The Old Cheetah vs the New Mabuchi motor by Pla-Fit

1/24 1970 Buick GSX Shootout

The Old vs the New Pla-Fit Cheetah Motor

Features:

Cars were built up using Monogram '70 Buick GSX model kit bodies, Parma 4.5 inch FCR chassis, American Line Silicone-Coated Sponge Rear Tires, lead weight, and vintage threaded front wheels / tires.
New Cheetah Motor is a completely sealed one-piece can with no cooling holes as compared to the Old original one that featured two standard cooling holes.

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5 for New Pla-Fit Cheetah Motor

Slot Car Garage builds up two identical 1/24 1970 Buick GSX slot cars to test out the new Pla-Fit Cheetah motor verses the old Cheetah to see how the new motor compares to the old one.

Test Drive Results - Ten Lap Sprint:

Car	Best Lap Time	Average Lap Time	Chronometer
White 70 Buick GSX - Old Cheetah	4.543	4.681	0:52.826
Yellow 70 Buick GSX - New Cheetah	4.326	4.497	0:49.443

Test Drive Observations:

I found out some information that they sold out of the supply of the original Pla-Fit Mabuchi "Cheetah" motor. Now these can still be found in limited supply in some areas plus companies like Cartrix have similar branded Mabuchi motors. For the new motor, Pla-Fit has used a slightly different can. I have built up two nearly identical 1/24 slot cars to test out the motors - the old common one and the new style one. I did not have time to complete the bodies but they are fine for testing purposes. I would not see much of a difference once the bodies are completed on them since both use the same model kit except one is colored in white and one in yellow.

The new Cheetah motor looks similar to the old one except that the new motor is a completely sealed can with no cooling holes on it. The motor has the same mounting holes and its size is the same so it will fit in the same stuff the old one goes into. I figured it should run as good as the old Cheetah.

I first took the White 1970 Buick GSX out on the track with the original Cheetah motor. This one was never run and not oiled or any "go" juice added to it. This car was fast even with the longer wheelbase and bigger muscle car GM body. It took the turns well and have great power down the straights. There was no wrecks and got a best lap of 4.543 seconds! Now it was time for the second test with the new Cheetah motor in the Yellow 1970 Buick GSX. Basically the same car except for the color of the plastic of the model kit body. I did not think the new motor would work out from what I read so I was not ready for a speed demon here. I put this one on the track, no oil, no mods, just right out of the package. This car ran around the track nicely taking the curves as well, going down the straights, etc. This motor seems more smoother in the power band and not screaming but gradually building up power. After the dust cleared, I drove this car to a best lap record time of 4.326 seconds. This new Cheetah motor turns about a 2 tenths of a second quicker lap then the original Cheetah motor. Now, this was on a small 1/24 two lane road course set-up rather than say a big commercial track so they might perform a lot differently there.

I drove some of the cars more laps to break them in and see if they would improve. I didn't get any more performance out of them except for putting some "go juice" on the commutator through the cooling holes on the original Cheetah but since the new one is sealed it is hard to get any in there. Even with the new speed, the original one only held a slightly faster lap time but once the "go juice" wore off then the two motors were the same again with the new one beating the original motor.

So finally from testing the motors, I can only conclude that yes the new motor is faster than the original motor since it does offer slightly more power and drivability for my home track. I see nothing wrong with the motor to give it a bad rating. It should be able to work as well as the original motor for our home track racing needs. I am giving it a 4 out of 5 because it was made without any cooling holes for us to add oil or "go juice" to it but still it would make it a lot harder for people to tamper with these motors than the old ones. When racing, I would try to group these new ones in a class their own since the original old ones would be beat by them. If you would like to add your own thoughts about these new motors from experience running them, email me and I will post them here on this page.

Slot Car Garage Review Rating - New Pla-Fit Cheetah Motor:

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