To drill or not drill?

[makeitfaster]

In placing the weight in/on your cars, have you guys found it better to drill holes thru the car next to the wheels or carve out to bottom of the car?

Any help would be appreciated,

[PinewoodPerformance]

We have been using a roto-tool and routeing out the bottom of the car in a square pocket and inserting tungsten cubes and 5 min epoxy to hold them.

[derbydad]

I thought I read somewhere about being careful about vibrations
caused by the weights. Something about keeping the weights away from/ not in contact with with wood. Any thoughts?

[makeitfaster]

Thanks for the comment, Last year we came in second place in our YMCA adventure guides derby. We drilled and put the weights in thru the side and this year we are just trying to get a little faster.

Thanks again,

[thetasboy]

I am no expert, but have built 5 derby cars with my son. We have always used the flat pinecar weights and routed out the bottom of the car very carefully so that the weights fit nice and tight and flush with the bottom of the car. We always use the small screws to set the weights. If one set is not enough, we always rout another section deeper so that we can bury another smaller section of weight inside and above the bottom weight. We always polish and debur our weights so that they look real nice, and then clear coat them. A real show look. The nice thing about screwing the weights on is that if you have to make final weight reductions for some reason at the derby check in, all you need to do is unscrew the weights and remove material from the inside piece, or drill the back side of the weight if you only have one layer. This keeps the car out of harms way during the operation, and preserves the look of the polished weights. All you have to have is the small screw driver and a cordless drill and bit.

Out of the five years, we have taken a second, a fourth, a seventh, a third, and this year a first place.

I beleive that the weight placement factor is somewhat minor in the overall scope of things all things considered. Of course it is best to keep the center of mass toward the rear wheels, but it will be the weels and axles that will make or break the race.

Good luck