Monday, January 24, 2011

F1 Arbors and the long long wait.........


I have 3 setups for F1 tire truing. You might ask "What is your problem?", since it might be right to ask why I have 3 sets of arbors. The real deal is that arbors are hard to find, and usually kind of crappy. I have done stuff like using a left side hub to true tires, or a 1/12 arbor, which is actually not bad for 103 fronts. Here's some of the actual tools...

The one on the far right is from D Drive in Japan, if I remember right. I think it might be an Eagle. It pretty much sucked from the get go. It would never correctly grip the motor shaft on my truer, to the point that I drilled and tapped a set screw. Half the time it seemed to wobble anyway.

The middle set is made by the same guy who used to build the MaxMod truers. They're bar stock aluminum. They also are a bit different. The arbor threads onto the shaft and is secured by a set screw/threaded shaft for the thumbscrew that holds the wheel on to the arbor. Not a bad idea, but the set screw is just a black oxide coarse thread grub screw. Sometimes it gets a bit off kilter and is less than true. This is a problem for the fronts more than the rears. The other thing is that there are separate arbors for front and rear, and an extra plate to do 104 fronts. Not horrible problems, just less than ideal. Also a problem if your truer's motor does not have a threaded shaft. I was glad to have them after dealing with the Eagle Annoy-O-Matic arbor.

Finally, we have the arbor I've been waiting for all my life...the Exotek. One piece to work on all your different tires, clamps like a vise, and very true. It's made like any other well done pan car or sedan arbor. Yay. Also, easy to get in the USA from Exotek or stores who deal with him. I'm seriously impressed.

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