113 replies to this topic

[Pablo]

Good one, Duffy. My Corian jig is for measuring, planning, and light soldering, my wood block is for heavy soldering, and my big flat granite block is for testing flatness. I ordered one of those new-fangled flag flatteners yesterday, too ! A neat new tool will make it faster/easier.

I would also like to say, having smart friends is a key to success in this hobby.

[Guy Spaulding]

Even new racers know they can't expect to win right away. But they can get frustrated if they don't improve, and the only way to improve is with more practice and more knowlege. The only way to attain more knowlege in this hobby/sport is if we share some of ours with them

[John C Martin]

i use body clips . i bend the long leg slightly inward it'll always go in the front..the back s part of the clip will slightly be straightened out, needle nose pliers work best for this...do a dry run in the pans, to get them loosely fitting,..before attaching in body holes, i put 1 piece of the crosshatch fiberglass tape appox. 1/2 x1/2 inside over all 4 holes running it up and down or north & south good ideal to have at least 2 threads of fiber between clip and bottom of body .repoke holes with pin. i always put long leg of clip in front ,will explain later .i use same tape the full length of the clip over top of clip,its 1/2"wide i let appox. 1/8" hang over the bottom to fold on the inside,being careful not to lape it up on the clip...i'll try the body on if it's right, body will move around some, i do not want it tight at all...when i'm thru adjusting clip ends i'll be able rip body off with one continuess motion in emergency situations, very fast.. so far over the years this has worked. try pulling and replacing pins while walking to or from track. PABLO i think 9/35or36 with 730 tires if arm is below 45%, then it'll depend on track voltage don't know what flows at talladaga but that should be close. i'm sorry i use long leg in front cause i think body is less likely to pop off in a frontal collision and if it does is usually unnoticeable till you pick the car up not so if their reversed.

[Duffy]

i know i know 100% more than any body coming in the doors for at least a little while and i'll try to help any way i can... if i have helped my competition that's okay with me i've still had a ball,

In a race for no bucks, a good race is almost as important as winning. Almost.
I've watched a roomful of hotshots swarming over an unfamiliar track, shouting out where the bumps are--"What tyres're working?"--"Test your guide depth in the lead-on, here--" And these guys'll swarm around a newcomer too, both sizing him up and getting his equipment up to what he needs.
Now, when the race is on, it might get rough. But that's racing, and for most of my friends there's no secret worth hoarding if the racing's good.

Duffy

[Guy Spaulding]

That was a funny link, you hid in there, Mike

(and you thought nobody'd notice)

[Guy Spaulding]

Yea, but when I came back to slot racing, three years ago, I had an experienced racer show me his collection of tire treatments. He told me all the speed was in choosing which tire treatment to use.

[Duffy]

That was a funny link, you hid in there, Mike (and you thought nobody'd notice)

No, that's some sort of "autolink" property in our server, not me. I'll always capitalize my links or name 'em something obvious. The Amazon one was mine.

Duffy

EDIT: Actually I'm getting kinda irritated by that link thing! My only way to keep them from meddling in my stuff is to misspell? Okay, guys, here goes.

[Guy Spaulding]

Here's a pointed question:

What side of the chassis do you add tape if the car is good in left-handers, but loose in right-handers?

[John C Martin]

Right on the money, Duffy!!! And I do need tires for my Camaro, thanks.

Guys, I don't use tape, maybe I should so I'm not saying it's wrong to do so... What I'd look at first is trying a different tire compound, softer tire on left side... by the way if I'm running a King track I'll try running the hardest tire on the outside in the bank, same thing on a tri-oval. Car will be much faster with all the G-forces.

Back to King track... if hard is on outside in the bank it's on inside in deadman. Fingers are usually banked enough it doesn't matter, In the 90 going under the bridge hard tire inside may make car a little loose, but I always drive by the back end anyway. Car will be very good in the lower lanes in the donut, not pushing the nose out. And in the lead-on car again will be just a tick loose but I'm smokin' that bank with that hard tire. I may put a 1/4" piece of lead on front left pan for lead-on to tighten up. Not afraid to use lead, just keep it small because problems can usually be fixed with tire compound. Going to new tracks I may not have time to experiment if running four or five classes so small amounts of lead it is.

[SlowBeas]

I guess my best advice would be to buy a tech tool and use it! Secondly, don't be cheap with tires!

John, I had the pleasure of meeting you once in Anderson, SC, years ago. You taught me an important lesson as a beginner: use the full width allowed for the class. I had put cheap tires on the axle without any spacers. You showed me that better tires, combined with proper spacing to the full width, make the car handle so much sweeter.

Yes, very basic. But at the time, I didn't know better.

Thanks, jb

[John C Martin]

While we're on tires, I true the inside edge of tire just as much as the outside edge. Reason is as car is drifting in turns the inside tire is sliding across groove and the braid and that could a problem if track braid is curled as it usually is at least by the time race is half over. The straight edge will grab whatever it tries to ride over. Also tires won't cone as badly.

[Joe Mig]

Just a little tip that I use when building is to use chopsticks to hold parts down while soldering so I do not burn my fingers.

[Guy Spaulding]

You can buy expensive tires and be cheap at the same time. Set up some of your chassis to use larger tires. (Pass tech with little to spare using .770" tires.) Set up other chassis to use smaller tires. (Pass tech with little to spare with .550" tires) Then set up some of your chassis to pass tech with even smaller tires. (Pass tech with little to spare with .530" tires).

So now you can buy .790" tires, true them to .780" and practice and race with your big tire cars. Then true them again for use on other chassis, etc.

[John C Martin]

How about some FCR people comin' to the front of the class?

Roger Holtsclaw, are you listening?

[Pablo]

OK, JC, I thought of a good one: Soldering pinions.
I used to think I was good at it until Greg Wells taught me how to REALLY do it right.

- Test fit pinion on shaft. If it's too tight there is something wrong, or you have a press-on pinion.
- Plan and mark with a Sharpie on the shaft exactly where you want the end of the pinion to end up.
- Don safety goggles. Protect the motor with a small baggie to prevent metal chips being sucked into the motor. Apply about 3 volts to the motor. Cut shaft with Dremel, using thin cutoff disc #409.
Do it a little at a time so as to avoid overheating the shaft - I have heard this will take the arm out of balance.
Once the cut off portion of the shaft drops off, touch the spinning 409 at a 45 degree angle to the end of the shaft. This deburrs it and also creates a small area where solder can pool up.
- Remove goggles.
- Oil bushing (this prevents acid from entering the bushing).
- Apply acid to shaft and tin it all around, including the tip, with a coat of solder.
- Again, test fit the pinion. It should fit over the tip and go on about 10 thou, then stop. If it's too tight, scrape some solder off with an old X-Acto blade.
- When perfect, apply acid to shaft and place pinion on as far as it will go (again, about 10 thou).
- Clean and scrub soldering iron tip. DO NOT add solder.
- Lay the flat side of the tip at a 90 degree angle to the face of the pinon and apply a little pressure until the pinion slides home to the hilt. Done. If you cut the shaft in the right spot, the pinion will be positioned perfectly.
- Cleanup and re-oil bushing.

Sounds complicated but once you do it this way, you will never go back to guessing or fumbling.

[MantaRay]

Thanks, Pablo and Greg...

One more tip on cutting the shaft. I poke the motor through the inside of a baggie/bag before cutting... it prevents the metal dust/shavings from being sucked into the mags/motor.

[Gator Bob]

I trim it, curl it, mash it, shove it, massage it, and no spunk juice for me, let 'er burn! Gonna replace 'em anyway.

No juice for me, ever and never. AND... if I owned the track no one would use it.

[Pablo]

Thanks, Ray Ray, good catch.

[Pablo]

So, Bob, I guess Mother's Milk, Koford Heavy, and Mystery Juices are not good for you?

We had a GREAT Gp20 weekly racing progrom going in 1988 until some idiot decided we needed glue...

Then it fell apart. Several racers quit in disgust. Then the raceway closed.

[Gator Bob]

Da Juice.
Tires... yes
Braids... never
Comm drops... Nope, quit that habit going cold turkey in the '80s.

Tiger Milk, who's the mother?

[Guy Spaulding]

Sounds complicated but once you do it this way, you will never go back to guessing or fumbling

Really, really, excellent, Paul

I recommend just one more step at the very end. If the pinion is new, install as suggested. Then after it's cool, remove it and re-install it, using the same soldering techniques. That way, you're more assured the inside of the pinion is tinned and the solder adheres, preventing "spun pinion" desease.

[Gator Bob]

I clean the pinion and shaft with brake clean and then Dry Heat the pinion on the granite to be sure no machine oil is left in there.

[Rick]

Good advice, Gus. I always remove a new pinion and redo the process, too.

Les Wright (Wrightway Products) sells little itty bitty swabs that you can dip in the acid flux and slide inside the pinion to coat the inside with flux. As another extra precation I also reflux the tinned shaft and then heat the pinion on.

[Pablo]

I also reflux the tinned shaft and then heat the pinion on.

Thanks, Rick, I forgot that, and have added it to my text now.

[Guy Spaulding]

Thanks Rick, that reminds me...

I purchase a #0 paint brush from an arts and crafts store for applying flux. The bristles MUST be sable, with a metal ferrule.

This paint brush will last for years even if you leave it in flux bottle, and it alows you to apply just the desired amount of flux. For transport, I slip a little piece of model airplane fuel tubing over the end.