Design of car okay?

[2boybarians]

Hi again,
Son wants to make an hour-glass shaped car , 1/2 inch in thick in back and 1/4 inch in front. I can use a scroll saw to cut out extra weight , leaving the axle wood and some wood in front and a little in the rear. ( like the Stan Pope rail car idea but with a skinny solid section in the middle).
Questions: Son wants to decorate with decal on top, can we just glue a thin balsa sheet on top ? (Son doesn't think open car looks good.)

Should we leave all the wood in front of the front axle or take some out as well?

Son is a Tiger and won Pack race, but now wants to build a new and faster car for district race after reading Stan Pope's book over the past week's bedtime. Son has a lot of patience and spent six days sanding 1st car and 2 aligning it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated .

Mom of 2boybarians

[SpeedGeek]

IMO, a car is faster if the mass is concentrated at the center of mass rather than distributed. Sounds like double talk maybe, but what it means is that the amount of wood should be minimized and the amount of added weight should be maximized and placed where you want the CG.

At the same time, I don't think focusing on one speed factor is the "magic bullet". You need to do several things very much better than everyone else.

I believe that the mass distribution is a minor factor if you do it reasonably well. To increase speed, determine first what your weak spot is (wheels, axles, alignment...) and put your energy into that. In other words, if you are new to this game, strive for consistency first, then "creep up" on the speed thing.

Of course, as I've said b4, I've never won a WIRL event, but I'm having fun!

[2boybarians]

Thanks Speedgeek for your reply.

I still would like to know if anyone has taken an open "rail" type of car design and glued a thin piece of balsa on top to achieve a car that the boy can put decals on.

Son and I will be cutting out the car on friday evening and we are aiming at about 1 oz on the front and 3 oz on the back. I hope this ratio is in the ball park of okay.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Mom of 2boybarians

[slkrnsntracing]

2boybarians said:

Thanks Speedgeek for your reply.

I still would like to know if anyone has taken an open "rail" type of car design and glued a thin piece of balsa on top to achieve a car that the boy can put decals on.

Son and I will be cutting out the car on friday evening and we are aiming at about 1 oz on the front and 3 oz on the back. I hope this ratio is in the ball park of okay.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Mom of 2boybarians

2boybarians,

I think the thin piece of balsa would work great.

As far as the weight is concerned, I would weight the car so the balance point is 3/4" - 1 1/4" in front of the rear axle.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck

Phil

[SpeedGeek]

You are only limited by your imagination!!!

Try it, see how it works and go from there. Seems like it should work fine to me.

[bsldcjzp]

Need help with weight and speed. Know this is what everyone wants to know. I have been building my sons cars for awanas for 3 years now and our cars are coming in at 2.9. There are other cars out there that we are racing that are blowing our doors off. Can anyone help me try and figure out how I can get the right lube for the wheels and a design that will fly. The car that was the fastest this years race was a 2.801. This guy has not lost a race 10 years from what they told me. I would like to be the first to beat him. How can I try and get the car down to a 2.7?

[Lucky 13]

What type(wood/aluminum) and length of track are you running on ? Also what are the rules Awanas use regarding building a car, lightened wheels, wheelbase, weight, car length, width, lubes allowed ? We'd love to help you beat that other dad !! Also, is it possible for you to post a picture of your past cars so we can get an idea of your build style ?

Lucky 13

[bsldcjzp]

The track (plexy glass) 34'on the area wide. Local we race on wood.34" Local race we are ok in. But really I would like to do better. Rules are the same as the rules here except for the wheel can be modified but the side have to say awana grand prix. Area wide rules are a little diferent then local. Area wide you can change the wheelbase length. Local you can not. You can use any type of lubicant for the axles or lube as long as it does not drip or damage the track. I have reading this for days now and everybody seems to be talking about HOB-E-LUBE. Were can I get. Is it better then MAX-V?? I do not have a piture of the car but I shaped it like a formula one car. I started a new one to try and figure out something different. I cut just about all the wood out. It is only a 1/8" thick 1/2" wide. No one has came close in beating him. I tried to look at his car and figure out what he is doing, but you are not allow to touch other cars unless the owner is ok with it. I have to admit this guy is good at what he builds.

[Derby Worx Pro Team]

Car body - Thin to Win.
Wheel alignment critical......Search subject, wealth of info here.

[Lucky 13]

Thin body definitely, my newer cars are only 5/16 thick. Raised front wheel, Max-V sells some nice Awana wheels, not sure where you could get some lightened wheels or razor cut wheels at ? I'd go with krytox for lube, it will last for a lot more heats without re-lubing and a lot less mess !! Maybe try a more aggressive COM/COG. What do you do to prep your axles ? Are you familiar with rail riding ?

Lucky 13

[ProQuest]

Are you using solid axles or nail type? I've made both. Might be able to offer a tip or two.

[bsldcjzp]

lucky 13, after I get the wheels going straight I think I glue them in and then I use 3 and 1 oil and I run it on a belt pulley I have at work and it sits there runnings for about 5 hours without stopping. It seems to work I guess.

Proquest, we use nails.

[RacerX]

What type of alignment technique are you using? Straight, rail-Hugger , other?

Lightened Awanna wheels Lucky? Now there is a novel idea!!! Maybe 1 gramers even? ;D

Try a thin car, tungston weights, 3/4" to 1" CG in front of rear axle, polished Awanna axles (Good axles stock), wheels, what ever teh rules will bear, nye oil, lightly applied and a rail hugger alignment set to drift 3/4" to 1" to the dominant over 6'.

Racer X

[Lucky 13]

bsldcjzp said:

lucky 13, after I get the wheels going straight I think I glue them in and then I use 3 and 1 oil and I run it on a belt pulley I have at work and it sits there runnings for about 5 hours without stopping. It seems to work I guess.

Proquest, we use nails.

I'd get away from the 3in1 oil !! Get you some krytox or Hob-e-Lube graphite (Pinecar sells this). Running the car on a pulley system for 5 hours is probably overkill, and may be causing more damage than help. Maximum-Velocity sells an axle polishing kit that comes complete with instructions on polishing. Max-V also sells Awana speed wheels, but they are not lightened. If you are allowed to raise one front wheel it is a huge help. Alignment is your next big thing and getting it right will make a huge difference. You can either align the car to go as straight as you can get it or you can make it into a railrider. A railrider is designed to purposely turn into the center rail and 'ride" it down the track. Start out with a 1 inch in to 4 foot of roll. What that means is if the car is rolled down a flat surface it would turn in 1 inch when the car travels 4 foot. Every car is different so adjustments can/will need to be made. Purchase a bathroom mirror (the kind you hang on the back of the door, about 4 ft tall) draw a line down the center. Line the car up on that line. Mark one inch segments across the mirror bottom to check how far the car is steering. the dominate wheel is the one that should be steering into the rail.

Lucky 13

[bsldcjzp]

racer x- I try to make it go straight. I have never tried railriding, but there is always a first time for it. I am wokring on 2 cars and I might try one for the rail and the other one for straight.

lucky13- raise one front wheel??? I will try one straight and one rail just to see what happens. One car is about 1/8" thick and the other one I have almost to thin down to 1/16" thick. Not much on the design, but it is thin. I will try hob-e-lube first and go from there.

[Da Pine Racing]

bsldcjzp said:

lucky13- raise one front wheel??? I will try one straight and one rail just to see what happens. One car is about 1/8" thick and the other one I have almost to thin down to 1/16" thick. Not much on the design, but it is thin. I will try hob-e-lube first and go from there.

Yes, raise one of the front wheels if the rules allow it. Much easier to align & less friction, make the down wheel turn into the center rail. Good luck