1,376

(51 replies, posted in NASTE)

It should be an exciting finale.

1,377

(26 replies, posted in Track)

Sounds great, this is exciting!

1,378

(1 replies, posted in NASTE)

Agreed on all counts.  And how about that AJ!  Congrats to Aj and Rico.  And Kelly...  just amazing.

1,379

(61 replies, posted in NASTE)

I think it would be a good idea to also schedule a NASTE Thursday at each track the week prior to the scheduled race so that gives us 10 days prior to the race to know everything is solid.  Also some time to fix anything that might need attention prior. 

And of course an extra night of practice for Flyin' Bryan.

So that would put NASTE Thursday on the first Thursday of those months.

Oh, and we'll take two dates if possible.

1,380

(3 replies, posted in BSCC)

I'm having second thoughts on the Sloter cars.  I think they would dominate.  Maybe we'll let them run at the Pen this last time as a test...

1,381

(26 replies, posted in Track)

I'm not sure I understand the dilemma.

1,382

(26 replies, posted in Track)

When do we get to see some progress pictures?  We want proof!

1,383

(3 replies, posted in BSCC)

They are clearly out of business I believe but they use just about the same parts and are more readily available in new condition at a reasonable price.  If you can find one, buy one.  They are good cars in my opinion.

1,384

(3 replies, posted in BSCC)

Howdy friends.  I've done some research about the upcoming Fly Classics class.  Basically cars can be difficult to get and expensive.  Parts are close to non-existent from Fly.  I sincerely doubt there will ever be new stocks of parts.  If we are going to race these cars, we need to be able to repair them since replacements are almost out of the question.

1.  CARS

Besides the Fly Classics there is another option that we should include and that is the Sloter line of cars.  Here's some pictures:

Lola
http://www.naste.org/members/monte/40gitanes9202436.jpg http://www.naste.org/members/monte/27lola129166391.jpg http://www.naste.org/members/monte/34lola189195638.jpg

Ferrari
http://www.naste.org/members/monte/28312n29171899.jpg http://www.naste.org/members/monte/41codalunga39206362.jpg

These are nearly identical to a Fly Classic:
Black Stripe motor, same gears, same tire size on the rear, chassis looks almost identical.  These cars fit right in AND are still available for purchase new at some retailers.  I recommend them highly.

Here's a link to a guy online that has some for sale.



2.  GEARS

There's some opportunity for variety here.  But it comes with consequences...

Stock gears should be just fine.

Slot.It gears will work.  You need a 19MM Spur Gear.  There are some choices.  You will want to pay attention to the hub size since this will limit the wheels you can use.  Wheels must be inside the body and a stock wheel width will not work with a gear that has a longer hub.

The kits are not a bad choice, but once again you will need to make sure of wheels and tires.

Here are two choices:
SIKK02
SIKK04


So what about TSRF?  Those will work too however they come in matched sets and are really designed for 1:24 scale cars.  Also you have a MINIMUM gear ratio of about 3.53:1.  I'm not sure how well that is going to work against cars running closer to 3:1 ratios.  With Slot.It gears you can get 3:1 and lower.

If you decide to go the TSRF route, Fantasy World Tony suggests you get the NSR axles and bushings for a better fit.

TSRF Gears


You can also use the NSR gears as they will fit.  You should probably get both the spur and pinion in that case.  If you prefer to use the NSR or TSRF stuff with standard axles, you can probably carefully enlarge the opening on the spur gear to fit.

NSR Pinions
NSR Spur Gears


3.  MOTORS

Slot.It orange end bell, or Black Stripe if you prefer.  At 12v the Slot.It motor probably has a little more snap.  Above 12v we are going to have issues because the cars will tend to the over-powered side and become difficult to manage.  With the Slot.It motor we may want to actually lower the power to 11v or so.  I've chosen the Slot.It Orange because it is easy to get and most of us probably already have a few laying around.  Fly parts are no longer easy to acquire for these cars.  I doubt that situation will ever improve.

This Orange Endbell


4.  WHEELS and TIRES

What a hornets nest!  We are going to use Indy Grips.  That part appears to be certain however which ones you choose are going to depend on your wheel choice.  Wheels are going to have to be chosen that work with the gears you pick.  However, if you choose the stock wheels and gears you probably want this one:

Indy Grips IND3003


Here are some hub-less rear wheels that should work as a replacement.

CBD1510-SCB


Here are some choices for front wheels though you will probably have to use the Slot.It low-profile zero-grips to get the proper guide depth:

15x8 Plastic
15x8 Aluminum


You can change the independent, wobbly fronts by pulling the posts out of the wheels and moving to a solid front axle.  Highly recommended in my opinion.  If the front wheels are out-of-round you will want to choose a replacement.  I suggest one of the ones above with the zero-grips.


5.  GUIDE BLADE

The stock guide will work fine, you can also use the Slot.It guides and probably some others.


6.  CHASSIS

Stock.  No magnet.  If anyone is unsure what this means, contact me.


7.  WEIGHT

You should probably add some.  I would imagine a 100 Gm limit to be sufficient.  I'll weigh a few of mine and get some benchmarks.


And there you have it.  Questions, comments, have at it.  I'll update this as we go along.

1,385

(26 replies, posted in Track)

That sounds like something I would have done.  Working on it today?

1,386

(9 replies, posted in Penguin Point Raceway)

reek455 wrote:

Are Slot.it HRS Chassis allowed?

No.  They don't qualify as a stock ready-to-run car.  The basis of the car must be a stock chassis and body.

1,387

(12 replies, posted in NASTE)

Per Bryans's question, I hope we stay with the IROC program.  I'm afraid there are a number of the folks that won't want to build a car in whatever scale we choose.  Plus I like the variety of venues and styles.  We've already got a few other series around that go the individual car route.  IROC is the best opportunity for newcomers to get involved.

You're more than welcome Rico, it was great to see the family out for the day.  Here are the results from yesterday's racing and there's a new leader at the top of the PPR Fly Classics standings.  Congratulations to Rico!

1.  Rico Locati  (80 laps) 26 pts.
2.  AJ Locati  (78)  22 pts.
3.  Monte Saager (80)  20 pts.
4.  Mike Lombardi  (71)  18 pts.
5.  Victoria Saager  (71)  16 pts.
6.  Kelly Locati  (56)  6 pts.

1,389

(3 replies, posted in NASTE)

Rico, Kelly and AJ, that was awesome.  I don't know if I've ever seen a better looking and tasting spread than what we had last nigh for a race - heck it was better than restaurant quality!  And the racing wasn't bad either.  And Dorothy...  the hammer...  I don't think I could have eaten another bite of cheesecake.  But I sure would have liked to try.

The bar has clearly been raised.

1,390

(9 replies, posted in Penguin Point Raceway)

I can live with that.

1,391

(9 replies, posted in Penguin Point Raceway)

Apples and oranges.  The gears in my NSR angle winders are not anywhere near the same as the ones in my Slot.It angle winders.

1,392

(9 replies, posted in Penguin Point Raceway)

The real issue would be that the Slot.It and NSR gears aren't exactly interchangeable since the pod spacing is different.  I've not tried the TSRF gears but would give it consideration.  They are after all just gears.  Anybody got 'em?

As I say I'd be more concerned about someone getting parts to fit only to find out they don't fit.

1,393

(9 replies, posted in Penguin Point Raceway)

It's time for a change!

Starting in June the new season should start up at Marshall Field and we'll be using the same Fly Classics that we are currently running at the Pen.  Rico says the hand-out urethane tires seem to work well so we can use those or different sets but the bottom line is that once we start running the cars there, we'll switch to something else here.

That something else will be:

The Italian Stallion Shoot-out

This will be a class for cars from either Slot.It, NSR or Racer.  Motors will be limited to 22K and lower motors and must be from either Slot.It or NSR since Racer doesn't actually make their own.

We can either run two classes - open and closed cars, only allow some of just lump them all together.

Here's some possible motor selections:

Slot.It Orange end bell (21.5K)
Slot.It Teal end bell (19.5K)
Slot.It Boxer/2 (21.5K)
Slot.It Flat 6 (20.5K)
Slot.It Flat 6R (22K)

NSR Shark (21K)
NSR King (21K)
NSR King Evo2 (21K)

Racing will be non-mag with little or no weight added.

Cars will be stock except for the following:

* Racer cars will be synonymous with Slot.It since they are basically Slot.It cars with expensive and highly detailed bodies.

GUIDE FLAG
Any Slot.It or NSR guide allowed.

TIRES and WHEELS
Any non-silicon tire.  Wheels must be STOCK!  Inserts may be removed.  Zero-grip fronts allowed.

DRIVETRAIN
Any motor from the above list is allowed.  Any pod is allowed but the chassis may not be modified to fit.  For example, a Slot.It chassis can not be modified to fit an NSR pod.  Any motor configuration is allowed (inline, sidewinder, angle-winder).  Gears are open - use what works.

SUSPENSION
Both Slot.It and NSR make a variety of suspension components.  They can be used but not mixed.  Slot.It can not use NSR and vice-versa.

1,394

(1 replies, posted in Digital Racing)

Well, of course!

1,395

(137 replies, posted in Slot Talk)

Seriously, the cars are just fine.  I spent a GREAT amount of time in the garage yesterday afternoon working on things.  Victoria test drove while I did repairs.  All the cars are just fine EXCEPT the safety car which is suffering from a previous issue.

Mostly the cars get their little tabs bent around when the guides get pulled out.  I typically had to pull apart the running gear so I could take out the Digital chip unit to straighten them back up.  In every case it was most successful.

I also got the smoothness back into two of the three controllers that were acting up.  The third one may need to be replaced.  Fortunately I have a total of 7.

It's just little adjustments.  And as Bill says, thge cars are proving surprisingly durable.

1,396

(137 replies, posted in Slot Talk)

Good job!  Congrats!!!!!!!!  I spent yesterday working on Digital cars, track and controllers.  Everything is A-Ok!

1,397

(14 replies, posted in Events)

Hey guys, we're live today from Tacoma via MonteV!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/north-south-enduro

Tune in if you can.

1,398

(8 replies, posted in Track)

Well let's build a new one.  Didn't look like it was too hard.  Of course you've seen me in action...

1,399

(8 replies, posted in Track)

I'm sure the new owner will be thrilled.  The fruits of your labor still taste sweet.

1,400

(3 replies, posted in Penguin Point Raceway)

NOT Big Smooth ... Victoria actually