Derby Talk

How do you keep the wheel from going in and touching the body when you run the DFW OUT at the top? I have heard most say that they run the rear wheels in at the top and the front wheels out at the top. What cant are you running on the front and how much drift? Do you drill the holes at an angle or d...

How light are you able to get a block (before paint) that a boy scout will be handling? About .6 is as light as I've been able to get and that seems like it is really pushing it.

My right side is my dominant side. Let's say my right rear wheel is only staying 1/32" off the rail just for arguments sake. Would I want to push the axle head of my right rear wheel back to make the right rear wheel turn right or would I want to push the left rear axle head forward to make the...

Adding a bit of weight that you can move around easily will speed the "zeroing in" process, which is, I think, your option B. This is especially valuable if you have limited amounts of test time on the track. But, I think that you have rear-end alignment opportunity (problem). The reason ...

Now I'm confused. There's a lot of that going around. :) If I have issues I would love to know how to fix them. If the issue is alignment, then I told you what to do in first response. (I doubt that it is an axle or wheel quality issue, because you either did them yourself or supervised the work.) ...

Now I'm confused. I'm not saying that I don't have rear alignment issues but when I run the car against a straight edge, the dom. wheel goes straight to the rail and the rear wheels stay evenly spaced off the rail. The whole rear of the car is a little "LEFT" but it stays the same for the ...

I was able to practice with our car a little tonight. It's about .005 slower than last years car on average. (After adjustments). I'm a little worried that I am too light on the front. I started at 16 grams. The car did not wiggle AT ALL. It went very smoothly to the rail. I changed the amount of dr...

I saw this and the first thing I thought of was derby racing. I thought it was kinda funny. I think a kid didn't know the answer so he just kind of winged it.

They had already cut the car out and it was a design that the son had drawn out himself. So, we didn't want to change that. If slots were used, was the correct one used for the rear axle? It sounds like you did good in getting the body weight as low as possible. With 3 and 1/2 ounces of tungsten an...

Additional speed from additional PE when you are already so rear-weighted will not make up 0.04 seconds! There are other issues that you must find and fix. Alignment is the most likely, I think. If there are any "wigglies", identify cause and fix (either alignment or differential friction...

Don't know exact COM. Weight on front wheels was 22 grams before and after. Someone else on the board may know but I'm going to make a good guess of 5/8" to 11/16" COM. I did take almost the entire 1/2 oz. out of the car from about 2" in front of the rear wheel to the front axle. Adde...

I helped a cub scout with some pointers on his car a few weeks back. He did well but didn't win. I'm trying to figure out what else I can do to help him speed up. His wheels and axles are very good. Nothing else needed there. They had already cut the car out and it was a design that the son had draw...

Thanks guys!! 2" (Seems like an average between what you guys are saying) would be a tremendous amount to pick up. I have seen MANY races won and lost by 2" once you get to council. I can only HOPE that we can make up .015. Thanks again !!!!!!!!

Someone posted on here that if you ran canted axles with correct alignment, you could gain as much as 15/1000's of a second over uncanted axles. How much is that in inches approximately? If I lost to a guy by 1/2", would this be enough to catch him? Pass him? Hopefully someone on here knows fro...

I run a body shop so I'm only highly familiar with PPG basecoat/clearcoat type paint. But most painting tips apply for spray can paints as well. 1. LIGHT coats. This goes for primers as well. 5 light coats work much better than 3 heavy coats. 2. We never sand a car with less than 1000 grit. This goe...