Singapore plays host to an historic first for the Formula 1 world championship this weekend.
For the first time ever a Grand Prix will be held at night under floodlights. Trackside’s Keith Collantine looks at the preparations.
Tags: floodlights, formula 1, grand prix, race
The Sloter Opel Manta has gotten some negative comments concerning its less than perfect representation of the 1:1 car, the unorthodox layout, and the somewhat weak and overly flexible chassis. These complaints are not without substance, but simply dismissing the Sloter Opel as not worth buying is much too harsh. When I looked at the car, I saw an innovative model design of a “not done before in 1/32†Group B rally car. Although not AWD like most Group Bs, the Manta was very competitive on the paved rallies. And since I collect Group B cars, which are the “Can Am†of rally cars, I thought I would take a closer look. The first thing I noticed was the lack of a traction magnet, which I believe is only correct for rally cars, as they are meant to slide and drift.
The unusual aspect of the cars layout is the wide angle, anglewinder (AW) SCX Pro Speed motor set up. The Pro Speed is one of the most powerful SCX motors (20k rpm), but it is still controllable when running with no magnet. I actually prefer SCX motors for rallying because they have a smooth powerband without too much torque and still have a good top end rev, which is good for rally because it is easy to drive. This also makes for a fun car to just race with a friend. The AW layout moves the center of gravity (CG) back slightly compared to an inline, improving rear grip, but also gives more room for the drop arm guide within the stock wheelbase.
The AW uses what appears to be a standard inline crown gear and pinion. Because this gives a smaller contact between the gears, the gear mesh is critical to avoid damage. Mine was a bit on the loose side, so some adjustment was in order. By carefully squeezing the rear axle just beside the crown with a pair of needle nose pliers, then twisting the pliers slightly, you can move the pressed on gear slightly on the axle adjusting the mesh. Do this in small steps to avoid making the mesh too tight. Mine runs very smooth and quiet after setting the mesh to minimum free play. Since the gear seems to be just a standard inline crown, aftermarket inline crown gears should also work. The mesh would also be much easier to adjust with a set screw type gear.
The drop arm style guide may be new to some people who aren’t familiar with rally cars or vintage slot cars, which also sometimes use this style. The drop arm allows the car to traverse bumps and uneven surfaces, as found on rally tracks, while keeping the guide in the slot. If properly adjusted, this style of guide should have no negative affects on the cars operation. There is a screw mounted on the chassis just above the guide which limits the upward travel of the arm. This should be adjusted so that the guide is fully engaged in the slot when the car is sitting on the track. Use either a set up plate or an extra piece of track to check this adjustment.
The drop arm mechanism includes a small spring which ensures the arm will drop and follow the surface of the track. This spring should be very light and not put excess force on the guide, which might cause the front of the car to lift off the track. I found the spring was a bit too strong and made a slight adjustment by bending the spring a little flatter than it was originally. I also managed to break the chassis were the arm attaches, but made a fix by gluing on an old axle bushing. I have been told that Sloter is aware of the weak chassis and is sending free improved replacement chassis’ to customers on request. I have made a request and will report back when it arrives. This is some very impressive customer service.
After adjusting the drop arm, I noticed some slight interference between the guide and the body when the guide was all the way up. The guide was moving through it’s full travel, but it was contacting the body behind the grill which made for some inconsistent drifting action, which is critical for a rally car. It was an easy fix to take the Dremel and make an arc shaped relief on the back side of the lower part of the front valence and grill. The relief did cut through part of the grill, but because the grill is all black plastic, the hole is not visible when the car is assembled.
I also did some standard tuning tricks, such as truing the wheels and tires on some sand paper. I added some lead on either side of the motor because the car had good grip (with stock tires!), but tended to roll at the limit. I installed some low profile front tires to eliminate some interference with the front fenders. With these changes, the Manta went from an erratic mid pack car to one of the quickest 2WD rally cars I have. I hope the new chassis makes the car even better and will report back when I am able to try it. So although it is far from perfect out of the box, with some relatively simple tuning, the Manta joins Sloters other cars as some of the quickest non magnet slot cars available.
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The latest Racer Porsche 935 is the RCR45 – 935K3 Interscope sponsored car driven in the Mosport 6hrs in 1980 by Danny Ongais / Ted Field.
Partnership allows for sharing of resources with NASCAR
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 4, 2008) – NASCAR Holdings today announced an agreement to acquire Grand-Am Road Racing (Grand-Am). The future move will allow for resource sharing between Grand-Am and NASCAR while both organizations continue to operate independently. NASCAR Holdings is the legal operating entity that includes the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and many of its subsidiaries.
Grand-Am, one of the world’s most competitive road racing organizations, and NASCAR, the No. 1 spectator sport in the U.S., will combine marketing and communications efforts to include brand management, research, marketing and public relations.
Grand-Am consists of six racing series, including the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series, which has millions of loyal fans.
“This combination of resources will benefit Grand-Am and NASCAR, their competitors and fans, as the two companies work together to enhance the two sports,” said Jim France, NASCAR Vice Chairman and Grand-Am founder.
The two racing brands will continue to independently sanction and officiate race events for their own series and there will be no change in management. Roger Edmondson will continue to serve as president of Grand-Am.
There has been a rise in crossover drivers and team owners between Grand-Am and NASCAR in recent years. NASCAR drivers such as Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon have raced in the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Full time driver and 2008 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype team champion Scott Pruett has driven in many NASCAR events. Chip Ganassi and Richard Childress own teams in both sports.
Grand-Am Road Racing was established in 1999 and is based in Daytona Beach, Fla. The 2008 schedule includes 15 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series events and 11 Grand-Am KONI Challenge events. Other Grand-Am racing series include Ferrari Challenge; Ford Racing Mustang Challenge; Skip Barber Racing Series; and the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series. For more information about Grand-Am please log on to: www.grand-am.com.
NASCAR, celebrating 60 years of racing in 2008, holds 17 of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in more than 30 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports, and, as a result, more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport. For more information about NASCAR, please log on to: www.nascar.com.
News used with permission from the Grand Am Series.
Tags: ford, nascar, race, racing
The Packman3231 Veteran Author Message Posted AM Ignore mvosevichReport Abuse Its step in the right direction, work on the mileage.
One electric motor is for lower speeds, the other for higher.
Doing the math, you find that saving 5pmg wont pay the freight on these marketing experiments. It is like free fuel because it has already been mined and overpurified. We need enough added electricity generating capacity to be able to split water H2O into hydrogen and oxygen so that we can have hydrogen powered vehicles. We need to use solar power, wind generators and many more nuclear power plants. currently there is RACE to see who can produce car that gets or mpg, and with SUV MPG is still way too weak to spur sales….
findcheap AllStar Author Los Message Posted AM Ignore ScottEReport Abuse everything is better than those greedy MGRS Gm could produce
One electric motor is for lower speeds, the other for higher. Visit USA for full articleUSA Chrysler is late to the hybrid party but brought along two fullsize SUV hybrids arguably better than those sold by rival General Motors GM, even though the companies hybrid systems are alike. Chryslers Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen gasolineelectric power plants, along with GMs Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrid SUVs launched in give fullsize, truckbased SUVs fighting chance with miles per gallon, instead of or fewer.
in my truck on the highway, but dont drive it around town unless have to. How did families survive for decades without an 8passenger behemoth to haul their family in? We need to back to those days. yelanthony Veteran Author Los Message Posted AM Ignore greywolvesReport Abuse 46,000 54,000 for converted truck chassis that goes mpg.
LoneGuy Sophomore Author Message Posted AM Ignore h20s67Report Abuse Granted some people need trucks, vans, and SUV for their daily working life.
findcheap AllStar Author Los Message Posted AM Ignore JTReport Abuse 08, 2008USA Chrysler is late to the hybrid party but brought along two fullsize SUV hybrids arguably better than those sold by rival General Motors GM, even though the companies hybrid systems are alike. Chryslers Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen gasolineelectric power plants, along with GMs Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrid SUVs launched in give fullsize, truckbased SUVs fighting chance with miles per gallon, instead of or fewer. Called twomode hybrids, they use two electric motors, packaged inside the automatic transmission housing and mated to big gasoline engine.
Tags: electric, hybrid, race, suv