I decided to cancel the rest of the season for the Class B Carrera cars. I just couldn't bring myself to run them with enjoyment. At this point I'd rather run them without magnets than to have them in just to be able to compete. So it's over for the Audis. The R18 won on points, but the Safety Car was the only one of the two to win a race.
I kinda feel guilty about stopping racing the Carrera cars, since I raced the wheels off them prior to getting the Slot.it cars, and although the two Carreras weren't very well matched, they were still fun to run.
Instead of tossing them or something, I'm going to make one of them a project and see if I can trim large chunks of weight off it. It'll either work or it won't, but at twice the weight of a Slot.it car, they're gonna have to diet if they want to compete.
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Once this series is over, I'll be moving into the new house, so there probably won't be many posts for awhile. As things progress with the attic track, I'll post updates on here as well as any races I may run. Until then I'll probably do some photography if I can't set up a layout somewhere.
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Big race tomorrow, and could spell the end for the Gulf car's chances of winning the championship. The Alfa would have to basically shut down completely in order for the Gulf car to win, and I really don't think that's gonna happen. Too bad, since the Gulf car is running better than it has for a long time.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Slot Cars - Tips For Rug Racing
I'm a rug racer, balancing that fine line between living in a small apartment and still trying to get some kicks. I've been doing this now for three years and have gotten it down to what I'd like to believe is a science.
So here are some tips on how to have a successful career sitting on the floor in your living room:
1. Start with a clean track - there's nothing worse than having to crash a car because of a giant nose hair caught up in the axle. The car goes slower, runs rougher, and has a freakin nose hair in it. Best thing to do is to take some kind of lint-free cloth and give the track a once over before running cars on it. Swiff it. Whatever works. The idea is that if you get the stuff off the track first, you won't have to pick it out of your cars later.
One way to get a clean track is to vacuum the area you're going to put the track on. I know this is a controversial topic because vacuuming, but it's ultimately worth it. Besides, my wife likes that I vacuum the living room every day. Yes, every day. That way I can run my cars when she's gone. Works out, and she has no complaints.
2. Build in sections - Once I know what I want to make, instead of hunkering down on the rug and assembling, I assemble track pieces three or four-at-a-time while standing. With Carrera it's actually quite easy to build sections and clip them without even looking once you get the hang of it. Since doing it while standing means assembling pieces vertically, any crud that has collected in the slots drops to the ground.
Overall, it's a much better system on your back and knees.
3. Spend some time with your cars - there's a truth in slot cars....not all cars are great right out of the box. There's a chance that the two cars you got in your kit are mismatched. It happened to me. And with the three other cars I've added since, they each have had their own idiosyncrasies. When I was a kid I used to race HO cars, and they required work because they would get so smashed from crashing at high speeds. Even then they felt too small. Now that I'm running 1:32 cars I have a lot more convenience while working. Everything is larger and easier to work with, and it's much more simple to dial in. I know that if I do something, it'll have an effect. With HO cars I just crossed my fingers and hoped all the parts were in the right place.
Once you discover that a clean car is a happy car, you'll notice that it'll run better and won't be so noisy or uncontrollable.
I clean my cars after every session, and I get great enjoyment out of it. I find that doing this makes them run very consistently and competitively with each other. The more time you spend under the hood, the more you'll realize what can be done, and then the experimenting starts. Squeezing that extra .1 of a second, or getting a car to grab better in the corners, or just making the damn thing sit right...all are possible. If you look at the rest of this blog, you'll see I've done loads of experiments with the cars to make them faster, and have had good results. I've got two cars running exceptionally well and one more on the way.
Messing around with the cars is my favorite part of the hobby.
4. Learn how to drive - figuring how when to let off the gas going into a turn is crucial to getting good lap times. It's one thing to drift the car out in the corners, but consider this; every time you drift, you're going slower through the turn than if you didn't. And if you slide out at the exit of a curve, you'll lose traction on the straight. So there's a balance there.
I like to approach each track layout in segments. Find a good speed, then try particular points of the track to improve. Then once you've figured out that point, move on to the next segment and improve there. By the end you'll have braking and acceleration points figured out, and you'll be going through the turns without pushing out.
5. Try them without magnets - here's the thing...when I run cars with magnets in them, they go real fast. Insanely fast. I get used to that speed, and push harder. Then the car comes off the track, and it crashes spectacularly. End over end, all the way into the far wall 3 feet away. These cars cost 50 bucks apiece. Every time one of them flies off the track like that, my stomach sinks.
When you take the magnets out, a few things happen; your driving style changes to adapt to a more realistic style, the car is harder to control at high speeds, and most importantly [to me], if you wipe out, you actually spin out most of the time as opposed to flipping dozens of times. There's no magnet grabbing the track until it can't hold on any more, so there's no snap-release of the car from the track when it finally has gone too fast for the magnet to hold it. Without magnets it simply spins out. A lot of times it won't go further than a car-length or two and come to a stop.
You might think you need borders if you run without magnets, but I run without borders and have a great time. There's plenty of space on Carrera track to run without borders [they're freakin expensive] and outside-lane advantages go away.
Once you have the magnets off, suddenly everything you do under the hood has an effect on the car. You'll notice the difference between properly-rounded, or "true" tires and uneven, untreated tires. You'll enjoy the corners more, as they're more similar to how an actual car would take a turn.
Bonus: if you are always waiting around for your kid to catch up, taking the magnets off your car and leaving them on his will make the competition more even.
6. Run races - whether alone or with others, competition is a good thing, and slot car racing is perfect for it. I've had a great time running races, as it has given me something to work towards, which makes it fun to try and squeeze better times out of the cars. Even if you run against the timer on your phone and count laps out loud, it'll be more fun that not doing anything at all.
7. Get others interested - low pressure, just having fun. The great thing about slot cars is that some of them are downright beautiful, and even to someone with even the slightest casual interest, it could be enough to get them involved:
8. Use a track layout program - the nice thing about a layout program is that you can design a track before getting down on your knees and putting it together. It also gives you something to do when you can't set your track up. I like to make a layout a half-hour or so before I get the track out. That way I know what I want and how to build it, and that's important in my situation, as I've got limited space.
9. Get more cars - I had the same two cars for over two years until finally getting some others. Each car is different, and many 3rd party manufacturers make cars that are better than the ones that come with the kit.
10. Have a good storage plan - I can clear my living room, unpack the track, build it and be running cars in fifteen minutes. All it takes is a system. I use the original box for the track, but I took out all of the other things I don't use; guard rails and rail clips. I stack curves with curves and straights with straights, and pack the power track separately. I have a "kit box" for my cars and various tools and lubricants. That way if I can't break out the track for some reason, I can still take out the cars and work on them. Plus I can take that box to a commercial track and I'll have all my tools at my disposal.
So there you go. Didn't think there'd be 10, but there they are. Hope some of them are useful.
So here are some tips on how to have a successful career sitting on the floor in your living room:
1. Start with a clean track - there's nothing worse than having to crash a car because of a giant nose hair caught up in the axle. The car goes slower, runs rougher, and has a freakin nose hair in it. Best thing to do is to take some kind of lint-free cloth and give the track a once over before running cars on it. Swiff it. Whatever works. The idea is that if you get the stuff off the track first, you won't have to pick it out of your cars later.
One way to get a clean track is to vacuum the area you're going to put the track on. I know this is a controversial topic because vacuuming, but it's ultimately worth it. Besides, my wife likes that I vacuum the living room every day. Yes, every day. That way I can run my cars when she's gone. Works out, and she has no complaints.
2. Build in sections - Once I know what I want to make, instead of hunkering down on the rug and assembling, I assemble track pieces three or four-at-a-time while standing. With Carrera it's actually quite easy to build sections and clip them without even looking once you get the hang of it. Since doing it while standing means assembling pieces vertically, any crud that has collected in the slots drops to the ground.
Overall, it's a much better system on your back and knees.
3. Spend some time with your cars - there's a truth in slot cars....not all cars are great right out of the box. There's a chance that the two cars you got in your kit are mismatched. It happened to me. And with the three other cars I've added since, they each have had their own idiosyncrasies. When I was a kid I used to race HO cars, and they required work because they would get so smashed from crashing at high speeds. Even then they felt too small. Now that I'm running 1:32 cars I have a lot more convenience while working. Everything is larger and easier to work with, and it's much more simple to dial in. I know that if I do something, it'll have an effect. With HO cars I just crossed my fingers and hoped all the parts were in the right place.
Once you discover that a clean car is a happy car, you'll notice that it'll run better and won't be so noisy or uncontrollable.
 |
| Post-race cleanup of a car that has put on quite a few laps in the short time I've had it. |
 |
| A car that hasn't been cleaned in awhile. |
I clean my cars after every session, and I get great enjoyment out of it. I find that doing this makes them run very consistently and competitively with each other. The more time you spend under the hood, the more you'll realize what can be done, and then the experimenting starts. Squeezing that extra .1 of a second, or getting a car to grab better in the corners, or just making the damn thing sit right...all are possible. If you look at the rest of this blog, you'll see I've done loads of experiments with the cars to make them faster, and have had good results. I've got two cars running exceptionally well and one more on the way.
Messing around with the cars is my favorite part of the hobby.
4. Learn how to drive - figuring how when to let off the gas going into a turn is crucial to getting good lap times. It's one thing to drift the car out in the corners, but consider this; every time you drift, you're going slower through the turn than if you didn't. And if you slide out at the exit of a curve, you'll lose traction on the straight. So there's a balance there.
I like to approach each track layout in segments. Find a good speed, then try particular points of the track to improve. Then once you've figured out that point, move on to the next segment and improve there. By the end you'll have braking and acceleration points figured out, and you'll be going through the turns without pushing out.
5. Try them without magnets - here's the thing...when I run cars with magnets in them, they go real fast. Insanely fast. I get used to that speed, and push harder. Then the car comes off the track, and it crashes spectacularly. End over end, all the way into the far wall 3 feet away. These cars cost 50 bucks apiece. Every time one of them flies off the track like that, my stomach sinks.
When you take the magnets out, a few things happen; your driving style changes to adapt to a more realistic style, the car is harder to control at high speeds, and most importantly [to me], if you wipe out, you actually spin out most of the time as opposed to flipping dozens of times. There's no magnet grabbing the track until it can't hold on any more, so there's no snap-release of the car from the track when it finally has gone too fast for the magnet to hold it. Without magnets it simply spins out. A lot of times it won't go further than a car-length or two and come to a stop.
You might think you need borders if you run without magnets, but I run without borders and have a great time. There's plenty of space on Carrera track to run without borders [they're freakin expensive] and outside-lane advantages go away.
Once you have the magnets off, suddenly everything you do under the hood has an effect on the car. You'll notice the difference between properly-rounded, or "true" tires and uneven, untreated tires. You'll enjoy the corners more, as they're more similar to how an actual car would take a turn.
Bonus: if you are always waiting around for your kid to catch up, taking the magnets off your car and leaving them on his will make the competition more even.
6. Run races - whether alone or with others, competition is a good thing, and slot car racing is perfect for it. I've had a great time running races, as it has given me something to work towards, which makes it fun to try and squeeze better times out of the cars. Even if you run against the timer on your phone and count laps out loud, it'll be more fun that not doing anything at all.
7. Get others interested - low pressure, just having fun. The great thing about slot cars is that some of them are downright beautiful, and even to someone with even the slightest casual interest, it could be enough to get them involved:
 |
| My wife's car. She chose it out of a group of cars because she liked the color. Later I showed her Jacky Ickx footage on youtube. And even though she only runs occasionally, she asks about how her car is going quite often. |
 |
| The design done on softyroyal.de track design software. |
 |
| The final track. I moved the power piece to the other side as it was a better sitting place. Every track that I design for the apartment living room has to be roughly similar in that it goes from one corner to the other, unless I build a smaller track. There's normally a coffee table and piano bench there, but those get stacked against the wall when the track comes out. |
9. Get more cars - I had the same two cars for over two years until finally getting some others. Each car is different, and many 3rd party manufacturers make cars that are better than the ones that come with the kit.
10. Have a good storage plan - I can clear my living room, unpack the track, build it and be running cars in fifteen minutes. All it takes is a system. I use the original box for the track, but I took out all of the other things I don't use; guard rails and rail clips. I stack curves with curves and straights with straights, and pack the power track separately. I have a "kit box" for my cars and various tools and lubricants. That way if I can't break out the track for some reason, I can still take out the cars and work on them. Plus I can take that box to a commercial track and I'll have all my tools at my disposal.
So there you go. Didn't think there'd be 10, but there they are. Hope some of them are useful.
More Gulf Work
I just spent some time trimming back the chassis where the spur gear was rubbing. I couldn't set the Gulf Ford up with the spur gear facing in, so I ran it facing out, and it was barely making contact with the pinion.
There's a slightly flared section on the chassis that I trimmed back, as well as the diagonal section near the pinion. Once trimmed I flipped the spur gear and reset the axle:
I have a lot of confidence that this will be an improvement for this car. I couldn't wait 'til morning, so I set up the track and took some laps. It already sounds much better...not grindy. It had a noisy feel to it before that it seems to have lost. It sits against the pinion much better, a little inside of center.
I took another look at the Shell Ford after that, but since it's an older chassis it doesn't have that slight bit of clearance that the Gulf car does, so no matter if I trim the chassis back, it'll still be flush. That car will need a spacer on the back in order to get it back in order. I also noticed that the right rear bearing was riding loose in the bearing holder. I think that might be where the enhanced braking sound comes from. It sounds like "BIZZZZZZZ" whenever I let off the gas, but not when I'm accelerating or maintaining speed [or in the corners]. I think I'm going to get some decent bearings for the cars.
So the Gulf Ford will have the spur gear facing in, while the Shell Ford will have it facing out.
I think I'll have time to do a race in the morning. The track is all setup and I can keep it up overnight. We'll see. If not, at least I know the cars are running well.
EDIT: Turns out I didn't have time to run a race before going to work today, but I did get to put down some laps on the car, and it's a big improvement. It runs a lot smoother and there's no more gnarly noise in the turns.
It needs a bit of work on the handling, though, as it's still a little squirrely.
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| This is the situation with the Fords; The spur gear is so close to the chassis that it rubs in the corners, producing a nasty screech. Before photo. |
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| Now that's more like it! You can even see a little light in-between the spur gear and the chassis now. |
I took another look at the Shell Ford after that, but since it's an older chassis it doesn't have that slight bit of clearance that the Gulf car does, so no matter if I trim the chassis back, it'll still be flush. That car will need a spacer on the back in order to get it back in order. I also noticed that the right rear bearing was riding loose in the bearing holder. I think that might be where the enhanced braking sound comes from. It sounds like "BIZZZZZZZ" whenever I let off the gas, but not when I'm accelerating or maintaining speed [or in the corners]. I think I'm going to get some decent bearings for the cars.
So the Gulf Ford will have the spur gear facing in, while the Shell Ford will have it facing out.
I think I'll have time to do a race in the morning. The track is all setup and I can keep it up overnight. We'll see. If not, at least I know the cars are running well.
EDIT: Turns out I didn't have time to run a race before going to work today, but I did get to put down some laps on the car, and it's a big improvement. It runs a lot smoother and there's no more gnarly noise in the turns.
It needs a bit of work on the handling, though, as it's still a little squirrely.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Over-Under Race [Race 15 of 20]
The second race of the day is a 100 lap Class A race around a kinked figure-8:
RESULTS [Race 15 of 20]:
Car Time Offs Points
Gulf #11 6:03.26 3 1
Alfa #2 5:23.54 1 5
Shell #8 5:46.34 3 3
Split Times:
Car [1-25] [26-50] [51-75] [76-100]
Gulf #11 1:37.27 1:19.02 1:23.79 1:43.17
Alfa #2 1:21.52 1:19.60 1:22.25 1:20.15
Shell #8 1:22.83 1:37.20 1:21.47 1:24.82
[Best segment time in blue]
None of the cars handled very well on this track. The Fords especially struggled in the big loop, as there was a slight outward camber to it [by design] as it came down from the overpass. Every Ford crash happened there, with the Gulf car having two crashes right toward the end of the race. Funny part is, it set the fastest lap.
Even the Alfa struggled, frequently getting sideways throughout the race. Its crash happened coming off the front straight into the R-L switchback. Otherwise it handled the loop remarkably well, and surely had the advantage of acceleration in the long straightaway.
Championship Standings [Race 15 of 20]:
Car Points Total
Alfa #2 5 63
Shell #8 3 57
Gulf #11 1 44
I'm afraid it's over for the Gulf Ford #11. I'm not sure if he's mathematically out, but he's damn close. 19 points [not given the amount the Alfa could get] is pretty much insurmountable at this juncture.
Hang on, I just did the math in my head: If the Gulf car wins all the remaining races, that's 25 points, giving him a total of 69 points. The Alfa would have to come in 3rd every race for the Gulf car to win, yet that would mean the Shell car coming in 2nd every race, and ending with a best finish of 75 points.
All that needs to happen is the Alfa to score better than 3rd in any race from here on out and the Gulf car is out. It already won't win, and best it can hope for is 2nd place.
Here's my theory on why the cars struggled on this track:
The first 12 races or so were run on basically the same configuration; a road course favoring the outside lane. As more races happened, the cars laid down rubber, creating a rubber racing surface, giving them more grip. Then I switched to the inside lane and started running races. They were slippery at first, but showed early signs of laying rubber on the track.
This layout has a figure 8, so it uses both inside and outside lanes. I've done much more driving on the inside lane than the outside, as I've probably doubled or maybe tripled my distance covered since switching [even if there are less races]. The inside lane has more grip than the outside, and since the loop is an outside lane, that was the problem. Had I switched and ran on the outside, it would have been a bit slicker overall, but there probably wouldn't have been as many offs.
Under the right light, the rubber racing line is starting to show up on the track pieces. Pretty cool.
 |
| Long straightaway and elevation changes make this one tricky. |
RESULTS [Race 15 of 20]:
Car Time Offs Points
Gulf #11 6:03.26 3 1
Alfa #2 5:23.54 1 5
Shell #8 5:46.34 3 3
Split Times:
Car [1-25] [26-50] [51-75] [76-100]
Gulf #11 1:37.27 1:19.02 1:23.79 1:43.17
Alfa #2 1:21.52 1:19.60 1:22.25 1:20.15
Shell #8 1:22.83 1:37.20 1:21.47 1:24.82
[Best segment time in blue]
None of the cars handled very well on this track. The Fords especially struggled in the big loop, as there was a slight outward camber to it [by design] as it came down from the overpass. Every Ford crash happened there, with the Gulf car having two crashes right toward the end of the race. Funny part is, it set the fastest lap.
Even the Alfa struggled, frequently getting sideways throughout the race. Its crash happened coming off the front straight into the R-L switchback. Otherwise it handled the loop remarkably well, and surely had the advantage of acceleration in the long straightaway.
Championship Standings [Race 15 of 20]:
Car Points Total
Alfa #2 5 63
Shell #8 3 57
Gulf #11 1 44
I'm afraid it's over for the Gulf Ford #11. I'm not sure if he's mathematically out, but he's damn close. 19 points [not given the amount the Alfa could get] is pretty much insurmountable at this juncture.
Hang on, I just did the math in my head: If the Gulf car wins all the remaining races, that's 25 points, giving him a total of 69 points. The Alfa would have to come in 3rd every race for the Gulf car to win, yet that would mean the Shell car coming in 2nd every race, and ending with a best finish of 75 points.
All that needs to happen is the Alfa to score better than 3rd in any race from here on out and the Gulf car is out. It already won't win, and best it can hope for is 2nd place.
Here's my theory on why the cars struggled on this track:
The first 12 races or so were run on basically the same configuration; a road course favoring the outside lane. As more races happened, the cars laid down rubber, creating a rubber racing surface, giving them more grip. Then I switched to the inside lane and started running races. They were slippery at first, but showed early signs of laying rubber on the track.
This layout has a figure 8, so it uses both inside and outside lanes. I've done much more driving on the inside lane than the outside, as I've probably doubled or maybe tripled my distance covered since switching [even if there are less races]. The inside lane has more grip than the outside, and since the loop is an outside lane, that was the problem. Had I switched and ran on the outside, it would have been a bit slicker overall, but there probably wouldn't have been as many offs.
Under the right light, the rubber racing line is starting to show up on the track pieces. Pretty cool.
Super-Endurance Race [Race 14 of 20]
Today's race is 200 laps for Class A Cars only.
The track is technical, with two 90º turns and two 180º turns. Longest straight is 4 track pieces:
Team Orders:
Shell #8 - Fresh tires, 1/4 Front/Rear Body Float, no Pod Float
Alfa #2 - Fresh tires, 1/2 Body Float Front / 1/4 Body Float Rear, no Pod Float
Gulf #11 - Fresh tires, 1/2 Body Float Front / no Body Float Rear, light Pod Float [middle section loose]
RESULTS [Race 14 of 20]:
Car Time Offs Points
Shell #8 10:35.57 0 1
Alfa #2 10:32.56 0 3
Gulf #11 10:24.44 1 5
Split Times:
Car [1-50] [51-100] [101-150] [151-200]
Shell #8 2:37.79 2:39.09 2:39.46 2:39.21
Alfa #2 2:40.76 2:36.61 2:37.99 2:37.19 Gulf #11 2:35.04 2:35.66 2:36.55 2:37.18
Go Gulf Car
This is what happens when you spend two days taking apart, cleaning, rebuilding, setting, re-setting, testing, taking apart again, re-setting, etc..
That's the only way I can explain it. I went over every aspect of the car, trying to get balance for it and working particularly on control in the turns. I must have spent 45 minutes setting the rear axle just right. By the time I was finished with the car it was showroom clean. I should have taken a picture before running it.
It ran the fastest lap times in every section and didn't look back. The only time it was challenged was on the last 50 laps, as the Alfa ran an almost identical time.
The crash happened around lap 20 and was in the big right-hander. Because it happened pretty much right in front of me, it was quickly marshalled and didn't suffer much of a time penalty. In fact, it ran the fastest 1-50 laps with the wreck included.
Due to all that work, the Gulf car is running faster, cleaner and has considerably more grip. All three cars are running very well, and although the Gulf car won by 10 seconds, it was a 200 lap race. I consider that pretty close, as he was never more than 2 seconds faster than any other competitor through the segments.
I thought the Alfa would win, and win handily, but it was a little squirrelly through the corners. It still ran fast laps, but since there was no long straight to run down, it didn't have that lightness advantage of acceleration. On a track like this, the only real place to accelerate is on the front stretch, and with the kink it makes it a bit tricky. All the cars ran with minimal braking, and about 30% of available power and 30% minimum speed, so they shared the same controller settings throughout the race.
Championship Points [Race 14 of 20]:
Car Points Total
Gulf #11 5 43
Alfa #2 3 58
Shell #8 1 54
The Gulf #11 is fulfilling its duties as a spoiler quite well, although I think it's a bit too far away to challenge for the overall championship. The Shell car may end up regretting this race, as it could end up being the difference in the overall point total against the Alfa.
The track is technical, with two 90º turns and two 180º turns. Longest straight is 4 track pieces:
Team Orders:
Shell #8 - Fresh tires, 1/4 Front/Rear Body Float, no Pod Float
Alfa #2 - Fresh tires, 1/2 Body Float Front / 1/4 Body Float Rear, no Pod Float
Gulf #11 - Fresh tires, 1/2 Body Float Front / no Body Float Rear, light Pod Float [middle section loose]
RESULTS [Race 14 of 20]:
Car Time Offs Points
Shell #8 10:35.57 0 1
Alfa #2 10:32.56 0 3
Gulf #11 10:24.44 1 5
Split Times:
Car [1-50] [51-100] [101-150] [151-200]
Shell #8 2:37.79 2:39.09 2:39.46 2:39.21
Alfa #2 2:40.76 2:36.61 2:37.99 2:37.19 Gulf #11 2:35.04 2:35.66 2:36.55 2:37.18
Go Gulf Car
This is what happens when you spend two days taking apart, cleaning, rebuilding, setting, re-setting, testing, taking apart again, re-setting, etc..
That's the only way I can explain it. I went over every aspect of the car, trying to get balance for it and working particularly on control in the turns. I must have spent 45 minutes setting the rear axle just right. By the time I was finished with the car it was showroom clean. I should have taken a picture before running it.
It ran the fastest lap times in every section and didn't look back. The only time it was challenged was on the last 50 laps, as the Alfa ran an almost identical time.
The crash happened around lap 20 and was in the big right-hander. Because it happened pretty much right in front of me, it was quickly marshalled and didn't suffer much of a time penalty. In fact, it ran the fastest 1-50 laps with the wreck included.
Due to all that work, the Gulf car is running faster, cleaner and has considerably more grip. All three cars are running very well, and although the Gulf car won by 10 seconds, it was a 200 lap race. I consider that pretty close, as he was never more than 2 seconds faster than any other competitor through the segments.
I thought the Alfa would win, and win handily, but it was a little squirrelly through the corners. It still ran fast laps, but since there was no long straight to run down, it didn't have that lightness advantage of acceleration. On a track like this, the only real place to accelerate is on the front stretch, and with the kink it makes it a bit tricky. All the cars ran with minimal braking, and about 30% of available power and 30% minimum speed, so they shared the same controller settings throughout the race.
Championship Points [Race 14 of 20]:
Car Points Total
Gulf #11 5 43
Alfa #2 3 58
Shell #8 1 54
The Gulf #11 is fulfilling its duties as a spoiler quite well, although I think it's a bit too far away to challenge for the overall championship. The Shell car may end up regretting this race, as it could end up being the difference in the overall point total against the Alfa.
New Car Adjustments
Big race planned tomorrow. Tonight I was doing more laps and working on different setups for each car. I spent considerable time on them, focusing on individual setups.
We'll start with the easy one:
After blueprinting the Alfa the other day, I reset it back to the last setup I applied to it, with exception of body float. The front needs a bit more float than the rear does in order to get the body to be even. I hadn't noticed that before, and figured that a quarter turn is a quarter turn. It's not. So now I'm using this:
Body Float 1/2 front - 1/4 rear
Everything else about it...tires, wheels, axles, ride height...remain the same.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The #8 Shell car has really responded to tuneups, and is almost as fast as the Alfa. If it's because of the way it's tuned [doubt it], or maybe it has to do with something about the older chassis...whatever it is, I like it. It handles corners very well for its size, and can lay a fast lap.
Body Float 1/4 front - 1/4 rear
_________________________________________________________________________________
I made some headway the other day with the Gulf Ford. Since it's going to be awhile before it gets the desperately needed spacer in order to put the spur gear in the proper place, it is going to have to deal with some things. The spur gear sits right on the edge of the pinion gear, and I don't have a tool to pull it. It makes quite a racket in the corners, but runs fine on the straights. It has a tendency to get loose in the corners as well, and nothing I have done has fixed that, so I attribute that to the spacer problem as well.
I have had some luck getting it to run better, however, and it's back to being competitive. I want it to be good, as it's my wife's car [in a way]. I told her today that it hasn't been doing very well in the races, and she suggested I fix it.
It also suffers from the same condition the Alfa does; uneven body float. It requires a different approach though, as the rear is very loose as it is.
Body Float 1/2 Front - No Float Rear
Light Pod Float - Middle Screws Loose
I know. I said I wasn't going to use any pod float. I have to do something, and I tried it and it seemed to help. I tried it with an overall light pod float, except I really loosened the middle screws. There are six points to a pod, and if it does anything, it's to separate vibrations. So by loosening the middle, maybe I can get some of the vibration away without making the rear so loose.
In order to win the championship, this car will have to win half of the races left. I don't think it'll happen, but it might be able to act as a spoiler. I doubt heavily that I'll get a spacer before this championship series is finished.
Race Tomorrow.
We'll start with the easy one:
 |
| The Alfa Romeo. Practically Perfect. |
Body Float 1/2 front - 1/4 rear
Everything else about it...tires, wheels, axles, ride height...remain the same.
_________________________________________________________________________________
 |
| Ford GT40 #8. |
Body Float 1/4 front - 1/4 rear
_________________________________________________________________________________
 |
| Recuperating Gulf #11. |
I have had some luck getting it to run better, however, and it's back to being competitive. I want it to be good, as it's my wife's car [in a way]. I told her today that it hasn't been doing very well in the races, and she suggested I fix it.
It also suffers from the same condition the Alfa does; uneven body float. It requires a different approach though, as the rear is very loose as it is.
Body Float 1/2 Front - No Float Rear
Light Pod Float - Middle Screws Loose
I know. I said I wasn't going to use any pod float. I have to do something, and I tried it and it seemed to help. I tried it with an overall light pod float, except I really loosened the middle screws. There are six points to a pod, and if it does anything, it's to separate vibrations. So by loosening the middle, maybe I can get some of the vibration away without making the rear so loose.
In order to win the championship, this car will have to win half of the races left. I don't think it'll happen, but it might be able to act as a spoiler. I doubt heavily that I'll get a spacer before this championship series is finished.
Race Tomorrow.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Drone Time Trial Test
After running the last race, I had a little time and decided to run a drone time trial which will not count against the standings. I wanted to do this to see how the cars were running against each other with no interaction from me besides setting up the initial speed of each car. Once the top speed was found before de-slotting, it was set there and the laps were run. I used the same track as the last race:
RESULTS [does not count in standings]
Gulf Ford 5:40.84
Shell Ford 5:21.66
Alfa Romeo 5:28.19
Gulf 1:25.24 1:24.87 1:25.25 1:25.47
Shell 1:20.70 1:20.42 1:20.42 1:20.10
Alfa 1:22.53 1:21.12 1:22.94 1:21.59
You'd figure that if I set the controller and left it at the beginning of the race that all of the time segments would match, but they don't. The Alfa was the most flagrant party, and ran a pretty poor third section [it kicked the back out in the 180º but didn't go off for 3 laps in a row].
I guess the Gulf is running better. I probably should have done this race before tearing them all down and rebuilding them. Too late for that. The Shell car ran so smoothly that I really shouldn't be all that surprised at this point. It's a great car and handles quite well for being bigger than the Alfa, and I think it would make a great drone car to race against.
How the Alfa varies so wildly in these tests, I don't know. I've said it before; it's the easiest of the cars to drive, most responsive, and [I thought] has the best handling. I think maybe it has the best combination of size/braking, and the reason it handles so well is because it gets to a more reasonable speed in the technical sections at a faster rate. I know that it has great straight line acceleration, and I'd bet it would win in a drag race between the three cars. Between that and the braking, as well as the short wheelbase keeping the butt in better, sets it apart from the Fords. You can feel it when you drive. The quicker response of the Alfa allows for quicker times through the corners, even if the drone race didn't show that.
But then, I don't know exactly what the drone race tells me, other than which car is the fastest drone. I suppose if I could set speed at smaller increments I could be more even in each car's distribution of power. But for me this'll do. I'm not a scientist, just a fan. But this race does show some interesting things, notably that the Shell Ford is so fast on its own that it has to be an advantage in a real race. Maybe the only thing this information tells me is which car is best tuned. Or maybe has the best motor. Or was just built the best.
By the way, I make the decision whether to run a race or not prior to running it. I'll frequently run a race without being official about it, but those are usually for a purpose other than scoring points. A lot of the time it's to give another car a chance to try the various changes that might have been done to it.
Here's a list of the competitors and how many races they've won:
Alfa Romeo #2 6 Wins
Shell Ford 4 Wins
Gulf Ford 2 Wins
R18 0 Wins
Safety Car 1 Win
Class B gets further and further away, and it's all due to the amount of enjoyment I get out of the Class A cars. I was going to run the Carreras today, but I just didn't feel like it. I'm so hooked on these Slot.it cars and their ability to run so well without magnets that I really struggle enjoying a car with magnets in it. There's just no challenge. I'm pretty close to making them experiments, and shaving away pointless bits and trying to get the weight down. I had originally thought about upgrading them with parts, but then I'd end up spending almost as much as if I were to buy a new Slot.it car, and they have an R18 anyway. Not that I want another R18, mind you. I think it's got to be one of the ugliest cars ever designed. I understand why it's built the way it is, but that doesn't make it any prettier.
So there it is. A possibly meaningless test, but a test just the same.
 |
| Running drone laps on this track will show me which cars have a better overall speed, and take out the possibility of a car being faster because of its ease of use. |
RESULTS [does not count in standings]
Gulf Ford 5:40.84
Shell Ford 5:21.66
Alfa Romeo 5:28.19
Gulf 1:25.24 1:24.87 1:25.25 1:25.47
Shell 1:20.70 1:20.42 1:20.42 1:20.10
Alfa 1:22.53 1:21.12 1:22.94 1:21.59
You'd figure that if I set the controller and left it at the beginning of the race that all of the time segments would match, but they don't. The Alfa was the most flagrant party, and ran a pretty poor third section [it kicked the back out in the 180º but didn't go off for 3 laps in a row].
I guess the Gulf is running better. I probably should have done this race before tearing them all down and rebuilding them. Too late for that. The Shell car ran so smoothly that I really shouldn't be all that surprised at this point. It's a great car and handles quite well for being bigger than the Alfa, and I think it would make a great drone car to race against.
How the Alfa varies so wildly in these tests, I don't know. I've said it before; it's the easiest of the cars to drive, most responsive, and [I thought] has the best handling. I think maybe it has the best combination of size/braking, and the reason it handles so well is because it gets to a more reasonable speed in the technical sections at a faster rate. I know that it has great straight line acceleration, and I'd bet it would win in a drag race between the three cars. Between that and the braking, as well as the short wheelbase keeping the butt in better, sets it apart from the Fords. You can feel it when you drive. The quicker response of the Alfa allows for quicker times through the corners, even if the drone race didn't show that.
But then, I don't know exactly what the drone race tells me, other than which car is the fastest drone. I suppose if I could set speed at smaller increments I could be more even in each car's distribution of power. But for me this'll do. I'm not a scientist, just a fan. But this race does show some interesting things, notably that the Shell Ford is so fast on its own that it has to be an advantage in a real race. Maybe the only thing this information tells me is which car is best tuned. Or maybe has the best motor. Or was just built the best.
By the way, I make the decision whether to run a race or not prior to running it. I'll frequently run a race without being official about it, but those are usually for a purpose other than scoring points. A lot of the time it's to give another car a chance to try the various changes that might have been done to it.
Here's a list of the competitors and how many races they've won:
Alfa Romeo #2 6 Wins
Shell Ford 4 Wins
Gulf Ford 2 Wins
R18 0 Wins
Safety Car 1 Win
Class B gets further and further away, and it's all due to the amount of enjoyment I get out of the Class A cars. I was going to run the Carreras today, but I just didn't feel like it. I'm so hooked on these Slot.it cars and their ability to run so well without magnets that I really struggle enjoying a car with magnets in it. There's just no challenge. I'm pretty close to making them experiments, and shaving away pointless bits and trying to get the weight down. I had originally thought about upgrading them with parts, but then I'd end up spending almost as much as if I were to buy a new Slot.it car, and they have an R18 anyway. Not that I want another R18, mind you. I think it's got to be one of the ugliest cars ever designed. I understand why it's built the way it is, but that doesn't make it any prettier.
So there it is. A possibly meaningless test, but a test just the same.
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