Onwards, ever onwards...

I raced my new (to me any way) NSR Aston Martin GT3 last night with ever improving results - yes I'm still somewhat off the pace but I'm edging ever closer! Each race sees less errors and better times; proving perfectly that there's no substitute for experience.

For that reason I'm grabbing every chance I can to get controller time so can be seen at Wolverhampton Slot Car Club (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolverhampton-Slot-Car-Club/1618828841737256?fref=ts) on Thursdays too!

Along with learning the track I'm also learning my cars - the Aston is great fun to drive and reasonably competitive as it is. There are tweeks that need doing though; the tyres need to be replaced with softer versions, smaller front wheels are needed (here we go again...), it really needs some form of subtle sponsorship/colour scheme, etc, etc... Having said that my son managed to win his first race using the Aston which pleased us both!

Christian also managed to set a fastest lap in his first ever race using my Mosler (only a lat off prevented him from claiming first overall) so the preparation side of slot car racing EWR seems to be doing quite well already ;)

I'm expecting to add a few more steeds to my stable as the season progresses - all will be for racing though so there'll be no show ponies I'm afraid. Having said that I'm sure they'll all be pretty spectacular, like my new NSR Ford GT40...

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.