its 4 small round magnets replacing the springs on the posts, working on the principle that they repell each other when you set them up. the closer the gap the harder the springing when you increase the gap the softer your springing making them infinitely adjustable. I,ve got some but I haven,t used them yet so I cant comment on performance verses springs. lots of people have and answers should be forthcoming. oh! and you need a bridge piece between the 2 spring posts to stop the magnetic attraction locking up the springing. John

 

I unexpectedly received a magnetic suspension kit fitted to a used Slot.it car I bought on eBay, and there was no bridge piece - not sure if there was supposed to be one or not - because of that, I found there was a little too much side-to-side pod movement which seemed to bind like Stoner said.

They're also a bit annoying to set up, as making adjustments is a two-handed bodyshell-off job - one end of the screw needs to be held while the other is adjusted. So, I ditched them in favour of a CH47b spring suspension kit. This can be quickly adjusted through small holes in the chassis without any need to remove the bodywork, and has the added benefit of being adjustable for travel as well as tension.

 

Thanks for the replays guys.
So is the feeling the spring suspension is probably better?
How much does it add to the "drive"?

Dave

 

Been using them for a long time without problems, there's bridge fitted and as far as I can see non needed!
They come supplies with two different length posts screw and less powerful strength magnets are available.
To reduce the side to side movement on SlotIt chassis I use the large head short brass screw p/n CH54b, these are used on the front of the motor pod and have a precise fitting head which limits the overall side movement without binding, these make a big difference. From what I can see the magnetic suspension is no better or worse than the spring type but in my case it seems to work better on heavier bodies.
[oneofwos]

 

Dave
I use just some fiberglass tape to tape pod to the chassis. THis gives you some suspension and eliminates the side-to-side and back-and-forward movement of the pod even with regular screws.
It works for me on wood and ssd tracks.

 

As always guys, thanks for the info

Much appreciated,

Dave

 

QUOTE (DaveLat @ 20 Feb 2016, 12:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Could anyone educate me regarding slot it's magnetic suspension?
How's it work ? Which cars is it used on? Advantages etc?

Thanks ,
Dave

I've got the Slot.It magnetic suspension fitted to their Jaguar XJS9, and the NSR spring suspension fitted to their Porsche 917.

I'm currently evaluating both systems, and both appear to work extremely well on these larger slot cars.

The idea is that they push the *inside* wheel down - thus retaining track contact - as the car rolls its weight onto the outside wheel during cornering. It's important to be aware that it's the inside wheel that we're interested in. Initially, when the car is running straight, the *both* springs/magnets should be compressed to about the mid point. Then, as the car rocks onto the outside wheel in the turn, instead of the inside wheel lifting, the inside spring is simply relieved of the weight of the car and is able to extend itself, thus it's able to keep that inside wheel in contact with the track with sufficient down pressure that the wheel is transferring power to the track.

Many people fit medium to strong springs under the incorrect impression that the suspension's main function is to absorb bumps. Yes, it does that too, but the main purpose is to ensure the tyres remain in contact with the track - rather than lifting - and that the down pressure is sufficient to give traction. This means you want a *soft* suspension.

Note: even a too soft suspension - where the springs are completely compressed and the car is squatting on the track - may well be superior to a too hard suspension, where there's little or no travel. At least the inside spring will extend as the car rolls into the corners. But it will roll, and recover, more smoothly with a correctly sprung suspension.

Magnetic suspension is fully-adjustable, but relatively expensive. Spring suspension requires different springs for soft to hard settings, but is cheaper overall. So far, I've not detected any noticeable difference between the performance of either system.

Hope this helps,
Rick

 

Hi Dave

Late to the party, again..

The first iteration of magnetic suspension was around for some time before sprung suspension kits appeared on the market.

I will leave the members to debate the actual performance effect of the kit as I have seem some fairly dubious comments on this thread already so far..

.. and I'll give you some cut-down info that will hopefully answer your questions.

1. It gives the car a noticeably smoother ride and increases it's stability and linearity
2. The magnetic kit is heavier in terms of component mass than the sprung kit, and I think this is why the sprung kits have won favour in recent tuning trends. This may also explain why John finds it works well with his heavy bodied cars, because it will re-balance the CoG to somewhere desirable.

It is also worth noting the original CH09 magnetic suspension kit was intended for use on the front pod screws only, although in certain cars it could be fitted at each of the four corners of the pod (pre-Evo6).

I personally found it to perform the best on the front only, full extension on the short screw, and original magnets (rather than the alternative thickness available as spares). This was for racing on Ninco or Scalextric track.

Have fun

 

Thanks for the input Gary, much appreciated,

Dave

 

So what was magnetic suspension called before the first iteration happened ......

 

QUOTE (LeMan1960 @ 8 Mar 2016, 13:19) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The idea is that they push the *inside* wheel down - thus retaining track contact - as the car rolls its weight onto the outside wheel during cornering. It's important to be aware that it's the inside wheel that we're interested in. Initially, when the car is running straight, the *both* springs/magnets should be compressed to about the mid point. Then, as the car rocks onto the outside wheel in the turn, instead of the inside wheel lifting, the inside spring is simply relieved of the weight of the car and is able to extend itself, thus it's able to keep that inside wheel in contact with the track with sufficient down pressure that the wheel is transferring power to the track.
The inside wheel is rotating at the same rate as the outside wheel but transcribing a different radius, this would seem to be a recipe for less grip, not more, or have I missed something?

Michael

 

All my cars (slot.it) have the suspension kit if it will fit. On bumpy scalectric track (I'm a rug racer) its more of a necsssity. Before the suspension there was always a quire a number unexpetected off for no apprant reason. These have become essentially a thing of the past. On our small tracks weight is not really an issue as nobody can accelerate that fast for that long. Similarly motor power is not an issue. As an example I have the 4WD LMP but the ground clerance is too low to be practical on my track and will not usefully take suspension for the same reason, its of no use on our tracks. Clearly on a hypersmooth track suspension is not so much of an issue. We tend now to use the spring version with a softer sprinng than that supplied but they are both masively better on our track than none at all. But it may be it dependes on the standard of the track.

 

I like both setups because I run the cars really low. its no good for ninco, scalextric track that dents and leaves the cars bottoming out. the nearest you can get to a flat wood type track is with Carrera hard plastic track, airfix and a few of the older tracks like the American sets with the hard plastic. if you put it on a hard base you can make a T type tool to tap all the joints flat so theirs no step in the rails. I prefer a triangular type pod with one screw on the front and 2 screws on the side or back. mb is a good pod because you can put single flange bearings in them. a bit of movement in the pod is desirable both side and back to front. if you don't want to use springing use small head screws done up just tight enough to get side and back movement with a tiny-tiny up and down movement. this works on wood cars with your offset and plastic track cars with no offset. having tried both magnetic and spring suspension theirs not a lot of difference but I prefer the magnets because of the infinite adjustability. as for the inside wheel describing a different radius than the outside wheel its negligible and the most it will do is step out the back wheels slightly which is another desirable feature.unles you can come up with screw ends on ally bodied diffs like the mg vanquish plastic cased ones. John

 

So how Do you know which cars the kit fits anyone able to help I have a Porsche 962c