Motor pod chassis, what’s the advantage?

[Michael Squier]

On chassis like Sideways and Slot-it with the separate pod for the motor what is the idea behind this? Why do they handle better?

[HomeRacingWorld]

It basically sort of isolates the motor and torque/vibration from the rest of the chassis. Like a dampening effect.
It also allows the rear wheels to stay planted evenly on some rougher/uneven track surfaces. Some older plastic tracks come to mind.

So in some track conditions, the pod system can result in a smoother performing car with less "chatter" in not only acceleration, but cornering.

Just a "readers digest" version. I'll let the real experts chime in now...I'm gonna make popcorn.

[War Eagle River]

Hey, wait a minute...thought a motor pod was for...oh nevermind, back to peeling shrimp!

[Atitagain]

What Harry said but where he used vibration, I would change it to isolates motor torque EFFECTS or FORCES from the rest of the chassis.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Yeah that!

[Kevan]

The way I see it and what the car actually feels like - from a routed track perspective - a pod allows the body to lean in corners without unduly affecting the rear grip. What I'm always searching for is a car where the rear tyres stay either side of the slot which always equates to rapid cornerage and reduced lap times. A pod allows sudden changes of direction without sudden changes of rear grip, of course you'll need damping with that pod so transitions are smoothed out.

Observation:- sidewinders feel most efficient in all aspects, better balanced than AW, ride flatter than IL.

[Audi1]

It's a form of tunable suspension system that results in better traction in almost all cases. It's very worthwhile learning the ins and outs of podded chassis if you're interesting in increasing the performance of your builds. 3-point, 4-point and 5-point pods/suspension systems exist; the most popular being the 4-point pods, like Slot.It.

Allan

[Kevan]

the most popular being the 4-point pods, like Slot.It.

Allan

I modify mine to a 3-point so the front has a centre pivot.

[Audi1]

Yes, I've done that too and for the same reason; and it's one of the reasons that I like the Thunderslot and NSR pods, as well as the Black Arrow pod. But, you can get very good results with the Slot-It 4-point pods. Take a look at the car that's now leading the GT3 proxy - it's a 4-point Slot.It pod on a 3DP chassis with X and Y axis tape suspension.

[Michael Squier]

Audi1, I just took a look at the GT3 builds, pictures do tell a lot. Some neat things going on there.

[Michael Squier]

Interesting stuff. I have the Carrera Dekon Monza, the chassis on it has the motor pod held on by 1 screw! Seems like that’s not really as adjustable as the better chassis.

[Michael Squier]

I did some track testing of my Monza. It serves as my ghost car set on cruise control, basically a locked controller. Usually I’m able to lap it fairly easily on my short test track. I loosened up the one pod screw so the rear axle moves quite a lot. Put tape over the screw and a bit at the forward hinge area. After a few laps the screw loosened completely,that’s why I added the hinge tape.
Results, wow what a difference. I was able to speed it up enough to be a real challenge to stay in front of. Amazing what a little bit of “suspension” can do. With some good tires I’m not sure my non mag cars will keep up.

[HO RacePro]

If you loosen the screws holding the pod in place you effectively separate your car into two sub-chassis, which can act a bit independently of each other. One advantage is that the front sub-chassis, which includes the front axle and guide, can stay 'square' with the slot and the track, even though the track may have some twist in it, while the rear axle can find its own posture on the track, independent of what is happening up front.

Just how much independence the two sub-chassis have depends entirely on how much clearance you've created by loosening the screws. On most tracks it doesn't take all that much.

Another advantage is that the relative motion of the two sub-chassis can act like a primitive shock-absorbing system. This idea goes WAY back to when the first slot racers realized that loosening their body-mounting screws improved handling. Loosening the pod-mounting screws has much the same effect.

In HO "brass wars" custom chassis it has been discovered that two sub-chassis linked with actual pivots and piano wire springs have proven extremely competitive. All four wheels can stay in contact despite twists in the track, and the pivot provides some shock absorption. While a loose motor pod gives some of those advantages I think there are lessons to be learned from the HO designs.

Ed Bianchi

[Nonfractal]

Modern slot car design is a world away from the old scalextric clamshell designs of the sixties.
The prime reason for the floating-component design is down to the slot guide.

Annoying though this is (i don't do model trains) , 🤨
The rails and guide puts slotting much closer to trains than cars, so no surprise that modern slot cars are designed with a "bogie" 🙄

AlanW

[chrisguyw]

In HO "brass wars" custom chassis it has been discovered that two sub-chassis linked with actual pivots and piano wire springs have proven extremely competitive. All four wheels can stay in contact despite twists in the track, and the pivot provides some shock absorption. While a loose motor pod gives some of those advantages I think there are lessons to be learned from the HO designs.

Ed Bianchi

Ed, Chassis with centrally located pivots controlled by torsion bars ("flexi-board" chassis) have been around for decades in both 1/32 and 1/24............many many years before they showed up in HO circles.

Most high end commercial track cars incorporate a center hinge to allow the car to flex torsionally. (and have for many years)........with the torsional flex aiding in progressively loading the outside rear wheel in a corner, adding grip ,and, improving consistency. Depending on the track/motor/tyres etc. the flex rate is adjusted via thicker/thinner or longer/shorter "torsion" bars.



Cheers
Chris Walker