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You got me again Mr Flyslot!!!

Squeezing out those last few tenths
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wixwacing
Marshal!!!
Posts: 1871
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:22 am

You got me again Mr Flyslot!!!

Post by wixwacing »

A week or so ago I was looking to augment my racing stable and needed to purchase a car as such. Whilst in the local slot emporium it was brought to my attention that I could get a very nice discount if I were to buy two said models!!!??? Mmmmmmmm! So I decided to take the proprietor up on his offer. I found a second model and after some negotiation came away with a couple of models and some other race preparations! The second model in question was a Flyslot Ferrari 250 LM which I anticipate running in Classic Le Mans magnet class.

Anyway. I got the model home and looked it over and thought I hadn't done too bad by it. I took the body off to look around and discovered the front body post thread was stripped! (Fly 1 Phil 0). I was just getting the feel for the model when I realised that the rear axle was very tight in its mounts. On popping the axle out it showed a poorly moulded wheel hub which was rubbing against the axle bush??? The wheel was trimmed in place using a sharp modellers knife. (Fly 2 Phil 1).. Next up I discovered that the axle was binding in place. The pinion and spur were in tight mesh and some gear running was needed. I bedded the gears in using my favourite Tamiya fine polish and after a good while the mesh was better, but still less than perfect. (Fly 3 Phil 1).

With a race day in the offing I thought some hot laps were just what the model needed (I don't have a track at home....I know...but it's true). So off up the north coast I trotted, primarily to see if I still had that old black magic... but in the break I put the 250 LM on the track and ran it. The gear was noisy, and the motor was definitely slow, even taking the gears into account. I persevered and I could swear that the model was getting faster and then......one of the back wheels came off!!! Interesting to see Flyslot using splined axles .... but I would have preferred not to have found out this way!! (Fly 4 Phil 1)

I put the model away and decided to look at it at a time when I could partake of some Dutch courage in a bottle...that was this evening. I dismantled the model and checked the gear and the motor speed. The motor was decidedly slow and after drilling a 1/16th hole on the bell housing and putting a drop of Voodoo juice on the comm, the motor sparked into life, indicating something wrong with the comm or the brushes Mmmmmmm??? (Fly 5 Phil 1)

I dropped the whole chassis and motor into a tub of water, (I had glued the motor in as it was very loose in its mounts Fly 6 Phil 2) and ran it for fifteen minutes flat out. On removing the motor and drying and lubing it, it was now running at a respectable speed. and a drop of the ole' Voodoo juice perked it up but no where near as much as previously. (Fly 6 Phil 3) Next up was the mesh problem. Rather than expect the polish compound to lap two nylon gears together, I swapped the Nylon gear (which I pulled off quite easily with a finger and thumb nail!!!!) for a Slot It 11z 6.5 brass pinion which I had in my spares box. This I ran for ten minutes using a mixture of Tamiya fine and Vaseline. After ten minutes the gears had run in nicely and there was even a modicum of backlash between them....nice....(Fly 6 Phil 4).

I now glued the back wheel, back on!! (Fly 6 Phil 5!) and ran the model freestanding, when the wheel on the spur gear side fell off!!??? (this was getting a bit 'Alice in Wonderland by now!!) so that in turn was glued back on (Fly 7 Phil 6). Everything was returned to the model and screwed back together. I had glued a sliver of plastic in the post hole and providing it doesn't get overtightened this should hold (Fly 7 Phil 7)! I am taking the model to the 'Ville tomorrow for some serious 70+ metre lap length racing. it is at this meeting I am hoping to take the score from 'deuce' to 'advantage Phil!'
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When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
wixwacing
Marshal!!!
Posts: 1871
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:22 am

Re: You got me again Mr Flyslot!!!

Post by wixwacing »

I took the model to the Graceville megatrack and after we had run a few models to clean the track, I was looking forward to running it in the Classic Le Mans class. I put the model on the track and pushed off at a moderate pace, there wasn't the 'spark' I was expecting from this model, so I pushed a bit harder. Sure enough, as the model circumnavigated the massive track it became more and more 'doughy'. Top speed was a little less than expected but the big problem was the lack of 'Fly' acceleration. I tried another model and that was fine, I tried another lane with the same results.

Eventually I took the model off and looked over it......All was free and all was well, except that the motor was very hot!! Mmmmmm? I stopped persisting and decided to have another look at a later date. In the comfort of my garage I tested the new motor alongside an old Fly motor which does (fly). The new car motor had slightly less top speed but motor pick up was decidedly slower, and, it was getting hot quickly. Holding a small screw driver against both cases, the new motor had discernibly less magnetism. So. a definitive test was needed. I placed a hiking compass on the end of the work bench and slowly moved the old motor sideways along the bench towards it until the compass deflected 45 degrees. I marked the spot, then repeated the test with the new motor.

The new motor was half the distance from the compass to achieve the same amount of needle deflection. The conclusion had to be that the new motor had poor magnets in it, thus causing it to loose torque and to run hot (Fly 8 Phil 7). Without further ado I put the old motor in the LM and screwed it back together. The following Saturday I had the opportunity to run it at the Logan City Raceway and, to my pleasure, the model was crisp and snappy off the line and full of zip. While there, I took the opportunity to machine the tyres true, this made the model a different car altogether!

So, once again, Mr Fly has got me. Will I buy another (you've said this before Phil!!) probably, and probably by then I will have forgotten all about the Ferrari 250 LM and will have gone through the whole thing yet again.......duhhhhh!
Image

When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
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