Model Book

Cars 2

MOTOR
TUNING
the complete story

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4
 ELTHAM MODELS
Ian & Ray Skilling

MAIL ORDER CENTRE

M A IN A G E N T FOR M U RA M O T O R S
M E D IU M PRICED M O T O R S M O T O R S FOR M E N '
R ik o w h ip 16D MURA
1969 B / R a c c d M a b u c h i 29g ’B ’ P ro d u c tio n
w in d (id o a l lo r b e g in n e rs) 3 1 / - The o n ly w a y to g o - low.
C h a m p io n 'B la c k P o w e r’ 042 lo w profile c a n . bullot
1969 B / R a ce d M a b u c h i 29g p ro of endbell. S ta n d a rd
w in d , b la c k ca so . stro n g m o t o r ................................ 100/-
s p r in g s and h / s in k s in ­ S u p e r ’B ’
clu d e d 32/6 S a m e a s ’B ’ a b o v e but w ith
C u k r a s .007 arm aturo. 23g.,
M u r a 5 % B lu o Print 24g., 25g . 26g. 26/27.
M u r a th ick ca se , un m oltablc 27/27. 27/28. ............ 120/-
o n d b o ll (id o al lo r re w in d in g ) 3 8/ - C u s t o m 'B '
M u r a M in i-B ru t e Th e m o st p o w e rfu l m otor
Largo size arm ature. 1 6 0 case. M U R A have o ve r p ro ducod .
S a m e length a s sh o rt m a g ­ H igh tem p gro en epoxy.
num . u n m e ltable e n db e ll ... 5 0/ - A va ila b le . 23g.. 24g.. 25g.,
C h a m p io n 'H o ly S m o k e ’ 26g., 27/27, 28/28. 27/28. 135/-
55 x 28g. w in d , D Z M a g n o ts . S b o rt M a g n u m
unm e ltab le o n d b o l l ............ 55/- H a s all the fe ature s of tho
’H o t’ M o t o r s o xco p t for tho
M u r a S to c k D length (Id o a l for 1/32 a/
29g. w in d, th ick ca se , b a l­ w in d e r s ) . 27g.. 28g., 29g.
ance d. e po xie d . unm eltable W in d s ...................... 1 00 /-
o n d b o ll .......................... 6 5 / - C H A M P IO N
Lenz Red B all B ig Louie
S a m e a s S t o c k O o n ly s lig h tly 24 o n 25g w in d . Pow e rfu l
th ick er c a so a n d o p p o sito D Z M a g n e t s Bullet proof.
rotation ...................... 70/- O ran g o, unm e ltable e n d b e ll 1 1 5 / -
MURA B ig Louie
N E W . G ro u p 12 m otor 26 o r 27g. W in d . Pow e rfu l
M u ra C ase , b la c k endbell. O Z M a g n o t s O ra n g o u n ­
.007 sta c k 29g w in d 34/- m eltable e n d b e ll ............ 95/-
N E W . G ro u p 20 m otor M O T O R K IT S
M u ra C a se , b lack endbell. C H A M P IO N
007 sta c k , e p o xie d b a l­ 535 M o t o r K it
a n c e d 27g. w in d ............ 50/- O Z M ags 0 1 0 ' S ta c k F/G
Te am C u k r a s M o to r C o m m . B u lle t p ro of w hite
24g. w in d . .030" ca n . u n m e lt­ endbell. Reel of 25g. W ire 60/-
ab le g re y e n db e ll a n d sp are C o z in e Kit
m au ve ondboll. ( S a m e o s A s ab o v e but w ith T B D.
M u r a w h ite o n d b o ll) ... 7 5 / - black u n m e ltablo e n d b e ll ... 72/6

N o w y o u ’ve read our im p re ssive sto c k o f m o to rs — co m e a n d

se e them along w ith o ur large st o c k o f other 'g o o d ie s ’.

PO ST & P A C K IN G 1 / 6 - o v e r E3 FR E E ( U K . o n ly ) O v c r s o a s 7/6 per p a r c e l-

all se n t a ir m ail. P lo a so w rite n am e and a d d r e s s clearly.

54 WELL HALL ROAD, ELTHAM, S.E.9

Tel. 01-850 4324
5
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6
 Model Cars
MOTOR
TUNING
• 1969/70 Contents
Prepared by 6. THE B A S IC S OF REW IN D IN G 8
Dan Glimne 7. CO N N ECTIO N T YPES 11
for Mode! Cars
readers 8. M ULTIPLE W IN D S 12
9. THE M ET A L S T A C K 15
10. TIM IN G 20
11. LIM IT A T IO N S 21
12. SETTING UP A M O TO R 24
13. M A T E R IA L A N D P A R T S 26
14. A R M A T U R E PREPARATIO N 31
HIGH-G S T R E S S 36
Part Two of a three-part series

Model & Allied Publications Ltd.

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Aeromodcller. Model Boats. Model Cars, Model Engineer, Model
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Scale Models, Plans, Technical Books, etc.
7
F o lk s , ste p righ t up an d take a look - the w in d they have been k id d in g about
lor ye ars - ye s. o n e tu rn of coat h an g e r w ire. T h e w ire, cut from an actual coat
hanger, i s steel o f 2.5 m m . (or abou t n u m be r 10 A W G ) in diam eter. In su la tio n
is b y a co at of e p o xy d ire ctly o n the w ire, and a bit o f deft b e n d in g and filing
w a s req uired to fit the sin g le turn. N o. it w o n 't ru n - there are n o m a g n e ts
stro n g e n o u g h - bu t it w ill m elt e n db e ll and c o m in les s tim e than it tak es to
read th is line. T h is arm is o ne in the lin e of ‘c ir c u s ' w in d s w e h a v e m a d e over
the y ears. P erh a p s they w o u ld m a k e for an intere stin g article.

6 the basics of
rewinding
Behind every great car, there is a bit of philosophy. During a recent
race, I had the opportunity of watching a driver 'slugging it out' with
his car, powered by a 24-gauge Cukras Mura. Now this is a good
motor - but not for the 1/32nd Ford Escort it w as installed in . Per­
formance w as really magnificent, the car w as an absolute blur down
the main straight. But, oh, for the cornering . . . the slightest move­
ment on the controller produced violent reactions, totally unsuitable
for the poor little Escort. After a few minutes of fascinated watching
on my part, the car finally crashed.
The moral of this is to suit your performance to the circumstances.
The object of motor tuning is not just producing the hottest motor
possible, but rather the best for a particular car and track. You might
want a motor with the power band spread wide for a track with both
fast and slow sections . . . or a real good bottom end 'punch' for
getting out of those tight corners. The treatment of the armature will
offer you just these possibilities of 'customizing' your performance, if
you know how. During the following chapters, I will try to explain
most of the variables in the equation of armature performance -
though the editor will wince at the number of pages used for this. I
will also briefly cover the delicate interplay between armature and
magnets.
This should prove of special value to all you EC R A racers: most of
the high-quality motors emanating from the U.S. are more suited for
1/24 commercial racing than 1/32 club racing, with the result that the
'home-brew' motors will often be winners in the latter case. For the
1/24 commercial, it can often be a toss-up whether to use a home-
wound or a factory armature. The magnets and case should always
be individually treated, how ever!
8
F ig u re 11: W ir e table D iam ete r siz e s are g iv en in d e c im al in c h e s A ll figure s
refer to u n in s u la ted w ire . N o te that the three-step rule for d o u b le w in d s refe rs
to A W G only.
Num ber AW G. SW G N u m b er AW G. SW G
w ir e d ia . w ire dia. w ire dia. w ire dia.
20 0.0319 0.0360 28 126 148
21 285 320 29 112 136
22 253 280 30 100 124
23 225 240 31 089 116
24 201 220 32 079 106
25 179 200 33 071 100
26 160 180 34 063 092
27 142 164 35 056 064

And now for the armature. W e differ between two main areas for
modifications:
(1) the wind: wire, size, turns, connection types;
(2) the metal sta ck : diameter, plates, skewing, timing, treatment.
First, the wind. Before we take the plunge I want to point out that
we, because of the strong American influence, are using two system s
for measuring the wire thickness, A W G (American Wire Gauge) and
S W G (British Standard Wire Gauge). I have included a table for
comparison, with the wire numbers and their thickness (diameter) in
inches. I hope you will forgive me if I, from now on, stick to AW G,
but the table should help you if you prefer to work with SW G. Abbre­
viation: 35 of 26 will mean 35 turns of number 26 (A W G ) wire, and
so on.
When considering what wind to use, we must take into account all
the circumstances: car weight, gearing, size of track, power source,
etc. There is no 'best wind', because then we would all wind like that
and the fun would be gone, right?
A few rules e x ist:
(1) Increasing the number of turns (using the same wire size)
will give more torque, better brakes, less heat and less
R PM 's, while decreasing the number of turns will give the
opposite results.
(2) Increasing the wire size (using the same number of turns)
will give more torque, horsepower and R P M 's, but more
heat and slower brakes.
Now. these rules are not always valid, only within the limits that
automatically exist in any motor, due to design and materials. Read
that line over again, to make sure.
Example 1: you have Mabuchi 16D , stock with the exception of the
armature, which you have wound with 15 of 23 (of course unusable
and dangerous here, but only used for enlightening example). If you
change the wind to 15 of 22 (we are on rule 2), you will find that you
will actually have less torque and horsepower (though more R P M 's).
but more - a lot more - heat and slower brakes. This is because the
armature material and design in conjunction with the weak stock
magnets can no longer cope with these gauge winds. At the end of
the chapter on armatures I will return to these design limitations.
Thus, part of rule 2 does not always ap p ly: at some point on the
gauge scale - I should imagine it lies around number 25 A W G for the
aforementioned Mabuchi - we reach the limit, and torque and horse­
power figures start to go down again. At some other point further
down the line, we will also reach the RPM limit, and RPM will also
start to go down. I have not tested this, but the RPM limit should
on the Mabuchi lie around 17 or 19 AW G , this on a quick estimation.
9
 The other part of rule 2 will still hold, though: increasing the wire
thickness will always give increased heat and decreased brakes.
For those of you who still have chapter 2 fresh in mind and are
wondering how R P M 's can increase when both torque and horse­
power go down, the explanation is that these diagram curves are
altering their distribution, so that the torque and horsepower have
gone down on the middle and bottom of the new range (where it
should be useful with more of it instead) but increased slightly on
the top end (which w e seldom have any use for).
M ore on rule 1: when we start to decrease the number of turns
(using the same wire size), torque will go down and R P M 's rise, as I
said. This, too, has a limit. If the number of turns becomes too small,
the R P M 's will also start to drop - rather sharply. If we get back and
instead start to increase the number of turns, R P M 's will go down
and torque will increase - also to a certain point. If we now put on
more turns, torque will go down.
Efficiency - maximum available horsepower - will come at a number
of turns somewhere between the two others. Thus, for a very small
number of turns, we will have maximum R P M 's. Put on a few more
turns, and the motor will develop more horsepower for more speed.
Put on even more turns, and we will get maximum torque for ripping
off the starting line.
Example 2: note that motor characteristics will drastically alter with
the number of turns. W e will assume that w e have another Mabuchi
16D, this time winding it with 28 A W G wire. Now if we only put on,
say, 10 turns of this wire and put the motor in a car, we will find that
it will be slow off the line and have a long, slow, even acceleration up
to its top speed, which won't be very much. If we instead put on 50
turns of the 28 wire, the car will be much quicker in the start and
have a better top speed, but acceleration will start getting noticeably
quicker in the bottom and middle range than the top. Finally, if we go
all out and cram on 75 turns of the 28 A W G (yes, it actually is
possible on a 16D armature), our motor will be the 'touch and g o '
type, with fantastic punch off the line and out of slow corners, but
top speed will have gone down, and acceleration out of a fast corner
will actually be slow, no pun intended.
Summing this up. Using more turns will make for a more and more
uneven acceleration distribution, with the motor getting rather jerky
in the bottom end. The intelligent reader will at once realize that the
faster the track is, the less the number of turns - up to a point, of
course. However, there are many more w ays than this of setting up
the motor for a fast track!
Here as for rule 2. though, the latter part will remain the sa m e : in­
creasing the number of turns will always give less heat and more
brakes. (Yes. torque and brakes are often connected, and an increase
in one is often accompanied by an increase in the other.) Applying
this on example 2, our 10 of 28 will become awfully hot in running
and brakes will be as bad as the acceleration. At the other end of the
scale, our 75 of 28 will run cool and have instant braking in addition
to its jump out of slow turns, just right for the tight, short-straight
track - if you can drive the thing, it will be rather of the on/off
variety. The 50 of 28 will be 'softer' with a more widespread power
band, making it more suited for faster tracks and easier to drive.
Getting the hang of it now?
There is yet another rule that deserves mentioning :
(3) an armature wound with thinner wire will rev up and shut
off quicker than one wound with thicker wire.
10
P rin c ip a l c o n n e c tio n of a cro ss w in d . N ote s h o rt-c irc u itin g r isk w he re w ire s
c ro ss.

(The reason for this is less weight and something called

Lenz' law.)
Again, this rule must be applied cautiously. Don’t forget that with
thicker wire, w e have redistributed the power diagrams, so that the
middle rev range of the thin-wire arm might correspond to the lower
rev range of the armature with thick wire. However, the above rule
is one of the reasons why a thick-wire motor sometimes is less
suited to a slow, tight track.

★ ★ ★ ★

7 connection types
So far, we have only discussed the wind itself, but not how the
wires should be connected to the commutator.
All common slot racing motors are delta connected, which can be
performed in one of two w a y s : cross-winding, the kind nearly all
commercial motors use, and twist-winding. (These names are transla­
tions of the names commonly used here in Sweden for denominating

P rin c ip a l co n n e c tio n of a tw ist w in d .

11
 SHORT CIRCUIT Figu re 12: S c h e m a tic c o n n e c tio n d ia gra m for
RISK HERE a c r o s s w in d in g .

B elo w . Figu re 14: S c h e m a tic co n n e c tio n d ia ­

gra m for a sta r w in d . N o te that a star w in d
can be d o n e either o n c r o s s o r o n tw ist
p rin cip le , an d the co m m u st bo a d va n ce d
a c co rd in gly .

Fig u re 13: S c h e m a tic c o n n e c tio n d ia g ra m for

a tw ist w in d in g .

the different types). The names are directly derived from the arma­
ture construction, since in a cross-winding, the wires are crossed
before being connected to the commutator, and in a twist-winding,
the wire ends are twisted together before they are joined to the com.
Study photos and figures.
W e will return to these types when actually winding the armature,
so let it here suffice to say that twist-winding is more suitable for
handwinding, while for a machine, the cross-winding is easier to do.
Performance-wise, there is no difference.
There is yet another type, star winding. See figure. In this, only one
wire end goes to each commutator 'ear', the other end will hang
loose, and when all the poles have been wound, the loose ends are
joined and soldered together. Due to this obviously different connec­
tion, the armature will have altered characteristics compared to a
delta connected one, even with the same wire and number of turns.
Generally speaking, you can get away with a wilder wind (fewer
turns and thicker wire) when using star winding. However, it will
only be used in special circumstances.
★ ★ ★ ★

8 multiple winds
First double winds. All winds we have discussed so far have been
single winds, i.e. on each pole there has only been one single length
of wire, wound around the pole. A s an example, we will take a 50 of
28, so that each pole has been wound with 50 turns of number 28
wire. Now, if we instead put on 25 turns of 28, and then yet another
25 turns of 28, we will radically have altered the performance, despite
there still being a total of 50 turns on each pole. Instead of one single
length of wire, we now have two separate ones. W e have a double
wind.

Fig. 14 Fig. 13

12
P rin cip le co n n e ctio n o f a star w in d . N o te o n ly o ne w ire end to each co m lu g ,
the other e n d s b e in g joined together o n the far sid e o f the arm.

What has happened? To answer this, it is essential to know that

the power output from the armature is dependent on the ampere-turn
product, among other things. This is simply the number of turns we
have put on the pole, multiplied with the current flowing through the
wire. The bigger this product is, the more powerful the armature will
be. In our double wind, we have two coils in parallel, each one with
half the resistance (and thus twice the current) compared to the
original single wind. Total resistance is given by the formula:
2
+
1
=
to
R 1 1 1

The intelligent reader will already have calculated the right answer,
the total resistance in our double wind is now only a fourth of the
resistance of our previous single wind. However, the number of
effective turns will be that of each coil. For the example above, we
will assume that 50 of 28 single draws 1 amp (not true but easy for
calculation). This will give the ampere-turn product as 50 (number of
turns) multiplied by 1 (amount of amps) = 50 amp-turns. However,
for the double wind, it will be 25 (number of effective turns=turns
in each coil) multiplied by 4 (amps, since the resistance w as only a
fourth) = 100 amp-turns. This amp-turn product is twice as big for the
double wind as for the single, and it really means a difference: torque,
horsepower and R P M 's will be almost doubled (only almost, because
of non-linear friction losses), but so will the generated heat! Brakes
will also have taken a turn for the worse.
W e could have done even better and made a triple wind, by wind­
ing three coils of each 17 turns of 28 on each pole. You mathematic­
ally interested readers can easily compute the resistance to a ninth
and the amp-turn product to three times the product of the original
wind. Results will be drastic, too, with torque, horsepower and heat
about three times increased. This wind of 17 of triple 28 is actually
on the limit for today's magnets and armatures, and would require a
very long track and mucho batteries to be useful. Try that one on
Tottenham, if you've got a light car and gears around 5.5:1.
There is a connection between multiple and single winds. If you
take a look at the table, you will see that going down three numbers
(from 29 to 26, or 28 to 25. etc), will double the cross area of the
wire, meaning that twice the current will flow through it, meaning
that the amp-turn product will be doubled for the same number of
turns. Thus, a wind of 25 of double 28 will correspond to 25 of 25,
13
 38 of double 29 will be the same as 38 of 26, and so on. Making a
double wind is like increasing the wire size three steps.
Will, then, two motors, one with 25 of double 28 and the other
with 25 of 25, behave exactly alike?
The answer is no. Theoretically, they should, but in all probability
(other factors being equal), the one with 25 of double 28 will run
cooler, have more torque and higher R P M 's - but the difference will
be small.
The answer lies in the practical properties of the thinner wire: it
can be 'packed in' tighter and closer to the pole, so that a slightly
shorter length of wire will be needed, meaning less weight and more
current, and also a slightly stronger field from the smaller radius of
the coil. Chances are that the thinner wire will also be wound more
evenly, meaning less removal of magnetic mass (i.e., smaller holes)
when balancing.
There are drawbacks, though, mostly in reliability: the increased
number of wire connections will mean more of a safety risk, and the
thinner wire will also burn more easily should the armature overheat.
All in all, however, we can with fair certainty say that double winding
is like increasing the wire size three steps. Using the same number of
(effective) turns, of course, and A W G wire.
Triple w inds can be 'translated' to single winds by instead increas­
ing the wire size 4 1/2 steps. Thus, that 17 of triple 28 will be like a
wind with 17 of 23) (wire thickness between 23 and 24), which is
pretty hot even for Tottenham.
Some time ago, I read with interest R. Sloper's article on double
winds in Model Cars magazine, but I'm sorry that I will have to disagree
with him on several points. First, I do not recommend experimenting
wildly with different wire sizes and number of turns in the coils on
the same pole, and I will explain why.
M ost people are aware that the motor principle - running current
through a coil and generating a field - can be reversed - inducing a
field in a coil and generating current. The latter is the principle for
the generator. The connection between current and field is dependent
on number of turns in the coil, as well as the coil’s size, and here
our trouble starts. If we double wind with equally thick wire but
different number of turns in the two coils on the pole, the coils will
not generate equal back emf's, and this will induce a 'parasite'
current that can overheat the arm. If we employ the same number of
turns but use wire of different thicknesses, the amp-turn product will
not be the same, meaning that the two coils will not generate equally
strong fields, and again 'parasite currents' will be induced, robbing
the motor of power. And should you wish to use both different
number of turns and different thicknesses, you will risk really being
in trouble.
(The reason deep down behind all this is that the coils are not
generating equal emf' s. for those of you who wish to research the
subject. I must point out that it is extremely difficult to balance' an
armature electrically, so that one of the coils will not act as a
generator - electrical brake - and increase the current in the other
coil enough to destroy the motor through excessive heat. The subject
of this is very complicated and far beyond the scope of this article,
so I will not trouble your nights' sleep by enlarging on it).
So, unless you really know what you are doing. I recommend
winding with the same size wire and same number of turns in your
multiple winds. Furthermore - and this is important - the coils should
be wound simultaneously. If you wind the pole with first one coil
14
The tw o c o m b a ta n ts and the b e st b la n k a rm s available on the m arket, the
M u r a 007 (left) and the C h am pio n .

and then the other, the coils will not generate equally strong fields,
due to the difference in resistance and coil size, and then you will
again be plagued by the problems above.
(I hope you readers are not getting tired of all these facts and
figures, but in this enormous complex known as motor tuning, I will
not just say wind so-and-so because it usually works on this or
that track. I believe you will benefit much more from really knowing
'what happens', as outlined here, than from any number of articles
with hearty advice to use Rikochet magnets and this-or-that winding.
This principle, as you will discover, is true in all teaching.)
At the end of the chapters on armatures. I will describe the
practical 'setting up' of them.

★ ★ ★ ★

9 the metal stack

For 'total performance', not only the wind but also the metal stack
can be given a going over.
If you take a close look at the stack, the core of iron on which we
put the wire, you will see that it is built up of several thin plates laid
against each other. The standard Mabuchi arm has around 25 of
these.
The reason for making the stack like this, and not out of a solid
piece of iron, is something called eddy currents. These are small
magnetic currents in the metal, which have a braking effect and also
15
P o lish in g the arm is n o t recom m e n d e d, a s e xplain e d in the text. The w o rst
e xa m p le s are w here the pole su rfa ce h a s turned s o s h in y that the separate p la tes
ca n n o lo n ge r be d is t in g u is h e d from e ach oth e r: th is w ill really m a k e for e dd y
c u rre n t s !

will cause extra heat. Because of this, the stack is instead built up
from many thin plates, insulated from each other by a thin phosphate
coating. W e will, of course, have eddy currents in each one of these
plates, but their total will be smaller than had the stack been made
out of one single piece. Thus, more power and less heat.
This reasoning can be carried further: the thinner the plates, the
less the total of our power-robbing eddy currents. B U T - and here is
the so-called catch to th is - this will mean less metal, and therefore
less strength of the field.
Look at it like this: Each one of the plates has to be insulated by
that coating, or there would be no point at all in using plates. But
this insulation has to have some thickness, which cannot be over­
looked. The thinner the plates, the more of them we must use, and
this means that there will be more coats of this phosphate, meaning
that a larger percentage of the stack's length will be not-so-magnetic
phosphate. Thus, the law of diminishing returns: the thinner the
plates, the less metal in the stack. There is. of course, an optimum,
which depends on the metal quality and the thickness of the coating.
NOTE: the amount of metal is called the stacking factor. For
example, a stacking factor of 95 (or 9 5 % ) means that 95 % of the
stack's length consists of metal. For example, a standard Mabuchi
arm has a stacking factor of approx. 98 but suffers from great core
losses (losses due to eddy currents and hysteresis effects). The new
Champion .013 plate arm has a stacking factor of 96, very reasonable
despite thinner plates. The Mura .007 has a factor of 94 but makes
up for this in extremely low core losses, due to the very thin plates.
W e can change the characteristics of the motor by changing the
number of plates. Rule: more plates will mean more torque, better
brakes, less heat and less R PM 's. A 'short-stack' armature (few
plates) will be smooth and have better power at high R P M 's - suit­
able for fast tracks - but more heat, unfortunately. A 'long-stack' arm
16
(many plates) will have instant wind-up and shut-down, similar to
putting on many turns of wire, but this set-up can be useful when the
track has extremely slow turns and you want to come out and gain
speed quickly.
For fast tracks, a standard 25-plate stack will usually have three or
four plates removed for good high speed power, though I have
actually seen 15-plate jobs run fine in light cars. On the other hand,
I have run a 26-plate armature on one of Sw eden's faster tracks, with
a fair amount of success, due to its magnificent brakes. It all depends
on what attitude you take.
Next, the armature diameter: this is very critical for torque, even a
few thousandths difference will make itself felt. For this reason, an
armature should never be polished. M any people will polish the
armature to get a shiny surface, which is better for magnetic field
conduction. However, the dull surface from the phosphate coating
will only affect torque by a few tenths of a per cent, but you sand
off a few thousandths in dia. for that shiny look and you are going to
lose torque, like now! Not being protected by the coating, the pole
surface will also quickly acquire a coating of rust, which is not
going to help torque any.
(W hen I first wrote this article for the Sw edish magazine, I sug­
gested putting a 26D armature in a 16D can with suitable treated
magnets and shims, this for added torque, since the 26D arm is
considerably bigger in dia. than a 16D. Som e time ago the Mura
company also came out with exactly this combination, though I doubt
that there w as any connection - it w as simply a logical step that w as
going to be tried sooner or later.)
Another point on metal stack design is the angular area, that is. the
angle the pole faces will cover out of the total 360 degrees we have
around the armature circle. See figure. The greater this angular area
S h o rt an d to n g -sta c k arm s. I a p o lo g is e for the latter, but a s I d id not at the
tim e have an y 'r e a l' lo n g -s ta c k arm h a n d y. I h ad to ju st tack o n a fe w extra
p la te s o n a n o rm a l arm . . . n o t v e ry g o o d -lo o k in g .

17
Fig ure 15: Illu stra tin g the co n c e p t o f an g u la r area. A rm ature A o n left h a s sm a ll
an g u la r are a an d to rq u e a c co rd in gly . A rm atu re B o n right h a s great angular
are a and w ill b e m u ch better su ite d fo r slo t ra c in g m o to rs
F ig u re 16: In c a s e y o u are u n su re , h ere is w h at the term s 'w e b ' and 'c r o w n '
de no te . ( H ey. that’s a g r eat nam e fo r a p u b for u s slo t racers: the 'W e b &
C r o w n ' . . .).
is, the more torque and horsepower (as well as braking) we will
have. A comparison between the early Mabuchis and the latest high-
quality blank armatures from Mura and Champion will show that the
angular area has greatly increased over the years.
A few years ago, when rewinding w as becoming the rage, Hemi
armatures were much in demand. This w as because of their greater
angular area and lower core loss steel, as well as being about .008 in.
larger in diameter, which gave them a decided advantage over the
Mabuchi armatures. Even today Hemi arm rewinds are often seen on
the club level, where the heavy competition from Muras and
Champions has not made them extinct.
If you are really looking for torque, I advise you to go to five-pole
configuration. Their great angular area (see photo) and different
electro-mechanical characteristics give them quite an edge in torque
and horsepower over three-pole jobs, but drawbacks are a heavier
armature and slower brakes, as well as lower R P M ’s. M akes me
wonder w hy so few people try experimenting . . .
An important point is the web thickness, and again we have
different factors fighting each other. If the web is thin, we can pack
in more turns and the coil will be slightly smaller in diameter, while
the current can be increased slightly due to a shorter length of wire
being needed, all this making for more torque. How ever. with a thin
web we run into the problem of oversaturation. since the small
amount of metal in the thin web cannot carry too much magnetism.
Therefore, the web cannot be too thin, in which case the armature
A 5-pole arm . here rep resented b y a V e rsit ec S S 101. N o te the great total angular
are a - o n ly a sm a ll slit se p a ra te s the p o les.

18
will draw more current and start to overheat because of oversatura­
tion, and it cannot be too thick, in which case we will start to lose
torque for the reasons given above.
An interesting comparison is between the Mura and Champion
armatures. The Champion has a thicker web, but to compensate for
this and provide more winding space, the underside of the crown
(see figure) has been ground out. This, however, also means slightly
less material for field conduction. The Mura arm has a thinner web
and will suffer from a slight oversaturation with the hotter winds,
but this is compensated by the fact that more turns can be added
with a smaller coil diameter. Geometrically. I would say that they
come out approximately alike.
Looking at diameters, though, we find that the Champion arm
measures .520 in. and the Mura .514 in., which gives the Champion a
slight edge in torque. The Champion also has a shade longer winding
stack, which gives it more low-end punch. Drawbacks for the Cham­
pion, though, are slightly more weight and the bigger measurements,
which will limit R P M 's and give it slightly less high speed torque than
the Mura. So there you are, take your pick. M y personal preferences
I will keep to myself.
Notes on other armatures: I would refrain from using the latest
Mabuchi armatures, since these have too thin a web to prevent over­
saturation and thus will draw more current (overheating). Though
for 'softer' w inds, 28 or 29 single for club tracks, they will usually
work well.
Hemi armatures are good, if you can still get them.
Older Mabuchi armatures are not very good because of their small
angular area, also the steel material has high core losses. They are
not recommended.
Hitachi armatures have the same disadvantages as Mabuchis, bad
steel, with high core losses, and thin webs. M ost people on the club
level will usually keep to Hitachis and Mabuchi arms, so again it puts
them on equal footing.
For those of you who wish to use a better arm without going all
the way to purchase a Champion .013 or a Mura .007, I recommend
the Mura M -8 silicon steel armature. This has plates about the thick­
ness of Mabuchi's but is made of much better steel with very low
core losses. The only disadvantage is the short stack, but this could
be compensated by more turns when winding, if you are not willing
to buy an extra arm to pirate plates from.
Also, both Titan and M R R C have come out with new blank arma­
tures. They both feature drill blank shafts and low core loss steel, so
they are highly recommended.
One last note on the metal stack design: a few years ago, 'skew ing'
or 'slanting' the plates w as sometimes done, mostly by the less
Fig ure 17: Illu stra tin g th ick and thin w e b s. A rm A o n left i s , of co u rse , the
th in -w e b o ne here. It is o ften a rule, that the thinner the w eb. the m ore the
t u rn s of wire.
Fig ure 18: A ' zero e d ' arm ature for a ca n -typ e m o to r (N O T v a lid for Pittm an
6001). N o te p o s itio n of co m slo ts, righ t in front of the w e b s of the poles.
The n ew M a b u c h i '6 8 arm and the C h a m p io n o n e . N o te real difference in w eb
th ic k n e ss! The M a b w ill suffer b a d ly from o ve rh e atin g du e to o ve rsaturatio n.

knowledgeable racers. Skewing the plates will make for smoother

running, but a drop in torque and an increase in heat. Skewing a slot
racing motor, therefore, is not very smart. It can sometimes be seen
on industrial motors having an even number of poles, this so that the
motor will start. But slot racing motors have an uneven number of
poles and are self-starting, so there is not really any advantage to
skewing, or industrial motors would look like corkscrews.
it it it it

10 timing
The timing, i.e. how the commutator is set compared to the metal
stack, is another important factor. In figure 18 you can see a 'zeroed'
armature, meaning that the degree of commutator advance is 0°.
If we now turn the com in the direction of rotation, there will be an
increase in horsepower and R PM 's, but, unfortunately, less torque and
more heat. Brakes will also get worse (since an advanced' armature
is a bad generator). The farther we advance the commutator, the
more pronounced these characteristics will be. W e cannot advance
too far, however, about 25° mechanical (30° electrical) is the absolute
maximum
Note how the com should be timed: clockwise for a twistwound
motor and anticlockwise for a crosswound motor, this when looking
at the armature from the commutator side. Don't advance the com in
the wrong direction, or you will be wondering whatever went wrong
when you run the m otor!
The question of timing or no timing can be difficult - sometimes the
gain in horsepower and R P M 's will be balanced by the loss in brakes.
Usually though, a general, and I stress general, rule is that the faster
the track, the greater the advance. Advances of 15° or more are rare,
however. The special characteristics of the Dyna-Rewind motors, high
20
The M u ra s ilic o n - s teel arm is ve ry g o o d and c o m e s co m p le te w ith co m and
in su la to rs, a s sh o w n .

R P M ’s and bad brakes, are because these arms have an advance of

as much as 22°.
I must stress that a timing of, say, 10° on the armature will not
necessarily be 10° in the motor, where it counts. Many factors can
cause this, magnets not centred, brush holders out of line, just to
name a few. Small advances of 5° or so can sometimes be cancelled
out (or turned into 10°) by these faults.

11 limitations
A s the final chapters on armature theory are drawing to a close,
perhaps some of you racers and readers out there are wondering why
we cannot wind with 20 or 15 A W G or whatever we want.
The direct reason for this is heat, as any long-distance racer will
testify. Our team recently participated in a 24-hour enduro where
we set a new Swedish record by being forced to change 15 arma­
tures in 24 hours from overheating. And when I say overheating, I
mean that these armatures had turned blue, with cracked epoxy and
wire insulation burned through, so I've had my share of experience,
thank you.
S o , usually, the way to get power out of your motor is to treat and
wind it as hot as possible without having it ‘cough’ on you in the
race. A s even slight excessive heat will slow down a motor, there
should be a margin, but this is up to your gambling nerve. This
chapter will delve a bit deeper into motor theory, so those of you
21
who feel like it can always skip it and
go on.
One source of heat is the wire itself,
which will heat up because of the current
running through it (joule losses). There is
really nothing to do about it right now , so
we will have to pay for increased amperes
with increased heat. Note that the heat
S k ew in g the arm ature, not recom m end ed. S h o u ld
y o u w is h to s k e w (or so m e reaso n , th ou gh , re ­
m e m be r to e p o xy the p late s in po sitio n .
A tw ist-w o u n d arm w ith the co m turned c lo c k ­
w ise .

will also increase electrical resistance, meaning that ampere draw will
go down when the motor gets hot.
Another not-so-commonly-known fact is that the presence of
magnetic fields (i.e. those from the magnets and the armature) will
decrease current draw and thus performance, by disturbing the flow
of electricity in the wire.
The other main source of heat is in the metal stack, generated by
the core losses (hysteresis losses and eddy currents). These losses
can be diminished in two ways, by using better stack materials or
stronger magnets.
Exactly w hy stronger magnets will reduce core losses is a matter
of nasty formulas and complicated reasoning, so I will not evoke the
editor's rage by starting out on it here. Eh. Alec? But you will notice
that as magnets have become stronger the winds have become more
and more daring. On the old Mabuchis, the absolute limit w as about
30 AW G, but then came Arcos and we all went down to number
27. Then 'the boom" started, with better armature steel and mucho
gauss magnets, and now the hottest racers are running 24-gauge arms
Figure 19: O n a t w ist-w o u n d arm ature, the com s h o u ld bo ad va n ce d c lo c k w is e
a s sh o w n . N o te that the tim in g is de cid e d b y the p o s itio n of the co m s lo t s ,
not the c o m ears.
Figure 20: O n a c r o s s - w o u n d arm ature, the co m sh o u ld in ste ad b e a d v a n c ed a n ti­
c lo c k w ise . T h is is a lso the d ire ctio n in w h ic h the m otor w ill run best. (A
tw ist-w o u n d m otor, e sp e c ia lly w h e n ad va n ce d, w ill run be st c lo c k w ise , se en
f rom the co m ).
Fig 19 Fig. 20
on the fast tracks. Makes me wonder what it will be like if somebody
ever comes out with real magnets . . . who will be the first to run a
19-gauge wind ?
So, in practise, the limiting factors are the magnets and the arma­
ture steel. Super shimming will, of course, make for a stronger
magnetic field, but until the next revolution (which may have occurred
when this is printed) we dare not venture beyond the realms of 23’s.
A s long as we are speculating, it is possible that something really
revolutionary is around the corner - supra conductive wire. For the
benefit of those who don't know, supra conduction is when electricity
can flow without resistance or heat generation. So far, we can only
induce this state by cooling metals down to some 260 centigrades
below zero.
However, there is theoretical proof that organic materials, supra
conductive at room temperatures and above, can be manufactured.
When - and if - this happens, we will have the biggest change in slot
racing since the anglewinder. No longer will it be necessary to use
large wire to run high amperes, we could instead use as thin a wire
as we want and wind on any amount of turns, since we no longer
have any electrical resistance! Unfortunately, core losses will still
exist in the stack and put a limit to field strengths, but before that,
lap records will be cut by seconds and not tenths. But I doubt that it
will happen in the next decade. Theories, fantasies, dreams.
Returning to reality and heat, I must point out that excessive shim­
ming will actually increase heat. Normal shimming will reduce heat
due to the stronger effective field (lower core losses), but if we shim
the magnets too close, the cooling air will have difficulty circulating
and then the temperature will rise again.
One last point is on the torque and RPM limits of the motor.
In the chapter on multiple winds, I stated that the motor and
generator principles were reversible. Few people know, though, that
these phenomena can happen at the same time. W e are putting in
current and the armature starts to run. but when it is running in the
field from the magnets, there will be a current induced in the winds.
Unfortunately, this current is running opposite the current we put in.
and thus it will act as a brake.
The voltage of this current is dependent on three things, (a) the
strength of the field from the magnet, (b) the speed of the armature,
and (c) the number of turns (or more correctly the total wire length)
on the pole.
Thus, when we are pouring in 12 volts from the track and the
armature is motionless, as in the starting moment, there is no back
current or emf induced (armature speed zero, see (b) above). In this
moment, therefore, w e have the full 12 volts generating the field, and
since the field now is its strongest, the torque is the greatest.
When the car has been accelerating for a short time, the armature
will be rotating and the emf will now be induced, reducing the actual
voltage and therefore reducing the field strength and torque. Let's
assume that we are giving the motor 12 volts and that the arm has
reached 20.000 RPM and is reducing 4 volts emf. Therefore, the
actual voltage in the coil will be 12 - 4 = 8 volts, and with only 8 volts
in the coil you can understand that torque has gone down.
The faster the armature rotates the greater the induced voltage,
right up until the actual coil voltage has dropped to 1 volt or less.
Note that we are still pumping in 12 volts, but the armature is rotat­
ing so fast that it is inducing nearly the same amount of voltage
pointing the other way. At this point the armature will have reached
23
the top speed, since the actual voltage in the coil is now so small
that the field can barely keep the speed.
Note that wire thickness has nothing to do with the emf. If we
have two armatures, one with a smaller amount of turns than the
other - as it usually is with thicker gauge wire - and spin the arma­
tures at the same speed, the arm with less turns will generate less
back voltage. Therefore, an armature with a smaller number of turns
will have higher RPM 's. At the speed where the armature with many
turns has reached its rev limit, the other armature is inducing less
back voltage and still has a few actual volts 'to go'. I hope this will
have cleared up a few w h y's and ho w 's' on armatures.
★ ★ ★ ★

12 setting up a motor
For those of you who are still awake. I have included a quickie
diagram where you can see how a specification change will affect
characteristics. And now. and I bet you've been waiting for this, we
will go into practical cases of setting up a motor. If you have digested
the previous 11 chapters, you should now be an expert.
When confronted with a short track with low power supplies, we
must concentrate on making the motor as effective as possible. Since
track speeds are low but good acceleration and brakes necessary, I
would suggest winding some 80 turns of 30 AW G. leave the timing
at 0° and shim the magnets very close, all this to reduce the core
losses and prevent overheating. If the current is really bad, I might
also add a plate to the arm (I am talking about a 25-plate stack).
Please note that this is only a guess. If you want to have the
perfect combination for a track, it will take a lot of experimenting.
Perhaps this track above is faster than I thought at first, so I experi­
ment with 60 to 80 turns of 29 instead and perhaps a slight advance
like 5°. The treatment suggestions given here are only to give you an
idea of the thinking that lies behind a motor combination.
Please note also that the winds 'and treatments I suggest are for
super' magnets. Using stock magnets there really is no difference
between winding a Mabuchi with 26 instead of 2 7, except possibly
that the armature would cough in 5 laps instead of 10. Should you
use 'interim' magnets like Dyna 9 's or Rikochets. however, keep in
mind that they need milder winds. Thinner wire, less advance and
more plates will help prevent coughing your motor.

Fig ure 21: Q u ic k ie diagram ,

w h ere yo u ca n s ee h o w a ch a n ge
w ill affect m otor ch a ra cte ristics.
I m u st stre s s that the d ia gram
is o n ly g en e ra l, and not a lw a y s
va lid - ch e c k w ith article text.
S ig n s an d sy m b o ls : + m e a n s
an incre ase . — a decrease, and
a s for the tw o s ta r s above, m ore
tu rn s w ill g iv e m o re o r le s s
horse po w e r, d e p e n d in g o n w h ic h
sid e of the m axim u m y o u are ,
and m o re p late s w ill g iv e m ore
bottom torque and le s s top end
torque.
24
 Also, a power pack cannot handle the hot winds a battery will
take, because the pulsating voltage will increase core losses and
generate heat instead of horsepower. Not to mention the too often
occurring cases where A.C. will leak right through the power pack!
This is really frustrating but steps can be taken to handle this. But
battery power is always better than power packs!
Now back to that short track above. If this w as equipped with
good power, I would try 50 to 60 of 29, 55 to 65 of 28 or maybe 60
of double 31 and also try removing a plate so that the motor will be
smoother. The heat problem is not so serious on good power, so
possibly increasing the commutator advance to 10° might benefit lap
times. More turns, added plates, less advance and close shimming
will all increase torque and brakes, but any or all of these factors can
be overdone to the point where the motor will not rev fast enough
to be usable, so beware!
If the track w as 'medium quick' with acceptable power, 28 or
perhaps even 27 could be used. A special case is where the track
contains both a fast and a slow section: here I would try close
shimming and 0° degrees for torque but remove a plate and use 45
of 28 or 40 of 27 to 'spread the power band' . On battery power, a
38 of 26 could be tried.
When the track has long, sweeping corners, I consider torque to be
essential for getting that right drift. Try adding a plate and winding
somewhere between 70 of 29 and 50 of 27, depending on how much
power is available. Shimming should again be close but advance could
be set at 12 or 15° for horsepower.
An oft-cited rule of thumb is that the car should wind out just at
the end of the main straight, but this should be taken with a pinch of
salt. The rest of the track might be so tight that setting up for torque
is better, despite losing half a second on the straight you might in­
stead gain a whole second in the tight corners. I think this principle
might hold true for the Tottenham King track, since the straight and
bank are much faster than the rest of the track. Add a plate or 2-3
turns of wire, and you might lose a few feet in the bank but more
than make up for it in the switchback and the doughnut. Perhaps.
Had the Tottenham track had 'S cottish power' (just kidding, Scots,
you don't have to stop borrowing this mag), i.e. a really tight power
pack, it would have presented the difficult case of high speed on low
power. This is one of the few cases where I would try a star wind,
adding 1 or 2 plates and shimming hard. I can only guess at wire size
and turns, but a start would be 50 turns of 29. Advance zero degrees.
Depending on how this one went, I would then start experimenting
with thicker or thinner wire, more or fewer turns and perhaps advanc­
ing the com. For this case you could also try a common delta wind,
say, 60 of 30 for a start, and running 10° advance. The important
thing is to make a good guess and then start working from there.
Well, I would like to have a little more speed at the end of that
straight, so I can try removing a plate and change the timing to 15° -
for example!
Sometimes, you will come to race on a track with real flaming
battery power. In that case, the heat will have to be watched. I
recommend adding plates and/or turns and super shimming the case,
since you will usually have enough horsepower here anyway.
You will notice that I usually recommend shimming hard. Is it then
always best? The answer to that is no, but if I want R P M 's I can get
it in other ways, so I usually use carefully shimmed jobs to prevent
oversaturation and unwanted heat. However, with certain combinations
25
 of w inds and timing it can in some cases be better if the shim­
ming is not done so close.
All this is up to your own experimentation, however, and I think it
is here that you will find this article valuable. Having digested it, you
know what to do to get exactly the performance you wish for.
Do not forget the rest of the car, though, since a rocket motor will
not win the race alone. Experiments with gearing, tyres and weight
shifting should be carried out when on strange tracks, in addition to
your motor testing. When on low power you should try for high gear
ratios and low chassis weight, but beware, since it is more difficult to
make a light chassis handle.
More notes: sometimes you will run across the problem known as
amp-sucking', i.e. when a hot wind will draw ail the current and
leave you none. Typical example: your car with 26-wire is good, but
as soon as that bloke with his 24-gauge is on the track, your car will
slow down and get easily beaten. This is because the current source,
usually a power pack in these cases, is not large enough to provide
current for both of you.
Then, you can choose between making the most of the left-over
current or beating him at his own game. If you choose the former
alternative, super shimming, triple lead wires and an expertly treated
endbell are essential. You can go to better armature steels and
stronger magnets and try double winds for more power with less
current, or even go to a 5-pole configuration. Should you instead wish
to beat him at his own game, just put on 23-gauge wire. This will
work fine as long as the armature holds together.
I must stress that this problem should be given consideration. On
all but the very best of battery tracks, there will be a difference
between your car's behaviour when alone on the track and when
running with big-bore winds on the other seven lanes. Try to get in
track times under both circumstances. A 'pro' trick is qualifying with
a hot wind and then changing to a milder motor for the race, if the
rules will allow this.
★ ★ ★ ★

13 material and parts

For a first class winding job, first class materials must be employed.
First, the wire.
All usual winding wire consists of copper, but pay attention to
what you buy. All copper wire of a given size is electrically the same,
true, but here all similarity stops. A wire must be insulated when
wound close to itself or other objects, to eliminate electrical losses
and/or short-circuiting.
The quality of this insulation is important to our tuning job. Off the
record, I will point out that the loads and stresses in a modern arma­
ture are enormous: out on the edge of a 16D arm spinning with a
paltry 60.000 RPM, the wire is subjected to 25,000 G' s ! This means
that every tenth of an ounce will 'w eigh' 150 pounds. Add to this
acceleration loads from winding up and shutting down, as well as
temperatures that can run above 500°F, and you will get an idea of
what the wire actually has to suffer.
I will not get lengthy here with describing various insulation types,
but instead give a straight recommendation: use Poly-Thermalex wire
26
T o the left, a so -c a lle d ' fu ll-h o u s e ' arm , w ith s o m a n y t u rn s that the w in d in g
g o e s righ t u p level w ith the p o le su rface. C o m p are th is w ith the m ore norm al
arm o n right. T h e fu ll-h o u se variety h a s a few d ra w b a c k s, s in c e the le s s er
effective w ire area and sm oo th e r ae ro d yn a m ic a l sh a p e w ill circulate le s s c o o lin g
air. N o te too that the e p o xy jo b h a s been o ve rd o n e o n the fu ll-h o u se arm
(class H). which currently is the best one available. It will withstand
400°F for continuous operation and can survive much higher tempera­
tures for short periods.
Suitable makes are Simco, Martex, Cobra and Mura, but make sure
you get Poly-Thermalex (or Poly-Thermaleze, as it is sometimes
called). Do not settle for less on your m otors - it may cost you the race.
Common wire, the type you can purchase by the mile at most
electrical shops, is usually made to meet lesser specifications and
should be avoided for racing motors. However, since this wire is
cheap, you can buy some of each size and use for practising winding
techniques on.
Sometimes you will hear of silver wire for rewinding. W hy silver?
Well, silver has a lower resistivity than copper (about 9 per cent), so
this would make for more current and thus more power. Drawback:
silver is 18 per cent heavier than copper, though, so the gain in power
is cancelled out by the added weight. (A small amount, true, but
remember that the armature must be accelerated to tens of thousands
of R P M ’s in fractions of a second so weight here will really make
itself felt). Thus, an armature wound with silver might actually be
slightly slower than a similar arm wound with copper.
The trick here is aluminium, which has a higher resistivity (will let
less current through) but is much lighter in weight. Aluminium and
silver are mixed, which will give a wire with slightly higher resistivity
W ire . w ire, w h ic h on e sh o u ld y o u c h o o s e ? A few different ty p e s in the M u r a
line, a co p pe r 28 to the left, next co p p e r 25. the silv e r/ m ag 25 and to the right
silv e rco a te d 25.
A lth o u g h the co lo u r o f the in su la tio n h a s n o th in g to do w ith the actual w ire
(rem em ber the b lu e w ire o n a 26D ). 's ilv e r ' w ire is u su a lly g iv e n the silve r look,
a s ev id en c ed here in the arm ature o n the left. A rm o n right is w o u n d w ith 46 of
d o u b le 29 Ram w ire (c o lo u r light b ro w n ). The M u r a silv e r/ m a g lo o k s a k in d of
p e a rly w hite. M a rte x w ire is d a rk brow n , so m e of the C o b ra w ire ne arly black,
and the M u r a co p p e r 2 5 , w ith w h ic h the arm is w o u n d in the chapter o n w in d in g
technique, is a k in d o f brigh t red. H ey , d o e s a n yo n e m anufa cture pure b lack
in su la te d w ir e ? If s o , drop m e a letter.

than copper but about 40 per cent less weight. By using one or two
sizes larger wire (electrical resistance is dependent on wire size:
bigger wire will let through more current) we will end up with an
armature that draws the same amount of current but is lighter than a
similar copper-wound armature. This combination of silver and other
metals is called silver-core. Drawback with this method is that with
the larger wire, you cannot pack in as many turns as you would some­
times wish.
Mura has tried another combination with silver and magnesium.
which is even lighter than alum but has higher resistivity. Also here
you should wind one or two sizes larger than you would have done
with copper.
NOTE : Due to the great differences in atom sizes, silver and mag/
alum will not mix in any quantity you would wish. Also, silver core
wire will usually show the common treat with all metallic solutions,
porosity and brittleness. Care must be taken with the Mura mag-wire,
it can only be wound o n c e : if you must ’back off' a few turns and
start again, the Mura mag-wire will usually crack and short-circuit
the armature. Note, too, that resistivity is not linear with solution
percentage, a small quantity of the strange metal will make resistivity
shoot way up.
There is one more type, silver-plated copper wire, used by Mura.
French and Cobra. This wire will often wrongfully be advertised as
silver wire, though it is really copper wire with a thin coating of
silver. Mura claims 7 per cent less resistivity, but drawback is more
weight.
So pure silver wire is not (as far as I know) available for winding
purposes, since it would be expensive and somewhat impractical.
Remains silver-core and silver plating, of which the former should be
28
C o m m u tato rs. O n the left, for co m p a riso n , is the sta n d a rd Pittm an 196 com .
The lo n g o n e next is a Fre n ch (T ra d e sh ip ) com . w h ic h ca n be had w ith v a rio u s
tim in g and c o lo u r s o f pla stic . Next, w ith e a rs a s cro o k e d a s a rand o m in c id e n c e
curve, is the n e w K irk w o o d 'fib r e g la s s ' com . and o n far right the o ld K irk w o o d .

the more interesting. Warning: getting 'silver' wire with a class H

insulation is difficult. The Mura mag-wire has a very good insulation,
but, as I said, the wire is brittle and will crack easily.
A few w ords on insulation: the same A W G size wire might
actually have different outside diameters, because of the availability
of both 'single' and 'heavy' insulation. The heavy insulation will not
improve temperature resistance, but may provide greater abrasion
resistance. This latter will seldom be a problem in slot racing motors,
though, so usually single insulation will do, possibly except for long
endurance races. Note that 'single' does not necessarily mean that a
single coat of insulation has been applied, in most cases many thin
coats go on until the specified diameter is reached.
NOTE: 99.9 per cent of all winning cars use good ol' copper wire.
Should you wish to experiment with silver-core wire, do not forget
to use one - or maybe two - sizes larger wire than you would have
with copper.
The commutator or 'c om ' , as it usually is called, is a very important
part of the motor. It has to stand up to high currents, pressures and
R P M 's without blowing' or distorting, and few will actually do that.
W e have two main sources of 'super coms', the French and the
Kirkwood. The Kirkwood com is employed by Cobra, Mura, Champion
and several other marques, who also will sell it under their own name.
I, personally, consider the Kirkwood 'd iamond-trued' com to be the
best one available. It runs perfectly true and will not distort (though
w e've had one go pop on us at a paltry 230,000 RPM while experim e
n
tig
O n o n e of m y w in d s from 'w a y b a c k ’, the French co m w a s stre n gth e n e d by
s lip p in g a rin g of fibre o n the e n d - ju st like so m e of the R ik o m o to rs. T h is
co u ld p ro b a b ly be a c c o m p lish e d b y w in d in g s e w in g thread and e p o x y ing it.
N ote o ve rd o n e e p o xy job here - a g la s s w in d , w e say.

29
R em o v e plate s b y s t ic k in g in a sh a rp X -a c to blade and w ig g le the arm a little.

with quintuple w inds). Just about every top racer in the U S .

runs them.
The French com (also goes under the name Tradeship) will also
run very true but cannot stand the high R P M 's and temperatures of
really hot rewinds, so I cannot with a calm conscience recommend it
for anything wilder than a single 29 SW G . It is considerably better
than a standard Mabuchi com, though, so it is up to you if you want
to use it. Personally, I have seen too many dissolve in fragments of
plastic and copper. Some of you readers may remember Lars' and
Lennart's car at Hounslow last year, when it suddenly braked to a
dead stop in two inches in the bank. Yep, a blown French com.
I am aware that M.R.R.C. has released a new commentator, but as
of the time of writing I have not seen it, so I cannot give any
comment.
Do not confuse the old and the new trued Kirkwood coms. The old
com would hold together but w as rather out of round, with con­
sequent ‘brush float’ and drop in performance, so it needed truing up
to run perfectly.
The com solder is often a very weak point with the motor. Many,
many races have been lost when the armature 'threw' its solder,
either due to a faulty job or wrong solder. Do not use common solder,
type Ersin Multicore, for the com. Multicore is excellent for chassis
building but has too low a melting point for armature jobs.
One of the best com solders is Associated's 'high-temp solder' ,
which has stood up excellently in our tests. Our personal favourite,
though, is a solder from our secret sources, with a higher melting
point than any other commercially available com solder on the market.
30
If you know of any shops specialising in metals and solder, by all
means try them.
And now let's get down to work.
★ ★ ★ ★

14 armature preparation
First, decide how many plates you wish to use on your armature,
and add or remove as the case is. When removing plates, it is best to
stick in the sharp edge of an X-acto knife and roll a little back and
forth until the plates loosen up. Then, pull them off while twisting
back and forth. If adding plates, it is just a matter of pressing on -
careful or you might bend them.
Whether you wish to use the fibre plates or not is up to you. They
represent more weight and a longer coil, but added safety. Personally,
I usually have them on. except in special cases.
Here you can also decide whether to change the armature to a B
(pinion on case end) or A (pinion on endbell side) type. This can be
accomplished by having the blank armature stand upright on a piece
of hard wood, threading a piece of tubing over the shaft until it rests
on the plates, and then giving it a few taps with a hammer until the
plates are in their right position. Care, though, or you will bend the
shaft.
If you are using Mabuchi, Hemi or Hitachi armatures or similar, the
shaft should be exchanged for a drill blank. The drill blank is a piece
of specially treated steel, very hard and absolutely straight. They can
be purchased from Model Car Centre for 2/6 each, which is very
reasonable. The only slight disadvantage is that these drill blanks are
slightly undersize - hey, Howard, how about getting out a drill blank
of .0790 in. instead?
If y o u w is h to m o v e the p o s itio n of the p late s, slip a p iece of tub ing o ve r the
sh a ft an d h a m m e r o n t h i s - gently. W h e n c h a n g in g to a drill blank, p u t the arm
o n a vice w ith the old shaft h a n g in g d o w n , then k n o c k it o u t u s in g the drill
b la n k a s a pu n c h . E p o x y plates.

31
For k e e p in g e po xie d p la te s in place, th is trick ca n be u sed. A tight-fitting T a ylo r
10-tooth p in io n (the lo n g es t , for m ore stab ility) next to the s ta c k o n either sid e ,
and then lo ck w ith 1/8 In. p ic k u p c o lla rs - real tight. T a ke care not to get the
p in io n s e po xie d a s w ell.

Changing to a drill blank starts like changing from B to A. stand

the armature upright and tap until the plates are right at the end of
the shaft, then put the armature on top of a vice with the shaft end
hanging down between the jaws (no fastening, the shaft must be
able to move freely between the jaws), and start hammering out the
original shaft, using the drill blank as a punch. Don't worry about
bending the drill blank, it will take it if you hammer straight.
Since the drill blank is slightly undersize, the plates can be slid
back and forth, so take care. M ix up some epoxy and smear on the
drill blank, then slide the plates over the epoxy. A few tricks can be
used for keeping the plates in place while the epoxy dries, see
photos. If you are using fibre plates, these should also be epoxied
on to the stack at this point.
Plates should always be epoxied on. Experience speaks: I lost the
sports car class at the Championships of '67 for overlooking this.
If you are using commercially made blank armatures, fibre plates
should be epoxied on, anyway.
The next step is spacing the armature in the motor. The best way
to do this is getting metal tubing with 5/64 in inner diameter and
cutting off two pieces of suitable length. These two pieces are put on
the shaft on either side of the stack, then the com and a fibre washer
added in one end and a thin metal spacer in the other. See photos.
P re p a rin g ‘o u r ’ arm ature, s lip in p ie c e s a s sh o w n : tu be, co m and fibre w a sh e r
o n o n e side , tube an d m etal w a sh e r o n the other. T h en ch e c k in the c a s e for fit
and m o d ify the tu b e s a s n e c e ssa ry.

32
A few sid e is s u e s : the b ru s h track o n a co m is ve ry revealing. Ideally, the b ru sh
track s h o u ld be o n e u n b ro ke n , e ven b a n d of ca rb o n d e p o sit aro u n d the co m
A n y u n e v e n n e s s in the c o m , and it w ill im m e dia te ly s h o w up in the b ru s h track
a s cro o k e d e d g e s an d s p o t s not co ve re d b y the ca rb on . If th is latter is the ca se ,
the co m m u st be trued (tu rn e d ) for m a x im u m pe rfo rm ance . W h e n e v e r ta k in g a
m otor apart, a lw a y s c h e c k b r u s h track.

Insert this assembly - making sure that no washer falls off - into our
finished case with magnets and screw the endbell on. This 'trial fit' is
to insure that the finished arm really will sit right in the motor. Again
experience sp e a k s: one of my most beautifully finished armatures,
unfortunately, proved to be too long to fit inside, so benefiting from
this mistake I now always check everything out in time.
At this trial fit, three things must be checked:
(1) with the motor screwed together, the endplay should be
about .010 in.;
(2) the metal stack must be centered between the magnets;
(3) the shaft must run the entire length of the bearing holes.
That endplay needs special attention. Ideally, the endplay should be
zero (but armature running free), but since the armature will enlarge
slightly when hot. there must be a margin of about .010 in. on a
'cold' motor. Endplay should not be too big. though, or we will
encounter what is called brush rattle'.
A so re s ig h t to a r a c e r 's eyes: the feared B lo w n C om .

33
W h e n e p o x y in g the tu be s, try to get a little s m e ared aro u n d the base, next to
the fibre p la te . T h is w ill m a k e for les s c h a n c e of s c ra tc h in g the w ire in su la tio n .

The other two items are rather o b v io u s: if the armature is not

cente red, magnetic forces will press it towards one of the bearings
and cause unwanted friction. Surely you have felt how the magnets
will try to retain the armature when it is pulled out? A s for the last
item, we will experience uneven wear if the shaft ends in the middle
of the bearing. This wear can upset the balance and cause serious
problems.
Now just 'fiddle around' until everything checks out OK. If one of
the tube pieces is too long, file it down and try again, and if it is too
short, put it away and cut off a longer one. I advise this rather than
adding an extra washer, because the less parts needed in a motor,
the better.
NOTE: sometimes, you will find that the only way to get the stack
centred is to shift the magnets a fraction of an inch. Therefore, the
magnets should not be epoxied until the armature fit has been
checked.
N O T E : pay attention to the com and check that the brushes will
really be riding on the copper segments and not on the plastic at the
end. However, never let the com run directly against the bearing! A
fibre washer must always be fitted in between. An extra trick to
's eat' the washers and bearings is to grab the shaft and press the
armature first towards one bearing and then the other while the
motor is screwed together and armature fit being checked.
Extra pointers on the com: it must never 'sit tight' on the shaft, as
a tight fitting com is almost sure to explode due to external stresses.
Should it be tight, carefully use a rat tail file to ream out the holes in
34
both ends - just a little at a time and checking again - until it will
slide easily on the shaft. But the com must never sit too loosely I
such a com will never be true, so just throw it away.
When the metal tube pieces have exactly right lengths and endplay
and centring, etc., are perfect, take the armature out, remove com
and washers and epoxy the tube pieces in place. Pay special atten­
tion to where the tubes meet the stack and smear a little epoxy
around this, so that no sharp edges will exist to 'scar' the wire insula­
tion. Som e fixture must be arranged so that the tubes will sit tight
against the stack while the epoxy dries.
A s a last preparation, smear a thin coat of epoxy around the web
and on the underside of the crown and everywhere else where the
wire will be wound. Heat the stack with a soldering iron touched to
the pole faces so that the epoxy will flow and spread evenly. This is
a safeguard against the stack scarring the wire and causing short-
circuiting.

•k ★ ★ ★

T h is i» w h a t the Finished b la n k arm s h o u ld lo o k like, w ith fibre p la te s and tu b e s

e p o xie d a n d the w e b covered w ith a thin coat of epoxy. In c id e n tally. I rem oved
o n e plato from th is M u r a 007 arm.

35
36
Synopsis for

MOTOR TUNING
Book 3

FREE to all M ode l C a r s readers with

the February 1970 issue:

Winding
Pointers
Epoxying
Balancing (static)
Balancing (dynamic)
Endbell
Brushes and Springs
Assembly
Service

All in Book 3 available from first week in

January.

37
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