Not too sure if you want to include setting the guide height in this discussion. That is important in getting the right amount of pressure on the braids, and can make quite a lot of difference to how well the pick up. If you run on more than one track it's well worth checking the rail height, it may well be different with different makes of plastic track or with routed tracks. It helps to have a set up board with the same rail height as the track you are running on, a flat set up board only represents a track where the rail is exactly flush with the track surface.
Depending on the car, ways of changing that include changing to a different thickness braid, adjusting the guide bed height with washers on top of the guide bed, changing the front axle height or the front tyre diameter.

...... if this causes the braid run partially on the track surface (as opposed to the rail) and whether that is a positive or negative thing.

The rail height matters, If the rail is high enough so the braid is clear of the track surface it's unlikely to matter much. If the rail low enough so the braid is touching the track surface it usually makes the pickup worse because the braid pressing on the track surface is taking weight off the part of the braid that's touching the rail. This is more of an issue with the conductor recessed below the track surface as it often is on routed tracks.

 

Tinned braid is much harder wearing as you have noticed. But standard tinned braids are as stiff as a stiff thing.

Tinned racing braids are my favoured braid (I race digital). I use a braid (that I had specially made for me) with 0.05mm threads (half the diameter of standard braid threads) which means the braid is very similar to the now defunct SCX rally braid.

Totally agree with all your observations.

I would add that if you replace a guide and the stem (shaft) is too narrow for the hole then the guide will tend to be dragged backwards slightly which introduces a sharp leading edge to the track. I have successfully overcome this by slitting a drinking straw lengthways and using a short bit wrapped around the guide before putting in the hole. If this makes the guide stiff to rotate then trim a bit off the side of the material (so there is less around the shaft) and try again. Either that or use brass tube to create a new guide hole.

And watch scratch builds - if anything the guide hole should be angled slightly back at the top to present the braid to the rail without a leading edge.

I do add lubricant to the braid but that's because I race digital and Inox MX3 is great for spark suppression (which causes chips all sorts of problems and affects power delivery).

 

I know on my home track bending the braid is vital for smooth operation. Could you post a pic or diagram for what you mean by

Very smooth bend from the guide exit, concave to the guide surface bending to a slightly steeper angle at the end (at the rear of the guide)

?

Thanks

 

I also notice that my favoured guide (thunder slot mk1) has the braid exits further apart than any other guide I have used.

Useful.. but depends on the track's brand.

Scalex: a bit wider
Ninco: ok, but the guide has to be trimmed a bit in depth
Carrera: my personal choice

 

I have found that some brands of braid have more spring than others. You don't want to use something that takes a permanent set. Last year a fellow racer was having problems with his car. He would adjust the braids and the car would only run well for a lap or two. The track did have elevation changes and I suggested that his braids were getting compressed going into the uphill portions and did not want to spring back once the car was going downhill. Note that we run without magnets and our cars are riding on the front tires. Cars that have traction magnets often have the full weight of the front on the guide flag. We switched the car over to Slot.it tinned braids and that fixed his problem. Sometimes it is helpful to comb out the ends of the braids. I have found that using Inox can decrease your lap times, but it will only last for a minute or two.

 

I use the NSR race stuff, fitted to every single one of my cars.

 

I know on my home track bending the braid is vital for smooth operation. Could you post a pic or diagram for what you mean by

?
Thanks

Here is a link to the profile I try to achieve.
Sideways view of the guide in red, braid in black.
https://ibb.co/k8cLtk
Apologies for the roughness of the sketch

 

A yes.. that is what I thought it would look like.

 

Tinned braid is much harder wearing as you have noticed. But standard tinned braids are as stiff as a stiff thing.

Tinned racing braids are my favoured braid (I race digital). I use a braid (that I had specially made for me) with 0.05mm threads (half the diameter of standard braid threads) which means the braid is very similar to the now defunct SCX rally braid).

Mister modifier,
Getting braid made to order? I'd never considered that possibility.
Do you sell this braid per metre on eBay or something?
Alan

 

I'll set mine up with less of a curve at the end, and check on the setup block its not lifting the guide out of the slot.

As for cleaning either toothbrush and lighter fluid or a fibre glass pencil for cleaning electrical contacts. I find the fibre glass pencil best when the braids are starting to come apart slightly and helps remove any stray strands, but clean as well as each other.

 

Mister modifier,
Getting braid made to order? I'd never considered that possibility.
Do you sell this braid per metre on eBay or something?
Alan

I don't sell on eBay but I do sell through the Forum hobby traders initiative - just too busy at work to push things. But I do get a steady trickle of orders from SlotForum members for SureChange guides, urethane tyres, ferrite men and braid.

PM me if you want to know more

 

Any one got thoughts on an additive/cleaner/conditioner?

I have used Voodoo juice by slick 7 and Bobbys Braid juice by Bobby, I guess.

 

I just use lighter fluid on my braids.

Cheap and as effective as more costly alternatives.

Cheers

Dave

 

Any one got thoughts on an additive/cleaner/conditioner?

I have used Voodoo juice by slick 7 and Bobbys Braid juice by Bobby, I guess.

Munter,
I'm a recent convert to "INOX" as a braid treatment.
When applied sparingly (very sparingly, less than a single drop) it seems to add to the "surge" when a car is accelerated hard and appears to Improve braking effectiveness and reliability.
How the INOX is doing this I can only guess. It may just be a perception and not a real measureable effect.
Oddly, when the braid starts to get dirty and is scrubbed off with zippo and a toothbrush, the effect remains.

I'm going to have to find a way to measure this effect and do some testing.
I'll post any concrete findings in this thread at a later date
AlanW

 

The benefits of Inox are real, they do not always last too long however. Inox comes from Australia and I believe that it is mostly lanolin. I clean my car's braids with contact cleaner, lighter fluid also works well. Just before a race I apply a drop of Inox to each braid and that lowers my lap times by a measurable amount for a few minutes. As a scientist I like to know why things work, in the case of Inox it can act as a lubricant and the reduced friction between the car's braids and the track rails must help to lower your lap times. Inox also seems to promote better electrical contact. If you put some Inox on your car's braids and run it around the track it will help to condition the rails/braid/copper tape. I suggest that you get some Inox and try it yourself. Inox has a rather haphazard distribution system, I have ordered it through Amazon and now a fellow racer that runs an online business carries it.