Length of car past the front wheels

General topics of interest to racers and race coordinators alike.
Speedster
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Speedster »

Who said I had a "straight" nail?
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Vitamin K
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Vitamin K »

Crazylegsiraq wrote:
Speedster wrote:Get in your car and drive to Curtice, Ohio and I'll pick you up. My wife's going to West, Virginia for a few days on the 24th. I'll have a nail waiting for you and we'll run it down the track.

I've done some crazy stuff for my family Speedster! But driving over two hours for a straight nail? I may be better suited to invest that gas money and buy about 8 - 10 new BSA kits.
Don't think of it as driving for a nail, think of it as driving for PWD camaraderie! Plus, you get to test on a BestTrack! ;)
Crazylegsiraq
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Crazylegsiraq »

I'm well aware and would definitely entertain the thought of going but my with work schedule, limited time to finish the car, and my oldest sons Confirmation the same day as the race... GEE WHIZ we're gonna be cutting it close! I'm thinking if Maverick does well enough to get to districts, I'd be interested in having a pro inspect what we've done.

I told Maverick tonight that as soon as Spring finally gets here for good, we're gonna get started on next years car. I'll have my youngest boy Jackson to get started as well. So, the sooner the better for next year.
ZebsRacing
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by ZebsRacing »

This site is the best, the guys on here know what they are talking about, in any event I bought some Revell axles at hobby lobby, they all were pretty straight on the lathe, (maybe it was dumb luck) but anyways the biggest key in my opinion is alignment, rail riding isnt allowed in my district, but Ill tell you what, a good alignment meant no wobble, and that is why I can say we took 3rd overall. (And the great help from DT)
Crazylegsiraq
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Crazylegsiraq »

Ok Speedster! Must've had a stroke of good luck! My wife and I were so busy last week preparing for our oldest boys Confirmation Mass that I didn't get time to finish prepping the wheels with my scout. Saturday was hot laps, inspection and garage lock down. Forgot all about it until about an hour before they were to close!

I just pushed the axles in, spaced em as good as I could with a credit card, and we showed up with about 20 minutes to spare. I had time to show Mav how to place the car on the track as I thought he should and let him run it a couple of times and I turned the RR axle as I saw fit. It ran about a 2.33 something and one of the dads said that will have a rough time competing with the others. Another Dad laughed and said it'll really have a rough time if you don't put that wheel back in the axle slot! We were a soup sandwich! He takes the car and looked at it and asked profoundly... So would you like to put some graphite on this?

WOW! What a mess! I said that'll probably help and readjusted the axles finally locking them with a spot of glue to hold them in place. Waited a couple minutes and puffed some graphite(molly blend) they had at a living table into the bores and had Mav run it a couple more times down the track. They were somewhat shocked as was I when the timer read 2.281. I asked if that was more like the other boys and they said that ought to be about the middle of the pack. Good enough for me given the current events and lack of prep. I just wanted my boy to compete. He kinda lost interest during sand and paint so he did some design/shaping, axle/wheel prep (which I forgot to finish), and pretty much left the rest to me.

So on race day, my wife and I were to be at church while thankfully a family friend went to the race to cheer Maverick on. So after Mass concluded I check my phone that had all of these updates from our friend, and he had one last race so I tried to get there on time and failed. Everyone was leaving as I was getting there. I get to the entry steps of the building and I see my boy coming up the stairs with his car in one hand and a big, 2nd place over all trophy in the other! I couldn't believe after all of the last second haste, he ended up doing that well. The look on his face was priceless. Gleaming ear to ear he said Dad, we got district in a couple weeks! Thanks again to all that gave advice. It appears to have worked well even though we squeezed some of the most important stuff in at the last second.

Also I should note that our track wasn't even 30 ft long. I'm told that the District track is 42' aluminum so I'm gonna prolly lean on some more of you advise givers as far as any adjustments to make if possible to be ready for this
Crazylegsiraq
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Crazylegsiraq »

Ok Speedster! Must've had a stroke of good luck! My wife and I were so busy last week preparing for our oldest boys Confirmation Mass that I didn't get time to finish prepping the wheels with my scout. Saturday was hot laps, inspection and garage lock down. Forgot all about it until about an hour before they were to close!

I just pushed the axles in, spaced em as good as I could with a credit card, and we showed up with about 20 minutes to spare. I had time to show Mav how to place the car on the track as I thought he should and let him run it a couple of times and I turned the RR axle as I saw fit. It ran about a 2.33 something and one of the dads said that will have a rough time competing with the others. Another Dad laughed and said it'll really have a rough time if you don't put that wheel back in the axle slot! We were a soup sandwich! He takes the car and looked at it and asked profoundly... So would you like to put some graphite on this?

WOW! What a mess! I said that'll probably help and readjusted the axles finally locking them with a spot of glue to hold them in place. Waited a couple minutes and puffed some graphite(molly blend) they had at a living table into the bores and had Mav run it a couple more times down the track. They were somewhat shocked as was I when the timer read 2.281. I asked if that was more like the other boys and they said that ought to be about the middle of the pack. Good enough for me given the current events and lack of prep. I just wanted my boy to compete. He kinda lost interest during sand and paint so he did some design/shaping, axle/wheel prep (which I forgot to finish), and pretty much left the rest to me.

So on race day, my wife and I were to be at church while thankfully a family friend went to the race to cheer Maverick on. So after Mass concluded I check my phone that had all of these updates from our friend, and he had one last race so I tried to get there on time and failed. Everyone was leaving as I was getting there. I get to the entry steps of the building and I see my boy coming up the stairs with his car in one hand and a big, 2nd place over all trophy in the other! I couldn't believe after all of the last second haste, he ended up doing that well. The look on his face was priceless. Gleaming ear to ear he said Dad, we got district in a couple weeks! Thanks again to all that gave advice. It appears to have worked well even though we squeezed some of the most important stuff in at the last second.
Speedster
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Speedster »

CONGRATULATIONS to your Team on the win !!!

At this point I wouldn't do anything to the car other than adding graphite. At the District race write down the times of the fastest car and the times of your Team's car, assuming there is a faster car. That longer track is going to favor the car that has excellent wheel and axle prep. Hopefully the Elapsed times will be projected on a screen. The times will give a lot of valuable information.
Best
Speedster
Crazylegsiraq
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Crazylegsiraq »

I'm a little concerned about his times on the shorter track(25ft wooden 6 lane) at Pack event and how the COM being at around .5" in front will do at current alignment on a 42' aluminum track 3 lane.
Crazylegsiraq
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Crazylegsiraq »

His times on his six runs varied between 2.289 to as fast 2.271.
Speedster
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Speedster »

That is a very aggressive COM. Let's use the car as a learning experience. You should run into some competition at the District race and we'll see how it goes.
Crazylegsiraq
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Re: Length of car past the front wheels

Post by Crazylegsiraq »

Sounds good. It's obvious we got lucky with the axles/wheels/alignment at the last minute. I was hoping he would only win like one heat so it would get his "competitive juices" flowing for next year. But, it seems to have worked anyways as he is already talking about helping out more next time. I keep telling him he's gonna have to because his younger brother is more technical and particular to details than any of us in the house. He'll be the one telling us what we're doing wrong! I'll keep you guys posted in a couple of weeks. Thanks again for all the responses and knowledge! Take care derby addicts.
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