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Post by T-Scout712 on Jan 13, 2013 21:46:28 GMT -6
Ok, big question for me and my son. Currently building our 3rd Pinewood Cub Scout car. The first one won pack champ and finished middle of the entry field in regionals - I was green and did not know how we acheived it. Second car stunk and did not win one heat. I know enough now to know that if one wheel does not touch that is good and secondly rail riding is the way to go.
In looking at our first car, the front left wheel barely does not touch and the car drifts to the right. However, this is different than the recommendation for rail riding in that the car is supposed to drift to the left (toward the raised wheel).
I can see now that it was riding the rail. So my question is did we have a form of a rail rider and did it help (I suppose it did) or were other good things done and we were just lucky?
Thanks
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Post by renner on Jan 18, 2013 22:18:55 GMT -6
Wheel alignment is critical. If you lucked out and hit it just right, you might have had a heck of a good car. The rail rider scenario you had maybe wasn't ideal, but I bet it was a lot better than the speed wobbles many cars get.
My son's first year the Scoutmaster told us that its really just luck as to who wins and no matter how much engineering you put into the car it won't much matter. My son's open class car proved otherwise when it broke the track record on its maiden heat. And then broke it again on its second heat. And handily won 15 out of the 16 heats it raced. And my other son's car got 2nd at District and 4th at Council.
Read up on tips from this site and follow their advice (within your specific pack rules of course) and you will do just fine.
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