Australian Slot Car Racers Association

Racers, Don't forget July 17th & 18th. This is going to be the BIG one. We already have 14 teams for the (HEC ) Hornsby Enduro Championship for Group C cars, Don't forget you may race twice, so iám expecting Three 2 hour racers, Also 20 plus in 1/32nd and Can-am on Sunday.Racing should finish around 4.30pmfor those who wont to fly home Sunday nite, So come along and race on what I and most people consider the BEST Plafit Track in Australia.
Wayne Bramble

Hi Wayne,

There will be a team for Mikey and myself as well as Greg Colgan.

Looks like Hornsby has taken over as the scale Mecca.

Geoff

Geoff, Sounds good. But Mikey needs a handicap other than you.
Group 27 Spray goo??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Wayne

That's because we don't Yet have 76mm by 114mm !!!

Racers, Only 83 more sleeps until the BIGGGG one.
Wayne

Looks like every man and his dog are getting there Group C car ready for the BIGGG one in 3 weeks.
WB

stoo23 wrote:

That's because we don't Yet have 76mm by 114mm !!!

And I hope you never do , makes the cars twitchy and harder to drive

Cheers

Barry

?????

76mm x 114mm and racing dogs!!! Am I missing something here???

Geoff

Probably,..Geoff,..it was a 'Comment' by myself, re the Change of the Queensland 2010 Plafit rules, for the 1/24th CanAm/Sports GT class.

It used to be 78mm, with I believe No restrictions on Guide Lead, (as noted in the Previous Qld Rules), the 2009 Qld' rules being the ones Adopted by HSC for Their Events.

The thing I found 'Odd', was the 'Inclusion' of this Rule Change being Included in the APC as well !!

I have been running My 1/24th car at HSC, as a 'Test' with the Newer 'Limitations' and, Like a few of the 'Posts' above, it Does Not make for a Great handling Slot Car,..Especially around HSC !!

Within the 'Confines' of the Current HSC rules, the fast Cars Are running Guide leads a Lot Longer than 114mm !!

If one takes the Golden Section Rule of Slot cars, Where the Ideal Guide Lead is Somewhere between 1.5 to 1.7 of the Width of the car, Then when measuring from the back of the Rear Axle to Centre of Guide Pivot, means the car is running Below the Bottom 1.5x of the Width.

The change was made I believe, Due to the Qld races ending up with a great number of racers, 'Navigating' towards a couple of Particular Bodies, which as it turns Out Aren't/weren't particularly Scale correct.

They took the decision to 'Limit' the "Spur", (Gee I hate that Term), to 76mm and limit the Guide Lead to that Length, in an attempt to 'Promote' the use of Other Bodies.

So,..Remember guys, If you are heading to the 2010 APC,..best perhaps to 'Change' your cars Now to these new Dimensions, so You get some Practice driving them Setup that way!!

The Races at HSC are to be held under what was in fact the 2009 Qld Rules and can be found here for All Classes;
http://forum.ascra.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=271

Cheers

Thanks Stoo,

I'm pretty sure I've said it before on this forum but I find it a bit amusing that the Qld Slot Car Association (that's not the correct name but it will do) had to introduce the "Polar" length and "Spur" rules so as limit the advantage of the longer and wider bodies eg Ace Bodies Matich SR3, Ferrari 512 and Porsche 917 which are obviously not "true scale" when it is one of their own that is producing the bodies. Why not just make them scale in the first place.

Geoff

Oh well,..there you Go,..You have said it NOT Me !!!,..ROFL

I was Not going to get Into That here,..but Now that you have mentioned it,..

Thinking of these New Rules, (Qld 2010 and APC), I thought as I had Only Just purchased the CanAm Chassis and Body choice was Not Great, I figured go with the Elfin Body, as it 'Fitted' Idealistically as well, into the New Rules,..But as I discovered, that Other Intrinsically "interesting,..But Stupid" to Quote the German Spy on Laugh-In.//lol,..is that those Silly vertical Front Axle Holders that Can't be Cut Down, get in the Way MASSIVELY, for fitting pretty Much Any CanAm body of the day.

This can be seen by the Many cars, that have a Piece of Mesh Screen across that area, Instead of the Scale correct radiator outlet,..Becuase, that Stupid piece of Chassis gets in the Way !!!

Anyway, because I was having some 'difficulty' fitting the Elfin 400 body, I got a matich SR3,..Just to try,..well, the differences between the two bodies are Immense and considering the SR3, was in fact a Modified Elfin 400, Kinda makes you wonder Why they are Not almost Identical,..as the real cars were.

The matich, is Impossible to Fit, Without removing the Molded In radiator Outlet, Just like the Elfin, So,..I purchased one of the ACE Porsche 917 'Kits', as I had 'Borrowed' James Sandeman 917, which both Fitted well after a Quick adjustment and Does Look Great.

BUT,..as I very soon Discovered, The 917 bodies as supplied by ACE, are NOT like the original 917 body as supplied on the car Werner supplied to James at HSC !!
I would Venture that the yellow Sandeman Body, Is in fact Very Close to Scale, as is the Original Lola t 16? whatever as also supplied by Werner to james, (This car being used by a Number of racers at HSC, including Both Troy and Dale, who took it to places at Both recent major races at HSC).

I have often argued the Scale realism thing, using the argument about using a 917/20 body (if one Could get one), it Being MUCH Wider than a standard 917,..Well,..according to Porsches Own dimensions, the Current ACE 917, Is in fact as WIDE as a 917/20 !!!,..So please, who ever is actually making these bodies, could you PLEASE Modify it to Look like a 917/20 "Pink Pig", as I would Happily run one of those !!

The annoying thing is as well, that the Accessories that came With the ACE 917 body, are Obviously, for a Completely Different car/Moulding, as the rear End, (lights, cases, Tyre and gearbox), are Way too narrow, yet Perfectly Fit the Original 917 body that James has???
I have No Idea where the Interior comes from, but it Ain't from a 917 !!! So that is somewhat Dull, especially if one wants to in Anyway replicate a 917 even Vaguely correctly.

You Know, I have No issue with 'Back-pooring' especially of Bodies that are No Longer available/In production etc,..I have No idea where the source of the Matich SR3 body is, but it Sure Looks like one of John Dillworth's (Howmet TX), bodies, which as far as I am aware (from the conversations I have had with him, Have been 'Massaged' to make a Better D3 retro Racing Body,..ie,..NOT Scale).

The Currently available ACE Lola CanAm bodies, are a Direct Replicant, (in that they Fit Perfectly Inside each other), of the Currently available Body from Victor at TrueScale Products.

Personally, I reckon that is a Bit 'Suss', if that IS the case, as especially in comparison of the Two Lola's,..may I suggest, there IS NO Comparison, I will be continuing to Purchase Bodies from Victor at Truescale, as His product actually Does reflect the Kind of Quality that was seen on the Original Lancer, Kirby and Dynamic bodies of the Past. heck, They Are US Pro 'Blob' Bodies !!,..Oh No Sorry,..That's Right, They Are Probably actually Quite Scale Accurate !!,..ROFL

I'll 'post' some piccies to show what I mean.

Anyway,..I guess I will have Now Upset Everyone again,..but, may I say, that it Has actually been rather Difficult to Try and Put together a Scale replicating Car, from What is Available from HSC!
I'm sure If I was in Queensland and was communicating regularly with Werner and could actually See what Great detailing 'bits' he had available, then it Would be far easier for The 'Masses' at HSC, to actually end up with Very Scale like cars.

The mere fact that all that 'OTT stuff, is Not readily available over the Counter, Means that Most of the cars I have seen Sprout, are in Essence Probably More Akin to Our Retro's than in Replicating a car that Actually Raced!

Possibly Like Everryone Else, I too have found those Overseas Sites that Sell all those Great 3D drivers and Interiors, The Rivets, Tyre Valves, Instruments Etc, Etc, but have Yet to actually put together an order for any stuff,..as to be Honest, I'm Not sure I really Can be Bothered.

I mean I have already spent Ages Making Custom Decals for My 'Out of Scale' 917 and am still Making Parts for My Ill Fitting Elfin.
It's a Bit like The Rear Air Dam Saga and the Tyre Widths as well,..Can't Say I have Ever seen a Porsche 917 Running Such Narrow Tyres !!!

Now There Would be a Challenge!!,..Getting Your Plafit to Handle around HSC, using Scale Width rear Tyres !!!

Cheers,


EDIT;
See Pics here;
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=377

Guy's the rule for the polar length,widths and gear ratio's was in this years scale model nationals rules as well.

I have no problems with rules where ever my cars will go and race,be Qld,Nsw,Vic.

Note this,it's you guy's at Hornsby that run your rules how you like. You dont see anyone post negative comments over and over about how you run things.
So give it a rest.

regards shane a

team thunderbird

Well, that's fair Enough Shane, But I Wasn't 'Trashing' Anyone OR Their Rules, as Such. This Time!,..lol
I think it was Pretty Obvious I was Explaining the reason behind Queensland's Change to their Rules, from the 2009 version.

I was also aware that the New 'Limits' had been 'Adopted' for the race you mention.
I just think it is Interesting, that the Rule changes made in Qld' from where it had 'agreeably' been Nationally Previously, was also 'adopted' for the 2010 APC and the MCN. Why Did the MCN make the change to Qld 2010 Rules?
It's a fair Question? I believe, Especially, as Plafit's Are Particularly 'Adjustable' and Previously ran With No 'Guide lead' restrictions, I personally find it odd that Everyone Wants to Make Everyone's car Exactly the Same.

Perhaps it is MY Own Slotting Background and enjoyment of actually designing and Scratch-building chassis, that Makes me want to be able to Employ my Setup Knowledge to a range of cars that Seem to have been Expressly designed for Serious adjustment and tuning.
Making All cars have 114mm Guide Lead IMHO severely Limits that 'Individualisation' Factor.

Anyway,..My Comments will in No way affect How you setup Your cars, Or how you race or what you enjoy.
Whilst chatting with Pete Richards I asked about the rule changes, I can 'Dig' why they did it,..sort of, for What they were trying to achieve,..personally I think I would Simply have Banned the Oversized Bodies,..but what is done is Done.

I won't be racing at the APC anyway,..and My comments were for those that perhaps had their cars setup to the Previous Rules, or to HSC's, Which as Noted are Quite different. I was Interested to see how it affected the cars and My Comments are once again simply Fact.

These comments re Handling and Guide lead Must also be pretty Obvious to someone like yourself with similar car setup and building experience,..I am just Intrigued that so many people are so keen to race their somewhat expensive cars, setup, to Not get the Best From them, through the Adjustments Built into them.

I happily Race Box Stock style 1/32 Plastic cars,..Quite Happily, as they are in effect Not as adjustable, (with exceptiions obviously), but I would 'Prefer' to be able to run the Older rules, But Not Just to be able to Let me Run a fat, Wide, Long Body!! I Was working on an Elfin Body with 76mm Spur anyway !! That IMHO, is also an attempt to Properly detail the Car, within what I understand to be the True 'Spirit' of the Rules and was Simply Explaining the Problems associated with that. The Cars ARE Sup[posed to Try to Replicate actual cars etc and Look real, which is hard if it's Too Big and the Interior and Other Parts are Wrong or Fit Badly!

Gee How many people Whinged to You about How Scale Innacurate the NSR Ford MkIV's were,..???

If You wish to race to those rules as well, that is also Fine. Doesn't Stop me from having an Opinion and or in believing that perhaps it Isn't such a great choice and Obviously, I am Not Alone,..especially, as Geoff, is From Melbourne anyway, it is also Obviously NOT Only Us Guys at HSC,..and Hey,..in That Regard,..the Comments Here, are Mine and NOT In Any way Connected to Whatever Rule base exists at HSC.

I have had Nothing to do With ANY Plafit decisions!

James and Wayne, will I am sure, Like yourself, adopt whatever rules they feel are appropriate for Their Local Racer base, just like Any Local raceway Would. If they choose to adopt the same rules, so be it, but somehow, I think They will probably ask Us, the regular racers.

It Is a fairly Friendly and Egalitarian place old HSC

Cheers