[Ecurie Martini]

A useful shortcut when choosing sidewinder gear ratios:

If you have a sidewinder set up with a fixed motor shaft to axle distance, are using standard pitch gears and want to change ratios, any combination of pinion and spur with the same total number of teeth will work e.g. 14:45 > 12:47 > 18:41 etc.

I don't know if this will work with the compromise pitch/diameter gears used by Slot It and other RTR manufacturers.

EM

 

[RichD]

Looking at the sum of the diameters might also work. I don't know of anyone that uses regular fixed pitch gears in a sidewinder 1/32nd car. Everyone that I know uses NSR or Slot.it gears and the trick with those is that the pitch diameter rather than the pitch is what varies as the tooth count changes.

 

[Ecurie Martini]

Looking at the sum of the diameters might also work. I don't know of anyone that uses regular fixed pitch gears in a sidewinder 1/32nd car. Everyone that I know uses NSR or Slot.it gears and the trick with those is that the pitch diameter rather than the pitch is what varies as the tooth count changes.

Actually, I use them routinely - preferably 64DP. Of course, my main interest is scratch building so I am free to set whatever shaft to axle distance I wish. While the Slot It or NSR gears work well for some ratios, properly spaced fixed pitch gears are smoother. I have put this to use in chasing after the most compact sidewinder set up that I could build by soldering a brass tube bearing carrier directly to the motor. With hubless wheels and frame rails soldered to the front of the motor, I can squeeze a sidewinder into bodies that would otherwise require an in-line mount - e.g. Ninco XK 120.

EM

 

[Gripping Pneus]

I like that!

The gear looks like 48 d.p. though - is it a FASS?, and where is the gear boss? Is the gear bossless and soldered directly to the axle?

 

[Ecurie Martini]

I like that!

The gear looks like 48 d.p. though - is it a FASS?, and where is the gear boss? Is the gear bossless and soldered directly to the axle?

Not sure of the pitch - it came out of the "misc" gears bin. No, the gear is not soldered on - it does have a boss. The bearing carrier stops at the end of the can and the plastic end bell is relieved (cutter in a Dremel) to make room for the boss. A short set (grub) screw is used so it does not extend beyond the boss. It's a game of fractions of a mm but with a little patience, it works. I'll try and take a photo that shows the arrangement more clearly. Hubless wheels - I have a carefully guarded stock of old BWA wheels and Slot Car Corner (USA and Canada) is currently offering a slightly different design of hubless wheels in several sizes.

EM