# adjusting pickup shoes tips



## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

:wave.k. i know this has been covered, but i never payed attention till a month or so ago.(i,m a slow learner) first i gathered every junk shoe on the bench and tried to match ,m up. after reading just about everything i could i started bending and sanding and swapping out sets and tires soon ( amonth of playin) i have been able to make a ratty tjet come up to speed. i still dont know the difference between sputtering and stuttering but its becoming clearer.there are a lot of ponies left unused if you dont experiment. this is ment for really folk new to the hobby. know that your gonna ruin a bunch of em at first, but you will be rewarded with a much quicker jet witch turns into much more fun/trak time! so 1st read all u can 2nd gather all junk 3rd make a bending tool or buy 1. then start bustin a few you will find hidden horsepower then you,ll say to yer self (why didnt i do this before)cuz i,m dunb thats why.dont be dumb start bending today !you will know it when yer close and you,ll know when u went too far the other way too.there many tricks to shoeing a jet.hooks /perches/hemming and such it can get overwhelming.just try it even if you do know it.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Here's a good tip. Partspig Dennis has (had) some great rubber shoe cleaners that you can mandrel up and use in a dremel. They make for some nice clean shiny shoes when you're done zinging them. What's really nice about these is they don't remove material other than the gunk you want to remove, and leave the shoes nice and smooth. I used to sand too, but these are quick, easy, and the results are awesome! 

Also, for newbies, get a piece of track (the same as the stuff you run on) and use that when you tune your shoes. This will allow you to see how your shoes sit on the rails with the wheels and tires you have on the chassis. It's also good for checking your spring tension and your pin length. If you run on a few different tracks, it would be a good idea to have certain cars set up for each different track, and try to have a section of each track you run on to set them.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Parallel...

as in, the electrical contact patch must be parallel to the rail in the north to south direction; and the east to west direction. Generally east west is already established...but should be checked as a matter of course. 

Least ways that's what I'm shooting for. Initially the tricky part is interpreting the wear data and knowing how far to go. In most all cases (except radical ride height changes) the amount you actually have to bend in any direction is very small.

I use tiny shoves and bumps to tilt the patch one way or another to bring the patch parallel. Once you actually get it fingered... it is very simple. Left Right Up Down Front Back Done


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## martybauer31 (Jan 27, 2004)

I can't ever use those special tools right, so I do it a bit different and it always turns out perfect...

I bend the shoe until it's noticeably forward (meaning contact on the front of the shoe), I then place the car on my test block, and place a mini flat headed screw driver at the bend at the back side of the shoe and push it down against the rail. Being firm but not totally cranking on it forces the shoe to completely flatten against rail, giving you that nice hourglass wear pattern you're wanting....


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

so far i very rarely achieve the hour glass figure but, when i do get it i forget what i did to get there . i,ve been starting at 1 end of pit road and check every car it,s taking awhile cuz i go off on other repairs and mods.the idea being to get each and every lilcar running at its peak to maximize trak enjoyment.also its makin me finish up all the cars unfinished(what a job)i really what to start some new stuff but unfinished buisness is the order of the day.


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## SuperFist (Aug 7, 2005)

You should take the time to make sure all the slot cars in your inventory pick up shoes are adjusted properly and the ones that you replace too.
Then it's done forever and that's important for proper wear.

My way of adjusting pick up shoes is all adjustments are done off the chassis.
If the contact point to the rail is perfectly flat it needs to stay that way.
So all adjustments are made on the 2 bends on the step of a step shoe.
Holding the pick up shoe with some smooth jaw needle nose pliers next to the step insures the adjustment will be on one of the bends of the step.
Then check it on a track section or tech block with the same rail height as the track.

When everything is good sometimes I use a Marks-A-Lot on the contact surface of used pickup shoes then test it on the track to make sure the ink is off on the full length of the shoe.
Then clean the ink off with some isopropyl alcohol on a rag.

__________________


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## WooffWooff (Dec 23, 2009)

*Hello Joe!*

I second most of what's said above, but here's my 2cents. Don't forget to be sure the hanger-plates are tight. In my "flintstone" process, I use two small nail-punches(one either side of rivet) and small hammer. No special jigs to hold steady, so your tongue has to be held just right when you smash'de-bugger (caution...it's possible unintended things can happen here that can involve pain). Also, the underside of the hanger-plate( the impossible to clean side) can be dirty and hinder the electrical flow. I'm sure some have the tools and patients to remove and replace t-jet rivets, I don't. So, as I was encouraged to do by fellow racers, I trim a piece of fine-grit sandpaper(320 in my case) that will slip thru the hanger eye-hole, and shimmy it back'n forth a little, and of course clean any residue. Then, when you get the voodoo that pick-up shoe adjustment involves down real good, it will go faster! Later............wooff


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Great point Woof!

The hanger area is generally taken for granted.

Not only do I hold my tongue just right (hahahahahaha) when I re-stake chassis rivets, I float them in tarnex first and blow them down with contact cleaner and compressed air.


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

with shoe adjusting and all that goes with it there are still times no matter what i do i still get some stutter and black marks on the left shoe.i believe this is where trak power comes into the lil car.is that from too much spring pressure or not enough?the offending chassis will be singled out and resprung then sent back to shoe class.awaiting for an order from slotpro gears/springs and such. i,ll get it someday there is light in the end of the tunnel!


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## martybauer31 (Jan 27, 2004)

Black marks on the shoe means you need more spring tension, so you can either stretch the spring a little or add the small teflon shims .005" at a time...


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

thanx for clearing that up for me marty.i guess the springs should be in the 30 year old area. well i have new springs comming so i,ll try new ones. also can more spring tention be added by giving a slight bend just in front of the hook? seems like i can get almost top horse power out of some adjustment then oooppps went to far the other way(damn) then its back to the drawing board, but that is what makes this stuff fun!


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

hey fellas check out the thumbnail. this a jag that i put together last fall and it just would not go the way i thought it should,so it was bannished to the in field to sit and think what it did wrong. after doing some reading and applied some techniques that all have been learned here on hobbytalk the roadcourse jag has moved to king of the track!!i installed bsrt long step shoes and used some slightly used springs a coupla bends and this car was off to the races power out of a turn and it diggs to top speed in a flash.the 14 foot straight is a mili second (wish i had that lap timing system)every thing from front to rear has been learned on ht.in short if u got a rat start bending shoes and make a new king.this rig went through a 2 hour saturdaynite tunning session and gave up many a great lap.i was so pleased i went down to the cave early and turned a bunch more!so i just had to post a pic or 4.i,m a very happy tuner at this moment. thanx to all the guys that add to tuning segments i always read,em


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

after posting these pics all i can say is "man that car is fugly" but it,s fast as hell!!


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*1. < wrong, 2. > wrong, 3. = right*

Thats good news Joe!

Seen above is my new hyroglyphic for shoe adjustment where the top line is your contact patch and the bottom is the rail. 

#1 is heeled, #2 is toed, #3 is just right

Once you learn how to find the sweet spot things get a little easier. The relationship(s) between shoe geometry and spring tension as they relate to front and rear tire profiles is the core of any setup, but frequently over looked. With t-jets, darn near everything goes together, but not everything assembled works cohesively. Trying to explain it in print is always difficult, but when you actually hit the mark a few times you begin to say..."Oh duh".

So once you couple the shoe voodoo, with the fundamentals of friction reduction, and the verification of axle-tire-wheel concentricity you wind up with a smoother better handling core.

THEN you can start throwing extravagent hotrod parts into it.


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## SuperFist (Aug 7, 2005)

*joegri*

I can't really see it good from the pics but it looks like that Jag has a 14 tooth pinion,
and a Tuff Ones or an American Line 714 15 tooth crown.

That would make it sprint down a 14' straight.

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