Ultimate Speed Tips???

[Lucky 13]

The first thing I'd have to ask is what type of track? and what's the length?
1. You only needed to add 2oz of tungsten to get the car too weight? Sounds like you need to get rid of some more wood (maybe another ounce). Depending on the track type and with a good alignment I would go with 1oz of weight behind the axle and the rest in front of the axles.

2. cant rear axles up a little more maybe. You just want the inside edge of the wheel touching the track.

3. Make sure your raised wheel is not touching at all and there is no chance it does.

4. I like the Hodges GM, Hob-e-lube is very good also.

5. IMO, the slanted front end does nothing for you at the start pins. The pins fall to fast.

6. you said the wheels had the letters removed ? So I assume you can have lightened wheels? Try dropping down to 1 g. wheels.

7. Don't waste your time with a 2 wheeler.



Hope this helps you out some.

[Barga Racing]

tkp,
I totally agree with Lucky, if you are only adding 2 ozs to get to weight then you have waaaaay to much wood in it. On BSA legal cars I have never had to add less than 3 ozs and usually around 3.5 to 3.75. And that is with full weight wheels. On my modifieds I usually have to add between 4 and 4.5 ozs. I don't think I would cant axles any more, maybe slightly less. 1g wheels would be awesome if you are allowed to run them, we never were. Maybe pull cog back to around 1 in and test. Would be great if you could do it so weight can be relocated. Then have a test and tune and see how car responds by moving weight around to different locations. Good Luck!

[ProQuest]

tkp:

You will get some great advice from the vets on this board. I'm not one of them, but here's an idea you might try. I can see from the pics that you are running a std wheel base. I assume that your rules require this. If your rules allow, you can keep the std 4 3/8" wheel base, but move it back towards the rear end of the block (keeping the distance between the front and rear axles constant) by cutting a piece of wood off the back of the block and glueing it to the front end.

On a standard BSA block the distance from the center of the rear slot to the end of the block is about 15/16" (.9375"). You want to leave .6" behind the center of the rear axles, and cut off the rest (which will be about 1/3" (.3375" to be exact). You have to allow for the thickness of the blade you use to make the cut. If you do it right, the benefit of doing this would be to allow you to move the center of gravity back a full 1/3" without sacrificing stability.

If you combine this with a more aggressive cog, say 1" in front of the rear axles, you will have moved the cog of your car back more than a full 1/2". That change alone could make a significant improvement in performance.

Also, like Lucky and Barga said, if you are only adding 2 oz of weight, your body is way to light. Barga's guidelines for weight are spot on in my opinion. You can be competitive with 3.5 oz -- but the more the better. As I said, I'm no expert, but I've had great success with these steps -- just food for thought. If you try them, please let us know how they work for you.

ProQuest/Steve H.

[SpeedGeek]

I like the idea of the ABS plastic Super Track. I wonder if the plastic is less stable than aluminum?

[ProQuest]

tkp:

I'm sure you figured this out, but when I said your body is "way to light" -- that was a typo. I meant, of course, the exact opposite. I.e., if you are adding only 2 oz of weight, you body is way to heavy. That would be consistent with Lucky and Barga. As an afterthought, if you have no other way to make a cross cut on your car body to move wood from the back to the front, Exact sells a miniature miter box and razor saw that works quite well. It is exactly 1 3/4" wide -- the same as a std bsa block. Probably set you back $20 at the local crafts store.

Good Luck,

ProQuest/Steve H.

[ProQuest]

Another typo: I meant "Exacto" not "Exact". Sorry.

ProQuest/Steve H.

[ohsofast]

You want Derby Worx Pro Ultra Lite wheels if you wan the best 1g. wheels made. If your rules are a little snug the Derby Worx Pro Inertia Lites have all of the inside lettering on them and only weigh .8g more, we used them and dominated and remember this is DErby Worx's board so support the sport.

Check out their website www.derbyworx.com


Ohsofast.

[kcbcommando]

New guy here, I had a supertimer track and returned it. You have to build a totally different kind of car to go fast. The lanes are sort of crowned and it's edge guided (no center strip). The best aligned cars won't go down the track very well as they end up going from side to side. You have to remove lettering from the wheels etc. I have a Freedom Aluminum now. much more consistent as the Supertimer is subject to heat. Also gets a nasty static charge that requires a bounce sheet every 20 races or so.

[DerbyDoc.com]

Welcome to the board. I have an aluminum freedom 35 ft track also. Very nice and easy to set up. Good luck this season.

[khouse]

I have set up my cars as Rail Riders. I read where most everyone is running fast with the method. You said your cars are dead on strait. Maybe turning your front running wheel where it is a Rail Rider might help? Through research it seems that a 1 inch drift over 6 to 8 feet may be optimal. I'm learning all the time and not an expert. But it's just another thing to think about. Good luck!