[Top Down]

I keep seeing mention of silicone washers beings used under body/chassis and motor pod mounting screws to quieten cars and dampen vibrations - but where do you get them from please?

The nearest I've found are silicone o-rings used in RC racing to shockproof servos and radio gear but they're 2mm thick. 

Too thick for 1/32-1/24 slot car use, I'd have thought?

[BAracer]

MR Slotcar is the manufacturer/supplier. Pendles get deliveries on a regular basis but are currently out of stock.

They range from 0.25mm to 1.5mm with the 0.5mm seeming to be the favoured one in 1/32 circles

[Kevan]

cheap as chips on ebay, available in packs of 50, silicone 'O' rings

[KensRedZed]

I agree with everything and everyone. 

Urethane O-rings between the chassis and body. Every car I race has them. I won't set a car on the track without them.

They have proven to be an advantage to win races.

[chrisguyw]

Hello Top Down,.............Silicone/Urethane washers are an effective way of reducing vibrations/noise when used between the chassis plate and the body posts, and on chassis with motor pods, the same washers do also reduce vibrations, but, more importantly allow for progressive torsional flex, which lets the outside rear tire  load more progressively in a corner, improving both grip and feel.

It should be noted that while the washers when used between the chassis plate/ body posts are effective on any track surface, their use between the pod/chassis plate are much more effective on smooth wood tracks., as on wood the cars do not bounce as much as on plastic, therefore allowing the subtle flex provided by the washers to offer greater effect.

Many years ago I asked Dart Hobbies to produce the urethane washers, and more recently I asked MRSlotcar to produce them in Silicone.

Both have very good compression rates, and both urethane and Silicone have good "memory" so both will be consistent in their performance and both will last a very long time.

The urethane washers from Dart, are very hit and miss (more miss) in trying to obtain them, while many good slot shops do now carry the MRSlotcar washers......Pendle included.

The .25mm size are excellent for use between body posts/chassis plates, and the .5mm are great for use both below and above pod lugs and chassis plates.

While there are many other options available, I have not found any alternatives that come close,..........the MRSlotcar washers were designed and formulated (compression rates) specifically for use with todays plastic chassis cars,.......most of the others I have tried (general purpose silicone etc. washers) are far too stiff to be of any use.

Here is a car with the MRSlotcar .25mm washers used between the chassis plate/body posts,.....these can be glued to the chassis plate with a tiny drop of CA, or, a dot of silicone/shoo goo etc.

I have also used the washers both above and below the pod lugs to "sandwich" the pod, allowing for controlled torsional flex.



A little easier to see in this pic.,.........when adding the washers below the pod lugs and the upper surface of the chassis plate, you may need to reduce the thickness of the pod lugs themselves to maintain the original  ride height of the pos in the chassis plate............while it is hard to see, there are washers under the pod lugs/on top of the chassis plate.

The Nylok nuts/machine screws make fine adjustments possible, and there is no risk of the screws coming loose/backing out



Cheers
Chris Walker

[Kevan]

One thing I will say about Urethane, it can go rock hard after a few years, silicone doesn't.

[Top Down]

Kevan, yes re: silicone tyres. I have 25 year old silicones on HO cars that are as fresh and perform as well as the day they were installed. 

Chris and all, thanks for all the info. re: silicone washers.

Pendles now have an order for a pack of each of the MRSlots 0.25 and 0.5mm silicone washers plus one set of Revoslot 1mm body post caps (and other bits and pieces). 

Whilst servicing my 911 GT2's I noticed, for the first time, that the noisiest of the trio was missing those. 

Best of it was I never twigged, even while I was installing nylon spacers to raise the body a little! It was only when I moved on to the second and third cars that I noticed their absence on the first.

Hopefully that will even up the red car's performance.