390 replies to this topic

[John Streisguth]

I guess I assume everyone knows this...you can lose laps if you deslot when trying to gain hundredths. 

 

I've also come to the realization that I'm just slower than some guys...I learned that from the Retro East enduros where the teams are evenly matched by "ranking" drivers and distributing them as evenly as possible..  On the same day, on the same track, with the same car, I am one or two tenths slower than the best. 

 

As you pointed out, the racing is very close, and sometimes you look at the results and say "dang...if I didn't deslot that one time..."

[Jay Guard]

There is an awesome feature in Lap Master that shows you your "potential" in a race.  It takes your fastest lap time and shows you how often you achieved that.  You can check that feature out in the recent Fall Brawl results.  In the Can-Am race I actually had one of the highest "potential" averages (I think it was the fourth best overall) but even though I drove my car nearly to it's max potential it couldn't make up for the fact that my car/driver combination was .2-.3 seconds slower than the really top guys who had faster cars and also had very high "potential" averages.  Just shows that you need both great driving and a great car to place well in these big races.  Throw in a dose of good old fashion luck and you have a real race!

[Clyde Romero]

Just finished up our 4th race of the SERRA schedule and it was great.

We captured some new retro racers from Tennessee as well.

The Oval (the Circle of Death is what I call it) always manages to thin the retro heard! 

We lost 3 out of 12 cars in that race! 

Shark Tank showed up James Merriman and Ralph Thorne to set new records and it looks like they will be back for more SERRA races.

As for myself I am glad that I was able to generate enough people to participate in the SERRA series.

As the year ends, I look forward to more travels to different tracks that race Retro and meet new racers.

To all that have followed this forum, I thank you and look forward to meeting some of you.

I leave for Paris for the New Years and will try to meet a fellow racer while there. (Thanks, Greg, for getting me his name) 

Let's hope this new variant of the virus doesn't cramp our racing going into 2022.

I got a PM about and article that was written on me and some close friends in the most recent issue of the Smithsonian Air and Space.

Here is the link for those of you who don't get the magazine https://www.airspacemag.com/airspacemag/condors-quartet-180978711/

I was told there was going to be an episode on the Smithsonian TV channel called Air Warriors done as well.

Racers have a great Holiday season. 

Well, that's it for now gentlemen, enjoy the holidays, be safe, until then.

 

 

 

 

 

[John Streisguth]

Great article Clyde, thanks for sharing that.

[Clyde Romero]

So, we had a race at my track this Saturday

I am calling it the FCR BRAWL

 

 

 

 FCR BRAWL Racers 

 

 

we had 20 racers racing FCR Parma chassis and it was a blast!

 

say blessing at your table for those at the front lines this holiday season

My Christmas menu during my Vietnam Tour

 

and regardless of your political affiliation

this ad says it all

 

 https://youtu.be/PQtjsZA4bTg

 

God Bless Our Troops 

Merry Christmas to All!

 

 

 

 

[Clyde Romero]

Happy New Year to all who reads this

Whom among us would have known that this Virus would still be around with such a force?

We lost one of the greats last year Tony P but he would want us to press forward.

But we as slot car racers are a resilient bunch, heck we are still doing what we did 50 plus years ago,

No stinking Virus is going to get in the way of we love to do which is race slot cars!

So, we the few, the mighty will press on as we have always done!

See you at the track!

 

Clyde Romero  

[Pablo]

I will be seeing you at the track soon, I hope 

[Clyde Romero]

I will be seeing you at the track soon, I hope 

that would be great

[Clyde Romero]

Well, the new year is upon us and as you can see the new strain of virus has already affected some races, to include cancellations.

Let's be safe out at the track's guys, masks might be in order for a while until this settles down.

Be ready for last minute changes and work with the tracks during this uncertain time we are all going through.

Yes, we all collectively thought this was behind us, but we got blindsided with this new variant.

Like I said in an earlier post we are a resilient bunch, most of us are in our late 60's early 70's.

Be safe.

See you at the track.

 

Clyde Romero

 

 

[Pablo]

Well said, thanks Clyde 

[Clyde Romero]

Well, we down here in the South are getting hit with winter weather like no other, SNOW! 

So, I had to close the track today and I already heard from CAPT. ERI Pennsylvania (AKA DAN EBERT) about closing!

Anyway, we had our SERRA final race, and it was great to get that behind us, lots of fun as usual, no drama.

The forecast of bad weather and the current virus situation put a damper on things, but we pressed on.

Have to get the next schedule out around NASCAR because you can't schedule a race over the Daytona 500!

Well, that's it for now, going to visit a track tomorrow wo see if we can race retro there for the new series.

Stay safe out there.

 

Clyde 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zettler]

Wasn't sure where to post (from my cell) my introduction...

Maybe I should introduce myself as I just found this website but haven't been able to reach the administrator yet.

Bob Zettler, formerly of Champaign, Illinois where I worked and raced at C-U Model Raceways back in the late 1960's - still have my cars, slot box and controllers.

Anyway, older now but have fond memories of all my encounters from back then and ALL the races - even won the Mura Invitational at our track but only came in Fourth for the Certus...

Anyway, hope to be able reconnect and share with others.

Thanks for whoever put this together and maintains it.

Bob "Jet Zet" Zettler

[Clyde Romero]

Welcome the the forum, glad to have you post. 
Be well my friend, these are difficult times for those of us who remember the Cuban missile crisis and we’re in grade school when JFK was assassinated.

clyde  

[Bill from NH]

Welcome to Slotblog Bob. Enjoy yourself while here..

 

Clyde, I remember the Cuban missile crisis, I think I was a high school sophomore when JFK was assassinated. Years later, my daughter was born on Nov. 22nd.

[zettler]

Yes remember those times well. I was with our Boy Scout troop or Cub Pack during the Kennedy funeral at our local CBS affiliate. And the Cuban Crisis was all too real. There was an episode of Quanum Leap that dealth with the impact of that time in a young boy and his family that I felt captured it well.

Then in 1968 I remember going to sleep with my earplugs from my radio try to stay up to date on the invasion of Czechoslovakia afraid of a nuclear war.

But on a lighter note...

As I can't post pictures, is there anyone who might be interested in what my cars still look like? I still have my wooden box (upgraded back then from my Craftsman), custom controller, and the like. I use to airbrush too car bodies and now have scarred lungs...and that my children is why you don't airbrush in an enclosed area!

[zettler]

I just found the episode and it's called "Nuclear Family"

Sam must deal with the panic associated with the Cuban Missile Crisis as a Florida fallout shelter salesman.

[Clyde Romero]

Well, I am throwing this out there because I want to hear back from those who read this.

What the general consensus on set up for a retro car?

I hear those that say the front wheels must firmly be in contact with the track

Others say the front wheels should be barley touching the track to allow the guide to have maximum depth 

waiting to hear back

stay warm out there

the entire east coast looks like a set from the movie Ice Station Zebra!

 

Clyde  

 

[Eddie Fleming]

I am to darn slow to be answering questions like that Clyde. So I will watch to see what the fast guys say then do it the way I want to anyway.

 

Just hard headed I guess.

[John Luongo]

good movie, clyde! i remember "run, duck and cover" drills in grade school. i am not one of the "fast guys" eddie, i race for fun and try to stay out of everyones way. watching nerr/irra retro cars being checked, i noticed that the guide is off the tech block and chassis clearance is measured @.015 front/.050 rear with just the 4 wheels in contact with the tech block. my guide spacers are adjusted for track braid depth only, not chassis clearance. however, i always follow up with checking "running" clearance on the track in several different locations. best regards

[Dominator]

Classes aside, you want the front wheels touching the track with .010-.015 rear wheel lift when pushing down on the guide post. True the front tires every two races for F1 and every four races for the other classes.

Have the interior cut so I just fits in the opening of the body.

The commonly used rear tire is not necessarily the right tire to use. If your initial set up is Medium Thunders don't be afraid to try other tires such as Mid America wonder or the soft JK wonder. With the CR 102 motors I prefer a softer wonder in stockcar and F1 depending on track conditions.

Play around with body style and body placement on the chassis. I mount my bodies to all the same height but will have multiple bodies pinned closer or forward of the guide. Thus helps with tuning not only for speed but also turning more consistent laps.

Experiment with different rear spoiler thickness and height. I prefer .003 spoilers and will trim it down .032" if the car is too stuck.

[Pablo]

I hear those that say the front wheels must firmly be in contact with the track

Others say the front wheels should be barely touching the track to allow the guide to have maximum depth 

 

Mike Steube started that concept of "make sure fronts touch and roll in every inch of the track" in the beginnings of D3 retro. Maybe it worked for him back then at BP. But I have found it doesn't work for me. If the flag isn't planted as deep as possible, those front wheels are going to lift your flag when they hit a bump. Recipe for disaster.

 

Watch the fast guy's cars in IRRA - when the power shuts off, their front wheels are still spinning as the car is stopped. That means the wheels only touch and roll when the car tips.

 

My theory is especially true on bumpy tracks. Plant that flag, Clyde.

[Clyde Romero]

good movie, clyde! i remember "run, duck and cover" drills in grade school. i am not one of the "fast guys" eddie, i race for fun and try to stay out of everyones way. watching nerr/irra retro cars being checked, i noticed that the guide is off the tech block and chassis clearance is measured @.015 front/.050 rear with just the 4 wheels in contact with the tech block. my guide spacers are adjusted for track braid depth only, not chassis clearance. however, i always follow up with checking "running" clearance on the track in several different locations. best regards

Here is a little history on the scrip for that movie. The spy satellite KH-9 was a film-based system that would fly over contested territory and then the film would be ejected and picked up by the USAF to be developed. Well one of the canisters was ejected at the wrong time and it was subsequently recovered months later in the ocean, one was also recovered in the Amazon Forest as well.

 

an underwater ice station zebra

https://bremolympicnlus.files.wordpress.com › cia...

 

PD

[John Luongo]

very interesting, clyde. thank you!

i may have to watch that movie again

[Clyde Romero]

ok so all things being equal (and they never are, right?) there are 2 distinct schools of thought with regards to retro car set ups

1. front wheels touching

2. front wheels off the track

 

so, lets exam the guide flag issue, will someone with a PHD in this hobby that we all enjoy explain the 2-degree guide geometry flag up on the tongue?

 

follow me here for a minute, the car is guided around the track with the guide flag.

you want the guide flag as parallel (or perpendicular, if you went to a big TEN SCHOOL) to the slot as possible (am I missing something here?) in order to maximize cornering (did I get this wrong as well?)

you want the brushes as flat as possible on the guide flag, to reduce inherent drag on the car (we call this induced drag on aircraft)

so, my question is with the flag 2 degrees nose up, you are going against these items I just mentioned, yet most set ups have this.

so, what going on here then? 

why is this 2-degree geometry on the guide flag used on slot cars?

 

I am standing by

most of you who are going to answer this are in doors today because of the brutal weather in the northeast.

 

 

 

PS oh so you know what's topic is coming next, TIRES! Get ready!!!!

 

 

Clyde

[Pablo]

It's a real simple, 2 part explanation

 

1) On cars with chassis that are level front to rear, like a vintage car where clearance is 1/16" and teched from rear to front, normally the flag and tongue are set level. BUT experience and history tell us a very slight upwards flag tilt improves handling. Not 2 degrees - just a hair. It's something one has to accept as a given. It simply "works". Any down tilt at all is the kiss of death for handling.

 

2) Retro cars are teched at .050" rear and .015 front with the flag in a recessed block. That creates a chassis sloped downwards from back to front. If you don't compensate for that slope by tilting the tongue upwards, your flag will be plowing nose down. Kiss of death. The reason 2 degrees is a magic number is something the experts quickly determined and I'm not a rocket scientist. It just works.

 

We experience this in flexi cars all the time. For example, you take a hard front hit and tongue bends down a little. Handling goes bad, making you crash again. Tongue gets bent down more. You deslot down the straight at full speed and hit the wall dead on. By now your tongue is so badly out of whack your race is done.

 

You can double the tongue to prevent this, but it certain cases it just makes the chassis bend elsewhere. I didn't make this stuff up, I learned it from the experts here on Slotblog