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My son and I have just started to build, paint and decorate so cars. I have to admit to being clueless when it comes to the options available with choosing the set-up of the chassis. There is a lot of useful information on the forums, but I still have so many questions. One in particular I want to understand - motor offsets. What is it all about? does a particular offset offer a particular advantage? Any help appreciated.
Regards
Ian
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Hello Ian,
I believe that "motor offset" is simply about getting the motor low in the chassis so as to lower the centre of gravity. The lower the mass of the car is, the better it will stay in the slot.
The gear teeth of the pinion and crown need to "mesh" neatly or there will be excessive wear and noise. Using a zero offset gear set in a an offset alignment will waste power. The gears are not so critical in a side-winder installation.
In off-the-shelf cars the motor shaft and driven axle are generally at the same height. In an offset configuration the motor shaft is usually below the axle line, but could be above.
Leo
Informative Diagram courtesy of Slot.it:-
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Posts: 10
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Thanks Leo, I understand now. To continue my understanding I viewed Pendles Slot It spares web pages. I noted on you very helpful Slot It table that the depth of offset can vary, yet the plethora of offset gears listed, didn't specify an offset depth. So I guess the depth isn't another consideration? And the pinion can stay the same?
For now, I think we will stay with a simple in-line set-up, but in the future if we feel the need to squeeze out a little more performance, we can have a dabble. Sounds like the top of a very slippery slope.
Regards
Ian
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Hello Ian,
Offset gears and motor mounts are definitely for ultimate performance scenarios. I think that in practice one would fit a motor pod, pinion and crown gear from the same manufacturer. However, as you say, the pinion is less crucial.
Some people will adjust the rear axle bearing supports so that the axle moves upwards and achieve the relative lowering of the motor and chassis that way. Doing that would mean some precision engineering or a bit of a guesstimate to select the crown gear.
Leo
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