my cars for the Toronto Worlds

[Nick AKA Cheater]

I've started to do some preparation for the '09 Worlds in Toronto, and I would like to show you all what I do.
This will be a kind of journal, I'll post the updates every time I did something, so you guys can follow up on my progress, and ask questions along the way which may help you to get your car running fast.

it's under 'Project: Toronto'
enjoy
http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SiAak-WsU4I/AAAAAAAAGKM/Wbv8OIbkPdQ/s640/000_0008.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SiKfN5iSYAI/AAAAAAAAGN8/3Mb8Twy1BgY/s640/101_0059.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SiKfdd_WZRI/AAAAAAAAGPI/fIlfJRjlrbI/s640/101_0077.JPG

[Springbok Racer]

Nick, please take a photo of the modified SLP2 by turning it over so I can see what's going on, on top.

Thanks

Jan

[Nick AKA Cheater]

http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick

it's all there in my Picasa, I just do 'minor' updates here with a referral to my Picasa, where all my comments are there as well.

but in addition:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SiKffd6Pk4I/AAAAAAAAGPQ/9rn52elhho0/s640/101_0079.JPG

thanks to this great rule in the rulebook, we are allowed to take full advantage of any possible improvement, as long as you find an original part which you can modify. the following is directly from the 430 rulebook:

Allowed modifications: (i) motor bracket, (ii) guide, guide holder & guide nut, (iii) ball-bearings, (iv) braids, of the guide nut, (v) bottom plate, (vi) H-section (may be in carbon), (vii) the spring plate and (viii) body mounts/holders. Original body holders may be replaced by carbon lightweight holders, or by any other type of any make. No other carbon parts than the body mounts, the H-plate, the spring plate and the guide holder may be used. The opening for the motor in the ground plate may be closed by any piece of any make.

Afterwords I'll replace the whole T-bar by a carbon one from Slottec ( http://www.slottec-shop.de/ ) to save some more weight at the front.


cheers, NIck

[Nick AKA Cheater]

I used this tool for cutting the messing
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SiVeEw_KPlI/AAAAAAAAGdc/-oBAx25TJCA/s640/101_0148.JPG

the interior I used last year
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SiVeG-7M_JI/AAAAAAAAGdo/RrbUgNChdno/s640/101_0137.JPG


and an easy trick:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SiVeON-M8yI/AAAAAAAAGeQ/O7WfCzRPnFs/s640/101_0147.JPG
Mark/Edding the inside of the wheelarches white or yellow, drive a few laps, and you'll know for sure if the rear wheels rub or not. Last year I ran my 430 at 73mm wide, perhaps 74, but not wider.

[Nick AKA Cheater]

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Si02lkPWrgI/AAAAAAAAG4E/VEjPGVMu3hU/s640/101_0176.JPG

[Nick AKA Cheater]

a small update, and also to show you a little how I clean out my bodies.

enjoy

http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick/ProjectToronto#

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SjlPkYqRRmI/AAAAAAAAG6A/xLrpx0N3Ads/s640/101_0193.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SjlPlIBxfRI/AAAAAAAAG6I/2oZC22GbJsQ/s640/101_0194.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SjlPqmgDh8I/AAAAAAAAG6o/MeW3N2l--aQ/s640/101_0200.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SjlPyxB2CTI/AAAAAAAAG7M/_PmPXGDhs0s/s640/101_0208.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SRSmYCODoII/AAAAAAAABzg/A9DSNSvVrb8/s640/100_0672.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SjlPuQbOBEI/AAAAAAAAG64/-GpZqtE59so/s640/101_0204.JPG

[Nick AKA Cheater]

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sj0wOU6s6MI/AAAAAAAAG9M/3rrZfIKDqYE/s640/101_0217.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sj0wPM3YcXI/AAAAAAAAG9o/5I0yMZPycgY/s640/101_0218.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sj0wRHxVWfI/AAAAAAAAG90/ToKMm6dx2Xk/s640/101_0221.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sj0wR9BlnBI/AAAAAAAAG94/T-KC_XM-WMQ/s640/101_0222.JPG

For more:
http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick/ProjectToronto#

enjoy :dancedance:

[Nick AKA Cheater]

I wanted to paint the red areas on the Penske, rather then trying to decal it, which will inevitably lead into desaster.
So, I'm gona copy/steal again, by transferring the red area on the decal sheet to my maskingtape.
check my picasa for more detail pics and comments.
http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick/ProjectToronto#

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sj5oI86EwLI/AAAAAAAAHGk/cFAAsRPIfRc/s640/101_0237.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sj5oJlZhnFI/AAAAAAAAHGo/1oSI6EBi9Jk/s640/101_0238.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sj5oMekHwQI/AAAAAAAAHG4/X9pNS2qWFok/s640/101_0241.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sj5oSG3-PAI/AAAAAAAAHHc/NdBZP_uOK1E/s640/101_0250.JPG

[Nick AKA Cheater]

enough to do in the coming weeks, and next weekend I'll be visiting Andre, my mechanic, again in Germany, to do some testing on the Acura and 430. Porsche and Lola will be tested 2 weeks later, as the 430 is the most work speaking of interieur and setup, to get it running like I want it to.

So today, chassis work.
I got hold on the new carbon T-piece, and I narrowed it a little. Because even though the wide T is covered by the body when viewed from above, I thought it was too ugly since it would be very clearly seen from the sides as you can see below. for more pics and comments, check:
http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick/ProjectToronto#5350625663083784178

and enjoy the journal :popcorn:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkE9tpWA9lI/AAAAAAAAHPk/LmLU-D_UBfs/s640/101_0252.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkE9vcpuSII/AAAAAAAAHOQ/UXpcTwd-QqU/s640/101_0254.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkE9wHgjrKI/AAAAAAAAHOU/m4Ov5-AxYD0/s640/101_0255.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkE9zgVV16I/AAAAAAAAHOo/B0zpBT_66KA/s640/101_0260.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkE908Tgu3I/AAAAAAAAHQc/8U4QdunNHkE/s640/101_0262.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkE91idIoRI/AAAAAAAAHO4/XAkhmJDwgjM/s640/101_0263.JPG

[Nick AKA Cheater]

Just a minor update.
The pics tell the taile themselves... reason is that I wanna test/confirm the suspiciouns Andre and I share, that a body needs to be as flexible as can be.
Because after I fixed the Acura when it was teared in Oslo, it was hard getting it up to the same speed as it was before we left... and when I fixed it, the body was unevitably stiffer...
Also last year I glued a carbon rod in the body, front and rear, to make it stiffer.. and the car got more unstable in the corners.. so this weekend we're gonna test this theory, using my body from last year.
I did the 'mod' a bit too quick, so that's why there's the evident scratch right under the cut, but who cares, this is my testbody anyway, it'll endure a lot more the next few weeks! :lightning:


(last year with the carbon rod clearly visible)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SiKfKwuR8AI/AAAAAAAAGNs/GQCuYxf-Uhw/s640/101_0055.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkJi7wLFVFI/AAAAAAAAHhw/CJfcbW1GVVY/s640/101_0264.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkJi89dIDOI/AAAAAAAAHh0/gyYyRZ0gZZc/s640/101_0265.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkJi9RHRJaI/AAAAAAAAHh4/Q7sFW5jVqXY/s640/101_0266.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkJi9_k4qkI/AAAAAAAAHh8/AFjULTH1iqU/s640/101_0267.JPG

[Springbok Racer]

Nick,

What a great idea to cut masks from the decal sheet ............. also using the lexan sheet.

As I'm doing two Dyson #20's, I'm going to try the decals first. If it turns into a disaster I'll got your route.

Cutting the A pillar on the F430, is that to get more flexibility in the body?

What paint are you spraying on the lexan wing? Or is it PC paint from the underneath?

Do you have any idea how much weight you've gained from blank body to painted?

Cheers

Jan

[Nick AKA Cheater]

Hey Jan,

Well since on the Penske you have to decal the red over the front fender, which goes over all kinds of gills and air-exits, I wasn't really feeling like decalling them. And also this way, the colour is a little bit stronger when the car hits the wall. And third, I felt the red of the decalsheet may have been a bit darker, so of course when painting them, I can do whatever I want with the colour :banana:

Cutting the pillars, yes, makes the body more flexibel, as you can see below.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkOUGKl8WgI/AAAAAAAAHxk/28QNX8kHJfw/s640/101_0272.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkOUG7rLB1I/AAAAAAAAHxo/rj87gXKungE/s640/101_0273.JPG


Now of course the body won't flex that much when racing, but it does give an idea as to what freedom the body now has to move and flex. Again, it is just a theory of Andre and me. We're gonna test it this weekend, see what happens like this, refix them with superglue, try again..

paint for lexan wings.
I normally use a very thin layer of Tamiya primer, a bit thinner then usual, so that it'll form a kind of powder-layer, rather then a smooth surface. Then the colour goes on top of that, decals on top off that, and clearcoat on top of that :nice:
I've never used lexan paint before, because there'll always be minor colour differences... and to buy a whole spraycan for one or two wings....


weight:
for the 430:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkOUJsswa9I/AAAAAAAAHx0/XhUdFqnN82U/s640/101_0276.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkOUId51PyI/AAAAAAAAHxw/r5H-981T9H4/s640/101_0275.JPG

normally a paint job, primer, colour, decals, clearcoat, is around 3 grams. Sometimes a bit less, but to be safe, let's say 3 grams. (if you have a red car, way less of course, no need to paint the red, red!!!)
The interior is the one from last year, and I think my new intereur will be 2 or 3 grams ligther, because this helmet is solid, not dremeled out (didn't have time) One of my guys at Slot-Ring, made dremeling helmets his thing. Some of the helmets he does register 0,05 grams... and that's heavy for him... most of them don't register anything at all... I don't have the patience for that :rolling: Thanks Pierre for those helmets!!!

. I made a mistake reading the rules last year, and included a piece of the plastic seat, which we dont need. And the rollbar wouldn't stick together last year during stress, so when I glued it together I used glass-beads to cure the glue.... and that weighs a ton in comparison. And I used tons of contactglue, to get everything that wouldn't fit right away, stay in place and threw some black paint on it, so it wouldn't look as bad as it did. :hey:
Then the body itself, will be around 5 grams lighter then last year, because we don't need to run innerwheelhousings no more, I'm gonna 'use' the splitter opening to save some more weight, so in total I could be looking at a 8 gram diet in comparison to last year.
but know that in this pictured body there's nothing in yet except for the light housings and front air intakes.


For the ALMS cars it is quite simple.
From a cleaned body, I mean that the interior and wheel arches are opened, I never use more the 8, maybe 9, grams to complete the body. That's painiting, interior, wings, detail, you name it. no lights though, as we didn't need them last season.
But hey, having Gabriel Inabnit as your lights-installer, only makes your car 3 grams heavier, if even...

[Nick AKA Cheater]

Finally arrived at home-base, Slot-Ring in Germany, and as you can see, a true builders dream if you wanna setup a chassis. Anything you can imagine, it's all their at your disposal. :dancedance:



http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkecII5rgmI/AAAAAAAAIp4/_FMv-NzvLNM/s640/101_0278.JPG

I pretty much always make the motor holder(s) myself, simply from an L-profile piece of aluminium and a Dremel.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkecI6caFJI/AAAAAAAAIp8/q5PTvmJ4gNg/s640/101_0279.JPG

A bit dark, but here's how narrow I run these cars. Actually in testing I went even 1 millimeter narrower, so that the tires don't rub the body...
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkecQoHH_9I/AAAAAAAAIqo/-02qVW87Fus/s640/101_0289.JPG

Because I have the body sitting as low as possible.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkecSvhpvwI/AAAAAAAAIq0/CE_LpPj1bYk/s640/101_0292.JPG

Jeez! I started at 24:00, and daylight is already re-appearing! :BangHead: time flies...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkecaeOrxQI/AAAAAAAAIrc/yuHATfdOr9g/s640/101_0302.JPG

But with a goodlooking result though, if I may say so myself :blush:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Skece7yTAjI/AAAAAAAAIr4/aewBCHRzWnc/s640/101_0308.JPG

Couple hours later, first roll-out :konservativ_woot:
The car had more hickups then I thought it would, and didn't run aswell straight out of the box as I'd hoped for :wavey[1]:

But when I got all those mistakes out of the way, the car started to run like it should. Tested a whole bunch of things. Weight balance, springs, stiffness of the body, guideheight, you name it.
I couldn't really say if all my findings would work on a 'standard' chassis, cause mine certainly isn't, but one thing was very very obvious during testing; the more flex the body has, the more it can handle in a slow, sharp corner.
The car was amazing is the big corners, which pleased me a great deal, since an MTT consist pretty much only out of big speedy corners.

Times were very difficult to compare, because right before my private testsession, there was a race going on with 1/32 cars, on hardrubber (Ortmann tires) tires. :cry (2):
So the grip got screwed for our cars, and by the end of day still was a bit.... strange for lack of a better word.
Any how, judging from the single lap I did with my Acura, I'm guessing my 430was 3 tenths slower then the Acura, on the grip that was on the track at that point.
happy I did some testing though, getting all the childs-deseases out the way did take my 4 to 5 hours... which in Toronto could have handicapped my race.:coke:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkeclDX1S6I/AAAAAAAAIsU/Xxvd5wa-oP4/s640/101_0315.JPG

[Springbok Racer]

Nick,

The ProSlot motors I've got are dead slow, even on 14.9 volt. Some guys tell me the handout motor is much better. If it's that much better, but gets handed back after the event - how does anybody ever get to set up their cars with a decent motor?

Cheers

Jan

[Nick AKA Cheater]

well.... :upset:

that's a tough one.
First, honoustly, I have no idea if you can buy the 'IMCA' spec motor in a shop, neither do I know the exact specification on these motors, simply because I don't know anything about motors, and I wanna keep it that way. :rolling: because I got enough to worry about in the chassis to start worrying about armatures, magnets, brushes, etc etc :p6639707:

I got probably around 50 Proslots, if I count the very old ones aswell, the ones with the brass/copper bearings.
And I think I maybe got 5 representative motors, if I guess that I got 10 motors in 'IMCA' spec. the others won't turn, are jammed, dead slow, missing pieces, you name it.
Indeed the handout are better, they are new and normally after half an hour of running, they start to show good representative speed.

we also have 2 or 3 'bombs' which we use to test the limits of the car. That it slides using the 'bomb'motor that's obvious, but if the car is going that fast (more then half a second faster then with a normal motor) and still won't tip over, which is killing, we know the car handles :nice:

but you are right, it's very difficult to determine if the speed your car has (or hasn't) is due to the motor or it's setup.
I do swop motors around frequently, but it's always a big guess what kind of motor you'll get handed out to you. Most of the time most proslots are reasonably equal, but the one has way more torque then the other, and the other has more topspeed but no torque, which of course you simply hope that the motor you get, suits yours weightbalance..

[Springbok Racer]

Nick,

Yes I must admit it sounds like the proverbial 'luck-of-the-draw' situation. Oh well, I'll have to hope for the best..........

Thanks

Jan

[Kai]

Jan,

do you use older one (PS-4000) or newer IMCA spec (ball bearing, better can etc.) motor?

I have bought dozens of IMCA-spec motor from Dan Debella (Proslot). We use this motor in our 'IMCA' GT/P class. They are running well and are quite equal. They are also equal with IMCA handout motors. I know that because of the most of races in Finland I have used old IMCA handouts. We use voltage of 13,5 V.

Regards
Kai

[Big Al]

:toilet:
Dude, told you they suck!
Do what Nick says, use a quicker motor, and get the car to handle. (Yellow Ones you have will be PERFECT) :nice:. Then, when you draw the slower Proslots, your cars will be on rails buddy.. :dancedance:

Al

[Nick AKA Cheater]

I've had requests on too how my bodymounts actually work.
To cut it short, it's the same system Fola uses for years in GT cars in particular.
I'll explain by pictures below.


Totalweight
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkvfTCJstsI/AAAAAAAAIwM/f1woBS2HP3M/s640/101_0325.JPG

weight of the body
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkvfT_Tt38I/AAAAAAAAIwQ/O-K6UYzrqKA/s640/101_0326.JPG

Tiny SLP2 holders
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkvfU_jx7gI/AAAAAAAAIwU/1-FQB2Sjg7I/s640/101_0328.JPG

The big heavy bodymounts can be taken off the chassis, leaving this.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkvfVow5vtI/AAAAAAAAIwY/E9RQ924cQEQ/s640/101_0329.JPG

and then this is staying in the body. The complete 'second' H-plate construction.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkvfXE3LdHI/AAAAAAAAIwg/1DXg9RXRhCk/s640/101_0331.JPG

To make sure it easily passes Tech controle. Again, this system is pretty old, it's a bypass if you are obliged to have your body weigh a certain weight, in this case 60 grams, but of course you want the moving weight of the body as light as possible
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkvfYHIjPCI/AAAAAAAAIwk/PsQwcEkYGWU/s640/101_0332.JPG

And here we tighten the car back up :nice:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SkvfY2qDC3I/AAAAAAAAIws/nEzQHvuiHOU/s640/101_0333.JPG

[Springbok Racer]

Nick,

Thanks for sharing that with us. I thought you guys were using some sort of clip-on, clip-off system. But obviously not.

One question, what are the pieces of brass at the back and in the centre of the SLP-2, are those part of the chassis?

Cheers

Jan

[Nick AKA Cheater]

those pieces are just balast/balance weights.
I hate lead, looks god-awfull :icon_confused:
and cause it's hanging so low, I don't wanna have the risk of a piece of lead not being perfectly straight, to touch the track or fuck me at TC, if that piece is below min. groundclearance.

[Nick AKA Cheater]

Decaltime!

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sk4kjEdsfsI/AAAAAAAAIyQ/xe_y9E2sRUc/s640/101_0334.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sk4lxx1FR1I/AAAAAAAAIyY/tQBFD8Xxly8/s640/101_0337.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sk4l1A3ei8I/AAAAAAAAIyo/l6yrDJ8A5BE/s640/101_0341.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sk4l5bXBBNI/AAAAAAAAIy8/MRxUeMMOthg/s640/101_0346.JPG

[Springbok Racer]

Nick,

I'm at the same stage, starting the decals on my RS Spyder this morning. Just hope they come out as well as yours.

Cheers

Jan

[Big Al]

Hey Nick,

Car looks bloody marvelous dude. Thanks for sharing the process photos as well.. It also allow's many others who think this stuff happens overnight, to see what's involved.. :drool:

Jan, why not post pics of your cars??

Al

[Nick AKA Cheater]

I wanted to give Betty a proper butt, as I'll do in the new mold I'm making her.
But for this car, this is an 'old' version, I copied and modified an Acura diffuser.

for more explaining photo's, check
http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick/ProjectToronto#

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlD9f3jgp_I/AAAAAAAAIzc/xzOhYsTjsmI/s640/101_0348.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlD9jEaAyyI/AAAAAAAAIzs/RjmrYRrfe8A/s640/101_0352.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlD9lr1_QSI/AAAAAAAAI0A/J2za7HVYr-A/s640/101_0356.JPG

[Nick AKA Cheater]

Did some small details.. is timeconsuming if you wanna do it properly though.
But this time, I said it a lot of times, but this time it's gonna be for real, I'll make it pretty hard for Fola this time to walk away with the concours trophy again :nice:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlPSaD6s3TI/AAAAAAAAJM8/ACBWFrGqf7g/s640/101_0364.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlPSbCPYNwI/AAAAAAAAJNA/dvyCc3OuCAk/s640/101_0365.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlPSb6ES4-I/AAAAAAAAJNE/hjjhLIhbD-w/s640/101_0366.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlPSdChRmuI/AAAAAAAAJNM/pL1pDe7I6bA/s640/101_0368.JPG

[Big Al]

:popcorn:

I sense a Challenge.... :dancedance:

Big Al

[Nick AKA Cheater]

Postman rang today!! :dancedance:

As I understand, none of the european teams racing in the Panam, are using cars they built themselves :IKillMySelf::IKillMySelf::IKillMySelf:
I asked Andreas Laufenberg, if I could borrow one of the backup cars we had at the DPM, and he was kind enough to permit me to race the car we used to get to 3rd spot last year in Spain.
Thanks Andreas!

In a few days more Panam cars will arrive, as Ralf Seif did some tuning on the Norwegian car .

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlR0Ui5F7uI/AAAAAAAAJZs/YUVJbA85Wkk/s640/101_0371.JPG

[Nick AKA Cheater]

a new present! :konservativ_woot:

Gabriel dropped by, with the light kits for the Acura and Lola, and as I got to know his work, absolutely professional as usual. :worshippy:
and like I told ya, less then 3 grams! :D

Thanks Gabe!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlTQ0kqh20I/AAAAAAAAJe4/uY7xQ1Uh5XA/s640/101_0373.JPG

[Springbok Racer]

Nick

BTW, tried the double side tape for mounting the lenses. However, came up with an even easier solution.:banana: You owe me a coke now.:coke:

I fly radio controlled planes and put the clear canopies on with a special glue. Never thought of that until last night. This glue is a white glue, like wood glue and you can put it on without worrying about making a mess. It dries absolutely clear within 12 hours and is very strong - I have not ever yet had any canopies come of on any of my high speed jets.

You'll find it at any hobby shop that sells model aircraft building materials. It is made by Pacer and is simply called "Formula 560 the best Canopy Glue". It come in a 50ml plastic bottle with black but mostly red lettering on it.

Try it, it works great. No more fingermarks, melted plastc, smoky lenses and all the other horrible side effects of putting in clear bits. It works on any plastic, including lexan, and bonds to virtually anything without worries.

Cheers

Jan

[Bill AKA TB Boots]

Nick

BTW, tried the double side tape for mounting the lenses. However, came up with an even easier solution.:banana: You owe me a coke now.:coke:

I fly radio controlled planes and put the clear canopies on with a special glue. Never thought of that until last night. This glue is a white glue, like wood glue and you can put it on without worrying about making a mess. It dries absolutely clear within 12 hours and is very strong - I have not ever yet had any canopies come of on any of my high speed jets.

You'll find it at any hobby shop that sells model aircraft building materials. It is made by Pacer and is simply called "Formula 560 the best Canopy Glue". It come in a 100ml plastic bottle with black but mostly red lettering on it.

Try it, it works great. No more fingermarks, melted plastc, smoky lenses and all the other horrible side effects of putting in clear bits. It works on any plastic, including lexan, and bonds to virtually anything without worries.

Cheers

Jan

Thi is great news, thanks :banana:

[Big Al]

Guys,

I think normal wood glue does the same thing, (well it did for me).. correct what Jan says, it does dry clear and makes lights and windows much easier jobs to do.. Only reason I still use 2 part is it takes 12 hours for the glue to cure.. I can"t wait5 that long.. Mr Impatient.. :bleh:

Big Al

[Springbok Racer]

Guys,

I think normal wood glue does the same thing, (well it did for me).. correct what Jan says, it does dry clear and makes lights and windows much easier jobs to do.. Only reason I still use 2 part is it takes 12 hours for the glue to cure.. I can"t wait5 that long.. Mr Impatient.. :bleh:

Big Al

Guys,

The glue I've mentioned can be used within one hour or less, it all dependes on how thick (or messy) you've used it.

The problems with most 2 part glues are that first; they're heavy, two; they dry thick and leave marks (even if clear) on everything you touch, and three; very few actually adheres properly to the plastics we use.

In the end, it's what works for you that counts...........have fun :autofahrer[1]:

I'm doing my final testing today and will post photo's of my cars over the weekend. Bodies are finish, weights are good and bodies came out nicely :konservativ_woot:

Bloody heck, doing six chassis and nine bodies (2 F403's, 2 LMP's and 2 PanAm's) was a lot of work, will need a few :beer::beer::beer:

Cheers

[PaulNZ]

Make sure you get those photos for us to :drool: over :nice:

[Nick AKA Cheater]

pfff am I happy I got so much done last weekend :konservativ_woot:
With the help of Pierre Jung at Slot-ring, I have all chassis' rolling and wheeled, just needing a motor(mount) and mount the chassis to the bodies.
Ok there's still lots of small things to do, interiors, integrating Gabe's lightsets into the bodies and so on, just over 60 wheelinserts to make.. :banana:

in the old days perhaps by now I started to laminate my prototype bodies... guess I have learnt over the years :rolling:


http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SltxGRqii2I/AAAAAAAAJvM/LNha_HUDCdQ/s640/101_0379.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SltxJli5QJI/AAAAAAAAJvY/60fkCH_TcC8/s640/101_0384.JPG

http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick/ProjectToronto#

[Springbok Racer]

Nick,

Is one of those LMP's coming home with me?

Cheers

Jan

[Nick AKA Cheater]

hey Jan,

I'm sorry, but I don't think that'll be possible.
You see, the Penske will be racing in OEPS next year, by Andreas Laufenberg, good friend of mine.
The Lola isn't seated yet after Toronto, but the OEPS organisation can handout wildcards to two additonal teams in the OEPS, meant to go to possbile entries from manufacturors (Plafit, Metris, etc) or other similar entries.
And for that reason, I wanna keep the Lola handy, if such team would like to borrow a car.

And the Acura is priceless :worshippy:
the Acura is the car with which it all got started: my passion for the ALMS races, re-motivating my interest in LMP cars, it posed the biggest challenge to model it, and we had a fantastic run last year with this car. After Toronto it'll probably 'retire' and be used as a showpiece.
o and by the way, the old spare Acura body you see on the right on the pic... I can assure you, that doesn't look healthy anymore... exactly the reason why the picture is shot at this angle ;)

[Nick AKA Cheater]

Today I integrated Gabe's lightunits into the car, and as I went along, I started to play with light reflecting, bouncing of the edges of lexan.. on Gabe's advise if I wanna make a stiped light, instead of a single dot.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Slyo925l25I/AAAAAAAAJxg/a37O4sEqrPs/s640/101_0385.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Slyo-lTsp3I/AAAAAAAAJxk/7eASC7_cZCQ/s640/101_0386.JPG

here you can clearly see the light bouncing around... and creating a beautifull stripe when coming out at the top.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Slyo_fg65qI/AAAAAAAAJxo/GyPQ2Axx1SU/s640/101_0387.JPG

same thing used on the Acura
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlypAkRePSI/AAAAAAAAJxw/pZLT-ktHYBo/s640/101_0389.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlypBTnKwOI/AAAAAAAAJx0/ba6rzEpAeG8/s640/101_0390.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/SlypDezQJFI/AAAAAAAAJyA/o-ws_WxX4mI/s640/101_0393.JPG

Looking mighty :nice: if I may say so myself :dancedance:

[PaulNZ]

You are right, it is looking mighty :nice: and this has answered my problem with the Aston Marton DBR9 rear lights, they have two strips per side as you know and I think this will work great, thanks :beer:

[Nick AKA Cheater]

Thanks Paul,

here are the mountings I made for the Lola, as this car has a complicated sidepanel.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sl94bEFyHVI/AAAAAAAAJyo/m26T_u0GGY8/s640/101_0398.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sl94cilQvoI/AAAAAAAAJys/dAqBvs2cfqI/s640/101_0399.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_hjD4XV1hLeE/Sl94dpJCaxI/AAAAAAAAJyw/OvXjnm6wA5M/s640/101_0400.JPG

on the pics in my picasa you can see how I mount these bodies
http://picasaweb.google.nl/dewachter.nick/ProjectToronto#5359134552989977682

enjoy :dancedance:

[Nick AKA Cheater]

sorry for the lack of updates on my part, my computer just poofed last week :cry (2)::cry (2)::cry (2):
hate them stupid things :finger:

anyhow, all cars are ready, done, gleaming, and ready to rock 'n roll!

[Big Al]

:nice::nice::nice:

Good luck dude..

Whend o you fly?

Al

[iceracer]

Since his pooter is toast.....

He arrives here tomorrow, Thursday.
I'm picking him from airport, which is 10 minutes for me and off to the race centre to do more work on the track and such.

Terry

[Springbok Racer]

Terry

I arrive tomorrow (Thursday) at 12h30 on Flight DL6651 from NY ................. any race taxi's running then? Also going to the Novotel - North York.

See ya,

Jan

[Big Al]

Terry, thanks dude,

try get Mark, or Jan, or someone to post updates for us dude..
And Enjoy yourself. :autofahrer[1]:

Big Al

[Nick AKA Cheater]

this was niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiza!!!!
yeah, a lot of you don't get that niiiice thing :bleh: it was just another one of the thousands of laughs and giggles that we had in Toronto, especially in the back of the Ford Mustang that we had as a rental car :banana:

This was such a fucking great event, and especially now, lying in the hotelroom and getting the feel of the great laptop that Borge gifted me, I'm having probably one of the best feelings that I ever had about an event.

I don't think I've ever had this much bad-luck in a race, let alone a whole week of racing. Absolutely nothing went as I hoped or thought it would, I built an entirely new chassis for my 430 overnight since my 'cheaterchassis' was absolute garbage to drive. In that same night I rebuilt the setup on 6 cars, including Mark's Ferrari, and I was extremely pleased that that car had the pace AND handling, and he reached the main final, as in, 'at least I got some car going'.
Even after I built a new, totally normal SLP1 for my own 430, I couldn't get it to run like the other cars that I did in a hurry, and Mark's car was really, really good. I still don't know what I did right in that car and wrong in my own :hey:
Even at qualifying bad luck kicked in... I was using Mike's controller, which I really liked. But I accidentally turned the choke on, which is a little switch on the controller... so I had about 0,5 volts less to my disposal. Probably didn't matter, cause the car was a mess to drive anyway and probably would have been even more difficult to drive with the full voltage.
Giving up and retiring in the semi finals like I did, was perhaps something I shouldn't have done, it's the first time in my 16 years of racing that I did so.
The car was slightly damaged after a small crash, and I took the chance:
I was still leading the semi's, and was pretty sure of advancing to the main. But my car lacked speed and handling, so even if I would make the main, I could never be able to stay in front of Borge or Gabriel, who seemed to have the best cars of the field. My goal is to win, not to be 4th orso in a final..:BangHead:

So I ran round the track, figuring I had about 3 laps to spare to still make the main final, luckily saw the problem quite quickly, fixed it, and put it back on the track. Ran back to the driver's stand, and 3 corners later I was kicked off by another racer, who had more laps then me anyway. So he had the upperhand in the corner, but the whole thing got to much for me. I was very tired, had a couple of long days and nights, and decided it was better for me to retire for the race.

In the endurance race
Mike Stahl absolutely amazed me. Before coming to Toronto Mark teamed me up with Mike, who is a eurosport racer, and Mark convinced me that Mike was pretty good. But I still was like...'well, let's see first'.
But in practise, only after about 30 laps, Mike totally smashed my laptime. :konservativ_woot:
so I knew I had a very, very good teammate, and he fitted perfectly into the table of pure laughs and giggles, with Glenn, Borge and me. And after the races at night he became our regular party-buddy to go downtown with and :coke:

We took another chance. Although the grip wasn't that high on the track, we decided to stick with the high-grip setup that the car has had all of last year. We hoped that the track would come to us, and our strategy was to trying to stay in touch with the leading pack in the first hour when the grip was still building up, hopefully don't loose to many laps, and gain afterwards.
Our strategy worked, but only a couple hours to late :cry (2):
The grip came, but not as fast as the car needed it. Only at the last daysection we were able to make up some good ground, and we came 5 laps short of taking the top spot on the podium. Even a foto-etched brake disc by someone ended up in our lane, causing a shortcircuit... talk about your bad luck..
Again, Mike drove absolutely amazing, I hardly ever had such a brialliant teammate. Thanks Mike! :nice: it was niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiza!

Panam was again, bad luck.
Mike and I teamed up again, actually getting asked when we'd be getting married, that's how good we got along with eachother :kissing:
Determent to not make the same mistake again, we rebuilt the setup on the PANAM car, to very soft springs and setup, which worked great and realised a strong, fastest time in practise.
So we were looking for some revence!
We got off to a good start, being very fast in the lanes, Mike took 3, 4, 5 and 6 and I took 1, 2, 7 and 8, since I always ran those lanes on previous MTT's.
But at once there was a crash which Mike could not avoid, and after that the car seemed to be dragging, and was half a second off pace :p8712443:
O no! not the bad-luck charm again! :BangHead:
At first glance I couldn't find anything to be wrong on the car, until I put it onto a techblock. The chassis was so badly bent, that the rightrear side of the body, held the entire car up into the air... :upset:
My motto with bent chassis is, is that if it got bent like that, you can bend it back again, so I didn't even take the body off, but took the entire car in my hands and bent it.... hard... the windows were even cracking.... and when I put it back onto the block, it actually looked pretty good under the circumstances. So we got on with it, and the car was 'only' 0,05 seconds slower then before. But of course the pitstop and the couple of slow laps before it lost us to many laps to get back.
We might have gotten a good shot at winning, since we were the only team that started at 1,7mm groundclearance, so we could get through the race without the tire-change that everybody else needed. But that's just ' if if if'

Good job Tim and Chris in the BRM
for keeping the car in the slot, which was not so easy I can asure you. The cars were amazing to look at, and drove pretty well if you kept it easy.


Sorry. no pictures yet. When I get home I'll slowly upload the pictures onto my picasa, but picase isn't downloaded on this computer yet and I kinda forgot my password for my picasa account :hey:
Tomorrow is heading-home time, after shopping at the mall to keep the girlfriend happy, she was extremely disappionted she couldn't join me in coming to Toronto.


Notes:
1. Too bad you couldn't make it Fola!!! we missed you!!!! but we know, business comes before pleasure! :lightbulb:
2. Many thanks to not only Mark Campbell, but to all Canadian and American racers! It was a pleasure of meeting you all.
3. Job well done by Lars Harrison and Andy Wasserman! Even without being fully familiar with some of the modelcar procedures, they were undefiable in their task with actually applying the old rules for the first time.
4. Great job by BRM, for letting us race their cars and get a taste of a different style of modelcar racing. I really appreciated the experience.
5. I don't get what all the fuss is about on Amsterdam. Toronto, and Niagara Falls where we also went, are AMAZING party cities!!! The people are soooo nice in general, not to mention how pretty the women are here... and how many of them there are.... and how little they ware....
6. As said, racing with Mike was absolutely fantastic, and I hope to be able to accept his invitation the go to Finland in October for the USRA nats (or was it Isra?) and race a eurosport race with his cars.
7. Another result of mutual friendship, is that he's probably gonna come over for the final race of the OEPS in Trier, with maybe Paul Gawronski as teammate, and I'll build him/them the car.
8. Congratulations to all respective race and class winners, all achieved victories were hardly fought and deserved.
9. Just so you all know, the OEPS series are NOT imca's, not even a weak copy of it :rolling: and to imca's invitation to come join the x-mas race, I say FUCK YOU :bleh:

[FromtheDarkside]

Had a absolute fantastic time at Toronto.

GREAT JOB MARK!

you should be applauded by all for pulling it off

My first big model car race and it won't be my last....

The racing was hard fought and and new friendships made.....

Nick I starting to blush with all the niiiiiice things that you said along with a great race report.

The cars that you build are fantastic truly a pleasure to drive.

A small note for all who know Borge keep the golf clubs away from him, we almost had to bury Lars at the 18th hole!


Mike

[Springbok Racer]

Mike,

Don't forget the invite to travel downunder for some Aussie/Japanese style model car racing. Let me know and we'll sort things for you..............

Cheers

Jan

[FromtheDarkside]

Jan,

I have not forgotten, looking forward to it!

Mike