Derby Talk

My sons have graduated out of Cub Scouts, and I need to make room in the garage. :sigh: I have a 42 foot 2 Lane Best Track, approximately 5 years old. I also have a 2 Lane Microwizard Timer (the K3 version with all the bells and whistles!). I have also fabricated a custom leveling system that uses f...

After two boys and 7 years of Cub Scouts, it's over. My youngest son crossed over on the 19th. Not before finishing our 7th Pack race. Here is how we fared over the last 7 years (V is my oldest son, S is my youngest son) 2005: V 1st place 2006: V 1st Place 2007: V 1st Place, S 2nd Place 2008: S 1st ...

The 3 wire motors are brushless motors, and yes, I believe you will need to use a brushless speed control in order to use a brushless motor. I used this motor: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHHP0&P=SM to build my outlaw car. http://www.derbytalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&...

Glad to do it Hawkchucker: Used two 15a long lever microswitches http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/Ricerocket00/2009%20Pinewood%20Derby/Microswitches.jpg Used one 15a toggle switch http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/Ricerocket00/2009%20Pinewood%20Derby/ToggleSwitches.jpg Used one "11.1...

https://youtu.be/S7dcDHfJm58

Video of the powered race now available.

We had our districts this morning. It was a blast. My boys cars did well. This was my oldest son's last derby, since he has crossed over into Boy Scouts. He had a car jump track and hit his, which slowed his car considerably. He still managed a respectable 9th overall, after qualifying 5th in the fi...

Randy and son: Great idea. Thank. I put a piece of the grip tape that is used on Best Tracks on the stop section. I tested it a little bit. The fan didn't fare well. It was a used fan, and two of the blades came apart. I switched to a smaller fan that I had, with much better results. On a 35 ft Best...

I finished my first powered PWD car about 2-3 weeks ago. After posting here: http://derbytalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=4829 and doing some measuring, I realized that it was too tall :shock: Anyway, I also realized a few flaws in the car, so I went about rebuilding it. Just finished up this morning. I tid...

The one downside I can see to this is that you are, in essence, making the hill 1/8" shorter for your car. Not a lot, I know, but when you're looking for thousandths of a second...

dna1990 - Overkill? Of course!

gpraceman - It measured 6 inches tall. I will have to check to see how much clearance the Microwizard timer we use has. Anyone have any ideas? If need be, I can lower the fan fairly easily.

Districts are coming up, and for years, we've had a leader that has brought a direct drive powered car to the derby every year. This year I decided to give him a run for his money! I decided to go with an RC jet plane ducted motor and an 11.1v battery pack. Here's what I came up with: http://i70.pho...

My question would be: why not just allow oils? They are cleaner, and some league racers who do quite well still use graphite over oil. Just a thought. Some oils still do fine when mixed with graphite, I hear, althought I haven't tried it yet.

I sharpen both sides using a GATCO knife sharpening system like THIS one. It doesn't stay razor sharp long. I usually do a light touch up on the blade about every 4th cut. It sure does a great job of cutting the wheels, though.

I agree with gpraceman. We hve a wonderful Popcrn Kernel (my wife!) who helped our Pack go from $13,000 in sales 2 years ago to $40,000 in popcorn sales last year! This allowed us to purchase a brand new 6 lane, 49 foot Best Track with ALL the bells and whistles!

Boss429 - That is a great idea. Might have to incorporate that next year!