# Aurora AFX vs. AFX Magnatraction



## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Are original box stock Aurora AFX Magna-Traction cars naturally faster than the standard AFX? It seems all of mine display this characteristic. Is this due to the increased magnet size of the Magna-Traction?

Thanks...Joe


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

Grandcheapskate said:


> Are original box stock Aurora AFX Magna-Traction cars naturally faster than the standard AFX? It seems all of mine display this characteristic. Is this due to the increased magnet size of the Magna-Traction?
> 
> Thanks...Joe


Hmm Joe, I found just the opposite. The early AFX had mean green arms in em and the later red tip gold wire Magna Trac's didnt come close to the mean greens. I have some AFX (non mag for clarity here) that are absolutley out of control on the strip. The later Magna Trac's didn't impress me.

Anyone else??


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## Rawafx (Jul 20, 1999)

The original AFX actually had hotter/lower OHM arms, usually about 6 OHMS. The Magna-Traction arms were usually in the 15-16 OHM range. The bigger magnets not only had some magnetic attraction to the rails, their size helped lower the center of gravity. When the M/T's first came out some of us scratched our heads because the arms had such a higher OHM rating, but they really seemed to work well with magnets and the brushes/springs. We used to "speed up" our AFX cars just by installing the magnets from the Super II's. Did you know that there are at least two different levels of Super II magnets??? The vast majority of the ones you see for sale as replacement parts(indivigually packaged) are the "cheaper" ones. When the first Super II's came out they had a much stronger 'radially-oriented' magnets. You can identify them by their super-smooth surface area. The later (weaker) ones have a rougher texture. My first M/T car was a '55 Chevy and it blew the doors off all of our AFX race cars on our twisty road course layouts. Our longest straight was about 10 feet long. We had three four by eight sheets of plywood layed side by side for a 12 by 8 foot table.

Bob Weichbrodt
[email protected]
Winston-Salem, NC


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## JazzyJerome (Feb 14, 2012)

I liked the Magnatractions better the were faster and stayed on the track better IMO.


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

FWIW (my .02¢) I have a dozen A/FX non MT cars and just 3 AFX MT's. And all my non's have Mean Green arms and will totally dust the later MT's. And btw, all my aurora Tuff Ones chassis(w/Mean Greens) wearing silicone tires, will hang dead even with any MT AFX they have raced on my Dragstrip, usually with a photo finish to determine the winner.
PS- in case you didn't know, I'm not a fan of traction magnets- not even the simple AFX MT's.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

As in all racing, Downforce = Drag. Which is better depends on the track you are running.
The Downforce of the magnatraction contributes to its slower straightaway speeds,
but also makes for better lap times on a road course. As with tjets, there are many 
factors to how well a MT will run. I have some that will fly down the straights, and 
some that can't keep up with the pace car. Same kind of arms, similar ohms.

I do have this AFX nonmag that I use for drag racing. It's freakin fast.
I put tall silis on the back just because I like to watch it pull the wheels off the ground.


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

*Sorry for the thread hi-Jack*



NTxSlotCars said:


> *clipped*......I do have this AFX nonmag that I use for drag racing. It's freakin fast.
> I put tall silis on the back just because I like to watch it pull the wheels off the ground.


 Thats a cool 'Cuda FC you got there Rich. FYI, I got the same one with a non MT chassis, and she too Hauls Ass ! Speakin of Drag racing, I have a couple of T-Jets, that when I race on my Drag strip (with clean silis), always wheelies, and pops the pin right out of the slot. Now I know that the serious drag guys use wheelie bars, but my 2 cars that do this are Dirttrackers with tall rear tires, and they just yank the front ends right up. Btw- of late, I've been buying NOS Wild Ones chassis and hot rodding them with stronger magnets and wider wheels/tires. And I'll tell you what, I got two, that although tuned for my oval track, will match a Tuff Ones on my Drag strip and I am amazed. Especially because the WO's are still using the 9T drive pinion against Tuffies using the 14T ! Although, I'm running extra Tall Tires on those Wild Ones, and that must make the gear ratio close to the Tuffies?
PS- I find that the WO's with Grey tip/Green wire(speed wind) arms are a bit faster than the Red Tip/ Green Wire WO arms.


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## clagster (Apr 5, 2021)

Grandcheapskate said:


> Are original box stock Aurora AFX Magna-Traction cars naturally faster than the standard AFX? It seems all of mine display this characteristic. Is this due to the increased magnet size of the Magna-Traction?
> 
> Thanks...Joe


I have 3 original cars in plastic case would you be interested


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## JWSpeed (Jun 2, 2009)

I purchased and raced a lot of AFX cars back in the day all of them had the +/- 6 ohm red tip arm.


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