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Just so you guys know I’m not dead nor completely uninvolved….
I am fine with whatever is decided…I just haven’t been interested in proxy races. I race to race…not to prepare. So until we’re all able to race together again, my existence will be somewhat ghost-like.
As for series choices… my only thought is that I am not interested in 1/24 cars (limited use for high dollars, though my Alfa hormones are crying loudly over that GTV). That’s about it. I’ve made my feelings known in the past that our attempts to make sure the cars are all competitive with each other is not my preferred style, but I’m okay with it since there are good and valid reasons the club plans in this manner. Just because I’m comfortable being a Williams in a Mercedes world doesn’t mean everyone else should be. 🙂
Anyway, for me it makes choosing a series somewhat academic (because I’m not really a collector…I usually sell my cars after the series is done if it doesn’t look like they’ll be used again) so that whatever is chosen is fine and I’ll be on the starting grid again when we’re all vaccinated or the threat of accidentally passing-on an infection has dissipated.
Leave it to C19 to finally get me to buy my own tire truer! It should be here Tuesday and then I can begin getting my car ready for the events, assuming my power supply is able to do the job (it may not have the amps…but we’ll see. Some reports online suggest it will be okay and I won’t need to upgrade).
Not sure if I’ll make the next race entry, but I’m going to give it a shot. The ‘ol ThunderSlot has been packed away since last year’s events, but unlike my Slot.it stuff which I tend to tear down and reuse parts across models, the T-slot is its own creature, so it should be in good shape except for the tires, which I ran to the last lap of use in the previous season.
I envy Marty’s home track now. If I only had the space…<<sigh>>
Cheers!
-Stabn’Steer
I am also for completing the Targa Florio season. I do hope it is a continuation…things were looking up for me, after all. (HA!)
There are a number of items suggested above that I don’t think anyone has run and tested. If we’re going to allow the suggestion of untested cars (which I wholeheartedly endorse), then I can come up with a ton of exciting series options based on existing European classes with gobs of car choices. However, if we are going to stick with the rule that we have had to test the cars to verify they run well with our track, then I say we include McLaren and ThunderSlot sometime during the year, too, since we have them handy.
It would be cool to do some kind of enduro during Le Mans…maybe not 24 hours…but something long while we watch the race. Maybe we can do our aborted unlimited car race during this event, too? (my development stalled when the club had to move)
I love touring cars and GT. So DTM sounds great. There was some talk today about Trans Am under 2 liter, which I’d completely jump into.
Feedback Desired. I was planning on running the Mazda 787B for Group C. I just got the EVO6 chassis, and it doesn’t fit the body. The body has two radiator pods that create triangular indents on the original chassis that don’t exist on the EVO6 chassis. See attachment…the original chassis is pictured with the triangular yellow indentations, and the EVO6 lying on top of it to show no indentation (just a screw hole). Is it an acceptable modification of the chassis to allow for the body?
Attachments:
I would like to get specific with the rules as I have only heard them discussed. What was discussed was a commercially-available 1/32 chassis (no home-built critters) and a plastic body (no lexan). As usual, no silicone tires. That is the extent of the rules discussed – everything else is open (and thus, magnets are currently considered a requirement for massive speed). Is there anything else we need to consider rule-wise as we build these monsters?
Ugh…use care when ordering. My brain seized and I ordered the tires identified in the currently posted rules (RS-204) even though I KNEW we were supposed to be getting the Scale-Auto tires shown above. A case of old-brain disease. That’s why I was hoping Marty’s tires didn’t have the red stripe today, because neither do mine! 🙂
Oh well…I rarely trust my brain any more, and here’s yet another reason to let it out to pasture!! At least I have a few months to rectify this issue. Anyone want some Revo Slot foams?
OH…and is there anything special that needs to be done to true these? I see that the RC tire truers use a blade instead of a grinding surface.
In my 1/24 days, we never trued foam tires…you bought them the diameter you wanted, then installed and ran them at speeds up to 70 mph, so they were true out of the canister. But that was a really long time ago, now…
Ah…OR…we could keep it locked up and never allow practice. SCCA Pro Rally does not allow recce since they only get their route instructions while sitting on the start line. Those FIA guys are all weenies since they know what’s coming. 🙂 <— (see that smiley…that’s just a joke…FIA guys just go faster because they know what’s coming. The size of the cojones are the same.)
I agree – It would be good to identify some specific practice dates for folks.
David, Randy and myself opened up the track on Thursday and ran some laps. We tried a couple different NSR Porsches and I ran my Alfa 33/3. Cars seem to run well. Kind-of starting from scratch on figuring out personal voltage, gearing and such, but the initial tests are very positive.
Now that we’ve had some in-practice experience with this process, and in judging from some of the heady discussions during events related to this process, it seems that some examination is warranted regarding this rule. The idea of a “Break Fix” as mentioned in the initial rule appears to be too broad to define and leaves the term open for interpretation – as discussions at events have shown.
I spent some time zipping around the web reading the racing rules posted by other clubs and I found that trying to identify what is allowed to be done to cars between the start and end of the event is rarely attempted, probably because these clubs have also found it impossible to create a consistent list of rules regarding what is and is not allowable.
The bulk of rules specify that once the car enters tech, it remains in control of the scrutineer and will reside in parc rotisserie (in our case!) until the beginning of the racer’s heat. Once the racer begins their heat, they may make any changes they like to the car during their heat period within the rules for car preparation, including during the lane change period. Immediately after completing their final heat, the car must be placed back into parc rotisserie where the scrutineer may choose to re-tech any car at their discretion. Racers regain control of their cars once the scrutineer has announced that post-race tech is closed. I would also suggest that the scrutineer is tasked to be available after the event to hear tech requests from any member against any car in the event. I’d rather these requests be on a gentleman’s agreement rather than requiring payment as many clubs require…but that would be something to discuss.
In our races, because we only have 3 lanes, there are cases where racers begin the event, then sit out for a number of rounds before returning to complete their race. For these racers, they must return their car to parc rotisserie immediately at the end of their session prior to their break, and can begin work on their cars during the lane-change period immediately prior to their return to the track.
This design keeps us from having to come up with a handful of “allowable” things people can do to their cars during the races or during the lane change periods. I believe that trying to maintain any such handful of allowable items will only end up in hurt feelings due to a lack of consistency in applying the rules. Requiring cars to go immediately to parc rotisserie after their final heat keeps any “undoing” of changes to be performed. Green flag work on a car, regardless of the result of that work, is its own penalty. If someone can legally tweak their car in the lane change periods, more power to them with the knowledge that they may have a scrutineer have a look-around at the end of the event. I would suggest that we be a bit more on-point with completing the lane change periods in the allotted amount of time.
If someone is genuinely afraid that racers will be making performance mods to their cars during the first lane change period, then removing those during the second lane change period, I challenge you to come up with a race plan where 2 poor heats and 1 good heat comes out a positive, given how competitive our racing is. And mainly, I would like any rules we put in-force to have the ability to keep us all friends – which would be a challenge when a rule is open to different interpretations.
That’s my $1.25 (because 2 cents just doesn’t cut it anymore). Written here so that we’ll have something specific to discuss and vote upon in a future meeting, or to kick-off discussion here that will eventually make it to a vote.
This all looks like fun…I’d love to experiment with creating tire compounds – but wanted to be sure you realize the rules for ThunderSlot say this:
- Rear: OEM Treaded Tires (TYC002R) or Upgrade slick 19X10mm (TYR004R standard) allowed.
Therefore, home-made tires would not be allowed without a rule change (which may be warranted due to the lack of tire availability). 🙁
That’s a great idea as a back-fill to the track repair.
I had the relay croak that turns the power on/off to the track, but have a new one in a box…so I need to rewire that but that’s about all that’s waiting before I can toss it into the Saab and drag it down to King’s. It is still a work in progress, but it is fun, nonetheless.
To all – I wanted to make one clarification to the Group C rules related to this item:
> Traction compounds prohibited <
Nail polish on the front tires will be allowed. Stephen tells me that this is commonly allowed with the club. And anyway – it is an ANTI-traction compound…but semantics-wise, it IS a traction compound so I wanted to make this clear. 🙂
Looking forward to this event next weekend, though I am woefully prepared…
