[moped rider]

With all the talent at Slotforum we have an opportunity here to create a standard set of club rules that we can all develope together which could form the basis for all competition world wide or at least in the UK.

Now they could even be used as a standard for local clubs with bylaws used as local amendments.

They would also be useful for anybody thinking of setting a club or a competiton up as a national standard would be understood by everbody and could be adopted by various slot car organisations.

So where do we begin?

Which club has the most complete set of rules that they are willing to publish here so that we can work our way through them and add to, alter or delete them as necessary?

Or do we start from scratch?

We produce a standard for all circuit types with and without magnets, and then have addendums for wood track surfaces and plexy track surfaces, and further addendums if you wish to permit tuning in various forms looking at each componenet of a slot car at a time.

Who is up to the challenge?

Who would like to join a "Slotforum International Slot Car Rule Commitee" to produce a standard?

Really they are not going to be formal rules but guidelines that could be adopted as rules or at least be used to offer guidence in the event of there being a dispute.

Moped

 

[astro]

ummm from the 'slow cars wanted thread', it would seem that:

a) no one can agree

and

certain people want specific things, so a club being flexible enough to say 'ok lets give box standard excluding fly racing a go' seems desirable.

However, it was just occuring to me from that thread, that not everyone wants to be a scale mechanic. Some want to be scale FIA officials!

 

[GRAH1]

There are already associations within the slot racing world orginising events
The s.t.r.a run the audi and porsche challenges to there rules.
brca run the uk slot racing scene to there rules
bsl have there 1/24 competition and plafit classes
we have the world proxy orginised by hobart model car club
the marconi by pdl

All of these are different forms of racing none of which can be encompassed b one set of rules

Sorry mope but unless you want to set up the moped slowest past the post racing org for people who are like minded then I think you are on a looser

What you must realise is different types of racing demand different parameters and will atract a different type of racer .

 

[Guest]

Why would we want a standard set of rules ? the FIA have already spolied F1 with there rule changes over the last few years, i'd hate to see slotracing go the same way.

I'm a member of the Phoenix club, and the rules are just the way they should be, the racing on a Tuesday night is fun by competative, a bit more competative on a Thurdays with the cars being checked before racing, but i just don't see why we need a standard set of rules.

 

[thomas]

...let's start with the re-invention of the wheel first...

Moped, that's really NOT necessary!

 

[Intergrali]

Right, I ran a set of rules up...

Each club should have their own set of rules.

Everyone is happy

 

[Mr.M]

QUOTE (Intergrali @ 5 May 2004, 22:40)Right, I ran a set of rules up...

Each club should have their own set of rules.
There you go Moped! Job done!

Well done, Inte!

 

[Difflock]

I think that first we need to agree on a national standard of track wiring first!! We are getting there; small 3 pin plugs seem to be the norm at the various clubs I've visited, with most of them going the same way around the track

Mark.

 

[JEXY1]

Have to agree with Inte and Mr M.

I wrote the rules for the NSCC championship and the first post on the forum picked holes in it (some valid), it's a nightmare - In effect each club or organisation already does have it's own set of rules. The BSCRA rules are very specifically designed around racing scratch built racers whilst the NSCC rules are waited towards RTR racers.

That said if you want a set of rules as a basic start point check out

http://www.nscc.co.uk/2004%202005%20championship%20regs.htm

Good luck! - in my experience who ever writes them will be attacked from all angles and no one will be happy never forget that there will always be ways to beat the rules and there will always be people willing to cheat.

Gareth

 

[j-c]

Most of us who race at clubs have rules that we abide to which are meaningful to the types of classes and track on which we are racing.

If we wish to change the rules then we discuss, vote and the majority decision is upheld. At the Club I race at we don't dictate what people should do at other Clubs as their layout and events are different. In the same manner as we wouldn't expect to dictate what the carpet racer should or should not do.

Moped - in the post that started this thread you ask 5 questions - all relying on other people to do something. Here's a question from me.

Why not do some of the work yourself ? Publish your own set of rules and then we can all see how they relate to our racing and make comments.

A Slotforum International Slot Car Rule Committee?- Great idea !!! Then we could have a Slotforum International Slot Car Tuning Sub-Committee to discuss what methods of tuning could be allowed and a Slotforum International Slot Car Tyre Sub Committee to widely publicise all the different makes of tyres (or tires) that could be used.

Should there be separate a Slotforum International Slot MotoGP Commitee and Slotforum International Slot Truck Commitees too?

j-c

 

[moped rider]

I am just sounding out interest at the moment.

However, Slotforum commitees on a whole range of subjects does seem like a good idea.

Draft guidelines could be promulgated on a range of subjects and offered to the Slotforum membership for consultation before they are finalised.

From an analytical viewpoint as far as rules go I could certainly draw up a set of headings around which further discussion could take place.

Any agreement promulgated could then be featured at Slotforum as a permanent record of its members which could assist in the arbitration of any dispute or offer clarification in the event of any uncertainty. And they could be used as guidelines by clubs who wish to modify rules or create new ones for new classes of event.

Just my further thoughts although the initial reaction appears negative for the time being.

I just thought that with such a large number of clubs represented here then I could act as a catalyst to get heads together but clearly slot car racing is rather more fragmented than I had first considered it to be.

Moped

 

[Gaugemaster Controls]

QUOTE A Slotforum International Slot Car Rule Committee?- Great idea !!! Then we could have a Slotforum International Slot Car Tuning Sub-Committee to discuss what methods of tuning could be allowed and a Slotforum International Slot Car Tyre Sub Committee to widely publicise all the different makes of tyres (or tires) that could be used.

Should there be separate a Slotforum International Slot MotoGP Commitee and Slotforum International Slot Truck Commitees too?

QUOTE However, Slotforum commitees on a whole range of subjects does seem like a good idea.

Mope, I think j-c was being sarcastic.....

Aaron

 

[Mecoprop]

Maybe he was and maybe he wasn't.
There is a lot to be said for an element of universality.
Mop's idealism attracts my sympathy but, as can be seen from the responses, slot racers tend to be an ornery and unruly lot.
Basically, they don't like rules - at all!

 

[GRAH1]

Of course we could have an "Ask Moped" slot permenently on the board then before anybody does or builds or even thinks anything then we can get his aprovall to carry on

 

[Tropi]

Just to speak for myself - usually not too bad at that - my major support and thrust is for standards of 'quality' in cars and peripherals rather than rules to run by, although I must say that a 'base line' rule set would make a sensible foundation, from which others, with no preconceived rules could pick their ideas and preferences.

As has been said, slot racers really are a recalcitrant and rebellious rabble - I should know - I AM one! This means that it can be extremely difficult to agree rules, even within a single club, let alone between clubs and individuals.

So I am another who, in spite of many disagreements can readily support the principle of 'base line' rules - point from which to expand. No one is forced to comply with them, but any element of agreement certainly would lead to more interchangeability between groups of racers. Unfortunately, I can't see it actually happening, in view of the inherently stroppy nature of most of us.
Shame though!

Standards for dimensions and quality of car parts etc are a different matter though and I will return to that theme 'one of these days'.

 

[JOHN SECCHI]

As far as "out of the box racing", if all the various manufacturers got together to standardise certain aspects of the models they release such as motor spec and tyre material then you would stand a better chance of being able to formulate National/International rules.
At the moment scalex clubs tend to run a zillion different classes to suit all the various cars that are released from the different makers because no two models perform in a similar way, this gets very expensive for the average racer as he then ends up with a box full of un-competetive cars which are no good to anybody.
In my area i am in regular contact with scalex racers from three different clubs Wellingbourgh, Wood Green and Luton [four if you count NLondon] and they/we ALL run to different rules, some are only small changes but still make it difficult to organise interclub events because of them.
Just the opinion of a "metal head" racer!
[oneofwos]

 

[Mecoprop]

Yes, words of wisdom from those with experience of just about all classes of racing over many years.

If the basic components were made to CONSISTENT standards, then much of the quest for improvements, just to make RTRs actually Ready To Run would automatically become unnecessary, as would many of the rules designed solely to combat this 'quest for the best bits that hopefully no one will realize are not quite standard or at least a bit better than the usual crap!'.

 

[Ecurie Martini]

The problem with rules is that many (myself included) see them as a challenge. A lot depends on your point of view - are rules a foundation or an envelope? For me, as a slot racer interested in racing scale models, rules can be divided into two broad categories: rules for "box stock" classes and rules for development or scatch built cars.

Of the two, rules for the former are probably the most difficult to formulate and enforce. Like the 1:1 "stock" rules, this can lead to an expensive and time consuming operation. Production tolerances gaurantee that cars will have a range of performance and one can spend a lot of money acquiring parts to "stack" the tolerances to produce a faster car - and then there is the issue of repair of both damage and wear etc. etc.

The latter category can be made quite simple - races for cars of a type and period with the prototype setting tire diameter and width -this will determine handling characteristics pretty well - add to that a current regulator that will "clamp" the current at a predetermined level and the motor question is also controlled.

Magnets are simple - yes or no

The general idea is that the fewer rules there are, the less opportunity there is to bend them!

EM

 

[Ken R]

Why in the world would standard slot rules be even considered when the real world of race cars has NO SUCH THING?!

You build 'em and race in accordance with the rules of your local, regional, national, international series in which you intend to compete - works for the real cars...

Although if Moped insists, here's my suggestion under the Race Operations section:

"All corner marshals must be beautiful 'Pit Babe' type women dressed in bikinis. Bikinis must be appropiately revealling and colour matched to the host club or race organisations base colours. Tops optional when in accordance with local community standards. Random inspections will enforce said rule."

Cheers all, Ken R

 

[j-c]

Ken,

That idea would need to be scrutinised by the Slotforum International Slot Car Pit-Babe Marshalling Sub Committee and may of course need to consult

and liaise with the separate Slotforum International Slot Car Pit-Babe Marshalling (Tops-on) Sub Committee and the Slotforum International Slot Car Pit-Babe Marshalling (Tops-off) Sub Committee!

j-c