Long time no write...

So...

Currently I'm undertaking no motorsport at all (except for marshalling). There are numerous reasons for this - one is 12 years old and one is 8 years old for a start, naturally there are plenty more too.

One of the plus points of having a 12 year old is that we have been closely looking at Targa rallies and both agree that sometime soon we should venture out and do one together. We marshalled on a couple and have been lucky enough to get the road books to a few as well. Junior is now looking at what is expected from him to see if he really wants to give it a go!

To my mind Targa rallies offer excellent value for money and are a perfect starting point for those more interested in being in the silly seat. It's almost a natural progression from targa to road rally then stage event (particularly as you can start at the tender age of 12 on a Targa event!).

Not only are Targa events a good starting point they (amazingly) work out better value than slot car racing. I know, who would believe plastic toy car racing could prove to be more expensive than full scale rallying. I crunched the numbers, then did them again and concluded that to race slot cars was a huge waste of money - for me at least!

I can buy a Targa legal car and run it for a season for the same cost as a year of slot car racing... I can sit in and feel the adrenaline flow or press a controller and watch a toy zip round a track; no brainer really!!! Don't get me wrong slot car racing can be exciting and provides intense excitement for many but I never got away from the fact that I was driving a little car round and round in 'circles' (some more complex than others...)  whilst needing to spend a lot of money to even become competitive...

I've not missed it so far and can't see me missing it any time soon... If it was better value I guess I'd still be racing but the cost really did reduce the enjoyment to minus figures. Also slot car rallying is just not like the rallying I've done thus I was left with roundy, roundy racing which doesn't interest me any where near as much.

Wheels...

Wheels, every car needs them - this includes slot cars... However it appears the bigger the wheel the easier it is to select one! My Mosler GT3 car needed new front wheels so I sat down to order a set and that's when I realised that ordering a set for a full size GT3 Mosler would actually be easier; a lot, lot more expensive but far easier!

Not every manufacturer measure their wheels the same way which makes life just that little bit more interesting... Can you image Speedline, BBS and B-Star wheels all measuring their wheels differently?

It appears that some slot car wheel manufacturers have chosen to measure wheels to the rim (as you do with a full size wheel) whilst others measure to the hump in the middle (see pictures)... There's only a few mm difference but that's more than enough to catch the unwary!

Neither is necessarily incorrect but it does mean the buyer has to keep a list of how each manufacturer measure their wheels otherwise you end up with a wonderful selection of wheels that are the perfect size for cars you don't own!

Once you've decided which size you actually need you also have to remember that some manufacturers produce front and rear axles that are metric and others use imperial axles - oh yes imperial is alive and well in the slot car world!!

Luckily I did lots of research before buying and am reasonably happy with the end result. I did however, get a wheel and tyre package (yes they're alive and well in 1:32 scale too) and think I was just a bit conservative on size - a couple of mm more would possibly work just as well and look a lot better.

Next up for new front and rear wheels is my Porsche GT3 rally car.