[Jango]

Good afternoon chaps.

Just wondering if you could give me any hints and tips on car cleaning.

The Ferrari and Porsche I raced last week both had had little or no running prior to Thursday and both started running very well. As the session went on, both cars' performance tailed off. This is borne out by the results (1st in my first two heats, last in each of the following 3 and completing around 10 fewer laps per heat). I know we all had an issue with dirty sensors towards the end of the evening resulting in laps not being counted, but to be honest neither car was running as well as they were at the start of the night. The Ferrari in particular was stuttering, whereas it had earlier been running fine.

Beyond the obvious stuff, like clearing any dust or fluff from the underside of the car, is there anything else you'd recommend for keeping cars clean?

I know the track had a dose of INOX at the start of the night, but is this something that can be applied to a car's braids?

Any advice welcome!

Cheers
Steve

 

[Michael363672]

Afternoon Steve,

1st Off Did your cars have the standard braids that they came with ???

If so they are just not upto the job

And you will need to put new ones on every race nightish

Personally I like the Slot.it Copper Braid

Also they need to re applied to the guide as this is how they come

And they need to go like this

Look how tidy they are now

Note the above photo's are with a Standard Scalextric Braid and notice how frayed they are

You will also need a drop of oil for the bearings

You can add Inox to the braids but not really needed as we did it at start of night

You might also benifit from running in the gears in a bit by just adding a bit of toothpaste to them and running in low voltage for a while

Add a bit of weight to the front and off you go

Also did you clean your tyres during the night as the Silicones clean the track so you need to Keep your tyres clean as well

( I would love a double pit lane where one line was for tyres so you could just drive thru and over some double sided tape to clean them up )

Michael

 

[Jango]

Thanks Michael.

Both cars have Slot.it copper braids and are fitted as you show.

The Ferrari has a little weight at the front, but the Porsche has been handling OK without.

Haven't really been cleaning the tyres, so will pay a little more attention to this in future!

Cheers
Steve

 

[Michael363672]

Keeping the tyres clean is a must

All you need is some masking tape or Hazard tape to roll the tyres on and that will get the dust off

Or just lick them and wipe them on your finger

I will see if I can stick a guide together for us all

Michael

 

[lee thorndike]

Hi steve
another thing to look for is.
Remove the guide plate and put a small kink in the contacts so they press more on the guide plate.
Also check the guide plate as they bow.
Either straighten it or replace.
I also like to shim the axles to limit the sideways movement.
Just use m2 nylon washers.
I have these if you need them.
You can also smear 3 in 1 oil on the tyres to keep them soft.
Lastly the weight is more to keep the nose down over the start/finish to help with lap counting.

Lee

 

[Michael363672]

How you getting on with this Steve ?

Had any fun tweaking them yet ?

 

[Jango]

Hello Michael,

Been a bit of a mad week

so haven't had much time, but I did grab a few minutes to give my cars a drop or two of oil and the tyres a bit of a clean.

Will double-check the braids before Thursday.

Cheers
Steve