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Wood Setup Tips

Slot.it and NASCAR Tuning Tips
by Mike Chiocchio
 
There always seems to be a post that asks what cars are faster than others. Many times personal preferences are given or results are weighed based on the amounts of magnets that are used. The true test of a car is in race trim against other cars and against the clock.
 
We recently completed the 5th race of the New England Challenge series between the HOST club and the Shoreline Model Raceways club. The venue for this event was Ironwood Raceway which is one of the Shoreline club tracks in Clinton, CT.

 
The GT class is an excellent example of pitting different cars from different manufacturers against each other with no magnets. During our last race our field had a wide range of cars from Slot.it, Proslot, Fly Racing, Spirit Racing, Ninco and SCX. These cars are all tuned and blueprinted but do not allow for any major modifications. The competition is very close so every aspect of the car must be considered to be competitive.
 
Here is a picture of the field of GT cars which competed:

 
The following is a brief overview of the winning cars and setup:
 
GT Class
The third place car was a Proslot Toyota. It used an EVO 3 motor with Slot.it running gear. A 9 tooth pinion with a 28 tooth crown (9-28 gears) were used with Slot.it P1 rubber tires.
 
The second place car was a Slot.it Porsche. It used a 29k rpm motor, 9-30 gears, lightweight 17x8 mm wheels, and Slot.it P1 rubber tires. Total car weight was 3.05 ounces. A picture of the chassis setup and weight distribution is shown below. In addition to the weight on the chassis, note the small piece of weight attached to the underside of the body just behind the cockpit.

 
The first place car was a Slot.it Porsche. The motor used was a 24K Boxer motor with 9-28 gears. Lightweight 17x10 mm magnesium wheels, a hollow axle and Slot.it P3 rubber tires rounded out the running gear. Total car weight was 3.20 ounces. A picture of the chassis setup and weight distribution is shown below.

 
Though the first and second place cars were setup differently, the winning margin was only 3 INCHES on the track after 160 laps! The Slot.it cars were consistently fast in all lanes. The Proslot Toyotas were also quick and have won previously in this class. The Spirit Racer Reynard was also quick and showed promise but does not handle as well as the Slot.it and Proslot cars. The Racing Fly cars were a few tenths of a second off the pace.
 
 
NASCAR
In the Scalextric NASCAR class, the age old question, "Which is faster, inline or sidewinder?" invariably comes up. Though our field was dominated in numbers by sidewinders, the class was dominated by an inline. This class requires a stock Scalextric motor - the motor can be glued to the chassis if desired. Slot.it running gear including 17x10 mm magnesium wheels, hollow axle, brass bushings and a 26 tooth crown replace the stock Scaley components. A picture of the chassis setup and weight placement is shown below. In this class, what tires to run is always a key question. The Slot.it S1 silicone tires proved to be the tire of choice as the PPR silicone tires provided too much bite for this particular track's surface.