by
Daniel J. Dyke
(Digital Camera Died = No Pictures)
A while back Harry Wise tested the Slot Car Heroes SS-10 motor and liked it very much. This is going to be a retest of the same motor, but under a different set of conditions than the original one. Harry tested it on a home style circuit and and I would point you to his article to see how it did in that environment. Tim Johnson at Slotcar Heroes asked me to test his SS-10 motor (SCHSS-10) on the super fast track at Fastlane Hobbies and Raceways that quite a few of us race on. I agreed and he sent me two examples.
The Track
This track is a 118' monster and people have driven by car for hours to drive slot cars on it. Recently a local technical college has started plans to make a duplicate for development of electronic and computer equipment. Nothing like motivating the student using something that is fun!
The track demands two things of a motor: blistering speed on the straights and torque for the infield. A non-magnet car will average 11-12 feet per second and magnet cars twice that. One problem that emerges is when a driver makes a slight bobble. How well does the car recover from this? A car's tail flicking out can cost over a foot immediately and if it does not get back up to speed easily it can be more.
The Motor: The technical specifications of this motor are well documented on Tim's tech page. You can refer to that page for specifications and links to other reviews. What needs to be pointed out first is that the SS-10 is not made by Mabuchi, but Suntech and that the designation SS10 is a class of motor. It is like the designation FK-130. Some motors in this class are reputed to turn over 60,000 RPMs at less than 12 volts, but would probably fry if put on a slot car track. 60K does sound impressive though. Two examples of motors from this class are the Professor Motor Hotrod (PMTR1500; $7.95), and the green thing that SCW offers at 12 for $50.00. Tim charges $8.00 for his variant. This is not as big a differential as it may seem because this is typical for pricing of small motors. For example variants of the a FK-130 sell for anywhere between $.90 and $10. But each motor can differ in performance and quality of parts.
The Arrival
The two motors arrived and I opened the box and immediately saw that this motor was a class above the other two in quality. This thing breathes quality of construction. The others are good motors, but they are a lesser variant in my opinion. Using the sound of the motor as a speed indicator I thought one was turning slightly less RPMs and so it was chosen for the test. Later, after breaking them in, they sounded the same.
The Test
The problem is setting up the test. In this test the Slot car Heroes motor will be compared with the PMTR 1500 as many people know this motor well. The testing will be done on the same day, same track, same car, etc. Both motors will be given the same gearing.
The Car & Controller
The weapon of choice was a Proslot Ferrari 355 with magnets removed and a little weight in the nose. The gear ratio was 12/37 -- I counted the teeth twice and that is what it counted up to. Tires were cleaned regularly. A Professor Motor variable controller was used. Why this car? Because it runs nicely and I have put a lot of work into it. It already had the PMTR 1500 motor fitted and some set of mystery tires that give great grip but I do not know what they are. They are consistent and in the long haul work better than Indy Grips on this car.
Installation and Form Factor
The motor is not a Mabuchi, but the form factor is close and the motor fits the compartment. What the above graphic does readily show is a top view and that the end bell is narrower than that of a Mabuchi in the area of the brushes.
The motor fit snugly in the sidewinder engine pod, but shaving a hair of plastic from one bulkhead made the fit better. My guess is the motor is maybe a couple thousandths longer because than the original Evo 2 motor in the car. The wires soldered on well, but then I noticed that you can solder them on at multiple places and so one of the wires was soldered on at a lower position to be sure that this would actually work and then the tab was removed completely. Why do this and why is this important? Because some bodies have such cramped engine compartments it is hard to fit a Mabuchi style motor in because the tabs for the wires stick up so high.
TESTING DAYS
This is literally where the rubber hits the road and the motor gets to do its stuff. No matter how nice a motor looks and how well it is made, here is the true test. Remember these are comparative times on a long course.
Motor Day #1 Day #2 Approximate Distance Behind
PMTR 1500 12.25 11.93 2.5' SCHSS-10 11.99 * 11.46 4.6' What is more important than the time differential is that the motor could compensate for bobbles. With dirty tires the car was in the same range as the PMTR1500 with clean tires.
BRAKING
This was very good as I was keeping the same braking points as with the PMTR1500 motor and it was generating more straight line speed. In fact the fastest lap was turned without brakes on. With Ripper and Falcons the brakes have to be on for the two major braking zones on our track.
WEAKNESSES?
Were there any? Sure, but every motor I have has them. In my opinion the strengths by far outweigh the weaknesses. Sometimes a weakness is a perceptual matter. In other words it is just something you are not used to. But to be upfront they are listed below. Some problems are shared with other motors and if you can live with them on that motor then you can live with them here. The spin is for when a weakness can be legitimately capitalized on or easily compensated for.
1. Shape of Endbell: It has a slightly different configuration and some motor mounts use the two little notches in the endbell to hold the motor in the chassis. Obviously, on the positive side, since there is less material this motor can be used in places others can't. Also, I have very few chassis where this is an issue.
2. Tabs: The motor has a unique tab that attaches the lead wires to the motor. When I intentionally tried to remove it, I thought it came off a little too easily. It was about the same frailty as the MRRC Red can motor. Removing them and still maintaining functionality is a plus for cars with cramped engine bays.
3. Length: The motor is a hair longer than the standard Mabuchi motor. By a hair longe I mean that literally. It is a fraction of an inch, but a couple of scrapes on the engine bay of one car with a razor knife cured it. On cars with a little slop this will not be noticed.
4. Armature shaft: The armature shaft only protrudes from the can end of the motor and so will not work on cars that attach the gear on the endbell (the plastic end).
5. Heat: The motor runs a little warmer than say a Fly or Scalextric stock motor. It gets to about the same temperature as the PMTR 1500, which probably means this is endemic to the range of motors. The thing did not slow down in a1.5 hours of running.
FINAL CONCLUSION
The motor is now one of my favorites especially if I am building something for a big track. I was more than exuberant over the power and drivability of the motor. When I got home I took the second motor, the faster one, and put in a Protrack Spider chassis. It fit almost perfectly. One hole had to be opened a hair to get a better fit.
I would recommend you try this motor as it made my Proslot Ferrari a rocket down the straight. When you order some of Tim's other products get at least one of these motors. Visit their website and look at some of the fine products they have. Everything from scenery to car parts to bodies. I think I even saw an outhouse but I am not sure.
*This is more impressive than the numbers reveal as I had only one flying lap with the car before the pinion came loose. One lap and the car was faster than the other car's best for the day! There was no Loctite in the building and so the test was ended. I went home and fastened that puppy on and let the Loctite dry overnight. The PMTR lap was with 30 minutes of driving.
