Something I Saw That Rather Shocked Me

[Florida_Slotter]

[Ember]

The manufacturing tolerances mean they vary greatly. I've not measured a standard Scalex but I have SCX RX81 motors that range from 12.2k to 19.7k rpm.

[dr fabio]

Hmm...interesting thought........Scaly motors are the Hemis of the slot world :lol: Just teasing ya Embs.

Most scaly motors Ive measured are in the range 21-22K and about 90-100gcm. Many moons ago I was toying with the idea of sourcing some Mabuchi motors direct rather than going through wholesalers/retailers. But thats another story. So I tracked down an email address and found the person to talk to at Mabuchi. Minimum order 10000 units, delivery wait time ....reasonable if its a standard wind. If you want custom wind....you wait much longer time.

He also said that it was quite common for existing customers to change their motor specifications and introduce the "new" motor unannounced in their product line or alternatively to announce a "new and improved" product depending on which marketing ploy they thought would maximise thier sales. Im guessing here, but I suspect Scalys' 18k motors became 22k motors at about the same time they introduced traction magnets into their cars. This was done unannounced, youd have to ask Scaly why this is the marketing ploy they took however. :think:

[TuscoTodd]

I think Scalextric may under rate them to be "safe" - but that may be the case with most of the manufacture's "stock" motors?
Just looking at the "test" info on http://slotcarnews.blogspot.com/2007/02 ... -list.html shows:

Scalextric standard “black stripe”, Sport (FC-130) 18,000 RPM/12v; tested 20,577-22,300 RPM/12v
tested 99-104 gcm/12v, tested 5.3W/12v

Revell-Monogram standard (FC-130) tested 20,800-24,579/12v

Pioneer Typhoon Mk II QS (FC-130) 18,000 RPM/12v, tested 20,194 RPM/12v
tested 160 gcm/12v, tested 8.1W/12v

Fly standard “black stripe, white endbell” (FC-130) 18,000 RPM/12v, tested 20,408-21,159 RPM/12v
est. 75-100 gcm/12v, est. 5W/12vFly "black endbell" (FC-130) tested 21,450-21,753 RPM/12v

I will say that I have gotten a couple of those motors as replacements and they were no faster than what came in the Scalextric cars originally based on lap times...
:)

[waaytoomuchintothis]

All the above matches with my findings over the years.

I will say in addition, not contrarian at all, that the slop in motor speed in the last 10 years or so is less important than the rather consistent torque in RTR car motors. Not like the old days when there were real benchmarks about such things, but still, when you bought a Scaley Jaguar, the guys next to you who had the same car bought the same real strength in his motor, plus or minus a bit of rpm.

That said, it has to be said that the fastest motor and the fastest car doesn't mean a thing. The driver makes the difference. I build cars that can fly. But arthritis, etc, makes the difference in every case. Faster fingers, better knowledge of track and car behavior are what wins. Ask Kurt. He can beat you with a broom stick and a Pinkcar Citroen. Its because he studied and learned the skill. But don't tell El Sucko I said that. Its our secret.

[JULES]

It's worth noting that the speeds quoted are always 'no load' maximum speeds. They are never going to get up to, say, 22,000 rpm under normal conditions with gears and a load (slot car) attached. Therefore the maximum speed is much less of an issue. It is the low to mid range performance that is the important factor and there are a few special specifications that you can request from the motor maker to get a motor to perform exactly as you want it to.

The Doc is correct - you need to get the spec right because these motors need to be ordered in big quantities. If you make a mistake you can end up with 10,000 duds.

Jules

[Wolseley Hornet]

Hope that's not the voice of experience,Jules.


David.

[JULES]

Yes David. I managed to offload them to the old Fly factory at $5.00 each.
Most of them went in the Playboy cars.
Nobody noticed.

Jules

[Modlerbob]