Toy Car Racing.. Or Is It?

Toy Car Racing.. Or Is It?: June 2011

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Jaco/Carpet/HotShot Rd1 Testing Notes



Flip L1/L2 (rear):

  • more turn in
  • more steering
  • higher corner speed
  • reduced stability 
  • good for technical track
Flip L1/L2 Front: 
  • less steering 
  • very stable 
  • probably not the fastest option for technical track
Tire Prep on Carpet
STX+STX Cleaner+Let Dry 
  • little loose, good steering 
STX+brake cleaner+Let Dry 
  • takes longer for STX to absorb 
  • easier to drive, little slower
STX+STX+Let Dry 
  • best compromise of STX cleaner and brake cleaner 
Length of Camber Links 
Rear 2nd hole outside on hub 
  • more stability 
  • more traction
  • less initial steering 


A New Approach

After the move and getting things settled, I have been thinking heavily about practice and preparing for races. Approximately half the year is spent on carpet and the other half on asphalt but, in my opinion, I believe carpet is easier to learn (less complicated) than asphalt. I believe this because

  1. less tire wear
  2. consistent conditions when compared to asphalt.
That said, I have decided to focus on carpet this summer in lieu of asphalt. I believe taking a challenge step by step is the most effective method to achieve greatness. Lucky, in the U.S. we have many indoor tracks as track owners can keep it running year round while in the winter most asphalt tracks go untouched. Also, the US has far more large carpet races compared to large asphalt races. I plan to move to Europe within the next two years and I believe there I will have more and better opportunities to race outdoors. 

In the US, the Jaco Blue spec tire is very popular for carpet racing so I am going to test exclusively with that tire. Once I find a suitable setup and learn more and more about the car and driving, I will test with the Solaris Hard tire. Thus, by the end of the year, I hope to have very good setups for both tire as well as increased knowledge, experience, and skill. 

I want to explore all areas of preparation and setup from motors to tires and gain as much personal experience as possible rather than only relying on word of mouth to what works. 

 From here, I will record my findings.