After an evaluation of the first race in the Lightning GT race series, I have come up with some observations and proposed rules changes.
First of all, it has come to my attention that someone glued rear tires on the car they were racing on Saturday. Not only is that against the rules and spirit of the race, but it’s messing with someone else’s car! Needless to say this will not be tolerated. I had also expressed the intention of the series to run the cars as box stock as possible, with the hope that not even removing the chassis would be needed. To this end, race scrutineering will be more stringent.
This evening we experimented with three of the Lightning cars, trying them as-raced first. The kid’s club car, from the shelf, had been very quick during the race. Tonight, it was virtually undrivable, deslotting very easily and the tires had little grip. I made one change, replacing the rear tires with PT24 19 X 10 P6 tires. I had a number of these unused tires from the time in the past when we thought they were the hot setup for Group C. The Scaley rear wheels have a smaller center rib than Slot.it wheels and at first I thought O-rings might be required but this turned out not to be necessary. The P6s are smaller than the stock tires and were a snug fit. I believe one of the problems with the cars, as raced, was that the rear tires would “grow” under full speed and hop, causing the car to de-slot. There was a night and day difference in driving the car with only this change (still at 13V.). We put P6s on two more cars with similar results. The cars were fast, controllable and (relatively) stable. We were quickly into the 3.7s with all three cars, running neck and neck. Although, of course, you could still drive the car too fast, we ran multiple laps without anyone deslotting. This was the type of racing that I had envisioned when I first proposed the series. I really liked the pace and giving anyone who races a chance to drive a car this fast. There could be a concern that cars flying off at this speed could do damage to the cars or marshals, so there is the possibility that we would reduce the voltage slightly, perhaps to 12.75V or 12.5V. My concern about reducing the voltage would be that, with the magnets, the cars might be too easy to drive. We will do some more testing about the voltage.
Now, to the car specs. I propose that P6s be used. I have ordered some more tires so we will have a supply if needed; King’s has one or two sets in the case.
I believe that the stock pickup/braid is sufficient, but a new/nearly new braid set will be required for each race. Since there are two extra sets with each car, this should not be a problem. The only thing needed is to grip the end of the braid with flat-nose pliers and push the braid toward the front of the car, widening (and shortening) the braid. If inspection shows the braid to be below spec, a new set will be installed by the inspector. A future option will be to install the Scalextric C8420 sport guide assembly, which has a thicker, slightly deeper, screw-on guide (guide and four replacement braid sets for $7) but right now, I don’t think this will be necessary.
Other than the change of rear tires, the cars must be run absolutely box stock, which means tight chassis screws and no modifications of any kind. (The exception to this is the rear wings; they will not be required). I do not even want to see oil on the bearings. Again, you will not (likely) be running your own car. So don’t mess with the cars. If tires or braid is found to be out of spec. I will change them and the driver will be charged.
I will also test drive each car during inspection. ALL CARS TO BE RACED MUST BE AT THE TRACK 15 MINUTES BEFORE SCHEDULED RACE TIME. This will be 12:45 for the next race. I have purchased a two-fer set of spare cars (@$50/pr.) and if any car is found to be significantly off the pace, or does not pass tech, the spare car will be substituted and the driver will be charged an extra $5 rental fee.
Hopefully, with these changes, we will have close, fast racing.