McLaren vs Mclaren - By the Numbers - Part #2

[Florida_Slotter]

I finally had a chance to take the two McLarens out for some laps and some feedback from the cars.

The lap times at our club have been dropping like the neckline on some bathing suits, so a decision was made to drop the track voltage from 11.5 to 10.5 for Slot.It cars. Rather then the racers turning in 4.3 second laps, the lap times are now back up in the 4.6 second zone. This might sound like a small difference, but the quality of the racing went up quite a bit. The difference in a 4 minute heat with 4.3 second laps vs 4.6 second laps makes for many less deslots and therefore the racing gets a whole lot closer. We did notice that at the end of the first heat, the leaders were all on the same lap, with 3 of the cars separated by a few feet.

We feel the reason for this is we have started to use INOX MX3 on the track. Our club is built with Scalextric Sport track and we have had our fair share of 'electrical connectivity' issues. Some conductive glue from Radio Shack and the INOX MX3 has seemed to put these issues behind us. The power stays even across all lanes during the race and we have had no complaints about power issues.

The first thing that was mentioned when someone saw the side by side photo of the two McLarens:



was about the difference of the width of the rear wheels. I got out the trusty calipers and the wheels on the earlier McLaren (inline) were 17 x 10 and the rear wheels on the new McLaren (anglewinder) were 17 x 8.

When I ran the anglewinder on the 11.5 volts, it was quite a handful. However when I ran it again on the 10.5 volts, the car was a dream to drive. I will have to do some more experimenting with the rear wheels (I have a set of 17 x 10 that I can use on the new McLaren) to see if that is where the problem is.

However at 10.5 volts the cars is like my Lola is on 11.5 volts. It's very smooth, it's very fast and is a joy to drive. I am a fan of this Flat-6 motor. The power delivery is very nice for a plastic track and with a bit of tuning, will come around to be an outstanding car for your racing.

During the running of the McLaren, all 4 lanes were in use and the McLaren was consistently turning in the fastest lap times. I kept hearing comments about how quick it was on the straights and how well it handled in the turns. I think Slot.It has a winner, but it might be made better with a set of 17 x 10 rear wheels.

:violin:

[Florida_Slotter]

If you have NOT tried the Lola B09/60 from Slot.It, might I suggest you get one?

My Lola just runs so well, it's hard to think on another slot car when it's sitting there in the box.

The Lola has a longer wheelbase and a longer Rear AXle centerline to Guide Post Center (RAX - GPC), which in my experience will give you a car that is easier to drive, is more forgiving and really likes large radius curves. The Lola has 17 x 10 rear wheels as the body is a bit wider since it is an LMP car. Long and wide is what the LMP is all about. That longer wheelbase keeps it more stable at higher speeds that they tend to run.

It would appear that the Porsche 911 EVO98 GT1 is coming out shortly. It is rumored to be in about a week or two. I am looking forward that getting that car as well. I am really liking the flexibility of the new Slot.It cars. You can move the motor pod back and forth between chassis and make changes like you saw on the Toyota 88C.

I might have to do the same on the Mazda 787B as that is a very good car, very close to the Toyota 88C.

Great job!

[Florida_Slotter]

Tuesday is normally "Fun Day" for my friend ModlerBob and myself. A typical Tuesday involves heading to ModlerBob's Scalextric Sport track based "DeBary Glen" here in sunny central Florida.

Yesterday we got started about 10:30 AM and spent all day there having fun playing with, err I mean running our slot cars.

One of the cars I have nto gotten completely sorted out was my #42 Fina McLaren F1 GTR. It had a problem of pushing coming out of turns. I wanted to go straight rather then following the curved slot. I grabbed some lead, then grabbed some more. It took about 10 grams of lead to hold the front end down. I think the location of the rear magnet pocket has something to do with this as it is 'slightly' further back in the chassis, relative to the rear axle centerline then the typical Slot.It can inline motor bracket.

Once the front of the McLaren would stay on the track's surface, it got very fast and very easy to drive. ModlerBob said, "It looks like it's time to do some testing!" Loosely translated that means - racing!

ModlerBob went for his "Locktite" McLaren F1 GTR. This is his fastest Slot.It car. While it is still slightly slower then my Slot.It Lola B09/60 - about 8 thougsands of a second per lap, but none the less slightly slower! We started running laps, his McLaren against my #42 Fina anglewinder McLaren. The battle of the McLarens was on.

After many race laps, ModlerBob finally threw up his hands and claimed my McLaren was faster then his McLaren.

So what does that mean? For the day we were racing the conditions were such that the Slot.It McLaren with the anglewinder was capable of beating the Slot.It McLaren with the inline and orange endbell motor. That's the entire crux of what this testing has proven. Both McLarens are fast, but one was able to best the other on this particular day with the conditions that were present during the test session.

Oh year, after we completed the 'evaluation' I did get out my Slot.It Lola B09/60. After about 10 warm up laps, it was time for some 'Hot Laps'. After about 3 of them, the "TrackMate started to sound the fastest lap time" audio track. The Lola remains the fastest Slot.It car in my box.

Just thought y'all would like to know.

BTW - ModlerBob committed to the purchase of 2 of the soon to be released Slot.It Porsche 911 EVO98 GT1 cars. I do believe he, just like me, will have 2 of these cars. One of them will be an anglewinder, the other converted to an inline. Remember, you never have too many slot cars!