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Oops see your point - typo. Of course it is only nearly 4x the speed of sound (being 768mph at sea level at average atmospheric pressure).
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Slot Drag Racing - What's it all about?
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But that's an old discussion, and it seems that speed doesn't really scale up or down! It was just a marketing ploy by old slot car companies to impress the customers. I think Aurora started it in 63 or 64 by saying that one of the stock T-Jets went 1000 scale miles an hour, or something along those lines.
Still, even a 1 second ET is very impressive when you see it in person! I've only done drags a few times, but it's a huge adrenaline rush, and waiting for the Christmas Tree lights definitely makes your palms sweat.
Don
Still, even a 1 second ET is very impressive when you see it in person! I've only done drags a few times, but it's a huge adrenaline rush, and waiting for the Christmas Tree lights definitely makes your palms sweat.
Don
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486 Posts
QUOTE (dgersh @ 25 Dec 2011, 23:23) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>But that's an old discussion, and it seems that speed doesn't really scale up or down! It was just a marketing ploy by old slot car companies to impress the customers. I think Aurora started it in 63 or 64 by saying that one of the stock T-Jets went 1000 scale miles an hour, or something along those lines.
Nice summary of many pages of threads!
The speed of sound certainly doesn't really scale up or down. A slot car doing 130mph is doing about 0.17 times the speed of sound.
There are justifications for several different "scale speeds", each of which is correct in its own quite limited way. One of these says a 1/24 doing 130mph equates to over 3,000 mph. As that's the biggest number that can be justified, its the one the marketing men chose.
Yes I agree a 1 second ET is very impressive - doesn't need any marketing men's speak added!
Nice summary of many pages of threads!
The speed of sound certainly doesn't really scale up or down. A slot car doing 130mph is doing about 0.17 times the speed of sound.
There are justifications for several different "scale speeds", each of which is correct in its own quite limited way. One of these says a 1/24 doing 130mph equates to over 3,000 mph. As that's the biggest number that can be justified, its the one the marketing men chose.
Yes I agree a 1 second ET is very impressive - doesn't need any marketing men's speak added!
Scale speed was probably chosen because real speeds, such as 12mph for a 'typical' Scalex type car at a 'typical' club night, sound weedy.
But they missed a trick, better I think to change the distance measurement to something relatable to the cars (inches) and how long they race for (seconds).
That way 12mph becomes 210ips.
But they missed a trick, better I think to change the distance measurement to something relatable to the cars (inches) and how long they race for (seconds).
That way 12mph becomes 210ips.
But that sounds more like a high speed printer or luggage scanner!
I think we should just stick to lap times in road racing or ETs in drag racing... even the Blue King record for regular (wing) slot cars, at 1.4 seconds for 155 ft, "only" comes out to something like 60mph (please correct me if I'm wrong), but in person, they're so fast they're basically invisible (see wing racers on YouTube)! (hmm, so maybe there is a scale dimension to speed, but it's not as direct as x32 or x24... relativity? perspective?)
In wind tunnel testing, engineers have to make sure that the results on a scale model will indeed scale up to actual aerodynamics on the full size plane, and I believe there are certain constants involved, but not in all areas - perhaps one of our aerdynamicists could chime in here? (but I know we've had this discussion before, either here or in SlotBlog...).
Don
PS: basically, slot drag racing is fun, because it's mano à mano, and you can go fast - something most 12 year old boys understand instinctively.
I think we should just stick to lap times in road racing or ETs in drag racing... even the Blue King record for regular (wing) slot cars, at 1.4 seconds for 155 ft, "only" comes out to something like 60mph (please correct me if I'm wrong), but in person, they're so fast they're basically invisible (see wing racers on YouTube)! (hmm, so maybe there is a scale dimension to speed, but it's not as direct as x32 or x24... relativity? perspective?)
In wind tunnel testing, engineers have to make sure that the results on a scale model will indeed scale up to actual aerodynamics on the full size plane, and I believe there are certain constants involved, but not in all areas - perhaps one of our aerdynamicists could chime in here? (but I know we've had this discussion before, either here or in SlotBlog...).
Don
PS: basically, slot drag racing is fun, because it's mano à mano, and you can go fast - something most 12 year old boys understand instinctively.
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Think I'm with Don on this one - I'm all for telling it how it is - if you know what you are looking at you know how difficult it is
In athletics the 100m world record is 9 point something seconds - Is that unimpressive because I go faster than that in my hatchback on the way to the supermarket?
At Indianapolis the race cars lap at over 200 mph - Is that unimpressive because regular jet airlines go more than double that speed?
The Blue King world record of just 1.4 sec is "only" about 75 mph - Is that unimpressive because regular high speed trains go way faster than that?
P.S. Yes wind tunnel testing engineers do understand how to scale model data to predict what a full size plane will do. As we've seen in earlier threads, how they do that goes over the heads of most readers. Best left alone if you don't understand it!
In athletics the 100m world record is 9 point something seconds - Is that unimpressive because I go faster than that in my hatchback on the way to the supermarket?
At Indianapolis the race cars lap at over 200 mph - Is that unimpressive because regular jet airlines go more than double that speed?
The Blue King world record of just 1.4 sec is "only" about 75 mph - Is that unimpressive because regular high speed trains go way faster than that?
P.S. Yes wind tunnel testing engineers do understand how to scale model data to predict what a full size plane will do. As we've seen in earlier threads, how they do that goes over the heads of most readers. Best left alone if you don't understand it!
That is comparing totally disparate things, all I am doing is changing the units used to give a bigger number for the same thing. I felt that was a better way to big up what the cars are doing (when you picture an EAHORC ProMod doing 330ips it really hits home how quick they are), than by using the artifice of scale speed.
The slot car that is doing 75mph is also doing 1300ips, there is no contrivance at work. For those that prefer to stick with MPH they can simply unhide one column on our spreadsheets, it does not have to either/or.
The slot car that is doing 75mph is also doing 1300ips, there is no contrivance at work. For those that prefer to stick with MPH they can simply unhide one column on our spreadsheets, it does not have to either/or.
Montoya,
All I'm saying is that we don't have to express this in any kind of speed units. Saying a modern slot car will lap a 150 foot track in 3 or 4 seconds, or that a plastic car will lap a 100 ft plastic track in 8 seconds or whatever, is often easier to relate to.
I know the IPS figure is real, I just don't think it means much to most people, and is rather reductive since we're talking inches...
Lots of people in the past have come up with all kinds of speed calculations (multiplying by the equivalent of cubic inches, etc.), and it never really caught on, because it isn't really necessary.
If somebody at your club asks you how fast the cars are going, just say,
"Pretty darned fast!"
or
"If you have to ask, you can't afford it!"
or
"Not too fast, but we get great gas mileage!"
Back to drag racing, or road racing for that matter: if you can't see it, it's going too fast.
On the other hand, I can see the magnetraction HO cars, but my reflexes can't...
Don
All I'm saying is that we don't have to express this in any kind of speed units. Saying a modern slot car will lap a 150 foot track in 3 or 4 seconds, or that a plastic car will lap a 100 ft plastic track in 8 seconds or whatever, is often easier to relate to.
I know the IPS figure is real, I just don't think it means much to most people, and is rather reductive since we're talking inches...
Lots of people in the past have come up with all kinds of speed calculations (multiplying by the equivalent of cubic inches, etc.), and it never really caught on, because it isn't really necessary.
If somebody at your club asks you how fast the cars are going, just say,
"Pretty darned fast!"
or
"If you have to ask, you can't afford it!"
or
"Not too fast, but we get great gas mileage!"
Back to drag racing, or road racing for that matter: if you can't see it, it's going too fast.
On the other hand, I can see the magnetraction HO cars, but my reflexes can't...
Don
Yes, our fastest HO cars are bl**dy fast, and that works on every level
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It was a real buzz having members of the public at Gaydon asking when the Pro-Mod final would be so they could come back and see them, and then doing so. You are right, they would not of known how many ips or mph the cars were doing, and would not of cared.
FYI we will have our AW drag strip in the HO Zone this year...
It was a real buzz having members of the public at Gaydon asking when the Pro-Mod final would be so they could come back and see them, and then doing so. You are right, they would not of known how many ips or mph the cars were doing, and would not of cared.
FYI we will have our AW drag strip in the HO Zone this year...
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A 130 mph slot car is very impressive, the fastest I've been on a 1:1 drag strip is around 100 mph, I think this was around a 14.5 second quarter, but it was a long time ago at Santa Pod, probably 1990.
Personally I don't like wheelie bars on 1:1 drag bikes, IMO they take a lot of the skill out of launching, I don't like auto gear boxes either for the same reason, but everyone has their own tastes, I really enjoyed 1:1 drag bike racing, there was a thing called Ultimate Street Bike in the late 80s and early 90s which was run by Superbike magazine, this was drag racing for road legal motorcycles, no wheelie bars and generally no auto boxes, great fun.
Deane do you want some non-magnetic straights for the drag strip?
Personally I don't like wheelie bars on 1:1 drag bikes, IMO they take a lot of the skill out of launching, I don't like auto gear boxes either for the same reason, but everyone has their own tastes, I really enjoyed 1:1 drag bike racing, there was a thing called Ultimate Street Bike in the late 80s and early 90s which was run by Superbike magazine, this was drag racing for road legal motorcycles, no wheelie bars and generally no auto boxes, great fun.
Deane do you want some non-magnetic straights for the drag strip?
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517 Posts
QUOTE (slotnik @ 8 Jan 2012, 21:23) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>So did anyone new to drag racing have a go down Swindon today?
How did you find it?
Careful how you answer; I am listening
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Have to say that the FLBT was out in force today with x4 displays inc:
- 1/32 Club circuit
- HO club circuit
- Slot Stox
- Drag Racing.
Lots of new faces to be seen having a go and overall it was a very busy yet pleasant day out. Roll on 2013.
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How did you find it?
Careful how you answer; I am listening
![](http://www.slotforum.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="<_<)
Have to say that the FLBT was out in force today with x4 displays inc:
- 1/32 Club circuit
- HO club circuit
- Slot Stox
- Drag Racing.
Lots of new faces to be seen having a go and overall it was a very busy yet pleasant day out. Roll on 2013.
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3,636 Posts
Gulp, that's seriously scary stuff - what gearboxes do they have?
Someone I used to know had a 236bhp Z1000, 1400cc Orient Express Block, Turbo and Nitrous - but he built it for show and wouldn't drag race it.
Someone I used to know had a 236bhp Z1000, 1400cc Orient Express Block, Turbo and Nitrous - but he built it for show and wouldn't drag race it.
julian believe it not but they use standard gearboxes, sometimes they use a bigger splined out put shaft, not the norm, no auto boxes some times a stutterbox to hold the revs at preset values on the line, but even that seems to be old hat, its a full rpm launch now. they use airshifters without an engine kill and it must be done by thumb ie no auto gearchange when it reaches shift point. frightening isn,t it. john. i think we have to get off this now[highjacking the thread] how does 600 to 700bhp sound.
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3,636 Posts
600 bhp in a bike is seriously scary, I think the most powerful bike I've ridden was my old R1 which made about 150bhp.
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