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Post by Parrot Racing on Jan 28, 2008 8:40:01 GMT -6
Ichiban, I am not very familiar with all the different tracks, so forgive me if this is a stupid question. Is the length and slope of ramp the same as it would be with a 40 ft track? IMO, all other things being equal, it would be hard to say with any confidence that they would finish in the same order. Weight placement and friction will play a huge role. For instance the car that entered the straight away in first may be losing more energy than the others, but still had enough to carry it to finish, but if there were an extra 20 ft to go, it may be overtaken by one or both of the others.
Enrico
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Post by Lucky 13 on Jan 28, 2008 12:04:46 GMT -6
How well does performance testing on the Best Track 20 foot track convert to longer aluminum tracks such as a 40 foot track? Say I run a few cars on the 20 footer, record their times on the single lane track, and then order them from best to worst. How likely will the order remain the same when I run the cars on the same lane of a 40 foot track? Thanks! Ichiban, I have a 16 ft + run-off area wooden test track. The starting area is set at 2 ft. instead of 4 (basically a half scale of a standard BSA track). So far it has been worth it's weight in gold for tuning cars. What I have been doing is keeping a chart of the times a certain car runs on the test track and then what it runs at www.pwdracing.com each month and compare them. For example I know if a certain car runs a 1.87 on the test track it will convert to a 3.04-3.06 on the PWDRacing track. It is also very helpful with setting the steer for railriding and seeing what happens when you make changes to a car right away instead of having to wait until race day to see if the changes worked. As for your question regarding the order of the cars when they are ran on a 42ft track, mine are the same as on the test track. The fastest on the test track have been my fastest at PWDRacing !! Lucky 13 |
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Post by Derby Monkey on Jan 28, 2008 15:49:57 GMT -6
How well does performance testing on the Best Track 20 foot track convert to longer aluminum tracks such as a 40 foot track? Say I run a few cars on the 20 footer, record their times on the single lane track, and then order them from best to worst. How likely will the order remain the same when I run the cars on the same lane of a 40 foot track? Thanks! Sorry... didn't mean to double post... Anyway... I just purchase the 20ft single lane test track from Best Track. I asked them the same question regarding how 20ft test track speeds correlate to a 35ft track. They claim its a good comparison. I also purchased a single lane timer from Newbold. The track will be drilled to fit the timer. If you're gonna get any of this... place your order in advance. They fabricate these as they're ordered and they're presently behind schedule. P.S. please don't tell my wife I bought all this!!! |
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Post by Derby Worx Pro Team on Jan 28, 2008 15:59:02 GMT -6
How well does performance testing on the Best Track 20 foot track convert to longer aluminum tracks such as a 40 foot track? Say I run a few cars on the 20 footer, record their times on the single lane track, and then order them from best to worst. How likely will the order remain the same when I run the cars on the same lane of a 40 foot track? Thanks! P.S. please don't tell my wife I bought all this!!! Think she will notice when the BIG brown truck unloads the 7 ft long package. ;D |
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Post by Derby Monkey on Jan 28, 2008 16:28:57 GMT -6
P.S. please don't tell my wife I bought all this!!! Think she will notice when the BIG brown truck unloads the 7 ft long package. ;D I haven't worked out the details yet...  |
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Post by Derby Monkey on Feb 14, 2008 10:20:52 GMT -6
srob, according to Best Track, they're shipping them out 7-10 days after payment so you should be getting yours around now, let us know your experience! Yes... I got the track a few days ago. I've spent the last several days setting it up. I didn't want to set it on the garage floor (I'm getting too old and fat to stoop a whole lot) So, I built some platforms to get the track 32" off of the floor. I've been leveling it and making sure that its laid out as well as possible. I have not received the Newbold timer yet. It is supposed to ship out today. So, there is not a lot I can do with a single lane test track until the timer comes in. I will keep you posted. |
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Post by Derby Monkey on Feb 16, 2008 20:02:23 GMT -6
OK... I received the timer and have completed the test track set up. I will post some photos ASAP.
I immediately noticed how invaluable this tool is in preparing for competition. This is a huge asset.
The first thing I did was to time the car that performed the best in our recent pack derby. This car finished 2nd in the open class and had the 2nd highest overall speed of the event. So, I used this time (six run average) as my baseline. This time now represents a fast car... so I must build other cars to beet this time.
I discovered something very interesting. I removed four small tungsten balls from the middle of the car so I could install them further back in order to move the COG back from 1 1/8" to just under 1". Before I reinstalled the weights I decided to check the car's new weight and new COG. The car dropped from 5.00oz to 4.865oz and the COG went from 1 1/8" to 1". I then decided "what the heck" I'll time the car before I reinstall the weights. I was very surprised to see that the same car, but lighter in weight, went faster. The car was lighter but the COG was decrease by 1/8". So, even though the car was lighter, because of the improved COG it became faster.
I realize that every car and situation are different, but this little test showed me that precise COG placement may be more important than the perfect weight.
As the day went on, and I continued to tweak the weight and COG placement, the car continued to get faster and faster.
I'm keeping a log of each individual change and the results. After each change, I time 6 runs and average all 6 times. Then I throw out the fastest and slowest run and average the 4 median times.
Tomorrow I start working on axle, wheel and lube combinations... then alignment.
After that, I will set up my video camcorder at the end of the track and record each run. Then I'll playback in slow mo so I can see how the car flows down the track. I will test the car with strait alignment and then with some slight rail riding.
OK... so am I sick or what? Somebody stop me.
Anyway... the BestTrack 120 (single lane - 20 feet) Test Track and the single lane Newbold DT1000 Timer have worked flawlessly. They did require some careful set up... but it was well worth the money and effort.
Our district derby is in a few weeks. Hopefully we'll bring home another trophy... maybe even a bigger one.
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Post by DerbyDoc.com on Feb 16, 2008 23:31:39 GMT -6
Congrats, Now your addicted just like us. We have to warn you that late nights, and long weekends are ahead. Good luck with the new testing.
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Post by Derby Monkey on Feb 16, 2008 23:43:15 GMT -6
Congratulations with your testing system! And most of your testing process seems sound. How much time do you allow between the set of six runs? You may have to consider friction from heat buildup at the wheels and axles. After our pack race, the boys ran my two pwd cars with the other kids and I wonder if I saw the cars slowing down due to quick back to back runs. Do you have a mini temperature gun? W/out grabbing mine I think they read out to tenths of a degree. They don't read well off of shiny surfaces so take a sharpie and mark a test spot on the axle. Have you got that timer hooked up to a pc? The time between sets of 6 has been at least an hour. As far a heat build up during the set of 6... I haven't noticed any. The times have not indicated any slowing down of the car throughout the 6 runs. In my most resent set... the times got better after each run. I have not hooked up to the pc yet. The timer has the capability and I have the laptop... I just haven't done it yet. |
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Post by Parrot Racing on Feb 17, 2008 9:31:20 GMT -6
OK... so am I sick or what? Somebody stop me. Srob, yes you are sick!! I suggest you immediately box up that track and timer and send it to me, I will "watch" it for you until you are feeling better! Enrico |
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Post by Derby Monkey on Feb 17, 2008 12:24:47 GMT -6
Thats good, perhaps you don't get much heat build up since the track is half the height and half the distance of a typical track. The track our pack ran on was the Freedom at 40 feet. After you mentioned earlier about setting up your track in the garage, I'm having second thoughts about getting a track. I dont have room in the garage and I would have to set it up in our longest hallway of the house on top of carpet which is thirty years old and uneven. In December I started building a 16 foot wood track based on the original cub scout track plans and have gone back to finishing it to see how inconsistent times will be by not setting up the track on the same spots. I may discover I'll have to re-run my target cars everytime I break out the track; giving me a different time for my cars to shoot for. ichiban: Yeah... space is a huge problem. My garage is not that large either. Its a two car but its a very tight fit. We haven't fit two cars in it for over 7 years. Anyway... The 20 ft track would only fit if I installed it corner to corner in the garage. The start is about 1/2 inch from the wall and the finish is about 2 ft. So you can only walk around the track at one end. No way will even one car fit into it now. Time will tell how long my wife will let me get away with that. I keep telling her its for the boy. Enrico... it it so kind of you to consider my well being. This board continues to amaze me that there are such good folks who puts my health before there own. But I wouldn't want to pass my troubles on to such good people. This is my burden to bare. However, when I get close to slipping into a comma... I just might take you up on your generous offer.  Thanks, Steve |
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Sappington R
Head in the Pine
"The Sappster" 10oz
Posts: 210
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Post by Sappington R on Feb 17, 2008 15:59:12 GMT -6
Hey srob,
You are the Man! way to go! for a guy that just got started a few short months ago you are light years ahead of most.
Please take some photo's ASAP- I am getting close to following your lead - & would like to see what you have done. I have to admit, though, I may be tempted to go for a two laner. Any thoughts?
Doug
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Sappington R
Head in the Pine
"The Sappster" 10oz
Posts: 210
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Post by Sappington R on Feb 18, 2008 7:57:42 GMT -6
Ichiban, That is a good point you make about testing in a single lane. I appreciate the advice- I was thinking that it may me more fun for the kids to race each other in multiple lanes. Maybe we can get a boys league started? now wait a second, what am I thinking  Seriously though, you obviously know a lot, and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge |
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xlr8
Newbie
Posts: 6
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Post by xlr8 on Feb 25, 2008 18:45:25 GMT -6
[glow=red,2,300]Anyone have digital pics of the Best Track 20 footer you can post? Every picture I've seen, has been a close up of the starting gate. I'd like to see a snapshot of the entire track profile and another snapshot taken near the finish line and of the entire track.
Use low resolution below 1200x1000 to keep file size low for photobucket. Thanks![/glow]
Ditto. I am thinking of getting a 20ft best track also, along with the newbold single lane timer. There aren't any photo's on the Best Track web site of the test track. Some pics would be great!
Kurt
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