Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Triple Crown - American Road Race Slot Car Proxy Tour

Pitlane Review (Part 2)
So apart from the issues already addressed

Cannonball Run
1st Place -Ruscillo Racing - Megane
2nd Place - Green Star Racing - Lamborghini Gallardo
3rd Place - Brumos RSR -Porsche 997

Once again the 3 some of Ninco cars seemed to dominate the day, but who will prevail.

Pan American
1st Place - Bangers Racing - AC Cobra
2nd Place - Scuderia Turini - Mercedes 230SL
3rd Place - Mountain View Racing - Ferrari 166

Then Cobra was again on top, but it was great to see a couple of slower cars getting the advantage on this track, in spite of my own car having to take 4th place. No ALS Red Corvette to compete with this time, but I am sure that will not be the case in the next rounds.

Classic Trans Am & NASCARS
1st Place - Team Cube- Pontiac GTO 
2nd Place - Mountain View Racing - Camaro
3rd Place - Loosesalute - Ford Falcon

Well would you believe it, the fact that that big old Pontiac made it up the Hillclimb was something to behold, actually taking the top spot was unreal  Bigsmile Sadly we did not see the top Camaro vs Mustang battle, but we will have to wait for next week to see that  Sun
And great to see the resin build Ford Falcon make it into 3rd place.

Modern Trans Am & NASCARS
1st Place - Bangers Racing - Porsche 911s
2nd Place - Scuderia Turini - Dodge Charger
3rd Place - RoadRunners -Greenwood Corvette

No surprise at the top is the Porsche 911, bagging another win.  Incredibly the Dodge Charger  surprise everyone with a nimble sprint to the top of the hillclimb in 2nd. My Greenwood Corvette a respectable 3rd, everyone saying how heavy it is in the arse- end, but there's no weight in the back and not much in the front Bigsmile Perhaps I should have gone in IL instead of AW  Idea

Team Points
well there has been a few changes here as might be expected with a couple of double DNS's, however all is not lost and there is plenty of scope for those teams who lost out this time to make up ground.

1st Place - Bangers Racing 
2nd Place - Green Star Racing
3rd Place - Brumos RSR

Bangers Racing seem to have a very good 2 Car team, and will be difficult to beat, but I am sure with a bit of luck the others will be making harder for them as the series progresses.

So it is farewell for now to Brighton on the South Coast, hope to see you again for another Hillclimb in the winter Rally  Sun

And the cars should be travelling Northwards tomorrow to Wrexham just inside the Wales border, where our host at Mountain View Racing will hopefully be ready to test the cars out on his Policar Track.
[+] 2 members Like Graham's post
Quote

(18th-Apr-22, 01:43 PM)Brumos RSR Wrote:  I personally test on my Scalextric track and once, maybe twice a year on a routed track.  I however and my guess is most of the NA guys are not as familiar with the SCX tracks. I have several Thunderslot “plastic track” guides that I often use. If needed I can send one next series for a tech check. I will check out the NSR guides for future runs also.  Let’s race on and have fun.

I also have both the Thunderslot both shallow and deeper guides, but I wonder if they would be suitable as they do have "sticky out points" and the problem with ones like the "Red Slot- it " general purpose guide is that the sharp pointy end tend to catch on the track rail joints. The great thing about the NSR guide is that it is very uniform and smooth, even the plastic feels more slippery than the harder slot it guides. So apart from the standard Ninco Rally car guide, I think the NSR is the next best thing, better than the newer standard Scalextric guides etc.
But once I get my Rally track back up and working again for next January, I will give the Thunderslot guide a try.
[+] 2 members Like Graham's post
Quote

(18th-Apr-22, 02:45 PM)Graham Wrote:  
(18th-Apr-22, 01:43 PM)Brumos RSR Wrote:  I personally test on my Scalextric track and once, maybe twice a year on a routed track.  I however and my guess is most of the NA guys are not as familiar with the SCX tracks. I have several Thunderslot “plastic track” guides that I often use. If needed I can send one next series for a tech check. I will check out the NSR guides for future runs also.  Let’s race on and have fun.

I also have both the Thunderslot both shallow and deeper guides, but I wonder if they would be suitable as they do have "sticky out points" and the problem with ones like the "Red Slot- it " general purpose guide is that the sharp pointy end tend to catch on the track rail joints. The great thing about the NSR guide is that it is very uniform and smooth, even the plastic feels more slippery than the harder slot it guides. So apart from the standard Ninco Rally car guide, I think the NSR is the next best thing, better than the newer standard Scalextric guides etc.
But once I get my Rally track back up and working again for next January, I will give the Thunderslot guide a try.
 I round off the Front of the TS guide.
[+] 1 member Likes Brumos RSR's post
Quote

When Mike came up with the fabulous idea of Covid-era proxy racing in the UK, his vision was of using some of the many permanent, semi-permanent and specially-built home tracks around the country. Any UK-based proxy racing using home tracks is likely to feature at least some 'classic' track - after all, it was the mainstay of our hobby for 40+ years. It would be a big step away from Mike's vision if we only ran only club-spec cars on perfect wood surfaces (if there is such a thing...).

When classic track is used in a proxy, the only warning is usually a reminder of the shallow slot depth - and it's up to the entrants to figure out what they need to do. Most brands' cars are 100% compatible out of the box. I think Graham has been hugely helpful in laying out chapter and verse on what is needed and recommending an NSR guide. If any extra clarification is needed, I hope this helps...

   

From left to right - Ninco, Scalextric 'classic' and Scalextric Sport. You can see the newer designs have a more-or-less enclosed slot, so any guide slides along the bottom of the slot. The older classic track is open at the bottom, with strips of plastic across the gaps. On the flat, a too-deep guide will catch, but a small notch should help it ride over the obstacles in the slot. A guide that fills the slot will be fine also. However, if there is any incline, the problems start...

       

A guide with 5.5mm or 6mm hanging straight down from the pivot (which rest on top of the rails) will be fine. Any guide with material in front of the pivot (ie not resting on top of the rails) will risk poking through the bottom of the slot and catch the strips across the slot. The steeper the incline, the bigger the risk. There are some big inclines on the Devil's Dyke hillclimb.

Over the four proxy races on Devil's Dyke, there have been a few cars with incompatible guides. However, the vast majority have worked perfectly well and have been a joy to race up the hill...

       

I look forward to welcoming cars back again in the future. However, if you're thinking of entering: be wise with your guide.
[+] 5 members Like woodcote's post
Quote

That's a really great illustration Andy, many thanks.

But I also think "thickness" of the guide flag is equally as important, especially when the joints of track pieces pinch together because of the connections. 

Club based "wood" guides are just not going to work on these plastic tracks, and if the host has to try to reduce the thickness they are faced with having to remove the guide and grind away the sides (which in itself can weaken the guide).

The Classic SCX,  Scalextric or Scalextric Sport track has a maximum slot width of ~2.25mm, so fitting a 2mm thick guide is asking for problems.
[+] 1 member Likes Graham's post
Quote

Scaley Classic tight curve track costs peanuts, all you need is one piece and you can set your guide to that.

Life is like a box of Slot cars... Cool Drinkingcheers
[+] 1 member Likes Kevan's post
Quote

so the story here is :- .... DONT be like me .... use the correct depth guide , and especially dont be thick  Bigsmile
[+] 1 member Likes OXO cube's post
Quote

(19th-Apr-22, 03:03 PM)OXO cube Wrote:  so the story here is :- .... DONT be like me .... use the correct depth guide , and especially dont be thick  Bigsmile

Yes, and you've committed worse crime's ........... Rofl
Quote

Hi, and as the cars have left Brighton and now hopefully on their way to Wrexham for the halfway stage, 

just a reminder of the schedule

   

This super fast grippy Policar home track should give us some very close times based on previous experience.
[+] 1 member Likes Graham's post
Quote

I'll just park this here for 'next time' - because I'm not sure everyone has quite grasped it yet...



Of the dozen or so cars that have had problems on the climb over the 4 races in the past 16 months, only one had a fat guide that stuck in corners (the Brumos Camaro) - all the other dodgy guides were too deep and/or had too much out front. The red pointy Scaleauto guides are the worst. Some have even caught the gaps in the bottom of the slot on a flat section - but it's the changes of elevation where the guide will catch most easily. Basic geometry... but it's easy to test and easy to tweak. People can't give away classic track, so it's not an expensive bit of testing kit!

It's heart-breaking when I can't run all the cars - and there's so much thought and intricate engineering gone into these entries, it's a shame a simple thing like guide geometry scuppered the race for eight of the runners.

Anyway, looking forward to yet another different surface up at Mountain View... I like it when a proxy winner needs to be a great all-rounder.
[+] 2 members Like woodcote's post
Quote


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread / Author Replies Views Last Post
Last Post by Graham
24th-Mar-24, 04:46 PM
Last Post by Brumos RSR
22nd-Mar-24, 02:10 PM
Last Post by Kevan
10th-Mar-24, 02:18 PM
Last Post by Kevan
28th-Dec-23, 12:44 PM

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)