What do you think of a pretty car?

[squirrel]

I think of a pretty car is slower than a car with no show and design thats pacifically made to go.

1. Iv'e never seen a pretty car win. "After two years of wining myself."

2. It does have not aerodynamics. "Usually"

3. After wining I know what's hot and not

[doct1010]

I like pretty (designed) and fast. Check out our cars in pic section, do they qualify as pretty? (Also see Mike Doyles cars or kayjon or a host of other well designed cars, are they pretty?) If so, they are pack champs three consecutve years. We didn't have a district race until this year, let you know how it does there.

[PWD]

I have seen many pretty and fast cars through the years. Personally my sons always want fast and have shown no desire to make them pretty. So our cars tend to be fast and ugly.

[Hurly64]

I cant' remember who said it or where I read it, but it went something like this:
"If it aint fast, it should at least look good. And if its fast, you want it to look good while its fast, so take the time to make it look good."

[gpraceman]

Hello squirrel,

Welcome to Derby Talk. Personally, I think a fast car can look very good. Some of the cars built for design may not do so well in speed, but there is a lot that you can do with wheels, axles, and weight placement to make them still do well.

Out of curiosity, how old are you?

[pwdarchitect]

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

What one might say is cool or pretty, as you say, another might think of it as not very attractive.

J

P.S. I know quite a few people that can build a car that not only looks good but also is quite fast.

[CuriousGeorge]

My kids build for speed (their choice) and any car they build is a masterpiece in my eyes.

[RLLD]

In a car designed for speed, do you think having the nose of the car swept up is better than swept down?

In such a short distance, say pinewood, the aeordynamics should not matter that much, but could it factor in?

I am thinking that the "lift" of a slight lift at teh nose might reduce the friction and force on the front wheels whereas a slight downward design might force pressure onto the wheels....however slight.....

[2kids10horses]

RLLD,

You generally don't want the front end to have lift. These cars, the fast ones that is, are generally rear weighted, with only about 20% of their weight on the front. Therefore, they are prone to stability issues inherit with light front ends. Front end lift would worsen the problem.

We work very hard to strive for that 'sweet spot' of enough downward pressure to get the front end to track straight, be lightly guided by the rail, keep the back end off the rail, and roll with no apparant shimmy or wobble.

I have seen some cars literally flip over backwards from excessive rear weighting and insufficient alignment.

2K10H

[RLLD]

RLLD,

You generally don't want the front end to have lift. These cars, the fast ones that is, are generally rear weighted, with only about 20% of their weight on the front. Therefore, they are prone to stability issues inherit with light front ends. Front end lift would worsen the problem.

We work very hard to strive for that 'sweet spot' of enough downward pressure to get the front end to track straight, be lightly guided by the rail, keep the back end off the rail, and roll with no apparant shimmy or wobble.

I have seen some cars literally flip over backwards from excessive rear weighting and insufficient alignment.

2K10H

Gotcha, that does make sense now that you mention it.

Iwas planning on drilling out some area just in front of the rear wheels to insert some weight. With that in mind it would make much more sense to ensure there are no wheelies and perhaps work to get a little downforce on the front end....

[2kids10horses]

RLLD,

Adding a weight just in front of the rear axle is the ideal place to put it.

Generally speaking, a 20/80 ratio is considered safe for novice builders, where 20% of the weight is carried on the front and 80% on the rear.

Another way to measure this is to have the car balance at about 1 1/4 inches in front of the rear axle.

Stan Pope has a webpage where he details the basic concepts of building a fast car. You can see his methods by following this link:

http://members.aol.com/StanDCmr/pwdesign.html

This methodology is the basis for many forum members. Read it to get up to speed.

Once you go thru Stan's methods, you can decide if you wish to make improvements or style changes. But, a basic understanding of Stan's technique is a solid foundation. It's the fastest way I know to "get up to speed"!

2K10H

[RLLD]

RLLD,
Once you go thru Stan's methods, you can decide if you wish to make improvements or style changes. But, a basic understanding of Stan's technique is a solid foundation. It's the fastest way I know to "get up to speed"!

2K10H

Reading it now, thanks!

[squirrel]

Note of apology:


Sorry for my harmful actions. I forgot fantastic looking cars went fast. You must have won with effort too.

[doct1010]

Note of apology:


Sorry for my harmful actions. I forgot fantastic looking cars went fast. You must have won with effort too.

Squirrel no apology required, and certainly no harm done Ugly cars are fast too! In fact the car that finished second to my son was butt ugly. Looked like it was cut with a chain saw! The point, it was a fast car becuase all the other important prep was done correctly. We just prefer to have it look good and fast as possible.

We usaully build two cars (sometimes more!). We start with a sketch my son draws, he is quite gifted with a pencil and paper; or an idea he finds here or on one of the pro boards. We build side by side, usaully evenings and weekends. Except for the initial rough cut on table and band saw, he does the rest. His skill with the dremel (low speed) has vastly improved over last year. I did the final sand. His paint turned out better than mine! I kept fiddling, he just left his.

[Go Bubba Go]

Ugly cars are fast too! In fact the car that finished second to my son was butt ugly. Looked like it was cut with a chain saw!

Doc:

Couldn't find that term in the PWD encyclopedia.

Some of your medical jargon must be spilling over into your PWD vocabulary

Hope there's a cure for that!