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Fly BMW M3 GTR & Slot-It Light Kit
This is the next article on my installation of a lighting kit into a slot car. In this case the selected car is my Fly Jagermeister BMW M3 GTR and the light kit is made by Slot-It. Wynn, my brother-in-law, provided the light kit, which he had purchased from Mr. Phil Williams of Slot Car Magic & Hobbies. Wynn's original plan was to install the kit into his Slot-It Newman Porsche 956C, but that plan was put on hold for now. The following steps and photos demonstrate the methods I used for the kit installation:
STEP #1: Like my previous article on my Fly Porsche 911 GT1 EVO 2R2, I first opened up the BMW, see PHOTO #1, and proceeded to test fit the Slot-It light kit in the area most suited for it, see PHOTO #2. I found that the Slot-It headlight LEDs fit perfectly into the BMW's headlight housings, so no major modifications were necessary, see PHOTO's #3 & #4.
STEP #2: I ran a circuit test with a 9 volt battery to see the effects with the headlights and for any circuit malfunctions, see PHOTO #5.
STEP #3: After the circuit tested fine, I began dis-assembly of the car's components; I.E.: removing the rear axle/wheels; motor/drive shaft; pick-up guide; and front stub axles/wheels. I decided the best location for the circuit board to be in the middle of the chassis, right around the box mounting screw hole, see PHOTO #6.
STEP #4: As revealed in PHOTO #6, there were chassis support ribs that did not allow the circuit board to remain level in the chassis. I used a large slant blade in my Xacto knife to carve away the ribs into an area large enough to fit the circuit board, see PHOTO #7.
STEP #5: Even with the support ribs removed, I found out that the circuit board still had interference with the body's interior to fit properly, see PHOTO #8. Some major modifications were needed to the car's insides.
STEP #6: I needed to find out the locations of the major interferences were between the circuit board and the interior, see PHOTO's #9 & #10. The main troubles came from the circuit board's storage capacitor and the LEDs wiring plug. The interferences were below the molded engine exhaust ducting and the driver's seat & legs, respectively. I marked out both areas to be removed, see PHOTO #11.
STEP #7: I borrowed Wynn's Dremel tool and using a cylindrical grinding bit, I ground away the marked areas, see PHOTO #12. I test fitted the kit's components in those areas to see if any more interference was apparent, see PHOTO's #13 & #14.
STEP #8: After I finished the the circuit board fitting modification, I found I needed a mounting board for the rear tail/brake light LEDs. I fabricated the board out of laminated .010 thd plastic styrene sheet with a final thickness of .030 thd, see PHOTO's #15 & #16.
STEP #9: I cut slots in the mounting board to hold the rear LEDs and secured them to the board with Microscale Kristal Kleer adhesive. I test fitted the rear mounting assembly in the chassis, see PHOTO #17.
STEP #10: As I progressed into final assembly, I found that the power-in wires to the circuit board were too short. I replaced them with longer wires made from .022 gauge wire, see PHOTO #18.
STEP #11: With the power-in wires replaced, I installed the circuit board into the chassis and secured it in place with superglue, see PHOTO #19. I then began to reassemble the car's components, starting with the front sub axles/wheels and the motor/drive shaft. I inserted the power-in wires into the motor's pick-up wire eyelets instead of soldering them to the motor, see PHOTO #20.
STEP #12: From there I installed the headlight LEDs and the rear axle/ wheels into the chassis, see PHOTO #21. I test fitted the body to the chassis several times to check for wire clearances and/or pinching.
STEP #13: As a comparison I "borrowed" Wynn's factory lighted Fly #10 PTG BMW M3 GTR and opened it up. I put them together and I have to say that the factory car is a neater installation, but now I have lights in my BMW too, see PHOTO #22.
STEP #14: I ran my newly lighted BMW M3 on the track we had up and was pleased with the results, see PHOTO's #23.
In conclusion, I would have to say that Slot-It's light kit is easier to install than the Overdrive light kits, mainly due to the already wired front/rear LEDs. Also having a plug connection allows for quick removal of the lights and access to the car's drive line. The overall "flatness" of the circuit board is another good feature of the Slot-It kit. (This kit was made for installation into the Slot-It 956C/962C Porsche series slot cars.) The modifications I made to my BMW M3 was solely due to my circuit board location and may not be typical of another car.
Some disappointing items about the Slot-It kit is that it does not have or support a flashing exhaust circuit. Also the rear LEDs combine both the tail/brake lights in small LEDs which may be too small to see if not mounted directly into the taillight lenses. As for my BMW M3, I think I should have spaced the rear LEDs wider apart on the mounting board and closer to the taillight lenses.
So in the final analysis, both kits look great when properly installed. The Overdrive kits have more features, but the Slot-It kit is easier to install. As I mentioned in my Porsche article, "have a plan in mind" when installing these kits. Good luck and Happy Slots!
Posted by
Keith Matsumoto at
September 28, 2005
in Tech Tips
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Comments
Great job on the installation Keith. All the customers I show the car to just love it.
Phil
Posted by: Phil Williams | Oct 27, 2005 3:02:26 PM
