biedmatt
Boy Racer Hasn't Got Licence Yet
Two time VRAA champion
Posts: 8
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Post by biedmatt on Sept 26, 2012 19:16:17 GMT -5
Eight very pretty cars arrived today. Only damage is a loose left exhaust on Nigel's Lotus. I can glue it if you like. I would use my watch crystal glue which dries clear and will not cloud or fog like CAs. Each car was run for two laps on the blue (outside) lane to be sure they will stay in the slot. Some of last year's VRAA cars would deslot coming off the banking. At those speeds they would cover a lot of ground before you could catch it and reslot it. I am happy to report that all stayed in the groove. I'll qualify Friday in reverse order of finish of race one and will also post comments. Very nice cars fellows.
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Post by f143 on Sept 27, 2012 6:18:54 GMT -5
Yes please Matt. Anything to keep me running is very much appreciated. The track and cars look fantastic. Looking forward to the competition. Regards Nigel
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Post by slo on Sept 27, 2012 18:20:03 GMT -5
Enjoying being able to watch this series unfold and particularly with this round and I think Kens too, in that the VRAA will be run at both these tracks. I know they are totally different cars but one wont be able help but to 'rant n rah' and compare and ponder the the 'diffs' and 'ifs' over beer or 2 next visit to stubbos when the VRAA has been run also! lol BTW Congrats Nigel on your first win ! 4 laps is significant. Well done to Al and Jay too. Good to see you back and at it Al.
Good luck with the round Matt.
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biedmatt
Boy Racer Hasn't Got Licence Yet
Two time VRAA champion
Posts: 8
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Post by biedmatt on Sept 28, 2012 15:40:17 GMT -5
The cars were qualified today. The 300 square foot track and table were vacuumed and the track surface wiped with a swiffer to be sure it was and would stay clean. The braids on each car were cleaned with a fiberglass eraser and the tires cleaned with a dilute mixture of Simple Green. Each car was run for three minutes with a track call for deslots. Some notes on my controller terminology. My Difalco offers a rheostat for adjustable brakes. With the rheostat at the lowest resistance, I call that "full". There is also a switch that when on, operates a relay down at the track connections. This relay shunts around the rheostat and provides what I call "max" brakes. Tony, Lotus #5 9.525 seconds. Wood guide flag clicking at track joints. Appears to be some drag in the drivetrain. Car was slow and would stop quickly even with the brakes at minimum. Motor was warm perhaps even hot after 3 minutes and lap times were slowing throughout the qualifying. Charles, Ferrari #1 8.765 seconds. Powerful motor and low traction meant driving was basically point and shoot. Blipped throttle at entrance to each bank turn. Brakes at max and even then, very little brake action. Phil, BRM #12, 8.642 seconds. Very easy to drive. Consistent lap times from start to finish of the three minute qualifying. Just a little down on speed. Brakes at 70%. Al, Eagle #36, 8.295 seconds. Very very fast. Brakes at max and I still can't get it to stop. Steep learning curve and you need to be conservative. Many deslots at Curva Grande (turn 1 and first turn after banking) and at Parabolica (tightest turn on track with 90 degrees Carrera #1 then 90 degrees Carrera #2. 180 degree turn in total). Longest car to qualify. I burned most of my lunch chasing this car around the track. Nigel, Lotus #5, 8.077 seconds. Need to blip throttle at entrance to each bank turn. Brakes at 70%. Very fast, but easy to drive once you develop a rythm. You either need to work up to it, or have a few deslots until you get familiar with it. Mark, BRM #5, 7.802 seconds. Smooth, quick car. WFO (read full throttle without blipping) through the banking. Some deslots but no real reason why-perhaps the excess movement in the front wheels. Brakes at max. Jay, Honda #12, 7.664 seconds. Brakes at max. Nice balance of speed and driveability. My favorite of the eight. Some deslots and would get 90 degrees to track at times causing a track call. Taffy, Ferrari #7, 7.494 seconds. Very fast with good traction. A blip at each entrance to the banking made it round them smooth and square. Very stable. Brakes at max. Sometimes would get 90 degrees to track causing a call but no deslots. Restrict the guide travel some and it would be perfect. Good luck tomorrow fellows! How they will line up:
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Post by EM on Sept 28, 2012 19:30:39 GMT -5
Is there an "unsuitability" prize?
When I built this car I described the motor as a "Taiwan Mystery Motor" or TMM. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that TMM stands for "too much motor"!
I'm not quite certain what the braking issue is – perhaps a combination of aging magnets and relatively tall (12:33) gearing.
Not much hope here it appears although, going back once more to Peter Ustinov's Grand Prix of Gibraltar, I quote from M. Orgini: "We always have hopes of winning because the others might lose"
Let the games begin.
EM
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biedmatt
Boy Racer Hasn't Got Licence Yet
Two time VRAA champion
Posts: 8
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Post by biedmatt on Sept 29, 2012 19:56:07 GMT -5
The race has been run. Here are the results: 1st- Taffy #7___24.11____23.63____24.07____23.37____95.18 2nd- Jay #12___24.24____23.17____23.90____22.73 ____94.04 3rd- Mark #5___23.07____22.76____23.10____22.35_____91.28 4th- Nigel #5___23.09____22.06____22.76____21.78_____89.69 5th- Al #36_____21.10 ___20.76____22.75____21.39_____85.91 6th- Charles #1_22.08____21.42____21.48____20.75_____85.73 7th- Tony #5___20.44____20.05 ____21.00____19.54_____81.03 8th- Phil #12___20.21____20.12 ____20.47____19.69_____80.49 Total/driver____178.34___173.88___179.53___171.60____703.35 Column #1= Ken green lane 17,240 feet Column #2= Matt blue lane 17,460 feet Column #3= Pat green lane 17,355 feet Column #4= Seb blue lane 17,232 feet No one really had any difficulty with a particular car. The results from one lane, between the two drivers for that lane, generally have no more than a 3/4 lap difference between the two drivers for that particular car. Many were much closer. Results also closely mirrored qualifying. Ken tested the cars before the race and while some lap times were faster than mine, his order was much the same and his comments mirrored mine as well. Here's the raw data: Thank you all for the privelage of driving the cars. One car lost a suspension bit and it was not found until Ken had left with the cars. I'll post it to him on Monday. Nigel's driver lost his head, but we got that glued on. Edit: I figured the site software would screw up my editing. I had the columns all nice and straight, but it wants to leave just one space between text. A bit messy, but it is all there. The picture may be easier to read. There we go, the underscore seems to help.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2012 21:58:39 GMT -5
I made it home at 10:30 and I am beat will post my thoughts tomorrow sometime. Great fun was had by all the drivers. Thanks for letting me play with your toy cars.
Ken
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Post by Taffy on Sept 30, 2012 0:40:23 GMT -5
Thank you to Matt for the great pics, and thank you to all drivers for riding my car so fast I knew, Ferrari and Monza would be a good combination Taffy
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Post by f143 on Sept 30, 2012 4:52:08 GMT -5
Congratulations Taffy Jay and Mark, another closely fought race. Regards Nigel
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Post by f143 on Sept 30, 2012 4:56:02 GMT -5
Oh, and thanks for putting my head back on, I tend to loose it in times like these. Cheers Nigel
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Post by Mark Huber on Sept 30, 2012 6:52:15 GMT -5
Congratulations to Taffy and Jay. Ferrari wins at home, and Monza was again hospitable to Honda. Thank you Matt and your team of great drivers for hosting us and the quick turnaround! We really appreciate your support. I still haven't figured out how to attach an Excel spreadsheet to one of these messages, so I took a picture of the score sheet updated it through Race Two: Taffy has pulled out to a slight lead, but there are more than a few cars in the hunt for a place on the podium. It will all be settled this weekend, as the cars are already in Indiana waiting for the final showdown at Ken's Manito Speedway.
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Post by Jay Hardy on Sept 30, 2012 11:49:30 GMT -5
Matt,
Outstanding job and thanks for the good run with the Honda. Hopefully the next Honda you see of mine will fare as well.
Congratulations to Taffy and Mark for well deserved places on the podium. Taffy's car has a strong set of legs and I thought it might do well at Monza. Eight points might be too large to make up. Hopefully the Honda does well and the tight and twisty Manito.
Jay
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Post by Phil Kalbfell on Oct 1, 2012 7:15:57 GMT -5
Looks like my BRM needs a full 3 litre motor not the Little 2.2 litre V8! Just wondering what voltage were the cars run at?
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Post by Jay Hardy on Oct 1, 2012 8:50:29 GMT -5
Phil,
All races are run at 12v. I think you'll see a better result on Ken's track.
Jay
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Post by Phil Kalbfell on Oct 1, 2012 10:06:13 GMT -5
Thanks Jay, I should have fitted the 3 litre Scalex motor!
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