Topic: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

The mighty Bostic Bullet barely made it out of the box last night, it wasn't quite fast enough and the re-adjusted Ferrari 312PB had TOO MUCH down  force.  But I am having more fun trying to create an HRS-based car that will keep up with those darned Ferrari's.  Now what smart-mouth let that cat out of the bag?  smile 

Since the Jaguar not only showed promise but also has NO breakable external parts it will get further development.  The low nose also seemed to shed cars just like a cow catcher.

I thought it might be fun to show what we are doing with our cars.  So if you aren't giving away any trade secrets, post a picture(s) of your car(s) that you are running and tell a little about what upgrades you have made to get them race-ready.  Maybe we'll all learn something.

I know Flyin' Bryan can show us a thing or two about weight reduction.  smile

I'll post the details of the Jag upgrade once it's finished.  Victoria says it needs a re-paint.  You animals!

"Big Smooth"

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Ok, I promised pictures and here they are.  The Jaguar is almost finished.  Just needs a little touch-up.  She'll be showing up for the next Tuesday nighter so you can do a first-hand viewing.

First, a picture of the Orange Rat as it was...

http://www.naste.org/members/monte/jaguar-4.jpg


Victoria said it needed a re-paint and she was right.

http://www.naste.org/members/monte/jaguar-1.jpg

We made all the decals and yes, we could have done a better job of color matching the blue background to the color of the car but it was a first attempt and I was too excited to not give it a try rather than spending the day trying to color match shades of light blue.

http://www.naste.org/members/monte/jaguar-2.jpg

The decals on the white background look exceptional.  Even the little SCCA logo on the front fender is readable!

http://www.naste.org/members/monte/jaguar-3.jpg

"Big Smooth"

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

GREAT JOB MONTE!!!!!

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Hear, hear!

George

--
"Get the shotgun, Martha. The herd needs a thinnin'." - Bucky Katt

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Is that the same car you ran last time at BSCC? If it is- way cool.

Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Yes, same one.  However, I expect it may run better this time.  A clean car is a happy car.

"Big Smooth"

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Man that is a pretty car.  Sure you want to run it as it might get banged up?
RR

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Is that a threat?  smile

The Ferrari Killer is coming...

"Big Smooth"

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Eventually.....


Sorry Monte, you opened that door. ;-)

George

--
"Get the shotgun, Martha. The herd needs a thinnin'." - Bucky Katt

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

hey monte, could you make me some decals after i give you the paper (which i found) if i get a project started (i have one in mind).....

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Yes.

"Big Smooth"

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

OK, I need some clarification here. My car passes the minimum ground clearance rule. I know some of the cars are dragging the track because I have heard them drag, and I've seen the wear marks on the underside of the chassis. So, just how much "dragging" is actually allowed?  --------------------Bill

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

I think the problem is with the test block that is used for the ground clearance. It is made out of wood with a plastic laminate. Sturdy (non-flexing), non-magnetic AND very flat. The actual track is pretty flexible plastic with magnetic rails with bulges here and there. It's quite possible that the strong magnets pull the track up to the car, or the car down to the track. At the crest of the bulges the car may rub the bottom. Perhaps we should either increase the ground clearance rule, or test on a piece of track to see how close the car bottom will get to the track surface. It won't take into account the bulges but it will be a more realistic with regards to the racing conditions.

I was worried that my magnet (racing magnet with the thick side down) was rubbing the track, shorting my lane and robbing me of essential power. To test this theory I covered the magnet with a white lane sticker. After one heat the sticker was in one piece still (it lasted the whole race) but the sections were the magnet sat were totally black from rubbing the track. And I still had power issues at the same spot so the magnet did not seem to short out the track.

George

--
"Get the shotgun, Martha. The herd needs a thinnin'." - Bucky Katt

14 (edited by reek455 August 25, 2008 2:59 pm)

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Bill- I agree with everything that George states in his post.  My Mclaren has dragged on the track since day one, it always has passed tech and I have it on good authority that as long as it passes tech it is ok to run.  I am currently running it with shims between the pod and the chassis as I feared that the magnets were possible rubbing and/or shorting.  At first, with the racing magnet big side down it was the magnet rubbing, I later turned the magnet over and installed the stock magnet in the front. There was no more contact on the magnet, but the pod was still hitting.  I tried sanding it first (it was not flat) but it still rubbed and that is when I decided to try the shims. The shims actually made the car drive better due to less contact with the track and the lap times have come down to an observed 4.1 seconds, among the fastest inline cars. However it still rubs and I can see drag marks on the chassis itself on the area in front and rear of the pod.  In my mind this only leaves chassis and/or track flexing as the culprit.  There are a couple of spots on the track where there are elevation changes that a fair number of cars, and not just Slot.it cars, tend to scrape as you well know.  I can show you what I use as spacers if there is any interest.
Rico

Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Thanks Rico, I'll take a look at your car at the next race. I did some more work on my Porsche and I'd like to come out to see if it works any better. My biggest problem was the rear tires coming in contact with the body. I don't think its possible to get a "heavy" magnet car to NOT drag or touch down at some points on a sectional plastic track. Like you stated, if the heavy magnet pull isn't pulling the flexible chassis down to the track, it is pulling the flexible track sections up to the chassis. I'll go with the listed clearance and call it good. We all know if the car drags too much you pay for it with your motor! So, show me your spacers and I'll show you what I use............   -----------------------Bill

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

Only two races left, but I'm gettin' close with a LEGAL HRS chassis..............Too little, too late!!! Oh well, it's sure been fun tryin'!  ----------------Bill

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

So here's my views of the BSCC summer season. The cars were extremely fast! By the end of the season everyone had really fast cars! Yes, the majority of the cars were the Ferrari 312s, but that's to be expected when a class is based on RTR type production cars.  When one particular car shows dominate performance, racers will migrate to that particular style of car (if they want to improve their chances winning). The cost of the cars was high. Well no kidding! You're starting out with a car that costs $40 to $50, and the rules allow modifications. Modifications = $ ! When the rules specify only a specific brand of parts for those modifications, modifications = $ X 2 ! The basic rule of thought is; if JOE used part A in his modification and it worked, then I need part A to keep up with JOE. What I did not see was a lot of low dollar modifications and R&D. I did not actively participate in the series. The main thing that turned me off was the destruction of the cars. I have a hard time destroying my $50 cars. The only thing worth anything on these 1/32 cars is the bodies, and for the most part you can't replace a body without purchasing a whole new car (because the chassis are specific to each car, so now after damage it's a $100 car).  I think racing cars where replacement bodies are available would be an improvement in a program where damage is inevitable. In the end the fastest guy won the series, and without a lot of extra expense to his car. A lot of expensive cars were broken. And Art looked like the most improved racer to me! Congrats ART!!!  -------------------------------Bill

18 (edited by reek455 November 7, 2008 5:39 pm)

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

It was kinda tough to do low dollar modifications using Slot it only parts other than blueprinting and my R&D skills are still developing  or non-existant, I'm not sure which.
Rico

Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.

Re: Cars of the 2008 Summer Season

You're right about it being tough to do the low dollar mods using only Slot.It parts. To me that was one rule that handi-capped low dollar mods. None of the Slot.It parts are low dollar! But there are alternative parts that could have been used. Two things dampened that line of thought, 1) the rules allowed modifications as approved by the membership. So, you could take a chance with a modification hoping the membership would in turn "allow" it (big chance!). 2) The class series was not long enough to allow a great deal of time to develope modifications. Buying a better/faster bolt-on mod was more effective in the time sensitive aspect.

As far as your R&D skills, they appear to be pretty sharp to me!!! ......and oh by the way, nice job on your pit skills during Howie's OSCAR 962 Enduro!!!!