At a loss!

[rlin69]

The racing rules were much stricter this year at Districts for my two scouts. In the past two years, we placed 1st/2nd and 2nd/3rd in the Districts. One of the things I did that I thought was the key to us winning was to lighten the wheel from the inside (these were the older model wheels). This year, the bear got his car through inspection, but they changed inspectors for the Webelo group and my Webelo's car did not pass inspection because of the lightened wheels. The Bear car was first for the Bears and the Webelo car did not place.

The car that finished first with the lightened wheels in the Bear group went into the finals and ended up in 4th place overall. Here is where I want to ask my question. Three of the cars that were ahead of him (1st, 2nd, 3rd) were in the Webelos group where they were being very strict about the wheels. I can only assume that these Webelos cars were using wheels that did not have the added benefit of being lightened from the inside; otherwise, they would not have passed either. You would think that our car, with the lightened older wheels would have an advantage over "legit" wheels but it was not the case. In fact, the winning car was an average of .05 seconds faster than our car. I have have always built fast cars, so I know about all the basics (Center of Mass, friction, etc). How could one car be that much faster? Could it possibly be the new 2009 wheels (our wheels were lighter).

One thing I have never implemented is the technique called rail riding. Could this make such a difference?

I'm at a loss and was hoping for some insight from the general public.

[Art Racing]

RAIL RIDING CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE ON SOME TRACKS IF THE JOINTS ARE SMOOTH AND YOUR SET UP IS RIGHT.HOW MUCH DID YOUR WHEELS WEIGH?THE NEW WHEELS WEIGH 2.7 STOCK TO 2.5 WHEN TRUED UP AND CAN STILL BE CONSIDERED STOCK.IF PREPPED GOOD YOU CAN SEE SOME REALLY GOOD SPEEDS.ALOT OF RECORDS HAVE BEEN BROKEN THIS YEAR WITH THEM.JUST MY 2 CENTS.

[rlin69]

Thanks for your response. My prepped wheels weighed 1.95 grams. The track we ran on for the District race was aluminum, so I assume the joints were pretty smooth.

[jsg]

What were the rules regarding wheel prep. Did your district notify or publish the rules ahead of time? I know at our district race they don't inspect close enough. It would be easy to slip by with lightened wheels. But that doesn't mean we would do it. There are so many other ways to build a fast car and the scout can do it with guidance.

[rpcarpe]

The newer wheels should be faster, all other factors being equal.
Rail Riding is a GREAT speed tip, if done correctly. One of my eXperimental cars steered too hard into the rail and bounced off/on/off etc... But a good RR will just slide down the center rail and usually outperform any car that wiggles/bounces.
Good luck!

[DrT1010]

Mar 15, 2010 10:43:05 GMT -6 rlin69 said:

.... In fact, the winning car was an average of .05 seconds faster than our car. I have have always built fast cars, so I know about all the basics (Center of Mass, friction, etc). How could one car be that much faster? Could it possibly be the new 2009 wheels (our wheels were lighter).

One thing I have never implemented is the technique called rail riding. Could this make such a difference?

I'm at a loss and was hoping for some insight from the general public.

Lightened wheels certainly an advantage at pin drop and shorter tracks. RR overall advantage on any track, particularly if its rough. It negates the time loss bouncing and returning to rail. However set up is critical and track dependent.