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I did some checking on the rigidity of the track at King’s today. I took a floor jack and lifted one end of the track. With that end 3” off the floor, the center legs were just raised. A string line confirmed that the deflection (droop) at the center of the track was 1 ½”. I believe that the track is movable intact. I have been thinking about what kind of casters, wheels, or dollies might be used. A pair of wheels in the center of the track, with the track balancing on them, would be very maneuverable. To start with, 8’ 2 X 12’s would be bolted to the inside of the central legs. My first thought was then to attach a 5/8” axle between the 2 X 12’s with two wheelbarrow type wheels and tires. Harbor Freight has a variety of wheels and tires, including solid rubber tires. The difficulty with these wheels would be in having to raise the track to install or remove the wheels. Another option would be boat trailer jacks bolted to the 2 X 12’s. Harbor Freight has a 1500 lb. trailer jack with dual 6” solid rubber wheels. The two trailer jacks would be swung into position and cranked down. In order to load on a flat bed trailer an axle would be installed on the leading end of the track with two wheels mounted. With enough manpower we could lift the rear end as the front end of the track was rolled onto the trailer.
The 2 X 12’s would be permanently installed. The trailer jacks would be left in place for further use. The 1 X 4’s (if necessary) could be removed. I believe everything else on the track could be left in place including the shelving for the computer and the computer itself.
I also did some checking to see if we could roll the track out the storage area through the overhead door. The overhead door is at an angle. I used a laser pointer with a board the width of the track to see if the angled door and storage area width would have enough clearance and I believe there is. It is hard to tell for sure until more of the storage area is cleaned out. If the clearance is tight to get out the door, the driver’s station and tape dispenser could be removed.
Moving the big track intact is a possibility, but it will be very heavy. There is not a lot of structural bracing holding the three tables together, but each table is fairly rigid. There are 1 X 4 braces underneath the lateral 2 X 4’s and the track sections are screwed to a 1 X 12 brace underneath each joint in the track surface. We would need additional bolts fastening the tables together. The strongest place for these bolts would be through the tops of the legs.
This would necessitate cutting off the remainder of the legs once the table is on its side. (If we separate the three tables, the legs could be unbolted to remove.) I think that with these bolts the table would be rigid enough to move, but would need a big trailer/truck.
I have removed my two electric heaters, DVD player, some cables, and loose pictures. I may remove the amp and speakers later in the week.
Mark
I don’t think we should use a grabber during a “hot track.” The primary concern for marshalling, especially for this race, is to pick up the de-slotted car as quickly as possible. The other cars will be coming very quickly and travelling very fast. We want to avoid an unnecessary crash. If it takes longer to re-slot the offender, that is on the driver for de-slotting in the first place. The grabber should only be used during a button caution.
When the decision to go to foam tires was brought up last year, I appeared to be in the minority in opposing this change. My criticism was two-fold: first that the change was unnecessary. We had a problem with Revo Slot tires last year but a different rubber tire could have been chosen. We ran the ScaleAuto cars with rubber tires and they ran fine. They were slower than other series cars but were controllable and we had no issue with tire wear.
My other criticism with foam tires is one of principal. I did not participate in the Thingie/wing car racing of the 70’s and 80’s so I have no nostalgia for foam. My love of scale slot racing is centered on scale. Regular rubber (and urethane) slot tires correspond quite well to 1:1 tires, even to different tire compounds and grip/wear compromises mirroring their real-life counterparts. I have never seen foam rubber tires on a real car. The foam tires are dependent upon tire treatment. While the “tire cleaner” may not be as messy as other tire goop/glue, it nonetheless leaves dark streaks on the track. These streaks detract from the scale look of the track (this would be mitigated if the track surface was black). There is nothing wrong with wing cars, black streaks on the track and super-fast lap speeds but to me this results in a more toy-like sport rather than one based on scale racing.
Now, my above philosophical comments do not address the issue at hand, and I am not recommending a return to real rubber for this series. The different ScaleAuto wheel/tire may prove to work well enough. The BRM and RevoSlot foam tire series to be run later this year may well prove to be provide worthy variety for ASCC racing series, as the rally track (and the unlimited Christmas race) already does. I am merely stating my personal preference for real rubber and true-scale racing.
Wow, Marc, that is a really cool layout. I think I would buy a 1/43 car or two to run on it. I recognized “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1956) and “Them” but I don’t recognize the one with the cabin and COE truck.
For newer members, or anyone interested, I recommend going back through the Thunderslot discussion forum for last year: http://austinslotcarclub.com/forums/topic/thunder-slot-discussion/
This was a separate thread from this year’s discussion.
Wow, what a great article on tire-making. I would be very curious about how the urethane performs on our track. This could very well be an option for a spec tire is some series, especially on a series with tire issues, like we had with Revo Slot.
Thunderslot 2019 Rules Updated: http://austinslotcarclub.com/2019-racing-series/2019-series-thunder-slot/
The rules have been updated to allow gear changes.
Also, as was discussed last year but not officially put in the rules, spacers will be allowed on the front body mount posts to provide clearance for tires or spoilers.
Good Luck!
My bad about not posing the new gears rules on the Rules page. I should have revised it. Pinions and spurs will now be open. I need to find out how to access the new server to edit the rules page.
I personally will probably not experiment with gearing, but those that want to are welcome to try. Any suggestions for gears that will fit should be posted on this Thunderslot Forum page (unless, of course, you do not want to share any tips…..) The issue with the gears came up when David said that his motor had lost power last year as the series progressed and he wished he could have done something about it. As competitive as the series was, I did not see a need for changing the rules, but thought there might be some instances where a tweak might correct a problem. We allow open gears in Group C, mostly to adjust for weaker motors, but this is less of a problem at 12 volts. I did not want to see the series become a free-for-all but rather remain as a primarily box stock series. And besides, with a series as fast as Thunderslot, driver skill becomes even more important. A deslot will easily cost the driver half a lap or more. And speed consistency also becomes more important. Driving consistent 3.9 second laps will yield more laps than an occasional 3.7 among numerous 4+ second laps.
Again, right now I, myself, don’t plan on messing with gearing.
First of all, about the tire with the injection dimple, once trued, the original, treaded tires will work fine; I believe they are the same compound as the slicks. Perhaps truing all the tread off will yield slightly more “rubber on the road”, but sanding them round will probably be sufficient. Neither will it be necessary to remove all traces of the dimple/injection. As long as the area around the imperfection is level it should be OK. You want to be careful and not over-true the tires; there is not much clearance under the chassis and you don’t want the chassis to drag.
On hubless wheels, where the set screw hole for the wheel is inside the width of the tire, requiring the edge of the tire to be curled back to get to the grub screw, I use a leather punch to make a hole in the tread of the tire. This does not affect traction.
I hadn’t realized there was a shortage of tires. Marty had the foresight to purchase tires for those in need. This is very much appreciated.
I have not seen the factory release for the #21 Andretti; the white kit version that I built may be sufficiently different from yours. If not, it might be necessary to put tape with a different number over the 21.
Mark, mounting any lights at the equipment station will be difficult as there is no under shelf space. I do not believe that I want an undershelf light at my station. I think the hanging LED lights will be sufficient.
Thanks
The adjustable front axle chassis have holes in the top of the axle hoop and the bottom of the chassis that will accept grub screws. The lower holes are somewhat inboard of the axle hoops.
The adjustment screws are the same diameter as wheel grub screws. Wheel grub screws can be used for the top screw but longer ones are required for the bottom. The best screws to use are the ones from Slot Car Corner; they have an oval head. The available Slot.it screws will work fine, though. With these screws, the axle height can be precisely adjusted to get the front tires just barely off the track surface.
This setup is one of the minor tweaks that will produce smoother running and slightly faster lap times but will still not result in as much difference as familiarity with the track and getting in more practice laps.
Good Luck!
