[Paul Copioli]

With all the controversy going around regarding the FP motor I put together some interesting data. This information WILL come in handy in the very near future. I have a small editorial on the attached file.

After researching the Fisher-Price motors and their use on ride on cars I have come across a few facts:

1. All FP ride on cars are designed to go a maximum of 5 MPH. The different gearbox and motor combinations are a result of different wheel diameters and design loads (sound familiar?).

2. FP has two main motor suppliers: Mabuchi and Johnson electric. These suppliers make similar motors to do a specific job for FP and Fisher-Price uses certain Mabuchi and JE motors interchangeably.

3. The 2003 and 2004 kit supplied FP motors (2003 from Mabuchi and 2004 from JE) are interchangeable. As you can see from the attached grid, the motors are used in the same FP gearboxes even though they have a slight performance difference (I presume it is specsmanship on the part of JE to make their motor look a little better).

4. The 2005 motor was an anomaly and, as teams are finding out, has some robustness issues when run at 12 volts; especially when using the gearbox at 12 volts.

Anyway, I suspect their will be some relief coming from FIRST in the next few days.

-Paul