Thanks fella's.... yes, Bill passed away the year I retired... I'd have love to have caught up with him during his life... but he left us well before I had any intentions of scratch building slot cars... let a lone his.
Bib Stillwell owned Bill's car before him... I think Bib did better in it, but Bill had some good lap times as well... his dealership prevented him from getting too serious about racing.
I'll include a pic of the layout we set up when Bathurst is on... it's about a third of my track. We can't lay it all out anywhere in the house where you can see it all from one spot...
I am extremely disciplined in that it is stored in original packets and wiped down regularly during the weekend. I use "Inox MX-3" on the running rails.. and leave a film of it on them when put into storage. The packets are stored in the original boxes upside down, so that they lay on their track side... and then in containers and stored away in a double wardrobe... that's just the track.
I have enough to run 8 lanes in Scalextric.. but we'd never set that much up.
Here's the usual layout I put together - takes me two hours both setting up and packing up.. it's about a 7 second circuit for most of my cars.. 6.2 is the best I've ever done on it... with "Godzilla"... a Slot-It GT40 Mk 2 that I made into a weapon... so touchy, that blokes at the slot car club were frightened of it.. it would "launch" if full power was applied... even when running at speed then hitting full power - I have it tamed now, by the use of a new pair of controllers - I'll speak of those later...
There are some club tracks that have "dips" and "hills" in them... it would de-slot cresting the hills.... motor is a 30,000 rpm with about 280 gm/cm of torque... I geared it right down to a very low ratio to make use of the rpms... but with all that torque and the low gearing... it literally "launches" on anything above about half power..... might find a pic.. could be the next "topic" in this thread...
Pic of layout...
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Track boxes...
The track is in boxes from the floor of this wardrobe to the top shelf. On the top shelf, the top box is full of spare parts. (By the way, can anyone spot my set of 5 Dragway wheels and tyres in this pic? - they were in storage when the old bus was up on blocks. I hadn't fitted them yet.. this was back in 2016).
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On the end of another shelf in front of this desk where I do my work and punch out novels - I have small containers and small jewel case boxes with designated parts for building models.... my working tools are scattered around the room... I know where every one of them is, but to anyone coming into this room - it's a nightmare to negotiate a path through it.
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Most of this small scale modeling is only capable using micro-scale tools... without drills and what is called a "drill vice"... much of my work is probably too difficult - I have a number of power tools in this scale as well.... "tyre truer", a number of designated Dremel machines and this lovely little cut-off saw.. into which I can fit either a steel toothed blade for wood, or a number of different cutting discs...
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Tyre truer... I can go into quite some detail about using this - it "trues" up the running diameter of both wheels and tyres. I'll leave for now with a short explanation that by gluing tyres to wheels and trimming both so that they are perfectly round, and of equal diameter across the axle - gains of 2 seconds/lap are usual.... most of the proprietary manufacturers are stuck between a "toy" and a racing "model".. much attention is applied to detail of the body - sadly, most of them produce poor running quality models..... "Tuning" a model is hardly related to the motor, but more so to the actual running of the car.... there are literally 100's of places to look and correct/adjust when purchasing a model out of the box (OOB) before setting it into competition... wheels and tyres use up a great percentage of this.... just by putting a "radius" on the outer edge of the tyre can improve cornering to almost twice the speed and induces a "drift" rather than a de-slot or topple..... the degree of radius is directly related to the weight ratio between the front and rear axles.. and the length of the wheel-base.... and track of both axles...
If you want to get serious about getting the most out of a model, this tyre truer will take you a long way up the ladder.
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These are some of my drills... the smallest one I have is a #80... it is about half the diameter of a human hair - needless to say, these are used with great care... half a turn at a time and withdraw...
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I'll close this segment off with probably the one "physical" connection we have with racing... the controller.
When I returned this last time (2015/6) - I was still using my old Scalextric hand controllers... not the original ones I bought when I was a kid (still have them, collectables now) - but a later version.... I did some electronic work inside both of them and made some connections which allow me to use backward EMF.. as a brake. Simply by connecting the positive and negative rails - I was able to get cars to "dynamic" brake.... and it gained me around a second a lap... between having this crude form of regen/retard and not... it didn't work with all cars... only those with the old full field winding and large magnet motors (you remember them, they had blue casings and were standard "race tuned" motors in the early Scalextric range.
This braking did nothing for the modern "can" type of motor... if it did, I didn't notice it....
I made up fibreglass resistor frames and "wound" my own resistors... I had to - the can motor powered cars would "launch" as soon as I pulled on the trigger.. they are so efficient... so, I invented a resistor winding that I could switch between the old motors and the new can ones... which I thought was quite ingenuitive... I also set up a mixing box into which the controller first plugged into ... and this allowed me to toggle both from "coast" to "brake".. modes... all it did, was connect the positive to negative rails when power was removed... another little invention which "worked"...
All this was wasted... when I joined "Phoenix" slot car group... I "saw" what I wanted..... forget the old resistor controllers - these new things were simply stunning.. and I was nowhere in the ball park with my old controllers... cars were passing me left right and centre - and I knew that my cars were competitive... it had to be the controller..
I did a bit of humble asking and was literally shocked (pun intended) as to what this new breed of controller afforded...
They were fully digital.. and the number of control settings was a little over-whelming.... not to mention, when running on digital tracks (we'll get to that later)... you can change lanes... and up to four cars can be running along the one lane at the same time - each under the complete control of the driver of each.... we build "pit stops" and "fuel stops" into races on these digital layouts... failing to take one results in your car simply "stopping" or running out of "fuel".... I'll get more into that later - but, I am not "digital" here.. just analogue.. for now.
We'll also get into the setting up of race timing.. all shown on a nearby monitor with sound (using a great LED TV on the wall is common practice).
For now, I'll show you the controller... then attempt to explain some of the functions - you'll very quickly understand why my old "resistor" controllers with "dynamic brake" were outdated years before I even started conceiving them...
Pic...
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Where do I start with this?... ok, probably the "trigger" is as good as any....
We no longer have "contact" control ..... the end of the trigger inside the handle has a magnet on it... when the trigger is moved, this magnet causes "something" in the circuitry to increase or decrease the amount of output... only the ball bearing in the trigger and a small return spring are felt when operating... there is no sound either.. maybe a slight noise when you reach each end on the stops... but they "feel" and "sound" motionless.
The trigger is adjustable.. with a soft pad fitted over the lever.. you can choose between a long trigger (for finer control) or a short one...
Next.. those "dials" - and what they do...
I'll keep it simple, and won't explain each one, unless asked to do so... this, is simply amazing!
We have many options here.. we can adjust the "initial" power output setting.. so, if we have an old "Scaley" car with a great big chunky magnet which takes 1/2 an amp to get the car moving.. we can dial up the setting so that as soon as the trigger is pulled - the car moves off...
Or, we can set it for a modern "can" type motor which is so high output and efficient - using an old Scaley controller would see it leap down the straight and into a barrier on first contact...
Next, we have "traction control".... this allows us to set the rate of acceleration.....at 100%, some models will be almost uncontrollable... they simply have too much power, torque and grip to be able to get any satisfaction out of driving them... traction control allows us to set the rate that they both accelerate and brake (we'll get to brake shortly)... for a "hot" model, we wind down this traction... and it ramps up on either a straight line or a curve... or we can further adjust it so that this is parabolic... Both these you'll find in the many aspects of "power trim" and "curve"...... the effects are that it is less sensitive at low speeds and more sensitive at higher ones... or as a straight line reduction in acceleration vs time...... too much detail for this part of the thread....
Next up, we have "lane changing"... two arrowed buttons which, when running on a digital track - allow you to pre-set changing lanes.... a press of either button before reaching the "points" will program the digital chip in the car to switch them as it is about to reach them..... also used for access to the pits. I don't run digital track here.. It wouldn't take much to change to it, but there is expense involved... I love my cars, and at this point in time - I do more "modeling" than racing... perhaps, if I had a designated permanent layout - I'd go digital... but not for now...
Brake - this one is what has brought racing into a new era..... I didn't believe it at first, until I saw (and heard) it.... they can almost stop like a model train on a track which has had the power switched off... it is almost immediate, with only a small amount of over-run....
But, the effect is simply stunning... a model will "brake" as well or even better than it will accelerate.... from full tilt down a main straight to an almost stop can be done in less than a few track pieces... and the "snarl" it induces from the motor and gears....
I have been assured that it doesn't put full power into reverse. but somehow manages to reverse the field in the motor digitally through the controller .. there is absolutely no burning of the commutator.. but this "braking" simply has to either be seen or experienced to appreciate...
You can set your brake up to almost any degree.. or even leave it off. You can set it up so that it applies only when the trigger is released or in conjunction with using the brake button with your thumb..... or, you can set it up so that the brakes apply gradually.. or, set it up so that it brakes only down to a certain speed then holds that speed..... for the first time, we almost now have "two pedals" in slot car racing....
Many people race their cars with two hands on the controller.. with the thumb of their other hand to control lane changing and braking...
We have come a long way since the old Scaley thumb pump action resistor controller - which got very hot if you closed your hand over it or ran continuously at mid throttle settings.. making all the windings disspate power..
The controller needs a different "module" for digital racing.. it is a simple cartridge that replaces the analogue one... and only takes seconds to swap over...
There are more controls and switches in the controller to explain yet.. but, for now - that's probably enough.... getting your head around setting it all up takes some doing....
And.. each car has a different setting... I have a little note-book I carry around that has my settings for each car ..... the 1,000's of laps done with them using a digital track timer allows you to find "your" optimum times with each given car... my best, on the layout previously posted is 6.2 seconds...
Just a bit about track layouts, to finish this off....
We aim for a layout of from 6 to 10 second lap times... any more, and a "rhythm" can't be found easily... any less, and it gets boring...
We need challenges, and also built-in places to gain an advantage...
As with full sized cars.. it's not the fastest in-line speed of a car that wins races... it's consistency and smoothness... this is entirely true in slot racing... anyone can pull a trigger back and set land speed records in a straight line.. but a racing driver is able to hold a car at high speed over the entire circuit... and do it "smoothly".... this is what we call "rhythm"... and getting that rhythm for each layout takes a bit of learning.... mentally, a 10 second layout will drain you after only a 50 lap race.... a 6 second one in perhaps a 100 lap race...
Bearing in mind, 100 laps at 6 seconds is only 10 minutes... in racing, that goes very quickly..... throw in the de-slot and spin out...
At events, we have "track marshalls"....these are actually active people... usually other drivers placed at various "likely" locations around the track.
Their role is to re-slot (or find) an errant model... there is no "rush" in this - a lot of damage gets done to cars in any rushed attempt... we all respect each others' models.. and place them back on the track when it is both safe, and clear..
Also, on a club layout... the lanes are "colour coded".... your car has a colour sticker placed on it gently designating which "lane" you are running on.... this is only on analogue tracks... with digital - everyone can run on every lane.
Most circuits have 6 lanes.. some 8 and some of the smaller private ones, just 4....
All lanes, whether digital or not - are colour coded... for analogue purposes.... marshals simply pick up a car and put it back on the same coloured lane that is on the car... preventing "doubling" up of two cars on the same analogue track... does not apply to digital.. you can "plonk" a car down on any lane if it is safe and clear to do so... the controller will identify the chip in the car and feed control to the sole driver of that car...
Ummmm.. think that's about it for now...
with winter coming, and all of us in lock down - this hobby is one which can afford any aspect desired to get through the cold and wet of winter...
Surprisingly, it is now quite a cheap and affordable hobby.... compared to sapping the living daylights out of every cent we could earn when younger.
Cars are very cheap... but, be warned - the massive difference in both quality and running between brands is ridiculous.
As an entry - the two brands which I recommend to newcomers are "Slot-it" and Carrera... Carrera are European - they run very well, but not particularly "fast"..... they are a quality product with much engineering foresight and extremely good mechanicals.. their body detail is exquisite... I have many such Carrera models.
Slot-It are for "racing" people.. these cars are almost without exception - very fast OOB (out of the box). Almost every one of them is "tunable" to your own demands.. there are "kits" available to "tune" each of them... changing tyres, gears, suspension, motors, modules, bearings, guides ---- and it all "works"....
As a third, and a long way back - our dear friends at Scalextric... now out of China... they are a compromise between body detail and running... more balanced towards looks... you can get a lame one (I have had two out of about the 10 I own).. but, it's not the end of the day - they are "fixable"... they will all run OOB... QC has some control over that - but you'll quickly find you have a "lame" one if it takes more than half your throttle to get one going.... they should "leap" into action as soon as the trigger is pulled.. if not - do a check and roll the wheels looking at the underside.. you will usually "find" something which is binding... gears pressed to hard together, motor out of alignment, tyres rubbing on cabin insert or body... or, all of these and more.... you won't get this issue with Carrera or Slot-It.
Next post, I'll show some of my cars.... when I unlock and remove the vault cover.... by golly, there's some stuff up in there... I dread a house fire...
I'll pull a couple apart and show pix of what has been done to them... what works, and what has to be done to make them both more "driveable" and fast..... my usual practice is to completely strip a new model - and "jig" it up... sometimes "resetting" the plastic chassis over a 12 hour period in boiling water .. with it fastened flat to a solid piece of iron with magnets holding the chassis down flat on it.... and cooling it out over time to "reset' the plastic memory... this, and many other things - is what makes the difference between a fast car.. and a slug which simply won't hold on.....
I'll discuss a bit about track too.... and what club layouts are made of....
With Scalextric "assemble" track - it does not have the same high quality surface and degree of being true that club or "routed" tracks do... and as such, cars struggle to get any real performance out of undulating and uneven plastic track.... the "new" Scalextric track does not have the same rough grip that the older version did.. and unless tyres are trued and good quality tyres are used... cars will slip around on this new stuff like they are running on their rims... I'll get to that as well... and make mention of fitting "suspension" to motor "pods" so that the model will better follow and grip to the uneven surface of plastic track.. all this is available for tuning Slot-It models... and can be incorporated with some considerable work into other brands....
Ok - that's it for now.. hope I still have some following this thread?
frats,
Rosco