- This topic has 65 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 5 years ago by
.
-
Posts
-
I am posting this to the club to discuss an opportunity we have to participate in our next proxy race with the Houston Scale Auto Racing club. They are fans of our current Thunderslot Proxy race series and reached out to see if we would be interested in doing another proxy race with them.
In our September club meeting we discussed making the clubs upcoming Q4 series a proxy and the current proxy racers and marshals supported the decision and agreed to continue in their current roles so doing this proxy series with another club is not far outside the realm of what we were already planning on doing.
The Houston club agreed with all the rules we currently use for our proxy which meant all we had left to do was to figure out what car would work best for everyone. The Slot It McLaren was mentioned but none of the Houston members had one. The limited availability combined with the limited liveries make this a weak choice so we looked at other options. We know we wanted to run a Slot It car as they would be the easiest for members to tune. We wanted to pick a current model that was readily available. We wanted to pick a car that had multiple liveries. All of these requirements led us to select the Slot It’s DTM cars. This has the much added benefit of allowing us to get Dave Kennedy and Mauricio the owner of Slot It to help promote the series and provide the club with some fantastic publicity and maybe some new members.
The big commitment for our members is in the purchase and tuning a new car. Being a Slot It the design and construction of the car is familiar to all of us and understanding how to set it up should be easier for most everyone. Some members have already purchased one knowing it was planned to be the clubs Q4 race this year. I know that I have one, Ary has one, Randy has one and Mark has one. The cars are readily available from multiple slot car retailers as well as eBay for $50 to $60. The rules have a limited number of things you can do to the car so the expense of any additional parts should be minimal. It should not be too difficult for members to get a car and set it up. I would be willing to do the tuning work if a member wants to purchase a car and the parts. Before buying a car please view the clubs forum on the DTM series for notes on what Alfa cars to stay away from.
The first race would be held October 24th. This gives us slightly less than a month to get a car ready. The timing is not perfect but there’s not too much work to be done on these cars.
I would like to see all the club’s members participate in what stands to be a great promotion event for the club. Attached are the proxy race rules as well as the rules for the cars. We will be discussing this at next club meeting on Saturday the 3rd. I will also have this event posted to the clubs forum. Please post any questions about the series to this forum for all to view.
FAQ’s
Where do the races take place?
The cars from our club and the Houston club would be raced at our track by our proxy racers and then be sent off to Houston where they would be raced by the Houston club.
What does it cost?
The same race fee as it would normally be – $5 for premium members and $10 for basic members.
What cars will be used?
We are going to use the Slot It DTM cars for this proxy series. Why these? In working to get Slot It involved we needed to run a car that is current and readily available from multiple There is some great information on the clubs 2020 Series Discussion on the club’s forum on our website.
Will there be awards?
Yes. Plaques will be awarded for this series just like they are for our other series.
How do I set up my car for the Houston track?
One of the big parts of running a proxy race is not getting an opportunity to run all the tracks the races are held on. The goal of setting up a proxy car is to get one to perform as smooth and neutral as possible. We will get a list of popular set up tips from the Houston club so we will at least have some idea of how to get your car set up properly.
Why do this?
I like to think the reason to do any slot car racing is to have fun. No top of that we are doing it to build some exposure for the club. See the FAQ below for more information.
What is the benefit to the club?
Exposure. We have been talking about how to attract more members and the need for more exposure to introduce the club to more people while showing the type of professional organization we run. This proxy race will be promoted by both clubs as well as Dave Kennedy from slot car distributor Great Traditions and Slot It. This type of press/publicity is not easy to come by and could help the club.
What rules will we use?
We will use a slightly modified version of the rules that are published on the clubs website – Q4, 2020 race series. I will post the rules as soon as we decide to move forward with the proxy series.
How do you run a proxy race?
For anyone that has watched the clubs Thunderslot Proxy race series it is just like that with the exception of sending our cars off for three rounds of the series that will take place in Houston. There are specific rules to running a proxy that I will post once we decide to move forward.
OPEL DTM – Axle Height Screw – chassis thread Stipping
by John B/Lotus JR
Subject: DTM Opel Calibra issueI have an early Slot.IT Opel Calibra that has run once or twice at HQ. Checked it over 9/26 in prep for the upcoming DTM Proxy race with Houston HSARC. The axle height adjustment grub/allen/set-screw stripped the plastic threads in the chassis. It was first noticed on my left side upright, then the right upright also stripped, with very little effort. The plastic appears to be very thin, as compared to another Slot.IT chassis such as for a Group-C car.
FIX: 1) First, it’s critical to set axle ride-height with the lower screws. 2) then I filled both holes with MaxiCure glue that I also use to glue tires to rims. I then quickly inserted the screws; let them set up for a few minutes and they appear to hold.[attachment file=”DTM Open Axle Screw Thread Stripping.jpg”]
Attachments:
"... get on your bad motor scooter and ride!"
Sammy with MontroseHOUSTON TRACK To see the track, club room and some members:
houstonscaleautoracing com
facebook /groups/ HSARClub
Google has images with a simple search for scale-auto-racing-houston
———-
For handling setup, notice they have longer straights and some 90-degree corners as compared to the ASCC track. A green/24z crown may be useful, esp. since we are running at 12v it may the best compromise to take advantage of the longer straights and yet be manageable in the corners (plus have good handling on our/the ASCC track).
———-
We need details on their track, esp. if it is plastic (i.e the one with the SCX skirt) and what brand (indicating the grip and what tires we should run (30s or 22s)). It would also help to know braid depth if routed, or more significantly rail height if it’s plastic (it would affect axle height adjustment). Hopefully it is just be their old routed track painted black (used to be gray/green when it was in the back of PA Watson’s Katy Slots in 2014)???Note: The material is hard to tell from the pictures (the obviously routed black track -with the two Nascars- appears to be one they are/were re-building).
"... get on your bad motor scooter and ride!"
Sammy with MontroseAVAILABILITY on Sept 27, 2020
132Slots.US – Alphas, Mercs, Opels in stock $60
Cloverleaf – Alphas, Mercs, Opels in stock $60 – 90
Electric Dreams – Alphas, Opels in stock $45 – 65
Professor Motos- Alphas, Mercs, in stock $55 – 60"... get on your bad motor scooter and ride!"
Sammy with MontroseTo help with proper set up for the proxy I have provided the Houston club with the popular set up’s we run with Slot It – F30’s, CH-07 wood guide, zero grip tires on the front, 9t pinions and 23t-25t crowns at the 12v the series will run at. I also provided they with a minimum chassis clearance measurement and the recess depth of the braid on our track.
They will be providing us with similar information. What I already know – their track is four lanes, routed wood with magnetic braid. The track layout is very different from ours in that it was based on a plastic Scalextric track they used to run on. They just copied the design and routed it. As a result their lane spacing is 3 1/16″ just like Scalextric. Ours is 4″, a little wider than Carrera.
Opel Chassis Issues
John, I have had those same issues with a couple of Group C chassis. I don’t know why its a problem on some and not others. I have an Open and there is not a lot of material on the front axle chassis loop. Good luck with it. Chassis are readily available. I even saw a guy on eBay selling a complete chassis less body for $27. Not a bad deal for the full set up. Could be a good test car chassis.
CIRCUIT BOARD ON BLACK END BELL 21k DTM MOTOR
To remove the “shunt capacitor” – use a very sharp, small set of dykes/nippers to cut the circuit board on One side, Away from the end bell. If you cut too close to the end-bell and you may clip the Solder Tab coming out of the motor (connected to the brush inside). Don’t cut the other side yet (doing so may flex the circuit and hence the solder tab.)
Now, de-solder the piece of the circuit connected to the solder-tab, carefully pull off the circuit board piece. Now desolder the circuit piece on the other side and pull away from the tab.
ALTERNATIVE: using a small set of dykes, you may be able to cut off the capacitor ‘block’ in the middle of the board – problem solved in seconds!
NOTE: Some people like to take off the capacitors, but they should not really affect analog performance. They are “shunts” that short-circuit radio frequencies picked up across the motor’s solder-tabs (which can act as an antenna). They are mainly effective to prevent any problems with digital systems (with retroactively installed chips for Carerra or Scaley tracks).Attachments:
"... get on your bad motor scooter and ride!"
Sammy with MontroseLINKS TO VIEW HOUSTON CLUB, TRACK
houstonscaleautoracing.com
facebook.com/groups/HSARClub
yelp.com/biz/scale-auto-racing-houston
Scale Auto Racing 11303 Jones Rd W Ste C, Houston, TX 77065-3641"... get on your bad motor scooter and ride!"
Sammy with MontroseA suggestion for proxy rules.
This should make the race manager’s job much easier. Have entrants write their name (or handle) on the bottom of the car. With a bunch of unfamiliar cars, and new names, both in Austin and in Houston, It will be a great help keeping things straight. This has been a standard rule in all proxies I have entered. Besides there’s much more room on the bottom of a DTM than there is a 60s F1 car 🙂
[attachment file=”Naming.jpg”]
Attachments:
"Enjoy every sandwich"
-Warren ZevonAre we really running 14v as shown on the rules? Are we running the thin version of the Z front tires or the taller more scale like version?
Randy,
The rules for the Proxy race state we will be running the series at 12 volts. The rules for our 2020 Q4 series listed 14 volts but we are not using those rules. We are using the rules for the Proxy. Thanks for asking the question.
Front tires – you can use the 17″ or 19″ diameter versions of the zero grip tires. It depends on how you are setting up your car. You might find the 19″ version easier to set the car up with.
On a side note – are you up for selling your Bosch Alfa? I would like to purchase it if you are up for selling it. Let me know what you want. It would be great if you could leave the car at headquarters and I will come by with some cash to leave for you.
Marty
Are we really running 14v as shown on the rules? Are we running the thin version of the Z front tires or the taller more scale like version?
Could you provide part numbers for these tires for those uf us who have not memorized the Slot.it catalog?
TIA
"Enjoy every sandwich"
-Warren ZevonMarc,
Great point. I will list part numbers along with the descriptions in the future.
Slot It zero grip front tires: 17″-PT15 and 19″-PT07
Thanks for the input and good luck with preparing your car.
UPDATE Current race date for Rounds 1-3 (at ATX HQ) are in the Google Calendar.
Oct 24, Nov 7, Nov 21As Marty finalizes plans for the remaining rounds with HSARC the calendar will be updated.
"... get on your bad motor scooter and ride!"
Sammy with MontroseSlot Car Corner – rounded/oval head Grub.Allen screws for front axle setting.
slotcarcorner.com/collections/1-32-set-screws/products/scc-m2-x-5-0mm-set-screws-oval-point-black
Useful lengths are 5 and 6mm (8mm are typically extreme and add un-needed weight.)"... get on your bad motor scooter and ride!"
Sammy with Montrose
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.