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Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Fri Dec 25, 2015 10:05 am
by Frydaddy
Is there a thread or a link to one that I missed for tuning tips, tire selection etc for this car?
I've only run a few laps with magnets in it and it stuck like glue, not a magnet guy and will remove them and see the difference.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Fri Dec 25, 2015 10:33 am
by nhdungeonracer
The Lancias are good cars.
Start with your favorite brand of tire for the track you're running.
It's got all the other goodies needed to make a it a good runner. Good wheels, adjustable front axle, etc.
The biggest thing most people don't bother with is making sure the tires are true. The fronts are as important as the rears. Make sure they are round. Makes a BIG differance!!
You should take the time to set your front axle. I like to set it so it's just holding the weight of the front of the car, and the guide is just a tiny bit off the track (ie-not dragging). Others like to have a slight tripod arrangement, with the tires just a wisk off the track. Try both, and see which works better for you.
I also like to loosen the pod screws. With the body off and the chassis upside down on a set up block (or anything flat), use a wide piece of packing tape and tape the bottom of the chassis so that the pod and chassis are "one piece". The tape still allows for a little movement, but stops the pod "slapping" the chassis with braking or accelerating.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Fri Dec 25, 2015 11:26 am
by Almafan 55
Boy Dickie, I have taught you well ! :D you are a very good listener. Merry Christmas !!!
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Fri Dec 25, 2015 1:09 pm
by HomeRacingWorld
I have some tires for you try when you visit as well.
Dickie pretty much said it all. These cars do not need a lot to tune.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Fri Dec 25, 2015 2:06 pm
by Mitch58
We typically start with urethane tires, remove the magnet and a little weight up near the flag, then fine tune it from there. These cars usually need very little to run very well.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Tue Dec 29, 2015 2:13 pm
by hkrslot
Everybody gave you very good advice. How ever mine came with a slightly tweaked chassis. I had to do a chassis flatting procedure to fix my handling problems. I think their is a thread on SCC site that goes over the procedure in detail.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Tue Dec 29, 2015 3:06 pm
by Austin
well I find on my scalextric sport track without the magnet get rid of the stock rear tires and replace with quick slicks being sure they are true. I found on my track to keep the pod tight works better for me. I don't have any packing tape around here. Short track no high speeds. Slot-it cars never run full speed. Most all ways turning one way or the other.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:13 pm
by MikeyAutobahn
I recently got three Slot.it cars [two GT40s and an Alfa] and have been going through tuneups and tweaking to get the best out of them. I agree with what nhdungeonracer said about it. The front axle has been interesting and required the most care. When I took the magnets out initially the front end lifted on each of the cars. If you have this same problem, you might want to try what I did.
I worked the braid a bit, and then went to work on the front end. I needed to get the wheels down to meet the track, as they were in the air by about the width of a piece of construction paper.
Not sure whether your front end comes with the axle blocks under the axle or grub screws [mine all came with blocks], and I found those to be a bit limiting as far as allowing for the wheels to travel downward. I don't have the grub screws to add to the bottoms yet, so I just took the blocks out. To tell the truth, they kind of flew out when I was making an adjustment to my front axle and accidentally had a rather violent shakeup trying to get the wheel off. I was thinking "what if" at the time, I just wasn't expecting to have to think "it had better". The blocks were only stopping downward travel of the axle assembly, anyway. And one of them was already causing binding issues [I cut a groove in the top to stop the binding]. Besides, simply due to their construction - sitting freely on top of two posts like that, tells me that they are designed to be removed if desired.
Once they were out, the wheels rested on the track like I wanted them to. Not too heavily...just lightly sitting. I still had control of the upward travel of the axle assembly by way of the top-mounted grub screws, and adjusted those while the chassis was on the track, leaving just enough room for a little flex, but not enough to raise the opposite back wheel off the track if I pressed down on the front.
This is only a temporary fix, mind you. There's probably something wrong with doing it this way that I just don't know yet [and hopefully someone will say something if there is], but so far I've had good results. Mauricio also said that parts of the front assembly were there to help with the realism of the racecar, but that they aren't necessarily the best suggested setups for racing. He suggested what rhdungeonracer said, which was to have skinny tires on the fronts and have them just above the track in a tripod position. For my home track, I think four wheels down is good for me. I can see where the tripod could improve speeds by lessening friction, and that's cool, but I'm not sure if it's for me. If I eventually start competing, I'll consider it.
I would suggest that if you try taking the axle blocks out, do it with the consideration of eventually getting a set of the 6mm grub screws to hold up the axle properly. That's my plan, anyway.
I, like hkrslot, also have a warping issue with one of my chassis, and I'm planning on doing that fix as well. I've talked to Allan [Audi1] about his success with it on the long term, and he said it worked great. I discovered it when I noticed the rather lopsided adjustment I had to make to the front end of one of the cars to get both wheels down.
A little body float, a little pod float, trued backs and fronts and that car should rip.
Not sure what track you run on. Mauricio suggested to me to run P6 on my Carrera track, but that's before he knew I painted it with a latex. The stock C1 tires work great on my track. If it's another brand of track, I'm sorry, but I don't have any tire suggestions.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:56 pm
by scatman
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Tue Dec 29, 2015 7:18 pm
by Austin
That's a very good video, nice link Tony
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:14 pm
by Frydaddy
Thanks for all the tips, I removed the magnet and going to run its first laps tonight!
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:56 pm
by HomeRacingWorld
If you jump in your boat and head down I-44, we can make a race of it.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:02 am
by MikeyAutobahn
That Austin Slot Car Club video is a good one. Here's another good one for general tips [first of two parts]:
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:45 am
by RichD
Removing the magnet will probably expose a number of problems. You might find this article useful:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzLR4 ... 1BKZmtDLWsSlot Car Corner has long set screws for the adjustable front axle. The front axle should turn smoothly, but not be able to wibble around in the carriers.
Re: Slot.it tuning

Posted:
Wed Dec 30, 2015 8:28 am
by Frydaddy
It did expose some strange handling/noises while running. The front axle definitely needs some attention as well as some weight.
Overall a pretty cool car though, I don't have a lot of experience with this style of car and will be a bit of a learning curve for sure.