Slot.it Tuning Discoveries

I had a day with no track time and decided to tune the cars. I started with truing the rear tires and removing the magnets. I'm going to try leaving them out and tuning to a no-magnet setup.

My first worry came after taking the magnets out and looking at the way the cars sat on the track. Each one had the front wheels slightly off the ground. Not sure I like that. The construction of the front axle suspension out of the box makes it difficult, if not impossible to lower the front wheels to the ground unless you replace the two plastic blocks supporting the axle with small grub screws.

The Slot.it EVO6 front end. The two grub screws on either side of the car will control the front-end height somewhat, but the two plastic blocks that support the axle limit the amount of control. Too much tightening of the screws and the axle binds, stopping the wheel rotation. It possible to replace the blocks with grub screws as well, which come up from underneath the chassis. Until then I've filed small guide grooves into the plastic blocks to help against binding and lower the wheels slightly.

I also loosened the pods, adding pod float to each car. This is different than body float, which was also added by loosening the two body screws. From how I understand it, body float will help the car through the corners by allowing for a little shift in weight, while pod float will give the motor and rear-end some independence from the chassis. It doesn't take much to make the car feel pretty loose while holding it in my hand, so I can imagine it's a bit more fragile on the track, but I might be wrong about that. We'll find out tomorrow.
The idea with racing without magnets is that the speeds are slower, the cars tend to act more realistically in the curves as they're relying primarily on tire traction, and if there's a crash, it's mostly a low-trajectory spinout and not so much a flying bullet disaster. When magnet cars go around the track, they can go at a faster speed, but have a breaking point: once you no longer have magnetic traction [if you're too fast through a curve, for example], the magnet will eventually lose contact with the rails, and the car's momentum can cause violent, damaging crashes.
So, in theory, taking the magnets out of the car might just make it last longer.

Ultimately I want to run all my cars without magnets, so I'll be trying to do that. I couldn't do it with the Carreras and keep them competitive with each other, but I don't think I'll have that problem here. I'll be experimenting with ballast to see how that changes things. The Fords feel a little light in the nose. The Alfa seems to be very well balanced already. I don't think it needs any weight added.

Slot.it Classics Out-of-Box Time Trials

Here are the results of the first of many time trials with the new Slot.it cars. I'm going to call them by their car numbers from now on, as those won't be changing.
The time trial was set up by using the ghost mode on the Slot.it SCP1 controller, and setting the first car up running at a speed that would be about half-throttle. Since the three cars are all similar in motor size, I was curious to see what car ran faster out of the box. I've done minimal tuning, adjusting the front axles a bit where needed and adding a very small amount of oil I had left, then raced them each for about an hour or so. I didn't cover everything I wanted to regarding the initial tuneup, but I was impatient and the timing was good, so I ran them.

Here is how they placed:

I was surprised by this result, as it felt different when running the cars manually. The #2 felt much faster at the time.

The #11 is practically perfect, straight out of the box. It's firmly planted, quiet and fast, and needed very little in the way of adjustment. It proved it here:

1. #11 - 52 laps [3 minutes]
2. #8 - 49 laps
3. #2 - 47 laps

The #2 was clearly dragging during his heat and was down about a tenth of a second a lap, as was the #8 slower, which developed a squeak as it was going around turns. I'll pick up oil tomorrow. All of the cars need it. Otherwise, I thought the #8 was stronger than it was portraying. I'm sure the #2 is as well. Once these cars are further tuned up, they'll be screaming. Looking forward to see how the #11 improves. 

All this test really tells me is not a lot. For a period of time in the beginning I'm going to have to expect growing pains as I go, just like I did with the Carrera cars.

I was thinking I was going to treat each car as separate race teams, and apply different adjustments to each one, as opposed to getting them to be perfect to each other. The GT40s are identical in most every way except slight body differences, so I should be able to determine what works better in less time. The Alfa will be tuned as best as it can be, which will be plenty different due to it's size and lack of front adjustment compared to the Fords. Then once that is running fast, it'll be up to the Fords to beat it. 

For this race I moved the #8's magnet to the middle position, and kept the #11's in the back position. I didn't notice any difference during the time trials, but the cars weren't pushing anyway, so they rarely broke traction. Once they've been worked in a bit, I'll push them more. Until I do I'll keep the magnets in their current positions. 

I have yet to true the tires on any of the cars.

For kicks, I'll go ahead and give them a running championship score, covering a series of 20 races. Three points for 1st, two for 2nd and one for 3rd. 

Standings After Race One:

1. #11  - 3 pts
2. #8    - 2 pts
3. #2    - 1 pt

The New Cars

I have just opened and run these cars for the first time, and they are fantastic.

Slot.it Ford GT40 #8 Le Mans 1968

Slot.it CA18b. Ford GT40 on an EVO6 chassis with adjustable front suspension. Sidewinder Orange End Bell Motor. 

This is what hooked me on getting a Slot.it car. Once I saw this, I knew that I had to have it. Finding it at a cheaper price than a Carrera car made it a no-brainer.

Out of the box it needed oil and grease and it was practically ready to go. It was chattering a little in the turns, and I thought there might be a tire rub, but it turned out that the front suspension was binding the axle, causing the car to occasionally pinch in the corners. Once I did the adjustment and loosened the body shell a little it ran like a dream.

The differences to a Carrera car are night and day. It's not that Carrera makes bad cars; on the contrary. For a full-kit manufacturer, they probably have the best cars out there. But Slot.it focuses on cars and digital systems, not race tracks. Their cars are of higher quality and workmanship, and are light and fast. They're nowhere near as indestructible as Carrera cars, but they do hold their own okay.

The Ford has a low center of gravity, which is helpful in that it doesn't fly off the track as much as spinout without flipping. It grips like the nobody's business, breaking all track records right out of the box.
If you're like me and are expanding from the original kit, you'll find Slot.it cars to be a great addition to your track. Of course, I couldn't just get one....

Slot.it GT40 Jacky Ickx Daytona 1967

Slot.it CA18d. 11/32 Pinion/Gear, Sidewinder.

The perfect racing partner for the #8. Cars like this are the reason I painted my track. It's a dark enough blue that under low light it looks almost black. On light gray track it all shows up quite nicely. It will also rip your face off with its speed.

These cars are handling....scratch that...loving Carrera track. First runs with magnets were preposterously fast, with grip beyond the likes my track has never seen. I considered tires right off the bat, but I really don't think it'll be necessary. There's not a thing out of place about these cars on Carrera track. I've read loads of vague accounts of Slot.it and Carrera and whether I would need to do modifications to run on my track, but I'll say that they work together very well straight out of the box.

GT40's have been one of my favorite race cars since I was a kid. The body shape is undeniably stylish, even now. And I know that there are hundreds of other cars out there, but why not start with a couple cars I know I'm going to love right away? So that's what I did. And then this came too:

Slot.it Alfa Romeo 33/3 #2 Targa Florio 1971

Slot.it CA11a. Another of the Classic Collection from Slot.it. Standard front end.

If I was going to pick a favorite period in racing, it would be the late 1960's/early 70's. A thrilling time for cars, speed, racing and style. The Alfa Romeo is as sweet and stylish as you get, and it hauls ass too. I had seen it showing up near the top of some proxy races, and started to research the slot car. It is a favorite for proxy racers due to its light weight and small construction and short overall length [116mm to the GT40 car's 133mm]. It grips like crazy and never lets go. I plan to do some time trials in a few days, and I expect this car to be the one to beat as it just refuses to whip its tail out.

While the Alfa had a similar suspension to the GT40 cars, it didn't come with the small grub screws needed for the top to make the fine tuning adjustment of the front axle. It's racy right out of the box, so I don't think I need it at the moment. We'll see down the road, though. There isn't a lot of tire clearance on this, or any of the models. So having that ability to adjust the front is pretty nice.

The Alfa is built with the same essential setup as the GT40 [Orange End Bell Sidewinder Motor, 11/32, 0.5 offset]. That makes these three cars competitive with each other with virtually no modifications. They'll naturally blow the Carreras out of the water, so those probably won't see much race time from here on out. Maybe when the nephews come over. They aren't touching my Slot.its!

Here are some outdoor shots:

New Time Trial System First Run

I set up the track this morning and ran a time trial with the new SCP-1 controller. I used the Ghost setting and dialed each car to take the track as fast as it could without going off, then I timed each car running alone. Here is the track I used for the time trial:

This is what I call "Test Track 1". It's essentially the track that came out of the box with a few extra straight pieces. I didn't use the four 1/30 curves I have, so I don't consider this a "technical" track. This would be considered more of a fast track for my purposes.

RESULTS:
5 Minute Overall Time

CAR                LAPS
Audi R18                85
Audi Safety Car      95

The R18 suffered a spinout at around lap 40, and it didn't seem to have the grip the Safety Car had, so it couldn't run as high of a speed. This was a surprising result, and the first win for the Safety Car since I started keeping track. I have a feeling that was due to not using the 1/30 curves. Those are almost always switchbacks of some sort, and the Safety Car doesn't handle those well.
I didn't do any tuning to the cars prior to running the time trails. Just a quick dusting off of the track and away we went. The R18 suffered for it, and should have at least gotten a quick scrub with the sandpaper. The tires are hard and I believe going to crack soon. Nothing like the other car's tires.

Track Designs: Curve Radius

I've been working on some future track designs, and through research and discovery of what others have done to their tracks, I started putting some of those ideas to use. One in particular would be designing curves...in particular the "Big Curve".

For software I use SoftyBahnplaner because it is free and has Carrera sizes. http://www.softyroyal.de/?t=22c24290

Since I know I want a big curve on my track, I naturally started off with the largest radius of the curves and built one of all 4/15 pieces:

The gray backdrop is my proposed depth of 166 centimeters, or 5.44 feet. That's a bit deeper than a ping pong table. The 4/15 track pieces put together won't fit on that layout, and that's without consideration of borders. 

4/15 is a big big curve. In order to make it work satisfactorily, I'd have to go smaller. Here was my next option:

The 3/30 curve. This just fits in the layout, but likely wouldn't handle borders. It's still a big turn, and can probably still be fun, but there's something about it that just isn't right.

So, I have a conundrum: the layout is smaller than will allow for the size curve I want to make. Plus, having such a strict radius on the curve is a little boring, and a bit unrealistic. In real life, probably the only racetrack that featured such a curve was the AVUS racetrack in Germany, and that was banked. In order to avoid the uniformity of a single-radius curve, here is where the use of varying radius track pieces will help, as well as add more interest for the driver:

Here is a curve using 4/15s [blue], 3/30s [green] and 2/30's [yellow]. The lone straight track is where the previous curve ended up. The width is significantly less, and can now safely hold borders all the way around. The turn is still perceived large, but the ever-shrinking radius going in will allow the cars to pitch out and handle the turns more naturally.  Of the three, this one I feel would be the most interesting to drive.

Now we're getting somewhere. It doesn't necessarily have to be big, but it does have to be interesting. By adding a little variety to the curve radii I think I have achieved that. Of course, this can be used for smaller curves as well:

With a 1/60 curve at the apex, this one will sneak up on you if you're not careful. Gradual going in and coming out with a quick snap at the peak. Lots of room for scenery or other options.

So it's really going to come down to making curves interesting enough to keep me entertained as well as small/large enough to fit practically on the layout. Variation can lead to all sorts of ideas. If I don't want the in and out to be so flat, I can always tighten it and run the straights a bit closer together. Like this:

Talk about a curve with great flow and a bit of excitement. It comes back on itself, which allows more tightness and technical skill. Plus, it really gets away from the generic 90ª curves that people tend to settle on. 

Loads to think about. My track will definitely feature variable-radius curves. This will make the difference between a track that flows and a track that doesn't.

Planning A Time Trial Race System

I've noticed a tendency for me to resort to informal time trials when I race. Whether it's to see how fast the car is going lately or how fast the current track design might be, it's always a little different and interesting enough for me to track it. So here's how I'm going to do it:

1. Design a layout using my existing track pieces. Once happy with it, save it and make a track out of it. Take a photo of the finished track.

2. Make a spreadsheet, which will look something like this, although likely much more defined as I go:

This was a first draft, and I see where there are places to add information that is pertinent: SCP-1 controller usage and settings, recent tuneups, that sort of thing. I'll include track comments as well as a reminder of each.

I haven't decided length of time trial yet, as 5 minutes feels about right for a long race, where one minute time trials make for an interesting dash. I think longer is better, though, as it gives a better indication of how a car works over time as opposed to just how lucky you might be to keep a car on the track for the minute of mad scrambling. Also, since I'm using a much less than scientific method of keeping time [I have no lap counter and time to a stopwatch], it's easier to see the differences in cars over a 5 minute period, especially if one pulls more laps than the other.

This spreadsheet will also be able to be modified and improved upon as I get more cars. I'll be able to go back to the original layout and situations and compete against my other cars without having to re-run the entire thing each time. That makes this a potential long-term project, and it doesn't matter the design of the track or now many pieces is used. The information I can collect on my cars can help me know their strengths and weaknesses.
If I find a particular track that is more exciting to race on than another, I can use that track as a primary time trial track, yet still have the option to go back to previous tracks and add times with new cars whenever I desired.

I will also include a column that would have special tuning information, in case I was working on a particular car for whatever reason as opposed to just re-entering the same data. What I mean is, it would be entirely possible to see one car do three or four 5-minute time trials, if the intention was to tune the car in a particular way for a particular track, or otherwise change it to compete with a prior lap time. If I change motoring, gearing or tires, for example, I would denote those changes so I could more easily understand the data. Having a car run 85 laps for 5 minutes, then 87, 88 and 91 would need to have some sort of reason behind the speed improvement, so I'd make sure to put that information into the result comments. If I true the tires before a race, I'll note that.

New Controller, New Results

Now with the SCP-1 Controller, I have the option to control overall track speed, so I'll need to have a consistent attitude regarding tuning the controller [and the cars] to the given track to make it a fair time. This will require some "rules" for the controller to follow. Here's what I'll do.

1. Controller setting will be LIN off/off [the overall power setting....or "kid-friendly" setting].
2. Car will be put on the track, trigger in full position, and the blue MAX dial turned up until just before the point of de-slot....so the car can make it around the track at the fastest average "hammer-down" top speed. This takes the driver out of the equation and only tests the car under current conditions.
3. Once that top speed has been satisfactorily reached, the time trial will begin and run for whatever length of time it is set to. Laps run is the determining performance factor, and not lap time, as I don't have a lap counter and do it manually.

As long as I stick to those controller "rules" I should be able to make a respectable showing of my cars. We'll see what happens.

Slot.it SCP1 Controller

As per my previous post, here is the controller that I was so kindly gifted. The Slot.it SCP-1:

The Slot.it SCP-1 Controller

Before this time I had simply the controllers that came with the Carrera kit. They are passable for playtime, but they really don't convey all the subtleties needed when really wanting to burn up the track.

On first look the size is impressive. Scratch that; it's massive. From the base of the handle to the trigger alone is as large as a standard Carrera controller. In the first minute it feels a little bulky, but it quickly makes up for it in what it does. Cars run like butter now. So much control.

The SCP-1 easily dwarfs the stock Carrera controller in overall size, but that's mostly due to the electronics and dials. 

The SCP-1 has a host of functions, through dials, buttons, switches and dip switches. Almost every dial has more than one function, depending on the settings of the dip switches. Explain what each one does after only owning it for less than 48 hours is a bit tricky. Consider that each one controls some aspect of the power band and it's a bit easier to understand.

The LIN/CRV [Linear/Curve] Switch. Set to Linear, it will act like a standard slot car controller, with a pretty basic power band. Set it to Curve and you can control all aspects of the powerband parabolically. You can make it slow and steady up, or quick to mid-range, or hair-trigger, or whatever else you can come up with. 

These are just my findings on what each one does, from a not-totally-technical slotcar head:

The "Power Trim" [green] dial controls how much power goes into the car when you give throttle. Think about it like a traction control. All the way left and it's going to be a bit more gentle with the power distribution. All the way right and you're spinning your wheels.

The "Min Speed %" [yellow] dial controls how much power the car has from the time you first press the trigger. For example, you can set it so that when you give it the most gentle gas it is slowly rolling or going at a fast pace or anything in between. I suspect this would be a useful setting for racing on long tracks with a lot of straights [you'd probably set it quite a bit to the right for a long straightaway].
While driving, I noticed that setting the Min Speed to higher than 0% yielded good results. While being able to start from a dead stop to a crawl and then to full speed is a cool option, what's better is setting the Min Speed % to something like 15% or so. What this does is act as a bit of a neutral/coast. The deceleration isn't as drastic as when it is set to 0%, and it seems to allow for a better trigger flow.
This is important because it lets you set the amount of deceleration, so you can really get particular about how much lift you want to use in the corners. I found setting it at about 12 o'clock, with the Power dial set about the same produces a ride that is fast, on the edge, and easy on braking.

The "Brake" [red] dial is a two-step function, neither of which seem to have much effect on my Carrera cars. I suspect that has to do with the motor and built-in braking and all that, or maybe it's the polarity issue with the controller. On a proper car it would probably have to do with how much travel the car makes on its own after you let off the trigger. But that's just a guess.

The blue "Curve/Max" dial is a power cap. With the right switch/dip switch setting [linear/1off/2off] you can control the overall speed of the car. This is proving to be a great function. It's like regulating voltage; you can step the overall speed down so you don't wipe out in the curves. The rest of the controller functions just like it normally would otherwise. Great for kids and skittish racers who are off-track more than on.
I'm liking this Max option most of all, and have pretty much gone back to it every time. It's an electronic regulator. I can set it so the car is running it's fastest lap while the trigger is fully down, and work the settings backward from there. Once you get the top speed figured out, the rest falls into place. Settings like Brake and Min Speed% suddenly matter more and make the machine that much more flexible.

There are a few brake buttons, some of which control lane-change functions if you're running digital. Otherwise they're different brake styles of the 100% power-off variety. They would probably be pretty useful if you had your Brake dial set to a more wide-open setting.

There is also another valuable option, and that is Ghost Car Mode. This basically allows you to use the controller and set the speed of the car. This is great if you like to compete against yourself or just want more action on the field. Of course, the one drawback to doing that is now I have my good controller tied up as a ghost controller. So I doubt I'll do that much unless out of absolute boredom.

The dip switches are located on the top of the controller and are accessible with a pen or small screwdriver. Each setting corresponds to a part of the power curve you want to control. I experimented a bit with this and discovered that, while I can control the car's complete power range, it still is full power at the top, flying the car straight off the track. I'm sure over time I'll find the comfortable settings in Curve mode.

Dip Switches currently set at 1 and 2 OFF. That plus the selector switch set to the "lin" [linear] setting will allow you to control overall speed of the cars. Y'know....for kids.

This particular controller is the SCP01b, which has positive wiring, which is run on commercial tracks and is standard on handmade wood tracks. Carrera and other plastic track makers use negative wiring. This means that in order to run this controller on a Carrera track, you'll have to switch the polarity of the power plug. This will cause cars to only run counter-clockwise, and stutter if you try to run them the other direction [unless you flip the switch on the Carrera cars].
It's possible to buy a cartridge that would fit precisely to the Carrera track, but this one does just fine. Other cartridges are available for the various digital systems.

I wired 4mm banana plugs to the three wires and matched them black/black, red/red, yellow/blue. They then sit in the power track from left to right: yellow, red, black.

The controller is wired Yellow/Red/Black from left-right as you look at the track. Notice the reversal of polarity for the power plug. It needs to be that way to power the controller [positive wired]. The 4mm banana plugs fit snugly, but they fit. The "yellow" plug has a piece of yellow tape over it [I didn't have an actual yellow plug].

RESULTS:
Now I understand what I've been reading. This is one of the best upgrades you can make. There is no comparison between it and a Carrera controller.
This gives me more control over my car, a better flow and more understanding of my controller and what I can do. A quick adjustment and my Safety Car can compete with my R18. And suddenly my R18 is a breeze to drive, absolutely responsive and more like a shark than ever before.

It took a couple of sessions to get the hang of the controller and find a good comfortable start point. I ran a few time trials and not only were the speeds impressive, but the fact that there were no de-slots was even more interesting. I credit that absolutely to the controller. There is nothing else that can possibly explain it. From here on out I will be keeping my Carrera controllers in the box.

UPDATE: The SCP-1 certainly is faster and reacted very well to the settings given. I set up a stock Carrera controller as well to compare the two. The amount of throw on the finger trigger of the SCP-1 is longer than the throw on the Carrera thumbstick. The ability to make so many fine tuning adjustments to the SCP-1 made the Carrera controller feel primitive in comparison.
I keep coming back to one particular setting: Linear/1off/2off. This is what they call the safe setting for kids. The max power setting. It is, to me, the absolute best feature of this controller. I showed it to my wife a few minutes ago and she was actually excited that she made it around the track without crashing. Win/win.


BOTTOM LINE: Absolutely drop what you're doing and buy a good controller. I'm sure the SCP-2, the successor to this one, is likely very good, as are other controllers from DS and others. But it's the best piece of kit that I've gotten so far, and actually brings a smile to my face when I'm using it.


There is a newer version of the controller called the SCP-2, but I don't own that one, so I can't really comment on it. This one is about the old version, and since there doesn't seem to be that much info available online about it, maybe this little bit will help.