Racing Notes - January 2022

 I was going to do an end-of-year post, talking about what's been happening and stuff, but the end of the year is the high point of the racing season for me. So instead I'm doing this in January, and I'll be looking in both directions. 

I'm getting used to being on the floor again, but I'm considering some kind of rug so it's not so loud. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for just the right one. 

I bought a lot of cars last year, buying mostly Thunderslot and one NSR car. They're all fantastic. This is the Car Of The Year, though:

This car is the complete package: fast, beautiful and addicting. 

It would have been a closer contest had any of the Thunderslot cars I bought come out last year, but they've been out a few years now. Doesn't matter much, though, as the Gulf 908 is such a good car with so much potential. 

I'm in the middle of improving my electrical system. I'm hoping to have it finished soon, but it's going to be awhile longer. I've already purchased everything. I'm just waiting for the help putting it together. 

Also, I'm pretty much at the end of my Thunderslot purchases, as there are about 6 cars left, but none of them are really getting me excited. I think I'll wait for either new releases or something I haven't seen through my dealer yet.

I am looking at more NSR cars, and a few Slot.it cars. From NSR, I like the 2-pack of L&M 917/10 Porsches, but I'll have to do that one quick, as it's limited. Also want a Rothmans 908. I'm still looking at 962 and 956 Porsches from Slot.it, as well as another Matra. Yes, a Matra isn't a Porsche. 

I'm happy with my track piece inventory. I need to do some painting, though. The 4/15 pieces have turned out to be just the thing to make any layout a whole lot less boring. They're fantastic for making a great flowing track. I guess if I were to buy any more track pieces, it would be more 4/15 curves and another overpass. Even though I don't use the overpass 100% of the time, it's a tremendous addition to any track. 

This kind of track section to the left is something that needs to happen more often. I can see making entire layouts consisting of the 4/15 type of design. That's a replacement for 8 straight pieces. Makes a much more interesting piece of road. 

But since it takes an entire 180° turn's worth of track pieces to make that, I'd need at least another 12 track pieces to do it right. It would be possible to build layouts with no more than two straight pieces. That'd be very cool.

Why these matter: when you're going through a turn, especially a 1/60, you can only go so fast before your inertia will take you off the track. In a 1/60 curve, that limit is very strictly defined. The slightest load change or speed change in a 1/60 curve, the greatest chance for a crash. 

With a 4/15 curve, not only can you go through it faster, but you have a much more loosely-defined edge, so you can really push a car before it gives out. So basically you can go really fast or extremely fast. 

I'm looking forward to getting started with the new championship season. I really enjoyed doing the first one. I think this one will be much more interesting, and I plan on including all the drama I can. I was thinking of doing some video, but I'm still not sure about that, as I would have to do some significant planning to make it happen. 

I wish I could do more racing, but my schedule doesn't really allow for it these days. Once I get an opportunity, I'm going to get started on the championship. I really don't think I'll be getting any more cars for awhile, so I can run something pretty safely. Looking forward to using the lap counter, too. 

I'm also looking at a rather large purchase in the near future that will help me do more stuff. Gotta wait for that, though.