Pit stops- how are they?

[proxieken]

I am still tweaking the track and I might be able to squeeze in a pit stop. I am not really sure how it would improve things though. Does it just mess things up, or make it a more interesting race?

[HomeRacingWorld]

Well, I only raced with them once. It simply took some getting used to, but I thought it was a neat addition.

I enjoyed being in a tight battle with a couple others and then noticing I had to pit or lose it all. Knowing they had to do the same and timing it right just added to it.

Different kind of racing, like a Real Time Strategy game...with wheels :)

[buspor63]

I'll have some feedback soon, my brother is adding a pit on his Green Monster track. He has a BB and we'll have to watch for blinking lights to let us know when we're low on fuel. I believe the CU allows you to run drivers displays, Carrera software or Yinglings software and a computer to get that info. The LHS, Hobby Town USA was doing D132 slot races for several years, we had one "pit stop race". I won it do to lucky pit strategy.

[proxieken]

It is going to take some work and a little pile of cash to add it, and if it only becomes a rarely used novelty I will spend that money on other cars or something. I just picked up the Carrera CU and downloaded Yinglings software. I hooked up an old PC and some speakers. Have not tried it yet becasue I am waiting on the wire to arrive.. While I was at it I got to thinking about the pit stop. The software looks great. I like the sounds quite a bit and think it will really help keep you updated on how the race is going.

[patwa]

We run a Scalextric digital system with the pit lane game,as it is called ,and I think it definately adds to the racing.
The Scaley system allows you to programme 1 to 3 stops,we usually run 100 lap races with 1 stop or 200 lap races with 2 stops on an Indy style track with 3 second laps. To add something different to the racing if you make the pit stop and call a yellow ( a feature of the Scaley sytem)during your stop, we allow you to clean your tyres.By timing your pit stop well there can definately be an advantage in the stop strategy.

[Cincyslots]

The pits add a lot to the realism. It also can add strategy to your race.

Bruce

[proxieken]

Wanted to give my thoughts after finally getting the pit stop working. I was surprised to find out you can connect the pit stop anywhere, as there are no wires going to the control unit. It is setting all the way on the back straight, which was 4 lanes wide. It is now 3 and a pit lane that runs for several feet. I am using the real setting and it does slow me down a bit when you have a full tank. We installed masking tape with the sticky side up along the pit lane and stopping for gas also gives your tires a quick refresh. Several times we simply raced through the pit to get some clean tires. This added a lot to the race. We ran 50 laps and only needed one stop with the large tank capacity set. I plan to do some research and try to add some variable tank sizes based on real life counterparts. . The software gave us random tire and engine problems. One time my racing partner got brake trouble and I told him, " Brakes? Who needs them just keep going!". After a few crashes he stopped to have his brakes checked. The software had adjusted the brake setting, just as it adjusts your speed setting for engine trouble and tire problems.




Overall I enjoyed it a lot.

[bkrownd]

[proxieken]

Just finished a night of 4 person racing on the digital set up with pit stops and race management software. Really had a good time but the mechanical stuff can become a bit much. Our racer Steve lost 2 races because he had engine problems on the last couple of laps. It can happen and it makes things pretty interesting for sure. I only got irritated when I missed the pit 3 or 4 times while running with reduced power. Sometimes I would stop in the pits and it would say " entering the pits", followed by an immediate "leaving the pits". Even though I was still in the pits and clearly not going anywhere. Then I had to run another lap very slowly to try and come around again. The management of pit stops is a big factor. One race was lost because the leader thought he could make just 4 more laps and ran out of fuel. The slowdown allowed him to be passed and he lost the race.
The brake failure was usually announced about the same time a car went flying off the track. I found this amusing.
We ran a few races with fuel but no breakdowns and that was fun too. This removes the random element of things.
One thing I was not sure about, but it seems that the fuel usage is based on the amount of power I am using on the car. For example, the 124 cars take a lot more power to run, and they ran out of gas a lot sooner! It would seem a slow pace might get some extra laps out of a fill up.
Still glad I put it into the track.

[goosenapper]

The pitstops really did add another element of fun to the racing. Having to pay attention to the fuel gauge alone made the experience more immersive. Instead of just zooming from start to finish, it forced you to take a breather and stop for a minute. The double-sided tape that Ken lined his pit-row with was an added bonus as it made the pitstops functional. You could benefit by pulling in to the pits (or just go in and zoom through them!) not just because the software was telling you that you were out of gas. If you noticed yourself beginning to fish-tail too often in the turns, a quick glide over the tape cleaned up the tires enough to give back some of that lost traction. I can't emphasize enough how much this added to the racing. (Although I probably abused it by flying through the pits 5-6 times per race just for that tire cleaning!)

But it were the random mechanical breakdowns that proved to be the great equalizer. As Ken pointed out, Steve was well ahead of us and lost races at the end because of engine trouble and being unable to get in to the pits. The breakdowns threw the advantages of faster cars and even driver skill out of the window, as anything could happen to anyone at any time. And yes, everyone who had their brakes fail ended up crashing at some point. It basically went like this: "Jesse's brakes have failed" <THUD> and suddenly Ken had a car-sized hole in the wall at the end of his main straight! :lol: Ok, so it wasn't quite that Looney Toon-ish, but it was entertaining.

Two more notes- The cars sped up as they burned through fuel, simulating the weight loss experienced in real cars as the gauge drops. The added speed would creep up on you so slowly that you couldn't notice it during a run, but if you ran a car until it was on fumes, you really noticed how sluggish it seemed when you came out of the pits with a full tank. The third mechanical breakdown was a blown tire. This did slow the car, but not to the extent of engine trouble, and it didn't come close to causing the havoc that ensued whenever someone's brakes failed. I actually opted to finish one race with tire trouble because the other guys seemed to have their cars all fall apart at once, leaving my crippled beast the fastest one left.

All in all, it was a blast. Ken, thanks for having me over to run with you guys. :D

[Nor Cal Mike]

[patwa]

Try placeing the pits on a single lane where they do not register a lap. That will sort out the pit lane tyre abuse problem!

[buspor63]

If you run digital, add a pit lane!!!!!!!!!!!!
Other than a semi organized race a long time ago, tonight was the first time I used a pit lane and it was great!!!
We ran a 20 minute, ten person 1/32 scale tag team race were we switched drivers when the cars needed fuel and it was great. The races seem to last so long and so many racers compete at once. We also ran 20 minute heats of 1/24 and, well, it was great too.

My brother installed his "pit in" just before a R2 180 turn with the exit just before the lap counter. He hacked some R1's into single lanes for the pit lane. On top of watching traffic on the track, we now have to watch traffic as we re-enter the race track, awesome! It reminds me of my 10th scale R/C racing of the 90's, but without the mega expense and competition to get the best tires, batteries and motors.

So, to recap. If you have a digital track, go buy a pit lane!

[RikoRocket]

There are some guys around the world modifying the Scalextric pit game to act as in and out sensors and connect to a computer to add some realism to the race management programs that are out on the market now for Scalextric digital. The mod is called "Pit-Pro". I think that works with SSDC, PCLapCounter and RCS64 race management programs. There are a couple of others but I don't know if they are compatible.

One program even gets the autonomous pace cars to pit! No question, if you race digital get a pit lane!

[TheRoadrunner]

Pitstops are fantastic additions to a race series. It makes the racing so much more enthralling to have to manage your stops to cross the finish line with a 1/2 cup of fuel left! I remember seeing a few real races where the winner finished the race and ran out of fuel on the parade lap because the fueling was so well managed that he had enough to win and barely any more. To achieve this level of fuel management is the pinnacle of racing strategy and strategic racing is always more fun and challenging than just go fast and win.

You can also add in things like tire damage and random mechanical breakdowns if you use the right software in your racing computer.