min Speed sets what happens the second you apply pressure to the trigger. Brake is electronic, and will slow your car faster than the normal coast most controllers do. Curve/Max, in this case is maximum power. Great to set if you want to be able to control a car and race it right on the edge. Also great if you have noobs or kids over and need to keep the overall speed down. There's also a set-and-forget button so you can race against a drone car.

Having more functional control of the power curve and everything affecting it will definitely improve your racing. Certain functions will make a huge difference in a car's performance. Being able to control a car that might be touchy by lowering the Power Trim and adding a little braking makes it act like a different race car.

I went from lousy [Carrera] to fantastic [Slot.it] right away, and would have been totally happy with the DS [or any other brand] controller if I hadn't. Get a good controller. Anything but the stock one. So get one. Just do it. Do it for me.