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The Real Way


old_skool_m

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Hey Old Skool, if you're in contact with or race at Thunderbird, any chance you might ask them to post here please? There may well be members and guests here that live close enough to want to race there. Just an idea of what classes race, how often, that kind of thing.

 

thanks.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don't

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You'd probably still get trounced by a stock standard car that has been set up well.

There's one problem with that statement.

 

It can't be stock standard if it's been setup different then it comes out of the box :)

 

Me, I haven't driven on a wooden track yet. I'm sure I will sometime, but frankly, I like driving my cars that I have, around the bit of track that I have and a mates track, which I'm sure wouldn't be all too driveable on wooden tracks. Because I like driving cars like my MG Lola, my Mustang, a couple of my LMPs, my Ninco BMW M3 GTR, etc etc etc.

 

I like plastic tracks. Going fast is FUN.

 

And that's what slot cars is all about isn't it? Fun ;)

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Who says racing on plastic track is not real racing? I know an individual who purchases five examples of one type of car, tests the motor's, axles, wheels etc and makes one car out of the five so that he can beat everyone else in the "Box standard" category. This is the same sort of hypocricy that goes with stating that wooden routed tracks are the only way to go. Who cares if the car has a magnet or not, fat tyres or not and run on a plastic, not wooden track (or vice versa). as long as they are matched and are fun, who cares how the racing is acheived? If magnets are such a "No No" why do the manufacturers fit them? How many stories have you heard from others about how when they were younger, they had Mini Clubman sets and the cars fell off at every corner? How things have changed and if the introduction young and old alike now get to the scene are the current crop of SCX, Scalex etc cars and sets I'm all for it. What is the point of taking out a magnet and adding weight to a car? I thought heavier cars went slower? Why not leave the magnet in or remove it altogether? I thought slot cars were about having good "cheap" fun and enjoying the hobby, not getting hooked up on trying every modification under the sun to beat your opponent (unless of course the racing skills are lacking in the first place that this is the only way a win can be acheived)?

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Impish

 

With regards to the magnet versus non magnet issue. Those of us that run non magnet just enjoy that style of driving. Those of us that run the forum don't think either is better it is just our preference.

 

I guess we went away from magnets as the cars are now faster and more detailed. When they crash they are big crashes and we hate seeing them being damaged.

 

I realise modern race cars don't hang the tail (rally cars excepted) but it is fun driving this way. I have found since I started racing non magnet that the quickest way is only a small slide unless on an inner curve so they don't seem that unrealistic when going quickly.

 

We have magnet cars also and that is one thing we plan to do when we start doing tests on cars. We will test out of the box and then try tweaking the car for racing if appropriate.

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impish asks about adding weight - why do some of us do it instead of using the magnet, and its worth an answer.

 

As Vinno says, non magnet racing is gentler on cars as collisions and deslots tend to be at much slower speeds than mag cars. Taking his own Airfix EType as posted in another thread, it survived a night of our fiercely competitive racing without damage, same for a couple of other kitbashed cars. The occassional mirror or spoiler might come off but nothing really major.

 

So that's the plus side of non-mag, less battle damage. Now that you've sold on non-mag, pop the magnet out of your favourite car and go racing.

 

 

Back so soon? You must have seen the thread about the non-mag Fly Evo Racing Porshe and what a pig it is. Doesn't handle, slides all over, wheel hops under power -- add a magnet to fix it.

 

 

Therein lies the rub, which is why manufacturers use magnets. Its a cost effective way on masking common handling issues resulting from mass production. Now that's not a fault, its a business decision that brings us afffordable cars ready to run. We really are spoilt at the prices we pay, just ask die-cast collectors what they're paying for very similar static stuff.

 

Remember that most purchasers consider slot cars as toys so they have to work well out of the box. So its either magnets or better production tolerances and components etc i.e. higher cost. Much like anything else really, pick your price point.

 

So back to impish's question.

 

The main reasons weight is added are to restore some downforce and lower CoG. Without it, cars may have trouble getting traction (wheel hoppping) and may easily deslot on bumpy track, such as temporary plastic layouts where the ends can bend up after a few connect/disconnect cycles. Weight also lowers the Centre of Gravity - all that lovely detailed cockpit and paint adds weight in the wrong place, so weight balances that.

 

You really only want to add as little as possible as excess weight increases mass so slows acceleration and lengthens braking. And you really tune the car first before adding weight.

 

Lastly, routed tracks tend to have slot rails from non-magnetic material, usually that copper tape used on windows for security systems - its nice and cheap compared to alternatives and works well. So racing on these tracks nullifies the magnet. Here tuning using a combination of weight, engineering and improved tyres, is mandatory with our 1/32 cars for the reasons above.

 

Cheers

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don't

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Guys

 

The points raised by both Vinno and Bump are so right.

Please let’s not get into either the plastic v wood or mag v non mag debate or for that matter 1/32 v 1/24. Its all about slot racing and slot racing on anything with anything is fun as long as it is equal.

Bumps points on mags hiding faults is so true If you like mags take a stock fly, scalex etc car remove the mag and notice all the faults. Do not get me wrong I like racing with mags but I always take the mag out when I get a new car to try and set it up better so that if I decide to put the mag back in it will perform better that when I fist got it.

 

I can testify first hand that cars suffer more damage when they deslot if you are running mags. Makes sense more speed more momentum more damage when it hits an unmovable object.

 

When I have friends over for a few beers and a bit of racing we get into both usually start with mag cars and as we consume more alcohol turn to non mag cars. This has the effect of causing less damage to the cars but unfortunately as we consume more we think our driving skills improve but the reality opposite is true.

 

I do not know about you guys but I hate seeing my pride and joy smash into a wall or heaven forbid go flying off the track straight onto the concrete floor. It is not so much the cost but quite often the shell cannot be replaced. How many cars do we all have with broken wings (Fly cars are a classis for this) where you can no longer get a replacement.

 

We are all here because we love the hobby and hope to learn from each other and marvel at how others go about setting up there tracks and cars. Bashing one form of our hobby over another is counter productive and only serves to piss people off.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Charlie

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