5,626

(2 replies, posted in Cars)

I am compiling a list of truths of true slot car racers. We're not talking slot car collectors, or people that PLAY with slot cars. We're talking true slot car RACERS. I'm sure all you slot car racers will find something that rings true in this list. I'll start the list, feel free to add to it!

1. Slot car RACERS think; racing is fun, winning is more fun!

2. Slot car RACERS think; "stock" is the starting point.

3. Slot car RACERS think; getting from #2 to #4 is a challenge.

4. Slot car RACERS think refinement is still "stock".

5. Slot car RACERS think improvement may still be "stock".

6. Slot car RACERS are not satisfied with repairs that just fix. Slot car racers think; the repaired part must be superior to the broken part.

5,627

(11 replies, posted in Cars)

I am compiling a list of truths of true slot car racers. We're not talking slot car collectors, or people that PLAY with slot cars. We're talking true slot car RACERS. I'm sure all you slot car racers will find something that rings true in this list. I'll start the list, feel free to add to it!

1. Slot car RACERS think; racing is fun, winning is more fun!

2. Slot car RACERS think; "stock" is the starting point.

3. Slot car RACERS think; getting from #2 to #4 is a challenge.

4. Slot car RACERS think refinement is still "stock".

5. Slot car RACERS think improvement may still be "stock".

6. Slot car RACERS are not satisfied with repairs that just fix. Slot car racers think; the repaired part must be superior to the broken part.

5,628

(1 replies, posted in Cars)

Sounds like Bryan Trachsel has raised the bar another notch out at BASCC! I hear Bryan turned consistent laps under the 4 second mark!                      Racers...cinch 'em up!!

5,629

(2 replies, posted in Modifications)

Bryan, you are the corrosion master!!!

5,630

(23 replies, posted in Cars)

Rico we are definately on the same page when it comes to the fuel/tire management system! Like you said, for the BASCC races it makes no sense, they are sprint races. In an enduro type race it does add another dimension, and actually serves some function facilitating driver changes (as used in the PSSR Enduro in Auburn). As far as voicing my opinion at one of the events, I attended some earlier meetings/get togethers and felt my input must not have been pertinent to the objective of the rules, judging from the outcome. As far as the posts here, well you're right, this is probably just too easy.   ---------------------------Bill

5,631

(23 replies, posted in Cars)

Rico, I don't think you're out of line at all. I was not directing my comments at anyone in particular. My comments are my opinion of the basis for the rules governing the Slot.It class. In my opinion the rules are inconsistant and subjective. As far as cosmetic damage during a race what I referred to was repairing the damage before the next race, as in next race date, not the next heat. But mechanical damage should be repaired before the racer continues (as in real racing). And speaking of real racing, someone needs to show me where, in any type of real car racing, a racer can switch to a backup car after the race has begun!? In response to your post Rico, I must say your cars always look great!  ----------------------Bill

5,632

(23 replies, posted in Cars)

I Monte, I agree with you 100%. The cars should have to have all the body parts in place at the beginning of the race (excluding mirrors would be ok with me). If a body part breaks off during the race it should be allowed to continue, but the broken part should be replaced or repaired by the start of the next race. If something breaks on the mechanical portion of the chassis (i.e. a wheel breaks off, or you lose a tire) the car should be removed from the track and the repair should be made before the car is allowed to continue racing. This would be a mechanical breakdown versus cosmetic damage. Although most slot cars run fine without one or both front wheels, it should be viewed as a mechanical breakdown in my opinion. The rules do state both front wheels must touch and roll.   ------------------Bill

5,633

(23 replies, posted in Cars)

One of my last comments on this subject has to do with the asthetics issue. I understand the value of keeping the modelling and realistic aspect of the cars, but with that in mind, and the fact it seems to be of high priority, why would the rules allow the removal of the wings on cars that are so equipped? The wings represent a big percentage of the cars look! I understand removing the mirrors, but hey some of the car's wings represent 20 percent of the body. So if you're going to outlaw "O" ring fronts based on modelling accuracy, I don't see how you can allow the removal of rear wings! In addition, the reasoning of "they're going to break off anyway" is invalid.  First off I have not seen a large percentage of cars with the wings in place actually break off.  With these Slot.It class cars running as fast as they are, and the heavy magnetic downforce, there IS going to be breakage! I've seen body panels front, rear and side broken already. So what rule revision will be next, you can remove the bodies?  So which is it exactly, go as fast as possible, or realistic racing?   -----------------------Bill

5,634

(23 replies, posted in Cars)

I have heard the Alfas should perform on par with the Ferrari 312s. Oh boy, more RED cars!!! As far as the front tires adding to the realistic look of the cars I understand that, it just seemed to me that when the decission was made to go all out ballistic in speed and performance the "modelling" and "realism" aspect of the racing at BASCC went out the window or was at least a secondary concern. Guess I misunderstood the intent. Goes back to "unlimited" not REALLY meaning unlimited. Again, my mistake.

5,635

(23 replies, posted in Cars)

All hail Master Monte!!!..............er, Smoothy..............oh hell, what the FAST GUY said!!!!

5,636

(10 replies, posted in Cars)

Could be!!!!.............and you're not the only one!!!

5,637

(10 replies, posted in Cars)

Way cool Bryan!!! I can see 6 of those on my track!!!!

5,638

(23 replies, posted in Cars)

Rico, Thanks for the advise on the HRS2 chassis. I have one, I just haven't done anything with it yet. I didn't even look at it close enough to realize it is narrower. Been kinda windin' down from slot car season. The nice weather has taken me onto other "summer" type projects. Between summer and babysitting, I haven't put much time towards racing or car building. I'm not sure exactly what the opposition is towards using "O" ring front wheels and tires. It can't be cost, because they cost less than half what Slot.It wheels and tires cost. Is the issue cosmetic from a modelling aspect, or does it have to do with the details of building and engineering? I guess from my point of view if you are going to allow Slot.It HRS chassis, which require a higher level of assembly and modification (especially when you allow ANY body), why would you handicap those that chose to go that route by limiting the basic parts they can use for construction? My feeling is a choice of wheels and tires for the front of a car is hardly a race winning advantage. A bigger issue to me is that there are no rules limiting motors. Case in point, you show up to a race with the latest "hot" motor you just purchased last week for $18 and guess what, a new one came out yesterday for $22 that just put yours out of the game! I like to build a car and have it competetive for at least a season without replacing major components, like motors! So far this season I have seen three motors that were the death of their predecessors. I can play that game and keep up ok, but I'd much rather be able to make small refinements to my cars handling versus leaps and bounds in speed from this months fastest motor. I like the 1/32 cars, but maybe Randy put it best, I need to find a builder's club to race with.  ------------------------Bill

5,639

(23 replies, posted in Cars)

Here's a copy of the current BASCC Rules regarding wheels and tires:
Wheels and Tires
8. Only slot.it manufacturer wheel parts are allowed. You cannot alter the wheels by turning them down in size.

9. Any type of tire can be used but it has to fit properly on a slot.it wheel. You cannot cut the tires in any way.

10. You cannot add anything to the tires. These include but are not limited to gluing compounds, nail polish, super glue, etc.

11. All wheels need to fit inside the body.

12. All four wheels will need to be riding/touching on the track and rotate as the car moves on the track.

13. You can fix the front wheels, that come from the manufacturer tight, by removing the post caps or sanding the post caps or post to allow the wheels to rotate freely.

14. You can add front independent wheel rotation but have to use slot.it manufacturer parts for the axle and wheels.
I feel these rules are overly restrictive when it comes to wheel and tire choices. The rules clearly state you can use ANY type of tire, but it has to fit properly on a Slot.It wheel, without any modification to the wheel. There are some choices for rear tires with this rule, but depending on the body style (especially in the case of building an HRS chassis) you are handicapped by the available Slot.It wheels. Even the wheels Slot.It calls "hubless" have a slight hub on the inside which limits how narrow you can set your rear track. So in some cases you cannot get the rear track narrow enough, granted this is mostly a problem when building a narrow car based on an HRS chassis. As far as the front you are even more limited. The "ANY tire" rule does not even apply here. In reality there are NO other tires you can adapt to use on the front Slot.It wheels. In the case of the Ferrari 312s you are stuck with the wheels and tires specifically made for that car, although you can buy Slot.It replacement aluminum wheels for the front. Making fronts fit the HRS cars can be a real pain! I used a Fly Porsche 917 body on an HRS chassis. The narrowest Slot.It front wheel/tire combination would not fit under the body in the front. As narrow as I could get it, it was still a little too wide. So here's my point; what's wrong with allowing the use of other manufacturer's wheels and or tires? I found true hubless 17 X 10 rear wheels for the same price as the Slot.It wheels, $8.99 a pair. BWA has wheels available that are narrower and hubless which can eliminate the problems for front wheels and tires. And speaking of front wheels and tires. Here we are with a class that's supposed to be this super fast class and you can't even use "O" ring fronts. Why not? You could actually use "O" rings on the stock wheels, and with the "O" rings that are available at your local hardware store, you would have some ride height adustability on the front. There are different sizes of "O" rings available at any local hardware store, and "O" rings can be sanded down easily to adjust the ride height.  1/24 scale front wheels WITH "O" ring tires can be purchased for $3.98 a pair ($4.98 for the trick drilled ones). It seems to me the rules for this class need to be opened up a little bit, or everybody is going to be running RED Ferrari 312s! Of course that would make the rules simpler; Rule #1 You must use a Slot.It Ferrari 312 equipped with only Slot.It parts. Rule #2 Exception to rule #1. You can change the rear tires to any available silicon rear tire.  -------------Bill

5,640

(9 replies, posted in Events)

What a great event yesterday in Auburn Washington! Racing the Racer Ferrari 250 LMs in an IROC style 4 hour enduro. Thanks to John & Chrissy Powers for hosting such an event (with an all you could eat pizza feed to boot!), and to Tony from Fantasy World for supplying the beautiful cars!  ------------Bill

5,641

(2 replies, posted in Cars)

Rico, Very nice job! Looks like a really clean and sanitary build! The laps times you ran with it are about two tenths faster than what I could run with my HRS based Porsche 917. Are you going to try it with a sidewinder offset pod to see if you can improve it's performance?

5,642

(5 replies, posted in Cars)

Rico, I'm sure Monte can help you out there! Looking forward to seeing some photos!  ---------------------Bill

5,643

(5 replies, posted in Cars)

Monte, I'm glad you brought the short wheelbase topic up. Let's start some discussion here. That seems to be one thing I am good at. I've  heard some guys say "the longer wheelbase is better for a fast track with sweeping type turns". I believe that, and I know it is true for 1/24 as well. BUT, personally I have never seen a 1/32 plastic sectional track (in person or in photos) that had more than 1 or 2 sweeping type turns (excluding banked turns. That's a whole different critter!). Come on, it's plastic sectional track, they're ALL tighter turns!!!! A fast sweeping turn would require 8 really BIG pieces, each of which would not fit in a small to medium size box. Marketing taboo!!! When you talk about a fast sweeping turn in 1/24 scale it is a very large radius turn, definitely in excess of a 3 foot radius. Viewed as a complete circle that would be a turn in excess of 6 feet wide. I know this as fact because I had a 1/24 routed track with turns that were 2 foot radius. They were pretty tight corners in 1/24 scale racing. The 6 lane track I presently have does have some sweeping type turns (ok, granted in my opinion), but only two. The smallest of the two, I consider only the 2 outside lanes to really be fast sweeping turns. That 5th lane out is roughly 7 feet in diameter, or approximately a 3.5 foot radius. Slot cars are instruments of physics and geometry. I'm not by any means a scientist, mathmatician, or engineer, but I have done a lot of experimenting with slot car chassis and motors in all the scales. What I do know is a long wheelbase 1/24 car (we'll use a 4.5 inch wheelbase as long wheelbase), gets around that lane 5 corner pretty well. Granted other factors weigh into the cars handling, but compared to a 4 inch chassis the 4.5 inch chassis are less twitchy. So if the theory of "a long wheelbase works best on a course with fast sweeping turns" is true, one of the factors must be; chassis wheelbase in relationship to turn radius (if all turns are flat and equal). In this case the the turn radius to chassis wheelbase ratio is 18.66 to 1. So, you show me a 1/32 plastic sectional track with a turn that has a 2.5 foot radius turn (that would be a 180 degree turn with a 5 foot diameter) and I'll show you a fast sweeping 1/32 scale turn (might be able to do it with Carrera track? Glenn?) where a longer wheelbase car may have an advantage. Now if that course only has one of those corners and the rest are tighter, I'll still stick with the short wheelbase car........So hey, this is just my point of view.......But then again, I challenge anyone to show me even a photo of a plastic sectional track where a longer wheelbase car would have an advantage!

5,644

(5 replies, posted in Cars)

Nice job on your Ferrari build! Great info! The secrets are out, everybody should be up to speed by the next race!!!  ----------Bill

5,645

(9 replies, posted in Events)

Monte, What time are we meeting Saturday morning? Shari's for breakfast? What exit was that?  --------------------Bill

5,646

(9 replies, posted in Events)

The Toaster is now full up. Jack signed up for the last seat to Saturday's Enduro in Auburn...   --------------Bill

5,647

(1 replies, posted in Cars)

Hey Jack, Your post worked fine. The photo in the link is a little small, but I also got the email from you with the PDF file. I'll take a look at the PDF file.  --------------Bill

5,648

(5 replies, posted in Cars)

We're working on the photos as we speak.....er, type!!!

5,649

(9 replies, posted in Events)

I'll be driving the "Toaster" up to the race. So far I have seats assigned for my son John and Flyin' Bryan. I still have one seat available.    -------------------Bill

5,650

(5 replies, posted in Cars)

Thanks John. Monte is doing a great job on this site! I agree about the MSN Group. It will be much better having it all here on one site! It's just going to take awhile to get everything together! --------Bill