[Olsen]

We started our Scalextric Sport Digital adventure with 3 brand new Porsche 997's in the "Triple Cup starter pack". Two of the Porsches have been used for some months by my girlfriend and me. We have had a lot of fun. Some days ago we bought a new Porsche 997, so now we got 4 of the same cars (all 997's). Four cars should give a more even competition.
Today, when we were about to race with all 4 cars at the same time. But we discovered that the two cars, who have been used most, did not drive quite that well anymore. It seems like the used cars did not roll and they were about to stop when you pass a curve at low speed. Very frustrating. The braking settings were correct, so that is not the problem. They way to descibe the driving experience is like "you can drive very slow, but then the poor cars will do stop/go... stop/go... by it self" -- or -- "you can make sure you don't stop but then you have to use full throttle or close to full, and that will be way to fast".

A thing we have noticed is that the rear tires can move more from side to side at the used cars than at the new cars. Could that have a bad effect?
Can anyone give some ideas for what to do to the used cars, so they will come up to the same driving level as the new cars?

 

[Martyn_]

Clean the braids - that's always a good starting point for looking into poor performance.
I put a few drops of lighter fuel (the type you would pour into a Zippo lighter) or some isopropyl alcohol onto a cloth a wipe the braids, it's amazing what a difference this makes.

Once you've done that, it makes finding other faults a little easier.

The float of the rear axle is quite normal, but if it gets too bad, you can pack a few nylon washers in various points on the axle to reduce it. Look at he newer cars, they have a little bit of movement from new.

 

[GregK]

Hi Olsen,
If you have the 4 car powerbase then you will get all kinds of problems if you race 4 cars at a time. It's power handling ability can just about cope with 3 cars; adding a 4th car will really kill performance. You might get power surges when a car de-slots ..... the others then get the power that the car was using and they then shoot off.

For reliable racing you really need to be looking at a 6 car powerbase either a new C7042 or a C7030 upgraded to at least PB-Pro or stick to no more than 3 cars, but where's the fun in that ?

 

[Olsen]

I have the APB 7042 - and have no power issues at any of the new cars.

There must be something wrong with the old porsches. Is "braids" where the car gets its power from, under the front panel? If so, I have changed the braids to some new one - but with no effect.

The car is very noisy when it drives fast over 6-7 meters of straight. Sounds like the gear direct on the motor and the gear on the rear axle rubs each other too hard - or maybe there is to little connection between the two gears because the rear axle can move it self too much? It is much more movement / floating than a new car can.

Is it recommended to use special oil at the motor gear and rear axle gear to minimize friction?
Where can I get the nylon washers for slot cars?

 

[GregK]

Open the bodies up and have a look at the back axle as it may have popped out. This can happen quite often if a car gets hit hard or falls of a table at speed. Something else to look out for (if you are a rug racer especially) is fluff, hair and cotton threads wrapped around the axle and gears.

 

[Olsen]

Have opened the car and the back axle were safe in place. But there was a lot of hairs and other stuff - from rug racing - so that is removed now. The noise problem is still there and the car is still stopping to early, so removing the hair has not solved the problem. It seems like the car would like to have a lot of throttle power before it reacts.

Another example: When the car is out of fuel, it moves very, very, very slowly compared to the other cars when they are out of fuel. In SSDC it is set to 30 % speed.

All the hand controllers were calibrated before start.

The gear seems very dry. Is that ok or should I use oil?

 

[GregK]

A very light oil will be OK ...... only use a small drop though. Too much oil will make the fluff N stuff stick to the axle.

Check the pinion on the shaft on the motor it may have a split in it. An easy way to tell is if you turn the back wheels slowly and if there is a problem you will find it as the gears mesh, they suddenly become stiffer.

If a tooth on the gear wheel on the back axle is slightly proud, some people recommend put a small blob of toothpaste on the gears and running for a few laps to slowly grin them in. If you do this, clean the paste off and apply a little oil.

 

[Mr. Olufsen]

Hi Olsen,

I had the same symptoms in a Scalex GT40 last year. Did all kinds of trial-and-error fault finding until I found a bad connection (breakage) in one of the wires that go to the braids. Your problem may be completely different, this is just to say: Check the car step-by-step as suggested by Greg and snurfen, and you'll arrive at a conclusion.

/Christian

PS: For the pinon/gear I'd use lithium grease instead of oil. If it's rug racing only, maybe not... It's a fluff magnet

 

[UshCha]

Get a new pinion and grown gear for one of the ols ones and replace it. Pendels will tell you what you want. Change them. If it works you know what the problem is if no its one more cause got rid of. Other thing to try before that. On the new car turn it upside down and move the gear sticking through both ways. Then do the same on the old car. If the old car is stiffer eithet way then proably the old gears are worn out.

 

[Billy_Cart]

QUOTE (UshCha @ 8 Apr 2012, 20:52) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Get a new pinion and grown gear for one of the ols ones and replace it.

I have had the same sort of issues with older cars and you really need to do a step by step check of all wires etc as others have said. I fixed a few troublesome cars by replacing the rear axle and gear and/or the pinion/gear on the motor shaft.

It seems to me that over time these plastic gears can wear down and lose their connection with the motor, the cars that I have fixed this way were also much louder in the lead up to being fixed which I have assumed is the bad gear connection.

 

[Olsen]

Thank you for all the comments. I think I will need some nylon washers and maybe some new pastic gears. Were in the UK can I buy spare parts for 1:32 cars?

 

[Martyn_]

http://www.topslotsntrains.com or http://www.pendleslotracing.co.uk/ are good starting points. I've had very very good service from both in the past.

 

[Olsen]

Perfect

 

[GregK]

For axle spacers, watch out for round sticks from childrens hard-boiled lollypops. Over here, there is a brand called Chupa, which are hollow and just the right size for standard Scalextric axles. Eating the sweet is not compulsory