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Post by spereira on Feb 3, 2024 18:00:35 GMT -7
Hello again all, So far, I have the two AW cars that came with my initial setup. They perform well enough for stock-out-of-the-box for a newbie like me getting started and gaining experience. I also have purchased two more AW legends Funny Cars, from separate Sellers on eBay. They also perform well for stock with no tweaks or changes. These cars vary in performance, and you folks have already told me that’s the way it goes with AW 4-gear cars. I also purchased a trio of AW legends Dragsters from another Seller on eBay. These cars go quite slow compared to my other cars, and when I run them, they screech and hesitate all the way down the track. I bought an inexpensive test jig that magnets to the track and has a roller for the car to run on so you can see and hear what’s going on. www.ebay.com/itm/274827021516https://www.ebay.com/itm/274827021516On this test jig, my other cars run smoothly, like they do on the track. The three dragsters screech and hesitate on the test jig, just like they do on the track. Can anyone advise me about what’s “wrong” with my dragsters? Is this just another example of lousy performance of AW cars, and I somehow got three of them in one batch? Thanks for any comments, advice, or assistance you may have to offer. smp |
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Post by ecbill on Feb 3, 2024 22:57:01 GMT -7
First suggestion is to ensure that they are properly lubricated, especially at the bottom of the armature shaft. Not too much oil. It’s easy to foul the brushes, with too much oil.
Next check the cluster gear (rear gear on gear plate) for excessive wobble. If it is wobbly, tighten the rivet with a small punch and hammer. Easy does it here too. Don’t want it too tight. Some folks like to swap out the rivet for a screw.
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Post by gnome on Feb 4, 2024 6:19:09 GMT -7
As Bill said lube lightly and tighten rear cluster gear then check to see if the brushes are rotating in the brush pocket. Sometimes scoring the face of the brush will help, some people put the scored face to the com and some put it facing the spring
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Post by spereira on Feb 5, 2024 10:25:55 GMT -7
Thanks very much, guys.
I haven't yet done any disassembly, but it looks like it's time to start.
I purchased a small bottle of Liquid Bearings synthetic oil with a pin applicator, so hopefully I will be able to lubricate without overdoing it.
smp
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Post by spereira on Feb 10, 2024 11:40:30 GMT -7
While I was wandering around here on the boards trying to soak up information, I came across this topic about putting braids on your pickup shoes: nitroslots.com/thread/5040/installing-braid-on-pickupsI ordered up a third hand along with the braid, and I gave it a go this morning on my screeching/hesitating dragsters. Wow, what a difference! The dragsters still have a higher pitch than my other cars (but there's a lot less enclosure with the dragster bodies vs the full body cars) but they now run smoothly all the way down the track - no more hesitating. Many thanks to Dave632 here for that excellent article! Now for the "bad" news. Performing the same mod on my JAG DR-1 made it much worse! This is my only inline car. Out of the box, it was not very impressive, and also had some hesitating. I thought after my good luck with the AW dragsters, this would do the trick for the DR-1 also. So far, not to be. smp |
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Post by Steve-E-D on Feb 10, 2024 12:41:28 GMT -7
Now for the "bad" news. Performing the same mod on my JAG DR-1 made it much worse! This is my only inline car. Out of the box, it was not very impressive, and also had some hesitating. I thought after my good luck with the AW dragsters, this would do the trick for the DR-1 also. So far, not to be. smp You will need to spend some time adjusting the step bend in the shoe to get the contact patch flat on the rails. You may have got lucky with the AW cars the first try. They still may need some adjustment to hit their optimum. With or without braid, pickup shoe adjustment should be your first step in tuning. |
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Post by ecbill on Feb 11, 2024 7:06:29 GMT -7
Sometimes braids will slow your car down. Primary if there is too much solder or solder is in the contact patch of the rails.
DR1s are also bad for not making a good electrical connection, where the shoes contact the brush barrels. Installing the braid may be causing the shoe to be lifting off of the brush barrel. This is the Achilles heal of the DR1, and may be the cause of your car’s hesitation out of the box.
Make sure your barrel and shoe contact surfaces are clean and you may have to reshape the shoes a little to ensure good contact. If the electrical connection is not good, there may have been some sparking, which will lead to carbon buildup. That will compound the problem.
Adding shuts is a good way to eliminate that problem.
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Post by spereira on Feb 11, 2024 7:40:58 GMT -7
Thanks again, guys, for your advice here.
I'll be looking around for previous posts about those shunts next.
smp
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Post by spereira on Feb 11, 2024 12:39:28 GMT -7
OK. I took the braids off of the DR-1, and I now have it back to working crappy, rather than hardly working at all.
That's some progress anyway. Now I'll keep spending time with tweaking those pickup shoes.
smp
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