# Aurora G+ - Original



## xert82 (Aug 22, 2008)

Would someone please point me in the right direction for tuning tips, and other detailed information on racing and maintaining the original G+. I have been to HOracingcars.com, searched this forum, and googled quite a bit, but I have not found a site or page dedicated to this chassis. Most sites post an exploded diagram and state that the chasis is the grandaddy of the current generation of HO chasis. There seems to be an awful lot of them out there and it's still used in club races but there does not seem to be a collection of detailed information about what works and what won't work with that wonderful chassis. I have built a track on a 4x10 table and the orginal G+ is the best performance/price value on a track that size. The current day high performance magnet cars need longer straights to really show their potentional. The current group of ___-jet cars are pricer than they should be. It seems to me that one can build two G+'s for the price of one _____-jet car and have just as much fun racing. Thanks for your time, information and patience.


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## mikeponiatowski (Jan 24, 2006)

I too love the original Aurora G+ chassis. My collection is about 60% T-Jet and 40% original Aurora G+. I have not found any specific information on these chassis for tune-up, and have just used basic HO slot care maintenance techniques. I purchase lots of Junk/Lot chassis parts when available on ebay. There are a couple of ebay vendors (Tubtrack and Slotfather) that do have NOS parts for these as they can be completely disassembled and rebuilt like a T-Jet.
1. One thing I have found to be very important with these cars is brush tension. Less tension seems to be better as the cars lack responsiveness when there is too much tension. They become too jumpy requiring too much trigger pull.
2. There are two primary types of shoes and I use them both depending on how each car reacts.
3. Tire diameter on fronts and backs are critical.
4. I also run them on a 10 x 4 Tomy type track at 14 volts for the best combination of speed/cornering/responsiveness.
5. I run a variety of bodies on them, original AFX, Tomy AFX, JL Xtraction, some custom resins and of course bodies specifically made for the car. Very versatile with and without body clips.
6. Strong, balanced magnets are also important as the magnets do double duty.

These are fun chassis to work on and fun to run. I hope this helps.


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## martybauer31 (Jan 27, 2004)

Good stuff Mike, thanks! Any tips on the best way to take these guys apart and put them back together? Also, where do you get brush springs, slotfather has closed his doors on ebay for the time being and tubtrack doesn't carry them...

Thanks again.


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## mikeponiatowski (Jan 24, 2006)

I use a curved needle nose pliers to remove the brush holder assembly apart without doing damage to them. The rest of the chassis can be taken apart easily after that.

I just checked his website, Greg Braun has them. Aurora G+Plus Brush Springs (4 springs for $2.10) http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/

Best bet are junk/lot purchases, I have quite a bit of extra stuff I don't need buying that way, but it works. Overall, G+ chassis parts prices are still reasonable.

Also, crimp new springs or cut off a tiny piece to minimize tension. New springs are too stiff, especially with new brushes.

I hope that helps.


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## xert82 (Aug 22, 2008)

Thanks for the information. Lots of great stuff in your post. After posting my question, I found some information in the Aurora AFX Road Racing Handbook Vol. III. It is a great source for the G+, Super Magna-traction/SP1000, and Magna-Tractions Chasiss. For the most part the information is basic slot car tuning. One item that was mentioned was to drill holes in strategic parts of the chassis in order to shave weight. I haven't attempted it yet, but when time permits I will try and report.


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## f1nutz (Mar 26, 2007)

In addition to the above tips.
You can adjust the magnetic downforce/magnet height by gently bending the tabs on the top of the metal magnet flux collectors. There are also 2 different types of flux collectors. The ones with more metal on the bottom provide more stick. (logical I guess).
I don't imagine you will get a drastic change from drilling holes as in the Aurora handbook but let us know how that goes.


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## tjettim (Nov 29, 2005)

I recommend BSRT threaded brush barrels and delrin 7/22 gears.
Berrylium copper covers on the bottom of the flux collectors is a
must.Wizzard's .007 springs,little foot brushes will fit and his
custom arms will fit with the shaft shortened.The BSRT pickup
springs for the G3s will work and give some adjustability as they
come in different tensions.BSRT used to make a solid front axle
independent front end for the old G+ , it may still be available.


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## mikeponiatowski (Jan 24, 2006)

*I'll try this one!!!*



f1nutz said:


> In addition to the above tips.
> You can adjust the magnetic downforce/magnet height by gently bending the tabs on the top of the metal magnet flux collectors. There are also 2 different types of flux collectors. The ones with more metal on the bottom provide more stick. (logical I guess).
> I don't imagine you will get a drastic change from drilling holes as in the Aurora handbook but let us know how that goes.



Good tip! Never thought of this one!!! I'm going to do some experimenting here!!!


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Love those old G's here as well.

Try seller "Tubtrack" on the bay.

If I remember right,he stocks TONS of NOS parts for these,and at very fair prices.

Mike


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

Probably my second favorite chassis of all time, behind Magna Traction


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Is there any similarities between the G+ chassis and the old Rokar chassis? They look similar, but I have never tried running them together to see how they run.

Rich


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## dlw (Aug 17, 1999)

On any in-line armature cars that sit for a while, the bushings get gunked up. A good cleaning of those bushings followed by a touch of oil will loosen things up, giving a touch of speed and a little less noise. Hit the axles where they go through the chassis with a drop, too.


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## tjettim (Nov 29, 2005)

The old Rokar chassis were terrible.Stick with the Gplus.You can use the
Rokar arms if you can't find the old Gplus arms.


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## jeremy1082 (Apr 27, 2004)

The original G Plus is the basis of my 4 wheel drives. I have made about a dozen so far.


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## eastside johnny (May 13, 2008)

The threaded brush barrels make life A LOT easier when you want to change brushes/springs!!!........otherwise make yourself a little "U" shaped clip to put between the brush barrels to hold the brushes in while you replace the arm. The early chassis had solid rear axle holes which made changing tire sizes a bit more challenging but the later chassis had a snap-in rear axle setup that made it much more adaptable to various tire sizes. Back when we were racing them we often ran different tire sizes for each lane. 
Since they are a two magnet inline chassis, I've toyed with the idea of allowing them to race along with the Life-Like M-car chassis in some future races just to see who would give it a try. Could be interesting, depending on the track design. 
Yeah, they are the grand daddy. I still remember everyone sticking them up in the furnace ducts!
I still have a couple of G+ cobalt angle magnet unlimited chassis cars stuffed away. Maybe I'll have to gig them out and see if they can make a few laps!


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## mikeponiatowski (Jan 24, 2006)

*Two G+ Chassis Types*



eastside johnny said:


> The early chassis had solid rear axle holes which made changing tire sizes a bit more challenging but the later chassis had a snap-in rear axle setup that made it much more adaptable to various tire sizes.


I have noticed that G+ cars with the 2nd generation snap-in chassis assembly run and handle better than the first generation G+ chassis. I notice many of these are on European versions of the Aurora G+. They are tougher to find.


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## thunderjetgene (Apr 1, 2004)

*G-PLUS Parts for sale*



mikeponiatowski said:


> I use a curved needle nose pliers to remove the brush holder assembly apart without doing damage to them. The rest of the chassis can be taken apart easily after that.
> 
> I just checked his website, Greg Braun has them. Aurora G+Plus Brush Springs (4 springs for $2.10) http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/
> 
> ...


Hey Mike - I have a lot of NOS G-Plus parts for sale/trade if anyone is interested. I bought a huge lot of them several years ago from a guy in Rhode Island and still have most of it left. I don't have every part, but many. [email protected]

One thing that has always bugged me since they first came out is how to get the arm/bearing back in around the brushes. Maybe I'm stupid for not figuring it out during then the last 30+ years - I guess I never liked working on them -and now that think of it, I guess I could remove the retainer and tubes, but I never wanted to do that much work on them. How do you do it? 

Gene


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## thunderjetgene (Apr 1, 2004)

*Who designed the G-Plus/Rokar M*



NTxSlotCars said:


> Is there any similarities between the G+ chassis and the old Rokar chassis? They look similar, but I have never tried running them together to see how they run.
> 
> Rich


I believe the Rokar was designed by the same guy who designed the G-Plus, and they ran great after you tuned them up, added tires, lowered them, and all the same tweaks as with the G-Plus. I seem to remember it was Jim Russell(of Russel Maxx and Aurora Hobbycraft/Russkit fame), but I also think maybe it was Derek Brand. Maybe I'm mixing it up a little - a call out to Bob Beers would settle this. If you look a tad further back at the Amrac/Cox/Darda(what other brands used the same chassis?) car, you can see it's a descendent.
Actually, I could hang with the Super-G's with some of my best Rokar M-Cars. But I haven't run my Rokars seriously since way back then. Running them with G-Plus's? You'd have to have some seriously fast G-Plus's to hang on the straights, but those monster motor/traction magnets are far better than the stock G-Plus!

Gene


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## ScottD961 (Jan 31, 2008)

thunderjetgene said:


> Hey Mike - I have a lot of NOS G-Plus parts for sale/trade if anyone is interested. I bought a huge lot of them several years ago from a guy in Rhode Island and still have most of it left. I don't have every part, but many. [email protected]
> 
> One thing that has always bugged me since they first came out is how to get the arm/bearing back in around the brushes. Maybe I'm stupid for not figuring it out during then the last 30+ years - I guess I never liked working on them -and now that think of it, I guess I could remove the retainer and tubes, but I never wanted to do that much work on them. How do you do it?
> 
> Gene


 I.m interested ! LMK about the parts OK? :woohoo:


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## mikeponiatowski (Jan 24, 2006)

*G+ arm/bearing removal and reinstall*



thunderjetgene said:


> One thing that has always bugged me since they first came out is how to get the arm/bearing back in around the brushes. Maybe I'm stupid for not figuring it out during then the last 30+ years - I guess I never liked working on them -and now that think of it, I guess I could remove the retainer and tubes, but I never wanted to do that much work on them. How do you do it?
> 
> Gene


Gene,

You must remove the brush holder/hangar first to remove/reinstall the armature and bearings. Those brush holder/hangars can be a pain to remove and reinstall. I used a good quality (craftsman type) curved needle nosed pliers to remove and reinstall the them. The armature and bearings will then easily snap in and out. Hope this answers your question.


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## Dranoel Dragon (Oct 9, 2007)

Pretty much any brush and spring for a brush tubed inline chassis will work. The only exception I know of is Wizzards Bigfoot brushes and springs. On the other hand if you're really good you can use the Bigfoot tubes and have better performance and adjustability. 

I also have a set of Neo magnets for the G+, with the addition of a pair of Neo dots in the rear and in the front They can nearly match an Unlimited car. I have also experimented with glueing Poly mags in the chassis with limited success. Understand, these mods also require a better arm but any arm for a Tyco 440 can be modified to use.

Tires... Well... slip-ons will work but I've had trouble keeping them on stock rims. 3M double sided tape helps for a while intil the oils in the silicone deteriorate the adhesive and you have to redo them. Best solution I've found is homemade Lo-Tacs. Get som AJ's sponge donuts (or make your own) profile them to the size you want and run them through some silicone sealer. Spinning them on a tes track in a small water puddle before they set will smooth them out nicely.

As for tear-down, I think it's already been mentioned, a "U" shaped piece of metal will hold the brushes and springs captive for quick armature changes.


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