Gotta Have Class

My goal all along has been to get a good collection of competitive race cars. Having a field where any car has a chance to win a race at any time makes the whole experience a lot more fun.

I’m speaking as a home racer on a limited budget. I have all the track I need. It’s going to be a slow, ongoing collecting of cars from here on out.

But how do you know when cars will be competitive with each other? Aren’t all cars competitive anyway?

Well, not really. The difference between a well built 3rd party slot car and a slot car from a kit manufacturer is pretty vast. You can’t just put any two cars on the track and expect them to be competitive with each other. One company might put faster motors, different gearing, less weight, or other things that could put it ahead of the other brand immediately. While Carrera and Scalextric are pretty comparable, neither holds up compared to Slot.it, NSR, and other 3rd party manufacturers.

Old class picture. The Porsche [Group C] on the left has an inline motor/transmission. The other four [Classic] are sidewinders. The Porsche so far tends to run around the middle of the pack.

One way, and really one of the best ways to know you're going to get competitively matched cars, is to buy from a class of cars offered from the same manufacturer. DTM, Group C, Classics, GT3, F1, Nascar.....all of these are classes of car, and all of them are different from each other. DTM cars from Carrera, for example, are of a similar design, weight, and containing similar parts to the other cars in the Carrera DTM class. You could race those together all day. Same goes for Slot.it and most others. Slot.it Classics, which is the class my cars come from, have the same orange-endbell sidewinder motors in them and the same gearing. So with diligent tuning it’s totally possible to get the cars running within a fraction of a second of each other.

So what helps is to find a class of cars you like, then look at the rest of the class offered. I like Classics and Group C. They’re not the same, but they’re close. And I know there are a dozen or so of each that I’d like to have, and am already well on my way with Classics. Thing is, if they’re in the same class from the same manufacturer, then I’ll be in good shape. 

New class picture. The Porsche is still the standout here. The other cars are all Classics and have similar configurations.

Once I have a half dozen cars of each class, they’ll race to compete against their own class as well as the entire field, similar to how races like Le Mans 24 Hours are run. If Group C cars go on a lap average a half second faster than Classics do, then the two classes aren’t competitive and there needs to be a focus on competition within each class. They’ll still race together, and there will still be an overall winner, except now there will be a winner for each class as well. It’ll give the slower class something to work towards, and will help keep cars established without getting buried as a back-marker.

Racing this way is also a great way to go ahead and buy pretty much whatever cars you want and race them in a structured way. Classics against Classics. DTM against DTM. That sort of thing. You could even cross manufacturers, although you'll likely start seeing where certain companies are much better at something than others are.

My first two cars. Both Carrera, both put out to pasture. These cars were so wildly different that they never even came close to each other. The Safety car had a little handling and was a little lighter than the beast sled that was the R-18. That Carrera thought they would be competitive with each other [if they even thought that] is dumbfounding.

As a slot car nut, the last thing I want is to get bored with a car. Having the same car come in last every time makes it hard to want to race that car, but I’ll continue to do so. It’s basically the same as the other cars in design, so it should be able to become competitive. It’s just a matter of me figuring out how to make it that way. So the focus after the race isn't "how can the 2nd place guy beat the 1st place guy", it's "how can the last place guy improve for the next race." Every time you improve the last place car, you close the gap between the field.

If you've read through the earlier stuff on this blog, you'd notice that usually when I finish a race I tend to the car that needed it most. Frequently that's the last place car unless there's another one performing equally badly and inconsistently. And I like to get the loser running better so he can get his mojo back. It doesn't take much for a car to be not as right as the other cars, holding up the rear. So even if all I do after a race is inspect the car and confirm I made a mistake somehow, it's a start to a faster lap time. 

Taking the top off and inspecting the car, seeing how it's working together, fitting together, whether it's got enough lubrication, etc...all important.

Focusing on the losing car, taking it to the garage before the next race, and keeping close tabs on it’s progress helps, especially when the repair time yields improved results. Practically every car I have started off pretty good and got better over time. The parts are all there, but it’s up to you how to set them up.

So sticking to a single manufacturer's class is a great way to start out. There's something out there for everybody, and at least one other competitive car. And if you want to try a different class? No problem. You might want to pick up two cars in that class to start, just in case the new car doesn't race well with the rest of your cars. 

Two Classics, Alfa Romeo 33/3 [L] and GT40 [R]. Both have similar materials and characteristics, with exceptions being chassis/body length, width and guide flag position in relation to wheels. So what you end up with are two cars that race well together but drive differently.

That's my explanation on the benefits of buying cars in the same class. Happy motoring!