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Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 9:55 am
by xanthrum
We just had our Pack race and now on to Districts... and then on to Mid America Pinewood Derby - http://www.midamericaderby.com - we are running faster than we have ever run before. I think the competition at this years Mid America Pinewood Derby will be intense.

Introducing "Radioactive" - my Bear Scout
https://goo.gl/photos/bQAC42MqapvF2xZGA
https://goo.gl/photos/i6vBURgN46xF1RMU8

Introducing "Pac-Man" my Seeker Scout (Kindergarten)
https://goo.gl/photos/w6hs6CgWV1VX1j4r5
https://goo.gl/photos/tCM9h2gcXbqsr8eR6

Introducing "Shoot the Moon" my 2nd Oldest Boy Scout
https://goo.gl/photos/UVYEh1fU9sumbLA57
https://goo.gl/photos/jbQ4NPAnDJmG86ow5

Introducing "Blue" my Oldest Boy Scout
https://goo.gl/photos/siF2CgP3ajhtvC4RA
https://goo.gl/photos/B14KhGvYYFdCD19C6

Introducing "Derby Widow" my Wife's car
https://goo.gl/photos/vxrWQYydw4KsZ8D98
https://goo.gl/photos/sYqCHc4MhLgTY8GN6

Introducing "Lucky" my car
https://goo.gl/photos/Urm6xTnd1W4SBQKv5
https://goo.gl/photos/3VhP8BkNyqQxWSwn9

Bring on this year's Mid America Pinewood Derby
https://goo.gl/photos/FNc4pY918A64c9Hz8

Re: Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 9:59 am
by Scrollsawer
Love the Pac-Man car!!

Yes, your wife's car is appropriately named, considering all of the cars you've got listed. :)

We look forward to returning to the M.A. this year after a two year hiatus.

Good luck!

Scrollsawer

Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 10:25 am
by whodathunkit
Nice looking line up of cars!

The pack man car is sharp looking as well!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 11:15 am
by gpraceman
Looking cool! One thing noticeably missing, though. Where's your Big Rig entry? ;)

Re: Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 12:45 pm
by birddog
Nice! I love the cool front/back fender treatments. That Dawes family line up is going to be tough to beat!

Re: Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 3:29 pm
by Scrollsawer
Greg,

What are those rounded, clear covers on your entries' inner wheels? I've never seen those before. Do they obstruct the DFW's inner hub from coming into contact with the car body (or side glide)? Are these all oil lubed cars?

Thanks,

Scrollsawer

Re: Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 6:56 pm
by Derby Evolution
The inner clear pieces are air guides. The Mid America rules allow for them as long as they are clear so that the wheel is visible. Using them can reduce the times a car is running by as much as .006. When you are pushing for every thousandth on the track these can help. You of course have to have the fundamentals down first.

Re: Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:22 pm
by Scrollsawer
Thanks!

Without a track to tune on, these wouldn't be worth my time or money. I'm working on tenths and hundredths of a second. That much money for several thousandths? No thanks.

Re: Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 2:18 pm
by xanthrum
Scrollsaw... in regards to our air deflectors - those are homemade... using a vacuum mold. The verdict is out if it truly is faster it seems to make sense from an aerodynamic stand point but there are a couple of people that are selling them -- and they are not expensive ... they are not the easiest to install but each year we try some new things these along with our fenders are the new things this year that we are trying.

Truly
Greg

Re: Dawes Family Cars for 2016

Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 7:21 pm
by LightninBoy
Awesome looking cars Gregg!

And the verdict is in. The wheel shields are faster. They are particularly effective when paired with fenders that split the air equally between the inside and outside of the car (as opposed to a popular glue on fender design that pushed air mostly to the outside). Basically, no one has won a heavy wide wheel race in over a year that didn't have something blocking the the air from getting into the rear wheels. First it was the wheel weights,then I and a couple other racers started winning with the shields.

I still don't put them in the DFW as I haven't seen statistically significant gains there and there's some risk of making the car slower. Though some of the new designs seem to make the installation much easier and reduce that risk.

Its really interesting how these league innovations trickle down into the scouting world.