# Been having a blast with AW & JL T-jet 500s



## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

I finally got my laptimer working on my HO track. I got one of the cables that mc1 on ebey sells. It works great. I haven't even made a gantry yet and it works flawlessly just with the incondescent light on the ceiling with Laptimer 2000.

Anyway since I got the timer working last week I've been running my HO track quite a bit. And I want to say that between what I already knew and some things I've learned here about these cars I am getting them running very smoothly and having a blast with them. The drop of CA glue in the rear axle holes to take up the slop is really key. I also glue all the tires on and true them all after gluing. These cars are great!!!

I am really looking forward to the Chappys and the AMXs. I may get an X-traction GT but I'm not sure yet.


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## BRS Hobbies (Feb 16, 2006)

I agree the AW cars are a lot of fun. How many volts are you running your cars at? What kind of controllers are you using?

Best regards,
Brian


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

I am running 20 volts at 3 amps regulated. 

My controller is a Parma Economy with an HO World 125 ohm resister. 

I am also running rubber tires. I am finding them to be more fun than silicones.

I've been running these cars for years on Tomy track, but I didn't know how to smooth the track until I read here about removing the little nubs. My cars used to jump out of the slot for no reason, now they are very enjoyable.


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## old blue (May 4, 2007)

What little nubs are you referring to? I must have missed that post.


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

Here's a link to the thread on clickity-clack. The link to the picture is gone though.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=156375&highlight=clickity


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## bubbahotep7 (Mar 13, 2007)

The CA glue trick? How do you do this...add a drop, but won't it fill the axle hole altogether? Thanks.


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*Hey Mike*

I havent gotten the CA trick to work reliably. I just change the axles. Wanna trade one of my axle swapped and tuned JLTO chassis for one of your CA tricked chassis?

Mike (King)


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

I have some that I changed the axles on, and it actually is a better fix. 

I found that with the CA I have to fill the hole with CA with the axle in then place it tires down on a flat surface and let it dry for about 10 minutes. After the CA dries, I break the axle free and oil with very light oil and run the car while I true the rear tires. I soak the tires with lighter fluid before sanding. This seems to make them true up a lot faster and grip really good after. It takes about 100 laps or so for the axle hole to loosen up enough for the rear wheels to turn freely. 

Mking, I'll trade you if you want.

Mike U

PS: I've been really enjoying original Aura Tuffones and JL X-Tractions for the last two nights. Having a reliable laptimer really adds a lot more fun to this hobby.


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*hey mike u*

pick a fun-jet and i will swap it with you for your tuned chassis (see swap & sell post)

thanks
mike k


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

I for got to mention that I cut a wind or two off the pick-up springs to stop the front end from bouncing.


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Hey Mike...*

How much would you say you laid out in total ($$) to get the lap counter/timing system all squared away? Bought/installed/tweaked... the whole thing. If there's one thing my layout needs it's this one last element and I've always been hesitant to buy all the stuff a piece here, a piece there. I guess I've gone about it bass-ackwards and am now (after landscaping and permanently building the layout) thinking I want add a system. dave


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

I already had a computer and I am using Laptimer 2000 which is free and I am just using my already there inconsescent lighting , so, it cost me $32 including shipping.

I didn't have to do any tweaking. I just installed it like the included instructions said to and it worked right off the bat.


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Any Pics of it?...*

Do you have a pic of your counting/timing set up that you wouldn't mind sharing? This technology has always befuddled me :freak: .... and therefore I've always just settled for the manual 10 lap counter. It sounds so cheap and easy, but I am so stupid when it comes to this one aspect of the hobby. I've seen articles and posts about switches, drilling light holes, overhead gantrys, etc. etc. ..... I think seeing it as an applied piece of hardware would help. thanks in advance mic...dave


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

I'll try and post something tonight.


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

Here's what it looks like in the package. There are little sensors oon one end of the wire. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170099992484

You drill a hole through you track between one rail and the slot (the instructions tell you what size hole to drill), hold the sensor in place and glue in place with a bit of hot glue. I drilled holes in my table to run the wires thhough. The other end of the cable plugs into a printer port on your computer.

The software comes from here:

http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Thanks Mic....*

It sounds so easy, maybe an "electronics doofus" such as myself can even manage to do it. I don't know why I thought this was such a costly and difficult thing?? I've seen lots of posts about these set-ups and they are always so much more involved and costly$$$$. I suppose I only need worry about my PC having enough memory on it now. It has never made sense to spend a bundle on this for what I do at home (mostly by myself). Something like this would be perfect for me on my little 2-laner and the software being free is just gravy. If you were able to post a pic of how you did yours it would be awesome. thanks so much mic..... dave


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

I've got the same setup as micyou and also recommend it. The PC does not have to have much memory at all. The requirement is a game/joystick port. It's been very reliable for me.


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## martybauer31 (Jan 27, 2004)

I used the set up from Greg Brauns site as well on my old Tomy Track and it worked like a champ! Very easy to set up, and if a doofus like me can do it, I am almost certain anyone can.


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*slot timing hardware*

i would go with the one Mike U suggested. i bought both that one and the one greg braun sells, and i could not get greg brauns to work. i didnt have the right light source, the other one works with a table lamp over the track (not pretty but it works). once i move and set up another track, i will get a real light bridge


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

Same with me I could not get Greg's to work either. Then I made my own from radio Shack stuff for my 1/43rd track, then tried to do the same for my HO track and couldn't get it to work. This cable I got from mc1 on ebey is the most reliable cable I've used.


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

I'm using Greg Braun's kit. I thought that was what mic said he was using but I didn't read his posts carefully. At first I tried Greg's printer port kit and it didn't work so I swapped it for his game port kit and that worked great.


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## wheelszk (Jul 8, 2006)

*Having a blast*



mking said:


> I havent gotten the CA trick to work reliably. I just change the axles. Wanna trade one of my axle swapped and tuned JLTO chassis for one of your CA tricked chassis?
> 
> Mike (King)


Hey Mike, what axle do you switch to, and do you have any chassis left,ready to go  
Bill


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*hi bill*

i pretty much use 1/16 inch drill rod; thats 0.0625. sometimes i use larger axle material (0.0635 or 0.0670; wire sizes 52 and 51 respectively).

i have 4 chassis ready to go; see the recent fun-jet post in swap and sell. their listed for sale but if you have an interesting swap let me know.

mike


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## wheelszk (Jul 8, 2006)

Like what?


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

*Here's the lap timer pics*

Here's the pics:


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

And a couple more:



















The other two sets of wires, going off the picture, are for two more lanes. The cabls is set up for 4 lanes. I am only using two.


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*micyou03 CA tuned chassis*

Mike U traded me a CA tuned chassis for a Fun-Jet

I got my CA tuned chassis today. Thanks Mike!

As I understand Mike U's tuning, he uses gap filling CA to tighten up the rear axle bores in the JLTOs. He then glues the tires on the hubs, and run sands them to true them up. He also removes a coil from the p/u springs. Then he treats the rear tires with lighter fluid (more info on that step please!).

I tested my Mike U special tonight. after oiling it ran a very respectable 6.410 hot lap on my track. Out of the box JLTOs are usually in the high 7s or low 8s. Fray style JLTO (aka Fun-Jets) run 5.9s. 

Then I used heat shrink tubing to restrict the p/u shoes, used a wire brush on a dremel to further break in the gears (took the magnets and brushes out for this), matched the magnets (they were 31/32, now 32/32), and ran a 6.270 hot lap. thats really fast. sometimes i struggle to get lap times that fast even with the fray width front and rear axles, which really help reduce lap times. 

then i changed the front end. Mike U glued the front tires on, so i switched to a different JLTO front end, and staggered the tires (1 o-ring, 1-ground down JLTO tire, to offset a very slightly warped chassis). 6.040 hot lap! wow. i consider breaking 6.0 an achievement using wider front and rear axles. almost breaking 6.0 using stock TO width axles was very impressive! 

Bottom line, Mike U's CA trick really works. If you dont have the time or tools to replace the axles, the CA trick can really improve these chassis.

Thanks for the trade Mike U!


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

Thanks for the write-up Mike. I didn't check my mail today. Hopefully the Funjet will be there tomorrow. I am looking forward to running it.


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

Got my "Fun-Jet" today. I can't wait to try it. Thanks for the great trade Mike, and for the extras too. I'll be sure to post about how I like it.


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

mking said:


> Then he treats the rear tires with lighter fluid (more info on that step please!).



I just douse a q-tip with lighter fluid and rub it around the rear tires before I true them on the 300 grit sandpaper. It seems to soften the rubber and the tires true faster. They also seem to grip better afterwards too.


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

The Fun-Jet is fun. I'm doing a seperate post on it in customizing.


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