[Graham]

Hello Graham,...thanks for your reply on the eligibility of the "vintage" shells,.......most of my 60's GP cars do use these bodies.

I do have a technical question............in the rules it states that cars using a Scaley/etc. FF050 motor must use a 9T x 24T gear set (vs the standard 9T x 27T) to provide "more controlled braking".........the switch to 9T x 24T, will provide noticeably  less braking.......is this what is meant by "more controlled braking" ??

Cheers
Chris Walker

Hi Chris,
"yes, I think that is so".  Without getting too technical (as I am on slippery slope here) The issue with the current standard FF050 motor fitted on Scalextric cars is that they appear to rely on the powerful Traction magnets fitted into the chassis to act as braking. So when you remove the magnets the car becomes very difficult to control or to slow the car down. So it appears that there is a low Torque effect by the motor magnets. Changing the crown gear to one of fewer teeth has the effect of countering the motor poor braking performance.
I tried this myself on my home track and was really surprised how much better a Scalextric F1 car fitted with a FF050 ran when you changed the gearing (without the track magnets fitted). And the track speed compared to running with the original gearing was considerably faster.

Other similar RPM Slimline motors (from North America) like the Minnow, Predator, and the SRP (MRRC) motors appear to be made with sufficient Torque that they run well without traction magnets fitted to the car. I have bought a couple of each, but yet to get round to testing them. Unfortunately there appears to be a shortage of such good Slimline motors in the UK.