Radical nose design

[lummox]

I was thinking that since the cars are started with a stick in the center of the car that a nose that was shaped like a V (starting stick at the center of the V) would allow for the car to start ahead of the others. Would this be legal or would I just be asking for protests and an upset scout?

[evolution]

I would advise agaist it. Most likely it is against your rules and een if it is not there will be more then enough protest against it that it will be against your rules. It is a big advantage if the rest of the car is done properly. If the rest of hte car is done poorly then it will still lose.

[gpraceman]

Making a car with a notch or V in the nose can be quite counter productive. Of course, there is the perceived advantage that others may get vocal about. But you may be hurting the car's time in two ways.

1) it is starting further downhill, so you lose a bit of potential energy
2) If the lane sensor is in the middle of the lane, like most are, then the car will not be breaking the beam until the notched or V'd part goes over it

So, where is the real advantage?

[dad&3boys]

None of the cub scout rules that I've seen allow for any part of the body to extend past the starting pin.

However, some people use a quick start design that utilizes the v notch in conjunction with a paper clip (or similar) that is inserted into the front of the car. Hard to explain, but basically the paper clip is even with the front of the car and rests against the starting pin about an inch above the track surface. The theory is that as the pin starts moving forward, the quick start designed car will start moving forward before the normal cars. Perhaps get 1/4 or 3/8 head start on the other cars IF the starting gate is manually operated. When doing this, a piece of electrical tape or similar is attached to the paper clip to trigger the timer at the finish line. If the starting gate is spring loaded, this doesn't help and you typically gets a few frowns and comments from other parents, even though perfectly legal.

This method is even described in the official Cub Scout speed secrets book, available at scout shops and several of the online retailers.

[lummox]

Thanks for the input, you guys know your stuff!!!!