• Registered: January 18, 2019
  • Posts: 528

Topic: Groiup C car preparation.

Hey guys, I am working on one of Al's group c cars. Since we just ran this class I thought I would post about what I went through on his car to try and get it up to snuff. It's important to note that this was the slowest of his Group C cars, and he wanted to keep it inline because he uses these for IROC. The car I ran last thursday is converted to sidewinder, and I believe it to be the superior chassis layout.

First thing, I flattened the chassis in the usual way, the motor pod was very flat to start with so nothing was done there. The motor was glued in lightly however.

Ballast outboard of the chassis seems to help a lot, and this car didn't have enough weight up front to compress the braids and keep the front down. So weight was added there as well. This car ended up at 76g total weight.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7832/33732224718_aa2cbdbef0_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7852/47609592591_919562fff3_b.jpg

Continued.....

  • Registered: January 18, 2019
  • Posts: 528

Re: Groiup C car preparation.

Next up, you could tell with the uneven wear on the front tires originally that they weren't round. So I went ahead and trued up the fronts, and took 1mm off the total diameter at the same time.

I run aluminum wheels on the front of all my cars, but the plastics turn just fine if you go slowly. After being turned they were coated in nail polish.

After the car was at weight, I removed the front axle bushings as they weren't allowing the car to get all the way down in the slot. The front axle could not go high enough up into the car.

I also installed new Professor motor Brass Oval point screws into the chassis for axle height adjustment. These I believe are the best choice, since they have the lowest drag.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7880/47609592941_6b9cba4bea_b.jpg

Continued....

3 Reply by Wanabgts (edited by Wanabgts April 14, 2019 1:30 pm)

  • Registered: January 18, 2019
  • Posts: 528

Re: Groiup C car preparation.

For front axle height at Al's, I tend to run just a tiny amount of upward slop and the wheels should be fully on the ground on your setup block. If they are not, you will likely be carrying the wheels in the air on his copper tape track.

After that, I trimmed off a small amount around the perimeter of the chassis where is was causing the most interference. When putting the body back on, remove the washers from the countersunk screws. This will allow much more float in the body. I am running the rear "snug" and the front -1/4 from snug to start out with.

He will likely need to replace the rear tires soon, but other than that this car should be good to go!

https://live.staticflickr.com/7829/33732225438_f094f79b30_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7912/47609593621_f6963ffc42_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7854/33732224428_124014a346_b.jpg

Hope this is valuable to some!

Zack

  • reek455
  • reek455
  • Slot Racer Emeritus
  • Offline
  • From: Milwaukie, OR
  • Registered: June 19, 2008
  • Posts: 1,439

Re: Groiup C car preparation.

Good info Zack. Thank you. I prefer using motor screws over glue in case you want to remove the motor at a later time.  Which is easy to do on Slot.it cars because they already have holes for them.  I have drilled holes on other brands with my pin vise and installed screws.

Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.
  • Registered: January 18, 2019
  • Posts: 528

Re: Groiup C car preparation.

reek455 wrote:

Good info Zack. Thank you. I prefer using motor screws over glue in case you want to remove the motor at a later time.  Which is easy to do on Slot.it cars because they already have holes for them.  I have drilled holes on other brands with my pin vise and installed screws.

Screws are definitely the easy way to go. Unfortunately I have found that they distort the pod on a lot of my cars, so i kinda got away from them. If I wanted to spend more time, you can easily do a little sanding or something to releive the stress of the screws.

I magnet the pod down and then just put a coulple small spots of shoe goo on there and let it dry. It seems to hold welland actually come off quite easily with pick if needed, kinda just peels out of the crack.

Zack

  • reek455
  • reek455
  • Slot Racer Emeritus
  • Offline
  • From: Milwaukie, OR
  • Registered: June 19, 2008
  • Posts: 1,439

Re: Groiup C car preparation.

I understand your concern with the warping and on most applications I use washers as well to help eliminate that from happening

Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.
  • wb0s
  • wb0s
  • Administrator
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  • From: Vancouver, Washington
  • Registered: June 16, 2008
  • Posts: 5,730

Re: Groiup C car preparation.

Zack, thanks for these great tips! The newer guys are always asking about set up and tuning. These how-tos really help! Even I find them helpful!

wb0s's Website

  • Registered: January 18, 2019
  • Posts: 528

Re: Groiup C car preparation.

reek455 wrote:

I understand your concern with the warping and on most applications I use washers as well to help eliminate that from happening

Thats a good idea, I will see if that works well for me on my next build!

Glad someone finds them Helpful Bill, there was a time I could have used the info!

Zack