TECHING PROCEDURE

[phlash]

Having addressed the membership present at David Crosby's Saturday March 30th, regarding current teching standards, I hoped to make all aware of certain limited rulings that will affect us as our racing schedule and membership advances.

Considering current standard teching procedures, it will be necessary for compliance not only to the limited rules affecting all given classes, but also the timeframe required for conducting the teching process. Currently, we've maintained only two officers tasked with the teching process. This is due to the attendance limitations of the four officers recently elected. While it is possible for just one officer to carry out these procedures, it is preferable to have at least two complete the task. This allows for comparative assessment if necessary.

Regarding the pertinent rules that are enforced in the teching process, I've recently allowed a degree of leniency regarding track/chassis clearance minimums. While the majority of the cars pass initial tech, there have been a few cars that have not been in complete compliance. The owners were informed and made necessary corrections or withdrew the affected entry. I suggested that all members invest in a "tech block" and a 1/16" diameter brass rod to check their own cars before bringing them to the track. That will greatly improve their chances of passing tech and reduce the amount of lost time making corrections before the race starts.

Breaking down the most common elements regarding clearance issues, let's begin with the front end of the car. Essentially, employing the front axle grub screws will maintain the necessary axle height required to ensure clearance at the cars front end. In cases where there are no location points for grub screw installation, or no axle height adjustment is possible, a waiver regarding front end clearance may be granted. This takes into account that the stock tires are installed. Installation of aftermarket lower profile tires would negate any waiver and thus exclude the car from competition. Utilizing a car's guide-braids to raise the front end cannot be the sole means for ensuring clearance either. The front tires must at least be slightly touching the tech block, unless the car has come from the manufacturer in stock condition that way.

Maintaining clearance at the rear end of the car is best achieved by utilizing the correct or if necessary, higher profile (diameter) tires where possible. The main intent is to ensure the proper clearance is maintained between the motor and the track's conducting rails. This is to ensure the motor's magnetic effect is restricted. Certain manufacturer's chassis are produced that make it very difficult to ensure that all of the chassis outside of the motor-pods actually 'clear' the 1/16" brass rod used for measuring the track clearance. While a car's center of gravity is generally optimized the lower it's chassis sits, there are practical exceptions to certain parts of chassis-related extensions. Gear covers, exhaust pipes and any other such parts which don't enhance a cars performance would be legitimate grounds for waiving clearance requirements. This is why I am maintaining a more practical and common sense approach to allowing a degree of 'discretion' when measuring aspects of any manufacturer's given chassis. If there is no 'performance gain' regarding a part of chassis-related extensions, I'm more inclined to waive the clearance requirement for parts such as those.

In cases where a manufacturer's car does not conform in stock condition to the 1/16" clearance rule, a waiver will be considered.

Teching will commence 20 - 25 minutes before race start, depending on the total number of entrants. The last entrant's cars must be submitted for tech, at least 10 minutes before racing commences. This will give them time to make corrections if necessary before a re-submission for tech.

[Tom Dolan]

Well said. Here's my $.02. As long as I've been in the clubs, teching for clearance has always been just between the front and rear tires. The front and rear valences of the car may be lower because that's the way the car was made based on the real car. I don't know if you are checking those for clearance but I don't think they should be considered. Just my opinion.

Tom

[Craig Jennings]

Good point Tom, I have a car with a front valance lower than the chassis.

[phlash]

I tech chassis clearance, which includes the area support(s) of the guide flag all the way back to the rear end of the chassis. Any part of the rear chassis which extends past the rear axle sometimes necessitates the exclusion of plastic moldings of engine/transmission components that represent the actual car's appearance and have no bearing on performance of the slot car modeled upon it.

Recently, I've teched both Le Mans Porsche 908/3s as well as different Group 5 cars where the bodies have dropped valance or side skirts as well. I tech them checking chassis clearance, but it must be noted that with front end valances that are so low as to possibly scrape any high points on a track, there exists the very real possibility the valance could dislodge the copper conducting tape on tracks where they are utilized, such as Colpar. They cannot be allowed to be that low. While any front spoiler or 'lip' may extend down below the chassis, their clearance isn't measured with the 1/16" mandate, however as stated, they cannot be allowed to run completely flush with the track surface either, for the very reason cited.

[Jim W]

I have sanded some front spoilers to keep them from being too low. I have had cars that had 1/16" clearance in the front and would still rub on a Carrera #2 banked corner. If the car doesn't have 1/16th" clearance in the front, it may deslot on some tracks. A wide car like a BMW M1 or an LMP will have problems on certain tracks, especially if the track has raised rails, like a Carrera or Scalextric, and has copper tape on top of the rails. I have had a problem when running on Carrera tracks, since Carrera has made changes to their track pieces over time. The "newer" pieces may not be the same height as the older track pieces. You can hear your car "clicking" as you go down the straights. If you run at Fred's track, you will find that he made a special effort to buy all of the same track pieces to prevent having the bumps, clicking, on his track.

On some of the performance models of slotcars, the company may have extra holes in the chassis where you can install set screws to raise the body for some ground clearance. I think I first noticed on my Scaleauto slotcars. It is also used on some Thunderslot cars.

[phlash]

Wednesday night's race at Toms' was a good indicator of the actual time required to tech all of the Group 5 and Le Mans class cars. We had 17 racers, and I started teching at about 6:35 pm with the projected race start for 7 pm. It was later than that when we actually started.

John P helped me with teching about 2/3 of the way through the process, since I was the only 'board member' doing it. With Bruce currently only able to make Saturday races and with Ian arriving late (due to work commitments), it places me as the only 'official' to carry out this procedure. All present could see the actual time it takes to perform a basic tech of the cars. There still are numerous "close calls" that might require a reconsideration to modifying the clearance aspect. We may have to reduce the measuring clearance rod from 1/16" to 1.5 mm. The 1/16" rod equates to 1.5875 mm, which means a 1.5 mm rod gives a marginal increase in clearance. Perhaps enough to make these tight squeezes a bit easier to pass a clearance check.

I waived David Crosby's Avant Slot Mirage GR7 for clearance for this race and the upcoming race at Colpar for true comparisons sake. I can go into the specifics if anyone other than he wants the explanation, but for these two events a final determination will be made.

[DennLeo]

If clearance is to agate motor magnetic effect then a screw or body part not clearing should not be an issue since these parts are not magnetic. In my opinion only the motor should meet the minimum requirement.

[Jim W]

The minimum ground clearance has always been 1/16th inch clearance. There is not a need to change it. When we run on most tracks, plastic, the on-track clearance is already cut in half because of the raised rails and copper tape on some of the tracks. You can hear cars dragging as they go up the hill on the Colpar track. Listen when a Group C car goes up the hill. If they stop at the top of the hill will the car move or will it need a push to go. I have had cars that would hit a track joint in a corner and would deslot my car. I have made sure that I have set screws in my cars to limit all front axle movement. There again, some tracks may have a lot of "twist" in the track, and you need to keep the front axle with some movement so your guide will stay in the slot. My 2-lane track and David C's smaller track are two tracks that will have that problem. A deep guide, wood guide, has helped my NSR cars to run better on my tracks, but in most of our classes I cannot use those cars.

Jim W

If a car is too "low", the first thing I will do is adjust the front axle to gain clearance. Then I will put a larger size rear tire on the car. On some cars, I have put a larger front tire on the car, like on a Thunderslot Can Am car. If I still need more clearance, I will tighten up the motor pod screws on a Thunderslot car. The Thunderslot car will still handle very well this way.

[Jim W]

I have been seeing some cars at our races that have parts on them that are only on one car. I keep hearing that is the way the car came.

Last week a car was presented that way. The owner said it came that way. There happened to be another car that was also the same car, but it didn't have the different part like the other car had. The second car had the "standard" part on it. It seems to be guides that are being different in some cars. I have bought some cars that may have "different" parts in them from a dealer, I have thought of those cars as "racers" and have not used them in a class with box stock cars/box stock plus cars, unless the rules said there could be modifications that included those parts.

From now on, I will be not allowing cars in our box stock classes, that do not have the "standard" parts, even if a car was bought with the "wrong" part in it. I will be letting the inspectors know of this change. If you have a car with "non-standard" parts in it and you have raced it before, it will need to be changed before that car can be raced again.

Jim W

[Tom Dolan]

Yea, I guess my "non-standard" red guide-which I thought the car came with-made a huge difference in performance LMFAO I better change it or I'll be put in RMSCC jail.

Tom

[Jim W]

Your Red guide is a wood guide and we do not allow a wood guide to be used in the box stock classes, when other cars don't have them. I looked at another car that was the same car as your car. That #8 Matra is using the same guide as my Matra and as listed on Slot.it's website. The guide is the Ch-66, which is a snap-in guide and it has the extended tip for improved handling.

Yes, I have cars that I have installed a wood guide to see if there was a difference and I have found that the wood guide did improve the car's performance on my track. But the point is not about what may or may not improve performance, it is we are running a box stock class, so all cars should be ran with same/equal parts.

I have never seen a red Slot.it guide before. At first glance, I was thinking it may have been a Slot Invasion guide, but shaping looks like a Slot.it wood guide.

Yes, the guide will need to replaced before the car can be raced again.

Jim W

[Tom Dolan]

Slot.it wood guides are black, held in with a screw and are MUCH bigger then the red guide in my car. And that's a ridiculous rule. The red snap in guide ( yes it's a snap in guide) is the same size and depth as the black one. I'll prove it at the next race I'm at.

Tom

[Tom Dolan]

The CH-66 guide is a replacement guide according to Electric Dreams--not the standard one. The CH 06 is the standard guide so if a car has the CH 66, it should be illegal according to your rule. The first image is the standard CH 06. The second is the replacement racing guide, CH 66. The 3rd image is the wood guide.








Tom

[Jim W]

Look it up on the Slot.it website to see what is used in the Matra cars. It is the second picture, CH-66. The third picture looks like the wood guide that would be used in the LMP cars not the Classic cars, which did not come in any original Matra car.

The newest Slot.it Classic cars will now use an advanced guide that will have a screw to retain the guide and will have holes in the front to allow set screws to retail the wires, like is used in the latest Ford GT40 cars, as an example.

The advanced guide, like in the second picture has been used in most of the Slot.it cars, for maybe ten years now. I think Slot.it is up to version D for that guide.

The Slot.it CH-06 has not been used in a Slot.it car, that I know of, I would be guessing over 10 years ago, like when the cars were using a rounded case orange end bell 21.5k motored cars. (This guide is a long shaft guide that may have been used with a spring on top.)

Jim W

[Tom Dolan]

So I can change my guide to a CH66? Or would that be illegal since mine came with the standard guide? I'm having a hard time dealing with some of these stupid rules. Might be time for me to move on but I'll have to think about it.

Tom