New Motors Inbound - Spy Shots

[Ky.Slot Racer]

is this
S can 18k range? Raeson I ask is I was about ready to pull the trigger on 18k duel shaft but not if it`s coming already.

[SlotCarCorner]

Hello Mark,

The Gator is (very conservatively) rated at 18K with a single splined shaft - it is available now. The S-can motor in Harry's spy shot is not in the 18K range - it will be available in 1-2 weeks.

[Ky.Slot Racer]

awesome thank you !

[BARC 1]

My only wish would be to call a duck a duck. What does conservatively rated at 18 K mean

[SlotCarCorner]

"My only wish would be to call a duck a duck."

We agree. Unfortunately, "18K" RPM motors from Scalextric, FLY, etc. often tach much higher than the "18K" rating - it is not unusual to have these motors turning 20-21K (and sometimes higher). But these manufacturers haven't seen any need to call a "duck a duck" by re-classifying their motor rating. But it doesn't stop there. These motors are very popular with many clubs who often have one or more classes that mandate Scalextric/Fly "18K" black-stripe motors. Again, most clubs (and certainly the top racers) know what's really going on with these motors ("wink wink") - with few exceptions, the top runners in these classes will have very strong "18K" motors that turn well above the rated RPM. While some clubs might check motor or real wheel RPM's, there are more than a few clubs who aren't calling a "duck a duck" either. The SCC Gator 18K is intended to be a direct replacement for Scaley, Fly, etc. "18K" motors. The motor specs and performance are virtually identical. The only difference is we're calling a "duck a duck" and letting the buyer know the "18K" rating will often be conservative.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Our little group assimilated the idea of "stock" motors having widely varied performance, rather inexpensively, by testing Scaley motors to find the best one to use as a runner in our Scaley TransAm series, Camaro vs Mustang, back when those were the only TransAms commonly out there. I bought a laser tach for that purpose, and even with my arthritic bad driving, I stayed fairly close to the lead laps, just because I used the variance to my advantage. I had four Scaley stock motors that consistently ran 24K with 18K classification, and I never took an endbell off, nor swapped a motor from one car to another. I just ran the hot ones. Since I am a terrible driver, nobody noticed!

[Reegs]

[RichD]

Right now replacement Scalextric "black stripe" motors are hard to find and most of those are the sidewinder type with the end of the motor shaft cut off. All of those that I have tested over the last year or two have measured 20K RPMs, which with my club would not be competitive. Shoreline Model Raceways has several classes based on these motors, when we became aware that higher RPM motors were no longer available we switched our NASCAR class to using Piranha or Slot.it 21.5K motors. Right now we still have two regular classes and one that we run occasionally that use black stripe motors, so I am looking forward to the 18K motors from Slot Car Corner.

[Racie35]

They're not gonna be 18,000...he's just not saying it clearly in the response to barc.

[BARC 1]

Yes I am guessing they well be 22K to match the Manufacturers stock "18K". So more like a Piranha I guess. Harry did say he was going to shake them down so we will know soon enough where they end up on the RPM scale. When I duck can't swim, and clucks instead of quacks, maybe it is a chicken. :lol:

[SlotCarCorner]

"So more like a Piranha I guess."

Just to clarify, the Gator is not intended to compete with the Piranha. The Piranha typically tachs in the 22.5K to 23K range (another "duck" discussion but for some other day...) so it's a step up from the Gator. The Piranha is intended to be a replacement for the old Slot.it orange bell motors.

:)

[BARC 1]

Ok, I will quit speculating and await the test data Harry provides.

[loosewheel]

I only run 10.5 volts so 18k is OK by me. I have cars with 22-24k but only use them on long tracks.

[RichD]

With slot car motors what matters is the power and that is calculated using RPM and torque measurements and expressed in watts. If two motors had the same RPM rating one of them would have more power if it had more torque. For motors of the same make and model you can expect that motors with the same measured RPMs would also have about the same power. The Piranha and Gator black stripe replacement motors have different watt ratings.
I have tested quite a few motors recently and found that they have much more consistent performance than they did a few yeas ago, that is both good and bad news. For people that were willing to buy a lot of motors and race the best ones that is bad news. For people that do not want to cherry pick motors it is good news.
You can find test results for many motors listed here: http://slotcarnews.blogspot.com/2007/02 ... -list.html
The Motor List is a little out of date, the person that did much of the testing has moved on to other things. I do have the list as an Excel spreadsheet, which is nice because it can be sorted to get the results for the same type of motor all together.

[BARC 1]

Absolutely RPM is only one of the ratings. Torque is the other, and probably the biggest factor. Torque in essence describes how fast the motor reaches it terminal RPM.

I see why "Fun Run" has been coined in Proxies. There are too many discussion points to have it any other way.