Wheels & Tires

Bill- I agree the choices are limited and I don't see a real competitive advantage going to a slightly smaller/narrower wheel/tire combo from BWA or others.  I still think O ring tires/wheels is too much of change of direction from the current rules.  I recently purchased a Fly Ferrari 365/GTB and the wheels are not round or true.  I have been looking into BWA replacements and cannot find any wheels that are the same size as the originals that will also fit the BWA Ferrari wheel inserts. Further complicating matter is that everyone is out of the wheel inserts.  It seems that Fantasyworld has quit carrying BWA all together and other vendors seem to have a hard time stocking as well.  I'm guessing it is a cottage maufacturer and is having a hard time keeping up with demand.  Getting back to your original post, I'm kind of gathering there are other issues besides tires involved as I have not seen you at the track.  You could always run (Yah, I know, no points) what you brung for the fun of it.... Anyway hope to see you and some of your projects soon. One other solution might be to try a HRS2 chassis as they are slightly narrower than the original HRS chassis.  I had to put spacers on the front axle to fit the front wheels on the Spirit/HRS2 car and I was forced to use 17 X 8 wheels to comply with the rules and for aesthetic reasons.
Rico

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

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

Bill- Check out the HRS2, the other feature I liked is the front axle runs in the same type of spherical bushings the rear axle does.  In addition, I saw on Slot Car News or Slot Car Illustrated that Slot it is coming out with a independent front wheel set up that looked similiar to the set up you had.  As far as the motors, the people with the yellow motors were as fast or faster than my car with the red motor down the straights, but I might not be getting my magnet setup correct.  Cost escalation has been plagueing all forms of racing forever, as you well know, and it appears it is no different in slot car racing.  I guess that's why most clubs run some sort of spec motor which eliminates this problem.  I do understand how you feel, the orange endbell had been slot it's best for quite a while, but it became quickly apparent that it was not up to the task against the yellow motors.  So, when I saw the red motors were available in the UK, I bought some of those instead of upgrading to the yellow endbell saving a step.
    I guess my opposition to the o ring tires is that I'm kind of a purist and since this is scale racing I just like my cars to appear more realistic than the o ring tires look.  Anyway, just one persons point of view. I guess we will catch you on the flip side.
Rico

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.

These cars are going so fast now.......does anyone even notice the tires and wheels on them??

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

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

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

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

So I hear there's a change to the wheel rules at BSCC. BWA wheels are now legal. We can now use hubless wheels. That's going to help me out a lot! So, if we can run BWA wheels, why not open it up to any manufacturer's wheels, (excluding "O" ring fronts of course!)?  -----------------Bill