Fray Car Tuning
By Tim Leppert
Armatures
Choosing the right armature
This is where it gets interesting.
To find your best armature, we have to define "best". My definition is smooth,
and fast in the midrange. Lots of folks look for that punchy, rip your throat
out armature and all they get is dirty tires. The fact is that you need to
define your driving style and choose arms accordingly.
The other thing to remember is that with the tools available now, you can switch
arms faster than rear tires. So if you have a doubt, pull it out. Try another
one and see.
OK here goes,
you will need:
1 set of blue and yellow magnets.
1 set of old crappy pickup shoes (try M/T shoes for this, they don't need
springs)
1 set of decent brushes, cleaned and polished.
a power supply at your bench.
Now the trick here is that you have a number of chassis, and a number of plates,
now you're throwing in more stuff like arms.
Try doing one thing at a time and start with the chassis and plate combo you
think is your best.
Assemble the shoes and the magnets, then slip in the brushes, and pop in the
arm.
Spool 'er up and listen, remember that tone!
Then turn the chassis the other way and run it backwards. it should run faster
forwards than backwards. If not, no worries, we can fix that later.
Next, try switching plates. (remember the plate you just tried, you will
probably end up with that one) You will hear a difference. When you figure out
the the original plate is the best, mark the chassis with the plate # and the
plate with the chassis #.
Next thing is to try all those arms and find the one that feels and sounds the
best. Set that combo aside.
Now you can grab another chassis and start all over and find the next best
combo.
Next Installment: Brushes and Brush Tensioners
Previous Installment: Gear Plates