[Gordon Steadman]

I'm posting this in case anyone else is considering getting a second mortgage to fund their slot habit.

In a change of programme this year, the December meeting at Bordeaux (Bordo) has a class for modern RTRs. The car has to be pre 83.

I didn't have such a thing. All my cars are old school or brass with modern motors (semi-old school). What to do?

Spend seems to be the sad answer, annoying but what can you do? Found a SlotiT Ferrari for £35 which seemed good value and bunged an NSR Shark 40 in it. Everyone but everyone said why? It'll be undriveable. Nonsense, it's terrific. Just needs a bit of care but that's what fast cars ask for.

Then I heard that lots of people were buying the latest Thunderslot cars as they want to win for some reason. I have no way of seeing how good they are without shelling out so, gritting the teeth, I lashed out 91€ including postage from a dealer in Spain. Their forte is not communication - Spanish or English. Their acknowledgment email - in English said I would receive a tracking number and delivery date. I didn't and subsequent queries were met with a blank wall. However, the car arrived this  morning much to my relief.

The car itself is interesting. Somewhat over width but nicely modelled. Out of the box it is certainly impressive. Quite quick and handles well. I ran quite a few slow laps just to bed it in before seeing what it could do. As soon as I turned the wick up, it shed a tyre. They are really loose on the wheels. I know most people glue tyres but I seldom do, just buy undersized tyres so they are tight! Also after about twenty laps, they developed holes which is not ideal. I will be fitting some urethanes in due course.

Taking the body off reveals an incredible floppy chassis. Made of much more flexible material than most but does provide the amount of flop that I like with my cars. The motor is only 21,500rpm but seems quite powerful and has ridiculously good brakes. First time I've tempted to ease of the brakes on the controller.

Compared with the Ferrari? Not as quick but then the NSR motor is a bit special, I might get one for the McLaren too. The handling is pretty much the same but then I've been playing with the Ferrari for a bit. Who knows, when it's had more running, it may well be up there.

An expensive experiment then which, right now, may not have been necessary. Time will tell and on the Carrera track at Bordo, it might be different. On my MDF track the Ferrari is ahead at present.
       

The second pic is out of focus but you can see the holes quite clearly.

I still can't believe I actually clicked the 'buy' button

[JasonB]

Well, I guess if you're going to break the habit of a lifetime, you might as well do it in style.

I'd need a long sit down and a couple of glasses of wine if I ever spent that much on a slot car.

[Gordon Steadman]

I'd need a long sit down and a couple of glasses of wine if I ever spent that much on a slot car.

I very much doubt it will happen again!

[JasonB]

I'd need a long sit down and a couple of glasses of wine if I ever spent that much on a slot car.

I very much doubt it will happen again!

Are you doing much whittling and carving these days? I used to enjoy your build threads, they we're quite relaxing as a spectator.

[Gordon Steadman]

Nah done that

I tend to be a grasshopper and once I've done something, get bored and move on. Making the bodies myself was a way of getting the cars I wanted without spending too much. Now that we are more stable financially and I can afford to indulge - occasionally - I find I have done most of the cars that interest me. I really need to have a particular interest before I can raise the energy to start work.

I really only prepare cars for races now and as I only do two or three a year, that rather limits production possibilities. I have done the cars for this December at Bordo and also three for next year!! So that's slot cars really for now. I just want to race them. Moving back to the UK will increase the possibilities hopefully.

I've been working on the house mostly of late. There are still quite a few bits that need finishing off that might put prospective buyers off. I've had my builders hat on. Keeps me busy.

[JasonB]

Fair enough. 

Good luck with the building work and the move. Exciting times ahead for you.

[Gordon Steadman]

Fair enough. 

Good luck with the building work and the move. Exciting times ahead for you.

Exciting and a bit scary. We both used to move regularly (grasshoppers again) but we have lived here for 14 years - longest ever. I'm now 72 and Ronnie is 67. These things seem easy when you are young but a major upheaval now.

Moving countries seemed like an adventure last time. Now? Not sure.

[Gordon Steadman]

I continue to be somewhat less than impressed with this car.

Because of the problems, I asked a Spanish friend (a Bordo contact) to talk to the dealer for me. The translation progs are basic and I'm deaf so the phone is no good.

The answer is 'nowt we can do'. Spanish/Yorkshire accent.

The problem is well known apparently. No-one who races these cars seriously, keeps the existing rear wheels and tyres. This is unacceptable for any car let alone one that costs as much as this.

I refuse to spend any more on this car. I've fitted some urethanes from Bruno (Slotcarstyres) that are designed for the SlotiT Ferrari. They fit OK if not that tightly. Glued the inner section of the wheel and they, so far, have stayed put.

Playing around with the various adjustments and adding a little weight over the guide has improved it considerably but it still lags behind the Ferrari with it's NSR Shark40. I am nervous about upgrading the motor in the McLaren given the tyre problems. We'll see how it goes on the Carrera track but on MDF it's good but not great.

If I use the Ferrari then I've wasted too much money on one car. I reckon I should stick to retro.

[Gordon Steadman]

Changed the daft air wheels to some SlotiT kit wheels this morning and they are better. Look naff but hey, performance is the thing after all  The problem with fitting standard urethane tyres to wheels with no solid centre ridge is that the tyres dish so grip is compromised. The standard wheels with urethanes were showing a definite dip in the centre.
 
The handling is now more consistent and I can stand the look, at least for now. If I get any better matching ones depends on whether I keep the car. If I end up using the Ferrari at Bordo, the McLaren will be for sale on these pages at an un-missable price

       

[chrisguyw]

  The problem with fitting standard urethane tyres to wheels with no solid centre ridge is that the tyres dish so grip is compromised. The standard wheels with urethanes were showing a definite dip in the centre.
 

Hi Gordon, there is a fix, and, it does add to the cars' performance. I would not be surprised if some of the quicker Bordo racers will be using it.........

When the "air" wheels were first introduced, it was a fairly common practice to glue the tires around the inside and outside of the bead of the wheel, and use a syringe to pump a bit of air between the 2 inner flanges to remove the concave section of the tire. This "flattened" the running surface, which  provided a couple of very good benefits. 1/ It required less tire material to be removed in order to get a nice round and true tire, and, this "thicker" tread depth resulted in a tire with more compression which aided grip. 2/ The pumped in air also helped in providing more compression to the tire......when a tire can compress a touch, it will more effectively load the outside rear tire in a corner more progressively, adding more, and more consistent, grip.

The tires did tend to lose pressure fairly quickly and needed to be topped up between races/heats, and the sight of syringes on the top of everyones slot box, did not sit at all well with most of the owners of "family" slot shops..........so..........most (if not all) tracks banned the use of syringes several years ago.

So.....a different solution was needed,........ lots of folks are now using the process outlined below

Sponge tire blanks (doughnuts) are cut into strips, and glued (rubber/contact glue) to the gap between the inner wheel flanges.
They are then put into a tire truer, and taken down to size ( a few thou. proud of the adjacent flanges).

This provides all of the benefits of "air injection", and, is permanent..........more importantly, it does not offend the parents/kiddies in the shop   

I (and many) have been using this process for several years, and would not think of reverting to a solid ribbed hub.

Cheers
Chris Walker

Top...........A sponge tire (this is a Scaleauto Doughnut) and a typical "air" hub

Middle.......Sponge tire cut into strips, and glued to hub (use only contact cement or other flexible glue so as to not harden the sponge)

Bottom.......Trued so the the sponge is just proud of the flanges.........I regularly take the flanges down a few thou. to gain even more compression in the tire.