Strange happenings

I don't always get any gains from adding shunts, but I don't lose power from them. I always add them when they are allowed because I look at the pick up spring and then a shunt wire......the electrical path has to be better and more consistent than just the spring and hinge. I have had the pick ups themselves rob power, but typically not when they have braids on them. If you're adding shunts then I presume you have braids as well. I'm more inclined to think that just the handling of the chassis to install the shunts did more to cause the loss in power instead of the shunts themselves. Some......ok wait......most of my cars will turn to crap once they are tuned if I just breath on them it seems?? It's so hard to get them to go fast, but so easy to lose that speed once they are there. I....like you Dave....cannot figure out why that happens.

THAT is a scenario that I have seen several times with my cars and others. They sometimes do have a mind of their own. I remember that race between our cars. That has happened with PSO and 4GO both at Bear Creek and Smoky Mountain. You are also right about the cars not running good since. That was the Thunderbirds last gasp. It hasn't run near that good since. I'm afraid to touch my cars once I have them running good. Because I know they could turn turd very easy. You are definitely not the only one that happens to. I'm struggling right now with my cars for Gale's race. They just are not responding......none of them. 

It might sound crazy but in many cases the full size cars were easier to figure out than these HO ones. They are small but still a machine which can
have quirks just like any other machine. I have been fighting with the 4G cars recently and they are giving me fits. I had one getting better on each run
then all of a sudden it lost a full tenth with no changes??? I am leaving the regular AFX and T jet style cars alone now as they are running OK. If I even
look at them they will probably explode.

Here is another strange happening......or maybe not. I built another XT Comp chassis for the Hot August Nationals but have not been able to get it to run. .80ET + is it's best, which is dog slow. I used some braid that I have not ever used before to experiment. I noticed that this copper braid was not all copper since a magnet would stick to it. I have never seen this before. I had tried several things, even changing the motor and the magnets. I knew it had to be something with the chassis, so I decided to go back to the braid material I have been using and Ba Bam!! Got a tenth back immediately! The car is now running in the high .6's instead of the low .8's....just on a braid material change. I never would have noticed that the braid was magnetic if one had not stuck to a magnet on my desk when I was installing them. That roll of braid has found it's way to the trash can! FYI.......

That magnetic braid, or at least what I used, does not have the conductivity the copper does. One other thing about braid material....most of the time it is used for desoldering. So a lot of that type of braid material is infused with flux. That impedes the electrical conductivity. I recommend giving that type of braid some kind of solvent bath before using. I have an electrical contact cleaner that I use for that kind of thing, but lacquer thinner or something like that could be used as well. 

I had the same thing happen when I put shunts on too. I to lost about .03 on the ET. I took them off and got my ET back. That happened at two races I sent that car to. The second time I changed shoes and braids and same thing. So far I’ve left the shunts off. I’m planning on sending that car to Gales race but haven’t started testing yet. I’m in the middle of moving with no track. May have to send them un tested ? Running out of time😬

Rick

if you are adding braids and shunts are allowed, add them too.
braids alone might upset the "patch" on the rail (although I would think it would increase that to an advantage) or the solder used might have greater resistance?