I just figured out the way I'm going to run my races from now on. I've been mildly stressing out about how I'm going to pull off racing 32 cars, but I think I know how I'll do it. Before, I was racing all the cars on single layouts and that was it. But I think I'm going to do elimination tournaments from now on. It'll basically work like an F1 qualifier, with the group towards the back being eliminated each round. Once it gets down to 8 or so cars, we go to the Final. I'll have to work out the details, but that's something I'd like to do.
I set up the track the other day and did some racing with my daughter. She tried all the new cars and decided her favorite was the Ferrari.
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| I didn't have to do much to the car: oil/lube, a little tires. I loosened the body and pod slightly. I'll call it medium-tight/medium-tight. |
The Ferrari seems to be a little light on the front end. It's sitting great, but it's driving off sometimes on the corners. I had this happen to a couple of cars, and it just needs a little weight behind the front axle. The 512M is quiet and fast, and I believe is a contender for best overall. I never thought I would be saying that. Sure, saying it's a beauty is one thing. Saying it might beat all the others is almost crazy talk.
As I was going through the session, I was tuning and testing the new cars, then turning them over to my daughter. She loved the Ferrari, and throughout the session kept on coming back to it. I went to the Bosch 917/10K next.
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| Oil/Lube/Sand. That was it. It needed nothing else. |
Either I am getting tremendously lucky, or slot cars have just gotten so good there's almost no way they could go wrong. So much to like going around the track, and I tell you, even though I considered this car to be a bit of an ugly duckling, it's growing into a beautiful swan before my very eyes. Sometimes it drives like the 917k, sometimes like the Matra, sometimes like the Alfa 33/3. That tells me it has created it's own distinct personality while also complimenting its opponents. It drives like many but not like any.
I predict this car will see the podium often.
I had to move to the next one quickly as my curiosity was burning a hole in the atmosphere. The Alfa Guilia GTA from Revoslot:
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| This car was the easiest Revoslot car I have set up yet. Very impressed. |
The BOBCOR is a sneaky little fella. I mean sure, you can hear him from a mile away, but he's not going to be a theatrical flash artist on the track. This car has a get-it-done attitude and runs a lot faster that it seems to be running. The Revoslot cars need quite a bit of tuning and tweaking to get just right, with the biggest culprit being the other Alfa GTA car:
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| Revoslot cars have three screws for adjusting the motor. Problem with that is that the motor then needs adjustment. |
I might have to look into the other Alfa to see how the motor is set up on the chassis. I've tried a few things but it doesn't seem to help much. This car will be a priority for awhile.
The two Lolas from Thunderslot were also in that new group:
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| The motor got rocked right out of this Thunderslot Lola. |
I put the Lola on the track and it started spinning freely almost right away. The motor had shaken right out of the socket. I tightened it down with a motor screw and everything is fine. Runs great, as does the other one. I ran about 15 laps before lube/oil/sanding happened. The car was a little noisy and sounded dry prior to that, as one would when one was running without lubrication.
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Overall, I'm happy with each car [even the ones that aren't quite set up yet], and remain impressed by the quality of the modern slot car these days. Each car is as much of a pleasure to race as it is to work on.
I'm excited about the elimination tournament idea and am going to implement it. Curious to see how it works out.
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