Saturday August 02, 2003

The Thunder Rolls!

Novice Tuning Tips for the

Johnny Lightning Thunder-Jets

The Johnny Lightning Thunder Jets have become some of the most popular cars here in our home racing and for good reasons too. Not only do we enjoy the various makes and styles available, but we enjoy how easy they are to maintain and tune. I am far from a Thunder-Jet expert but I thought it would be beneficial to some of you on how we make our models run smoother and faster.

As stated, I am pretty much a novice when it comes to T-Jets and our tuning tips here will prove that. Although they are quite simple, the results are seen immediately. For those that compete heavily, there is a virtual laundry list of tuning applications out there that contain everything from "lapping" the gears to changing to aftermarket parts. But this is where the beauty of these models show themselves as you don't really need to get too involved with them to have some smooth racing. We just enjoy racing them here in our basement with friends and family and we have found these few tips are all we need.

First off, we check the rear wheels and tires to see if they are round and true and that the rear axle or wheel isn't bent. So far we have been lucky in our collection having only 2 cars out of 4 cases found to have these issues. While we are checking this, we also look at the crown gear to see if there are any damaged or uneven teeth. I also like to check the pick-up shoes to see if they are bent and make sure the front guide pin is straight and mounted securely.

Once this is done, I add a small drop of oil as shown in the photo. Then I turn the rear wheels a little by hand to allow the oil to penetrate a little. This is usually where we stop and test run the cars to see how they perform. On average this is all these little beauties need to run smoothly out of the box, but sometimes we want a little more out of them. We have found that there is one addition might be worth your while and that is equipping your models with after-market tires.

On some of our models we leave the original tires in place to allow a little easier slide in the corners, but for those models that we want maximum performance from is where Supertires come in handy. Supertires are a very strong, resilient tire and they provide much improved grip when you need it. They also smooth out these models and make for a much more enjoyable slot car. So smooth in fact, that we will re-fit all of our models with them in the future.

Last but not least is break-in. I have heard from several T-Jet enthusiasts that nothing really helps a car perform better than just allowing it to break-in over time. I have seen several T-Jets that have had a few hours of racing under the hood and they just run smoother and faster. Now again, there are many tuning enthusiasts out there who do a great deal more than this to their models, but for our home racing uses this is all we do. A little oil...perhaps new tires...and break-in...simple isn't it?

The Johnny Lightning T-Jets are some of the most fun in this scale you can have in our opinion. Not only are they inexpensive but they do not need a great deal of attention to keep them running smoothly and reliably. Series 5 should be with us soon with previous releases still available as well. So if you haven't tried some yet....what are you waiting for?...Stop waiting and Start racing!

- Harry

If you have more extensive tuning procedures and would like to share them, please feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to publish them! Also make sure you stop by our HO Scale Message Forum and let us hear from you!

I would like to thank Rich McMahon of Toy Cars & Models and Dave Dobner for helping me get the most out of these models. On a recent visit here they took the time to share these tips...along with a few others...to help me TRY and keep up with them!...Thanks Guys!

Thanks also go to MotorCityToyz and Playing Mantis for providing us with these great slot cars!

Make sure you check out Prospect Park Raceway for the full line of Supertires!