9 replies to this topic

[Trevor Neilson]

I made this up this up a few months ago with some leftover wire I had lying around. It works on a Turbo Flex chassis and mybe some others.

I made the hook slightly higher than the block to allow for the height of the guide flag. This allows the chassis to stay flat. Just make sure the guide is pointing straight ahead, rear wheels set to the correct width, lead wires in place, etc.

I also set it up without tyres as they can have a big difference in weight. I simply position the motor around until the chassis is dead flat and has a good tooth mesh. I then put a light champ on the motor to hold it in place and then hit it with some solder.

As you can see in the below photos it didn't get this one quite right, but it is pretty close to a 50/50 balance.

[anumber1]

That is pretty ingenious.

I am a big fan of low buck, practical solutions like that!

[slotbaker]

Interesting...
 
How do you determine where the balance point should be?
 
e.g.,
On a flat track with even amount of left and right turns, I would imagine the balance point could be on the centerline of the chassis.
On a track with one banked turn, would it still be on the centerline?
 
Or, what other factors come into consideration?
 
I imagine quite a bit of trial and error would need to be done, so have you confirmed the value of adjusting the balance point with reduced lap times/better handling, etc.


 
Just curious, as I've not heard of anyone balancing chassis side to side before.

[Pablo]

Nice tool, I love racers that actually think.

Steve, on my vintage anglewinders I always determine the balance point of the motor, then place it on the centerline of the chassis. See post #30 HERE.

If you look at a lot of the old vintage cars, especially endbell drives, you will see there is no way they are balanced left/right, but I take pains to make mine so.

On a road course I'd set it balanced at centerline but on an oval, his tool would still be useful to duplicate a desired amount of bias once you find what the track likes.

[Trevor Neilson]

If it makes a difference in the real world I'm unsure but every little bit helps sometimes. I didn't notice any difference, but I only raced it once. Going to get back into soon so we will see... 

It's more finding out where balance point is. I was quite surprised how one-sided my cars were as I had the motor soldered to a unbent motor bracket. If you move the center of balance over as well as the axle you could have a real advance on a oval track, etc.

But most of ours are over and unders so our lane lengths are the same.

[Trevor Neilson]

And here is something simple for those who have a Hudy tyre machine. I find the cover blocks my view and puts a big shadow over the work area. Simply pull it out and turn it around. It opens up the work area and also protects the motor more.

[greggw]

Very nice, as a toolmaker in the auto industry I make and design tools of all types. 

By far the less complex and lower cost solutions are always the best. There is "beauty in simplicity" is my motto and I always appreciate clean and simple solutions.

Five stars.

[Mr. HP]

This is the tool I use to balance my 1/12 scale RC pan car, the bottom of the chassis has two small dimples along the CL. I haven't tried balancing a slot car with them yet.
 

[Trevor Neilson]

I like the look of your car chassis. I am half toying with the idea of getting a low cost RC car,disconnecting the steering and adding a guild and making a rally track outside. The main problem is the guild filling up with dirt, but I think I have come up with a way to over come this. I don't think the wife will let me do in concrete. Should look pretty cool in 1/12 scale.

[Big Booty]

I do the same thing but just use two digital scales place under each rear wheel.  The two scales then read off the weight over each wheel.  Just move motor or add/remove weight accordingly to get a 50/50 split.  Or if you race ovals set the weight bias to whatever you want.