(Topic ID: 33949)

Taxi spinout question

By cowman57

11 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 23 posts
  • 13 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 11 years ago by HighSpeed1
  • Topic is favorited by 4 Pinsiders

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Linked Games

  • Taxi Williams, 1988

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#1 11 years ago

A full plunge on my Taxi sometimes doesn't even always make 100,000. I've stretched the shooter spring, and it doesn't seem to make much difference. I did have to replace the spinout SW, and had to clip the accuating wire for the SW because it was too long. I'm wondering if it's stil too long. I didn't want to cut it too short. Any thoughts???????

#2 11 years ago

It took me a long time to tune the spinout.. the transition from playfield to wire rails was most of my trouble. The ball would rattle around on the way into the plastic spinout assembly. I also adjust the plunger to hit more on the left side of the ball, this puts spin that pulls it around the spinout. On a good shot mine will go past 100k twice.

#3 11 years ago

Thanks Kneissl... Moving the plunger to the left helped. Now I can get past 100,000 and up to 1 or even 5,000. I don't think there is an alignment problem with the transition to the wire forms, I think the SW wire is still too long, and slowing the ball down . I just hate to trim it too short.

#4 11 years ago

I've read the plunger alignment with the ball makes a big difference. Mine is weak like yours. I have considered tweaking it, but I don't want the funnel getting pounded by the ball since they are currently irreplaceable!

#5 11 years ago

I don't think the funnel gets pounded by a harder plunge as the ball doesn't strike it. It should make a smooth transition and roll around the inside of it.

#6 11 years ago

I bent my spinout switch slightly so it won't disrupt the ball.

#7 11 years ago
Quoted from Kneissl:

It took me a long time to tune the spinout.. the transition from playfield to wire rails was most of my trouble. The ball would rattle around on the way into the plastic spinout assembly. I also adjust the plunger to hit more on the left side of the ball, this puts spin that pulls it around the spinout. On a good shot mine will go past 100k twice.

That's awesome! Mine sometimes rattles around. On my best plunge it will go past 100K to 5K. How did you tune the transition area?

#8 11 years ago

Don't forget they have different spring tensions. You need the red one for this game. It's the stiffest one. If it doesn't roll over the top, its not any fun. Stretching the spring will do nothing in the long run. Tweaking it is important to, but must have the right spring. For example Twilight zone uses the softest one. Todd

#9 11 years ago
Quoted from Dewey68:

That's awesome! Mine sometimes rattles around. On my best plunge it will go past 100K to 5K. How did you tune the transition area?

My playfield had some damage out in the shooter line, and i bumped up where the wireform screws down with washers.

#10 11 years ago

The spinout ramp is known for getting old and brittle. The mounting points are often cracked or broken and 'repaired'. Bottom line, if the ramp isn't secured real tight, the ball loses momentum when the ramp wobbles. If your ramp is still in decent shape, make sure the standoffs and other attaching points are secure below it. Use large washers on both sides where needed. Less wobble = more spin.

#11 11 years ago
Quoted from phishrace:

The spinout ramp is known for getting old and brittle. The mounting points are often cracked or broken and 'repaired'. Bottom line, if the ramp isn't secured real tight, the ball loses momentum when the ramp wobbles. If your ramp is still in decent shape, make sure the standoffs and other attaching points are secure below it. Use large washers on both sides where needed. Less wobble = more spin.

My spinout has the left mounting point broken - so it is only supported by the right side. The piece it broke from is still there - could i just expoxy and repair it?

Wish someone would repo these or we're going to have taxi games without a spinner chute.

#12 11 years ago

Hi Methos...Mine had the left side mounting piont broke. I just got done "modding" my mounting. I slid a piece of tubing over the post down to the PF firmly with less than 1/16" of the post sticking thru the tubing, and then slid a washer over the top of the post supported by the tubing, and that was a large enough of an area to support the spinout funnel....Looking forward to meeting you! OH, by the way, now that the funnel is mounted more secure, and I rebent the SW wire, I can get close to two score cycles with a full plunge.

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#13 11 years ago

All good suggestions. I found tightening the ramp and habitrail very effective as well as aligning the plunger to strike the ball in the centre. Another thing that works surprisingly very well is polishing the inside of the spinout with Novus 2.

#14 11 years ago

Cowman - that is exactly where my break is. I still have the other piece that held on to that post. Think I could still glue the pieces together? Looking forward to meeting you next week!

#15 11 years ago
Quoted from Methos:

Think I could still glue the pieces together?

I tried that & it didn't hold but my break was closer to the spinout. Something like what cowman57 did looks like a good idea. A piece of sheet metal or thin aluminum (instead of a washer) shaped to cover more area might be even better.

#16 11 years ago

Whats the problem with plastic forming these ramps? Has anyone tried this and had success?

#17 11 years ago
Quoted from Methos:

I still have the other piece that held on to that post. Think I could still glue the pieces together?

Use a silicone (flexible) adhesive to 'glue' them together, then use large flat (fender) washers on the top and bottom to secure that corner. If you use super glue (for plastic) or epoxy, it will break again. That type of plastic gets very brittle over time.

In this case, performance is more important than looks. You should always be able to overshoot the 100k with a full pull. If it consistently stops at 100k or less with a full pull, it's not really a skill shot any more. The skill shot is a big part of Taxi, so use any method at hand to get that sucker tight. Repro ramps don't exist.

#18 11 years ago

New spring, replace plunger sleeve, clean the plunger rod with novus 2.

#19 11 years ago
Quoted from phishrace:

Use a silicone (flexible) adhesive to 'glue' them together, then use large flat (fender) washers on the top and bottom to secure that corner. If you use super glue (for plastic) or epoxy, it will break again. That type of plastic gets very brittle over time.
In this case, performance is more important than looks. You should always be able to overshoot the 100k with a full pull. If it consistently stops at 100k or less with a full pull, it's not really a skill shot any more. The skill shot is a big part of Taxi, so use any method at hand to get that sucker tight. Repro ramps don't exist.

yeah - to be honest, I do a weak pull of the plunger just so it gets up there, so I do not damage it any more. If I'm having a good game - then I go for the skill shot.

I would love to bring my Taxi to local shows - but I just can't when there are parts I can't replace.

#20 11 years ago
Quoted from Methos:

I would love to bring my Taxi to local shows - but I just can't when there are parts I can't replace.

You could always swap out the regular balls for powerballs. The purists might give you a hard time, but it will get played. I took my well routed Taxi to CAX once (with steel balls). It was used in the tournament and played almost nonstop for most of the weekend. The spinout ramp held up fine, but the flippers faded when they got hot. Powerballs would've been a better choice in that case. Guys were threatening to take the game outside and burn it.

#21 11 years ago

I just went through this with a Taxi I rebuilt a couple of weeks ago. I did everything you can imagine.. Positioning the shooter in numerous places, building up the cracked ramp holes with epoxy to make sure it's held tightly in place when screwed down, bending the switch to various positions, polishing the hell out of the ramp to make sure it's slick, shimming the entry point of the wireform, etc and nothing made a difference at all.

Then I took a popsicle stick, broke it in half, and put one half under each "hook" that the playfield connects to the lockdown receiver with, slightly raising the position of the playfield relative to the shooter. The shooter couldn't be adjusted down this far on its own -- I had already moved it as far as it would go. Now when I plunge, the ball almost makes it all the way through the numbers twice. Previously it would only get to the 4th or 5th.

Pretty ghetto hack, but it did the trick when nothing else worked! :\

#22 11 years ago

I'm wondering, is there maybe a treatment that could be applied to the entire underside of the spinout to help protect against future damage? Would need to be colorless/transparent & safe for plastics of course. Anyone know?

2 weeks later
#23 11 years ago

My recently purchased Taxi is awaiting the CPR playfield, so I'm not too concerned with the gameplay just yet. But my spinout is a little weak too, I was able to lower the rear legs a bit and that increased my spinout "spins" some.

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