# Ho T-Jets



## fisherman (May 18, 2010)

:wave:What about Racing T- Jets..I had a freind of my bring one over and we could not keep it in the turns..(Wipe Out)we been racing superlll and Ultra G with a Magnet and i notice that the T-Jet dont have one, or i'm i missing something??I also notice on U-Tube the T-jets are fast..How do you keep it in the turns???Thanks


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

From my own personal experiences from shooting video of my T jets and uploading them to the tube, somewhere along the way the video gets sped up. What appears to be a fast clip, in reality was a medium crawl. I don't know if it's the camera, the software, or youtube causing it.

As far as racing, there are plenty of tricks to make a T jet handle better. Silicone tires, brass or aluminum wheels, smaller diameter wheel/tires, add on magnets, and wider wheel widths are some of them. There's plenty of T jet gurus here, I'm sure they will add a few more!


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

hey fisherman.lapping your gears is important,as is making sure your comm plate is clean,and oiling the axles where they pass through the chassis,under the gears,and the little hole in the bottom of the chassis to allow oiling of the armature shaft.what i do with the brass gears is remove the tiny burrs on the teeth with a wirebrush at medium speed on a dremel or other drill.keep those gearsets together,as they are now broken in and will work best if kept as sets.thats the basics.truing your wheels and tires (if the tires are rubber)is also a good way to get your tjets humming.get in touch with nutherdave,TJD41,he is the land HO tjet guru here on hobbytalk,aswell as BILL HALL,they both do wonders with tjets!have fun and don't sell the tjet short,as they are much easier to control than the aftermarket chinese offerings.however,the johnny lightning and autoworld motor magnets pep them right up,as matched magnets make for a more effective magnetic field.balancing your armature is another improvement,but that sadly is an art i have not yet attempted.


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## martybauer31 (Jan 27, 2004)

Everything here applies:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=197364


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## jlong (Feb 20, 2010)

I agree on magnets. T Jets gave me lack luster performance until I got a few of the recent AW G-plus variety (T Jets with magnets). The difference is like night and day and I'm hooked on them. I also agree on a good lube job and break in. I've found that older T Jets without magnets work better on banked curves and the right touch of the throttle sends them into graceful power slides.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Well yeah...ya ARE missing something... like magnetic traction assist.

Not to worry though, there are several hundred guys on this site that can help you out!

Best advice I can give is, if you're serious about learning t-jet voodoo; would be to allow yourself some time to do some reading. The link that Marty Bauer posted would be a great intro, as Tim put together a really great "how to". There's tons of reading available on the subject...but at somepoint you have to face the fact that there's only one real way to learn, and that's through hands on trial and error coupled with observation and correction. 

Swamper Gene has a great saying that put my personal mantra into words, which I will paraphrase; "If you cant tune a stock chassis, how you gonna tune a hotrod?" ...truer words were never spoken. Before you start throwing around fistfulls of dollars on armatures that create their own black holes and magnets that make yer fillings tingle, take the time to learn the fundamental dogma. 

T-jets are rattly, overly complicated, high center of gravitied, narrow tracked, dinosaurs from a bygone era. You have to learn massage them and squeeze out the real car that's hiding inside. For many it's beyond an obssession.

Welcome and good luck!


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

While what everyone says applies here in the long run, I'm suprised no one's asked yet.....


What type of controllers are you using there, fisherman?


And thanks for the credit, Bill :thumbsup:


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## SuperFist (Aug 7, 2005)

Aurora T-Jets are a good racing slot car for the experienced slot car builder and racer.
A key factor when I race slot cars is remembering how to take each turn in every lane,
and do it the same way every time.

There are real fast T-Jets racing here for 19 years;
*Dave's H.O. Raceway* http://daveshoraceway.net/









__________________


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*What brand track are you using?*

... You might begin by seeing if you see any benefit from something as simple as a longer guidepin.


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## jlong (Feb 20, 2010)

If old school classic american muscle is your thing, you aren't going to find the variety T Jets has to offer any place else.


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

yeah i forgot the controller issue fisherman.there are specific aftermarket controllers designed to run tjets with.you can run them with any stock controller,but a nice parma properly ohmed or a professor motor controller really smooth things out and make them alot more controllable.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

SwamperGene said:


> While what everyone says applies here in the long run, I'm suprised no one's asked yet.....
> 
> 
> What type of controllers are you using there, fisherman?
> ...


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## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

One more question: are you running actual old school Thunder Jets (usually referred to as New Old Stock (NOS)) or are you running Johnny Lightning / Auto World Thunder Jets? I know your original post refers to T-Jets but the term can mean different things since JL/AW releassed what are essentially Tuff Ones clones and called them T-Jets. The reason I ask this question is there is a performance difference between these cars and it will make some difference in what is needed to tame their handling. :freak:


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

fisherman said:


> :wave:What about Racing T- Jets..I had a freind of my bring one over and we could not keep it in the turns..(Wipe Out)we been racing superlll and Ultra G with a Magnet and i notice that the T-Jet dont have one, or i'm i missing something??I also notice on U-Tube the T-jets are fast..How do you keep it in the turns???Thanks


Sounds like you are running the hard plastic original Aurora bodied Thunderjet with the 4 skinny tires. 

Johnny Lightning/Autoworld Tuff One reproductions have a wider wheelbase with wider tires. 

The gear ratios between Aurora Thunderjets are different than the Aurora Tuff Ones and JL/AW Tuff Ones reproductions. 

Some of the Autoworld releases have a removable traction magnet.

There are many options of the type of Thunderjet you can run. And the class you want to fit them in. At my track we run a Stock Aurora Thunderjet class with 4 skinny tires (slip on silicone), hard plastic or resin body (not lowered) from the makers of, Aurora, Dash Motor Sports, Model Motoring, Johnny Lightning/Autoworld, and Road Race Replicas.

Stock Johnny Lightning/Autoworld Thunderjet 500 with slip on silicone tires. And the traction magnet removed if one is in chassis.

The cars Superfist has pictured are modified with lexan bodies, applied silicone tires, lightweight gears, independent front tires, and other goodies I may have not mentioned. Those cars would blow the doors off any Thunderjet I have. We don't run that class because of the extra expense involved. 

Marty's link pertains to Fray Thunderjets which may be what Superfist has pictured. They look similar to Fray cars.

Just remember whatever direction you go with. Have fun, if you get frustrated, take a break. It helps me. 

Randy.


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

Mr. fishman's previous posts and photos tell a pretty straightforward story. 

Tomy track, (problematic) set controllers, currently running Super III's and looks like _X-Traction_ (Ultra-G?).

My guess is the car in question is a JL/AW pre-Ultra G T-Jet. Fishman did it have silver shoes/hangars and wide rear tires? If so, one could write a book on tweaking these things, even down to certain releases. Also, again if so, they are a real handful with stock set controllers and really need a 90-ohm resistor to tame them, even when well-tuned.


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

fisherman now look what you did. ya poked every sleeping bear with a stick!you will get the answer you asked for. old or new tjets are the standard in ho. for my money and old school tjet now matter how ratty is the most fun. ya gotta read alot and try every adjustment that there is then just when u think u know it you,ll realize u dint know crap when it comes to the lil cars. that the hook.be ready to spend every available dollar on parts/ tools/ controllers and everything else there is.but know that your having fun and not bothering anybody. enjoy the ride and post pics we like pics lots of pics.


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## fisherman (May 18, 2010)

Bill Hall said:


> SwamperGene said:
> 
> 
> > While what everyone says applies here in the long run, I'm suprised no one's asked yet.....
> ...


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