Hi , I have done quite bit of driving on LP to test the new surface and get it conditioned ready for Tuesday.

I found that most tyres work well on the new Cabothane smooth surface ( corners & part straights only)

The MJK Urethane tyres really like the surface as we have found on the FPR track

The rubber BRM & Slot.it took a while to reach very good traction.

I suspect they need to rubber up the track surface before gaining the top traction.

That seems to be achieved now.

We also found the same thing on FPR - it took a while to reach the maximum traction for the rubber tyres.

I think any type of rubber or urethane will work well now on FPR tracks . Ther will be a lot less deterioration of tyres so The slot,it N & F 22 should also work well and not ball up as they did previously

on the Ferrodore / Cabothane coated grit surface the Lincoln Park track had previously.

In one incident on FPR I got a bit of silicon on the track from a sticky roller . I had put a bit on to help the rollers from wrecking themselves.

I now use urethane glue to do that. The effect of the silicon was dramatic and we had one very slippery hairpin corner ( only on red lane)

I cleaned with Shellite but it took a long while for the corner to regain traction for any type of tyres .

So this is the case for any track if silicon gets on the surface. It can ruin traction for a night of racing.

The silicon can come from Silicon composition tyres which are banned on all the tracks I know that don’t use Silicon tyres exclusively.

The silicon or other anti friction substances can get on the track surface from lubrication that is applied to the bearings & gears on the slot car.

So take great care if you lube a cr to run it on the test block preferably probably not the ones used for sanding tyres adjacent to the track.

Also having it on your fingers then touching the tyres is enough to destroy the traction for a long while . So be careful if handling silicon or similar products.

Sticky rollers can help if silicon or similar is on the surface - but the surface still has to be re-rubbered by running cars on to regain traction.

The message about silicon or anti friction on the track has to be reenforced constantly and new members to the group have to be advised to try to avoid problems with the slippery tracks

Also the tracks need to be vacuumed and run with a sticky roller before each race meeting .

Ok now to what I have confirmed from testing yesterday.

1. Most tyres need some gluing to the rim.

2. Soft Rubber tyres need particular attention to the glueing.

3. I only recommend Loctite Gel Super glue for gluing rubber tyres like the BRM brand.

4. the tyre needs to be correctly mounted on the rim . Perhaps run the car on the track or the rim & tyre on the tyre lathe to check it is firmly mounted and running as true as possible.

5. Carefully lift the tyre bead away fem the rim enough to get the Loctite gel nozzle in between the tyre and the rim - in one spot only at a time so as to not dislodge the tyre.

7. Apply about 5 to 10 drops of Gell around the bead lifting the edge each time - avoid getting the gel on fingers or the wall or tread of the tyre.

7. Use the tyre truer to skim the tread area to true up.

8. Finish of the truing with damp 600 grit wet & dry sand paper stuck to a flat board . - This is Graham’s Tip & works well .

Now to the track side tyre treatment

Even tough the tyres have been trued on the lathe they still need some on the car truing .

This may not be much but usually necessary for top performance.

The track sanding blocks will now be equipped with #320 wet & dry sand paper.

There will be a wet sponge to wipe over the sandpaper as necessary to keep it wet.

The sand paper will need to be wetted before each sand.

Run the car and wet sand until there is smooth operation.

If having trouble with corner hopping check the beads are fully secured on both inner & outer beads of the tyre.

Locktite Gel Super Glue is great for this as the tyre can be re-glued at any time without mess or sticking fingers.

The gel super glue is far safer to use as it is less likely to “squirt” where you do not want it to go - like into motors ect. or even worse parts of you body that you don’t wan’t to get stuck.

The tyre bead security needs to be constantly checked on soft rubber tyres particularly

The wet sanding with wet & dry #320 to #600 grade is of great benefit to any type of Urethane or Rubber tyre.

Many thanks to Graham for finding this method of sanding tyres it certainly works well.

It may be wise to equip oneself with your own wetting & drying sponges plus a flat block with some wet & dry #600 glued to it .

This may avoid being contaminated by the track sanders that someone has rudely left in a mucky condition.

However mucky sanding blocks can be avoided by simple care by everybody - and not getting lubricant splashed on the sanding pad - spin newly lubed cars away from sanding pads please!

So could everyone be diligent in helping by rinsing out the sponges in a container and cleaning off the track sanding blocks as necessary.

This should be everybody’s job - not just one person.

So grab a container of water dunk the sponge in clean water - wring it out to remove excess water and wipe of the sanding pad.

I would suggest that cleaning the sanding pad sponges be done a couple of times during a race meeting - Please do not rely on “Somebody else “ to do it!

**** PLEASE DRY TYES BEFORE PLACING THE CAR ON THE TRACK AFTER WET SANDING ! *****

If you deposit water on the track you will undo all the good done by wet sanding as that area will be wet for a few laps and you will slip in your own water deposit.

Cheers, John

Download the Car Specification Guide

Link to download a PDF of the FPR Car specification guide 2014

Inserted 9/12/2013

Car Specification Guide - Page 1

These are a guide to the specification of the cars under the FPR racing rules. These are not the FPR rules. Always check the FPR Rules pages to confirm that the specification has not been updated. The rules are administered from those on the Rules page.

Below is the "Buying Guide" This gives an indication of what extra can be spent on some cars to bring them to racing specification. What you spend is your choice.

Some cars that come from the toy section of the shop need more than their purchase price spent to be reasonable to drive without magnetic down force being available. These cars are meant for the lounge room floor and are not designed for wood track non- magnet racing - so they have to be converted.

Others like the Slot.it & NSR GT cars need very little to be spent - probably a set of rear tyres and some weight and they are compeditive at FPR. These are designed and made for wood track racing.