[X2slotbob]

Seems like if one could get the back tires to "grow" (that is, increase in diameter) once the car got moving, a la 1:1 fuel cars, that would improve the effective gear ratio on the top end as well as get the magnets up off the rails and improve the speed through the traps. Maybe if the rear tire rubber was thin and not glued in the middle (only) of the wheels...

(operative words: "seems like")

 

[KensRedZed]

You ship cars to a club, and then paypal the shipping costs to the host and you get your cars back. Plus a few cool door prizes. You can also win a cool award if you reach the podium.

There is one club in USA called NitroSlots.

Home | Nitro Slots

Visit our forum at: nitroslots.com

nitroslots.com

The one in the UK is called SlotRacer Online.

SlotRacer Forum

slotracer.online

Shipping is less expensive in the USA. But the competition is much harder and faster in the US.

It's all in good fun.

 

[X2slotbob]

Upon reflection, I do not believe that tires that "grow" (assuming they could do that) would overcome the strong magnets mid-track. Still, if one could figure out how to reduce the traction magnet effect mid track that would seemingly help.

And if a bullfrog had wings he would not bump his behind when he hopped.

Glad you get to be part of all that, Ken.

 

[RichD]

Slot car tires do grow a little, but probably not enough to have a major effect on the amount of magnetic downforce that you would get. The amount of downforce is actually proportional to the square of the distance between the magnets and the track rails, so small changes would have a greater impact than you would expect. More magnetic downforce means more grip, but also more rolling resistance. You mostly need a lot of grip when the car leaves the line, after that it is not as much of a factor. I did a great deal of very careful tire testing and changing tire ODs by even a small amount did impact the top speed of a car. Using tires with different aspect ratios might be something that you could experiment with. A tire with a higher aspect ratio would tend to grow more, but it could also distort more when the car was starting up.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

Re post #9, that is indeed a wonderful piece of engineering.

One question though - why doesn't the paper clip wheelie bar short circuit the track?

 

[Manofkent]

The wheelie bars has a curved end so it only touches the track at one point and not both of the rails. It is adjusted so that it only touches the track if the front of the car lifts. It is not in constant contact with the track.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

Thanks. It looked as if the end of the bar would coincide with the slot so that when in use there could be two points of contact, one for each rail. Little marvels!

 

[X2slotbob]

"Seems like if one could get the back tires to "grow" (that is, increase in diameter) once the car got moving, a la 1:1 fuel cars, that would improve the effective gear ratio on the top end as well as get the magnets up off the rails and improve the speed through the traps. Maybe if the rear tire rubber was thin and not glued in the middle (only) of the wheels..."--Me

"I did a great deal of very careful tire testing and changing tire ODs by even a small amount did impact the top speed of a car."--Rich D

Well there you go. Maybe room for more a little more development there.

Thx, Rich.

 

[Tjetter]

We need wrinkle wall slot car slicks. Someone call Mickey Thompson.......so I dont have to be the one who gets laughed at.

 

[KensRedZed]

If you got a line to Mickey in heaven? You're good!