The History of Slot.it Group C Speed
It was twelve years ago that the Austin Slot Car Club ran its first series – the first Slot.it Group C series. It’s not hard to understand why the club would choose these cars to run for its first-ever series – the cars were stunningly beautiful, easy to set up, loads of available Slot.it performance parts, and the cars were inexpensive. When set up well these cars were fun to drive and were very evenly matched making the races very exciting to watch and run.
In the twelve years since we first ran the Slot.it Group C race series there have been improvements to the cars from Slot.it – adjustable front axles, stiffer chassis, lighter drive cockpits, and a quicker 23K motor. All of these changes have increased the performance of the cars and made them more enjoyable to run.
Throughout all of the changes made by Slot.it the club has continued to run the series at the same 11 volts it did at the first race twelve years ago. Running at 11 volts has worked well but almost all of the current racers are running the lowest possible gear with a 9 tooth pinion and a 23 tooth crown gear. With almost everyone running the same 9×23 gearing the series becomes more about motor strength than car set-up and driving skills. It’s true that driving skills play a big role in any race but even the best driver cannot overcome a down on power motor. The differences in motor power are especially noticeable on a track like ours where the straight is such a large part of the circuit.
In light of this, the Slot.it Group C series starting January 2022 will be run at a higher track voltage. The final voltage has not yet been decided but current thinking has it somewhere between 12 and 13 volts. The 12-volt setting did not seem to be too big of a change and 13 volts seemed like it could be too much. There will be lots of testing taking place in November so that by December the final voltage number will be announced.
How does the change in voltage affect how my car is set up?
· You will have to reevaluate the gearing you are running. If you are currently running a 9×23 gear you might have to move the crown gear up to a 24 or 25.
· You can add more weight to your car without the same performance penalty you would have had at 11 volts.
· You will need to glue your rear tires to the wheels. If you have been able to get by without gluing your rear tires to the wheel you will have to now.
· If you choose to run the same 9×23 gearing you will more than likely not be able to run at full throttle on the back straight. The higher voltage with 9×23 gearing will require better throttle control.
· You will need to adjust both the sensitivity and brakes on your DiFalco controller.