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Post by Jim Weickum on Sept 28, 2020 12:53:27 GMT -7
Steve,
Looking back at the "Rules" for the 2011/2012 season, the wheels like on a Carrera NASCAR would be illegal to use. "Maximum wheel dimensions: height 15.0mm, width 8.0mm" (this is a size that is used on most 1/32nd slot cars; Fly, Scalextric, NINCO, Monogram, Slot.it, NSR, Scaleauto, SCX, etc.) Carrara is the lone exception, they make wheels that are unique to them. Others like the Monogram NASCAR wheel, may have a unique rib, but the overall sizing is close to the rest of the wheels in scale sizing. When I measure the Carrera NASCAR wheel, I calculate that the wheel is over 18 inches in height. Measure one and multiply the size by 32 to get the results. I cut open some of my "new" model kits to see how the wheels inside of them compared also. The wheels in the kits were close to the wheels that are used on the majority of the slot cars. Tom had the information on what size of tire was used on NASCAR cars, I think NASCAR has used a 15 inch wheel for many years. I know the 57 Chevrolet "Black Widow" used a 16 inch wheel, but that was only because that is what the 6 bolt pattern, GM truck hub was back then. I know when NASCAR brings out their newest series of cars, they will be changing their wheel size to 18 inch wheels, to allow bigger brakes and cooling.
Jim W
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Post by Steve Burkey on Sept 29, 2020 5:41:33 GMT -7
I think you're probably right about the Carreras, Jim. And you spend much more time with these than I do. In fact, their NASCARS look large to me in every dimension! But maybe they get away with it because the real cars were HUGE. I do know they are unique in another way: their use of 2mm axles rather than 3/32. Upgrading any Carrera car is a challenge because of that. As to Monogram, don't get me started. Not only did they make a just plain funky wheel, but then shod their NASCARS with tires from their sportscar line, with the result that the chassis dragged on the track! Putting on a properly tall sidewall tire would have solved so much, as I can agree that the actual rim diameter is close to spot-on. I have wondered, with these cars being the end of their line, whether they contributed to Monogram's decline and decision to get out of slots.
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Post by Jim Weickum on Oct 5, 2020 15:29:31 GMT -7
Guess what I received lately, not to influence any Polls. Jim W
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2020 10:10:42 GMT -7
I don't see a reason to change a rule that has been in the Club for over 15 years. The minimum ride height of 1/16th of a inch has other reasons besides just "better performance". Since most of our tracks are sectional tracks, Carrera, Revell and Scalextric, these tracks all have "raised power rails". If your car is lower than the 1/16th inch rule, it may/will rub on these raised rails. When I bought my first Carrera set, 2007, the rails on some of the straight sections were raised close to 1/16th of an inch. When the original cars were run, they would drag across the rails. If you stopped on one of those tracks, the car would not move, just spinning it's tires. If you sanded/trued your tires or wheels you will have less clearance. If you use a car with a motor pod, like Slot.it, NSR, Thunderslot, Scaleauto, Racer/Sideways, etc., the car will be lowered as you back off the pod screws to get your "float". Yes, your ground clearance is quickly going down. If you race at Colpar's track, you can quickly tell when a car has too little ground clearance. You can hear it scrapping as it comes up the "hill". If it does this, scrape on the "hill", you may now know why your car seems to come off a lot when you crest the hill. The guide is only partly in the track or maybe not at all!! If you use a car that has a sidewinder motor pod, you may/will hear the spur gear drag as you corner, if the ground clearance is low. If you use copper tape on top of the rails, you have again made the on track ground clearance less. Now, we may also know why the copper tape is getting worn at Colpar. We check our car's ground clearance on a flat plane surface, not on a section of the track we are racing on. There again do look at the ground clearance of a slot car as it used on the different tracks, as reported in "Bob's Magazine". You will see that the slot cars have less ground clearance on a Carrera track, which is what most of the races are run on. Yes, let's get rid of the minimum ground clearance. I would love to see people complain about why their slot car doesn't seem to be handling all of a sudden tonight!! We can all listen to the scrapping and really know what the "problem" is. Jim W Not surprisingly I am for the elimination of the ground clearance rule. Almost all the modern car will have trouble with this requirement and it's never been, to my limited knowledge, an issue with vintage cars. There are none in my meager collection of dinosaurs that would even come close to having issues so it seems to affect modern cars most of all. It should be up to the drivers to set their cars up without any specific guidance in this particular instance. If they're too low, so be it, they'll learn.
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Post by Jim Weickum on Nov 10, 2020 10:30:24 GMT -7
I am sure that there will be "issues" with the Vintage F-1 cars again. The Atlas must be raised in the chassis mounts to get the 1/16" clearance. The magnet is very close to the track and some say this will give them an advantage. We have raised our cars as high as the chassis screws will allow to make it a "fair" race. The Monogram F-1 cars are very low, the chassis will drag on the track. I think every one of my Monogram F-1's are too low without a little chassis work. My Strombecker F-1 is dragging enough to short out my track. I will need to fix it to get it around the track. Thank goodness I am not using fuses for protection now. My Slot Car Corner drivers stations now have self-resetting protection. When the short is removed, power is automatically restored. I hope everyone is getting their cars from all three classes ready for this year. I think I have 20 cars in each class to look at and "decide" on a car for the class. Best of Luck to all!!!
Jim W
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Post by Tom Dolan on Nov 10, 2020 16:12:02 GMT -7
I am sure that there will be "issues" with the Vintage F-1 cars again. The Atlas must be raised in the chassis mounts to get the 1/16" clearance. The magnet is very close to the track and some say this will give them an advantage. We have raised our cars as high as the chassis screws will allow to make it a "fair" race. The Monogram F-1 cars are very low, the chassis will drag on the track. I think every one of my Monogram F-1's are too low without a little chassis work. My Strombecker F-1 is dragging enough to short out my track. I will need to fix it to get it around the track. Thank goodness I am not using fuses for protection now. My Slot Car Corner drivers stations now have self-resetting protection. When the short is removed, power is automatically restored. I hope everyone is getting their cars from all three classes ready for this year. I think I have 20 cars in each class to look at and "decide" on a car for the class. Best of Luck to all!!! Jim W You guys may want to re-consider the 1/16" clearance rule. I've tried everything to get the Thunderslot cars to comply but the closest I can get is 3/64"--I think that would be a better choice for clearance. The Monogram cars, even with stock sized tires, are very close and I'm betting most don't want to have to modify the body mounts or chassis to comply. Same goes for the Atlas cars--these vintage F1 cars are xpensive and I and I'm guessing' others' don't want to "butcher" (that may be a little strong) them to comply. Tom
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Post by Jim Weickum on Nov 11, 2020 16:53:42 GMT -7
I have looked at my Thunderslot cars and I have one that is very low, it drags at Colpar. I have another that I plan on racing that meets the 1/16th" clearance. I have "non stock" tires on it. My Slot.it Can Am cars are setup to pass the 1/16th" clearance also. The Thundeslot cars use a smaller wheel than most other companies, 14mm vs 15mm. My Carrera cars also will pass the 3/16th" clearance. Ha Ha
I find that a wheel change or a tire change will get most of my cars to pass the 1/16th" clearance, which I had to do with my Vintage AMT cars a few years ago. The Thunderslot/ Slot.it cars have adjustable front axle mounts that will help to "raise" a car, if necessary.
The Vintage Atlas cars will pass by loosing the frame screws and raising the car to the "highest" point. We have done that for years to allow the magnet in the open frame motor to be as high as possible to reduce the magnet's effect. It seems that my Atlas cars are Daryl"s favorite competition. I thought that I may be running Strombecker Lotus 38 instead, but the Atlas cars came around finally. The Strobecker Lotus was running about a half second slower than my Thunderslot Lola T70 coupe, my slowest one.
We have talked and will be making a small change for the "Can AM' cars.
Jim W
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