Stagger????

[The Old Jaybird]

EVERY 1:1 oval track car from Legends to Indy cars run some stagger. Has anyone tried it with oval slot cars? Results??
It seems to me that it should work, especially since slot cars run a "live" rear axle and a larger tire on the RR would enhance turning via "the cone effect". If anyone has worked out a formula for the ratio between rear tires I would very much like to see this info.

TOJ

[Ky.Slot Racer]

i`m guessing it would not be a factor, real world race cars are not confined to a exact degree of turn when cornering. my guess would be with a guide in place forcing the car to corner in a certain degree, it would scrub more off than it would gain. then there is also the straights to consider. at speed the taller tires would in theary be dragging the smaller and scrubbing speed. I don`t think it would be a measurable differance one way or the other.

:think:

[HomeRacingWorld]

As stated it is not much of a factor. It is like tuning road course models. You tune with weight here and there until you find the sweet spot.

Same with oval. You need a balance of cornering, but too much effects your punch out of that corner and your straight line speed.

[padirtfan]

Sometimes if I have too many liquid refreshments while playing in the basement I'll tend to stagger a bit.......

[Nor Cal Mike]

I have found that running the right side tires, especially the front, as far out as aesthetically acceptable helps on my D oval. Cornering forces under braking in the D section tends to make the rear of the cars slide out before becoming tippy on entry to the turn. I push the right side tires out and add weight the left rear to counteract it. If I can keep it sliding under brake without tipping the battle is won.

[HomeRacingWorld]

This is just what it takes, tuning for the track like Mike is doing. A different shape, different strategy :)

[Nor Cal Mike]

[smithspeedway]

It depends on the length of the straight, and the degree of banking. On my old high banked tri-oval (36 degrees, 22 foot straight), reverse stagger worked for some reason. It was really convenient that your car got faster as your right rear wore down. To put that in perspective, an .850 rear lasted about two races before it got so small as to be unusable. I suspect that as the car un-weighted the inside rear, the extra diameter allowed more contact with the track and more forward bite.

Flat tracks, 'nother story entirely. They are all about late braking and early throttle on turn exit. The tires need to be the same diameter. Also, under braking, different diameter rears unsettle the car. However, if you run a big hub on the inside, and the same diameter tire with a small hub on the outside, you can create temporary stagger. The stiff inside tire retains its size when spinning. When you nail the throttle to go through the turn and start spinning your rears, the outside tire with the small hub will expand a bit, like a drag slick. This helps the car turn without sacrificing straight line stability. It only works with motors big enough to put out that kind of power (Falcons, MiniBrute, DeathStars, etc.). This is also for metal or fairly heavy cars. It would never work on light plastic cars.

Steve

[TuscoTodd]

Interesting topic!
This is the same thing that has been rumbling around in my head in regard to the banked tri-oval at the local commercial track... May have to do some experimentation with both hub diameter and overall tire stagger. In the class I am looking to experiment with, we run a 1/32 JK Cheetah inline chassis and a Playfit Fox motor. Not sure there is enough "horsepower" there to really see the advantage crop up with different hub sizes / tires expansion rates - but it will be fun to play around with! :)

[gonegonzo]

The first thing you have to do with running stager on slot cars is forget all of the theories pertaining to running stager on a 1=1 car . Slot's are a different animal and grasps at theories used for stager on roundy round go-karts . The reason is , the live rear axle of course . I am talking oval racing of course .

Run a larger tire on the left side of the car and a smaller ( by .010'' ) tire on the right . Yes , .010'' makes a difference that will surprise you . Do the math for the 1/24th scale differential between the two tire sizes !

Also run a harder compound on the right side to allow for sliding the car allowing the stager to work on the corners .

Adjust your cars stability ( all 4 tires touching the track at once ) by experimenting with your front tire sizes . This will change from chassis to chassis to get your desired combination .

Try it >>>>>>>> you'll like it .

Gonzo

[dr fabio]

One of the guys has a roundy round track (as well as a road course) and most people run a stagger. Its worth about 0.1s.

cheers
dr fabio

[smithspeedway]

Great comments! To put the .1 second into perspective, some of our divisoons run 2 second laps. A tenth is a big deal over the course of the race.

Steve

[Mayberryman]

[chappy]

My buddy Dr Fleck has been doing this for some time with his brass cars, each one is perhaps a little different and of course for each track. There is stagger, offset and bevel all thrown into the mix, but it does make a difference, how much , I've never checked time wise but can confirm it is faster with the right set up., Handling definitely a positive difference, very smooth. But I also know he has put a lot of test and tune time into it to get it to, the sweet spot.
Bob

[smithspeedway]

Has anyone had any luck running different width rears (fatter right rear than left)?