jomo
Newbie
Posts: 9
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Post by jomo on Jan 20, 2008 10:58:54 GMT -6
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Post by dascomp51 on Jan 20, 2008 11:56:25 GMT -6
Congratulations on the win. That's an awesome looking car. Good luck at District.
We all have to balance what the rules say with what the officials will do on the day of the race. Whatever you decide, just make sure your son has FUN. That and the time you spend are what this is supposed to be about.
David DASComp51 Designs
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Sappington R
Head in the Pine
"The Sappster" 10oz
Posts: 210
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Post by Sappington R on Jan 20, 2008 14:17:14 GMT -6
Jomo, Welcome to this board. I am still relatively new myself to the message boards and league racing but I totally understand your dilemma and have the utmost respect for your desire to stay within the rules. First of all, I would like to congratulate you for you second place finish. I'm sure it was exciting for both you and your son. Second, the car really looks great. It's obvious that you guys put a lot of time into it. Your track is interesting looking. Was it crafted by someone locally or purchased? Is it wood? Also, what were your per heat times & average.
If you really want to see how the car measures up, and if time allows, send it in for a proxy race- you will know for sure then. What is the date of your district race?
I went to your district website and looked at the rules. They do seen rigorous, especially the part about the 4th wheel. I copied the following from your district website:
"When you place your car on a flat surface, it is quit possible that only three wheels will touch the track. This is a natural balancing phenomenon. Just make sure that the fourth wheel's tread fits flat on the tract. The inspectors are looking for intent to deliberately alter the wheels and axles. Do not drill axles holes at an angle or bend an axle deliberately. Obviously, there is less friction with 3 wheels rolling than 4. Be sure to check the contact of the flat surface of the wheel to the track (surface) with a magnifying glass. The inspectors do."
It is very difficult to get all four wheel perfectly on the track. If your weight is to the back of the car then you already most likely have a DFW (dominant front wheel) that is- one wheel taking more weight from the body than the other, which is a good thing. It is possible to have all for wheels touch, at least to the naked eye, yet also be slightly raised. The test would be to lay the car on a perfectly level surface an lightly press down on the front end & watch what happens- I think you will find your answer.
There are numerous other ways for you to speed your car up before your district race, however, be careful not to mess it up!
Sappingtonr
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jomo
Newbie
Posts: 9
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Post by jomo on Jan 20, 2008 22:13:00 GMT -6
Thanks for the replies guys. I know what you mean about the dominant wheel and we do have one. The judge pointed that out to me, the thing is, we are going to change the set up a little and will be drilling new holes, (those were done the day of the race) so I figured while I was at it, I may raise one wheel. Those rules are confusing huh? I didn't even know at the time that we could get our times (live and learn). The track was brought in by some Scout Officials so I don't know much about it. It was wood I believe. The car on the bottom right is the one that beat us. The judge told me that our car "should" have beaten that car and that we need to do some tweaking before district if we wanted to get past the first heat. He said that the guys at district level are serious and we should do anything we can to get the car faster. Thanks again for the input.
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Sappington R
Head in the Pine
"The Sappster" 10oz
Posts: 210
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Post by Sappington R on Jan 21, 2008 9:45:05 GMT -6
Jomo, You can do it! What's the date of your district race? The more time the better. How do you drill your holes- drill press? Do you have the pro-body tool? Where is your C.O.G.- (distance from rear axle balance point). Are the wheels true & rounded? What's your finger spin time like? One other question: What exactly did the race official mean when he said your car should have beaten the other one- was their car not legal or something?
Sappingtonr
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jomo
Newbie
Posts: 9
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Post by jomo on Jan 21, 2008 16:33:54 GMT -6
We got the Pinewood Pro axle tool to drill our axle holes. I think that I messed up the wheels by trying to sand the inside down while the wheels were mounted on a drill. They would only spin for around 15 seconds, but we did pretty good considering. I am replacing those wheels before district. The judge thought that because we had an extended wheel base and that I was spinning the wheels with a dremel and applying graphite before the race, and our car was 5.0 onces and I think theirs was a little under, that we should have had the faster car. I think that I need to move more weight to the back as well, I have a 1 oz weight just over the back axles and I think the c.o.g is closer to the middle. I am going to take some wood out of the front bottom and try to add a little to the back.
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Sappington R
Head in the Pine
"The Sappster" 10oz
Posts: 210
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Post by Sappington R on Jan 21, 2008 17:18:36 GMT -6
Jomo, You are really on the right "track". I don't have any financial interest in DerbyWorx tools or any of the vendors for that matter, but for what it's worth, they really do work great if used properly. I wouldn't worry so much about removing inner tread material (don't think your rules allow it anyway) we have tried, and tried, even gotten them down to 2 gm each, whereas a standard BSA wheel is something like 3.6- I have always found that the more drill or dremel "spinning" you have more potential to damage them. I believe if using standard BSA wheels, your best bet would be to try the Wheel Shaver XT and the Balancing Jig. In other words, true them and make sure they don't wobble. As far as inner hubs go- soft pipe cleaner in a drill with Micro Gloss Polish on low speed (not to long). there is a great video of that on many of the vendors websites as well as DerbyWorx + the other tool applications for that matter.
I'm not one to re-invent the wheel (pun intended), I'll borrow shamelesly from all resources available, including these boards- I hope that helps.
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jomo
Newbie
Posts: 9
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Post by jomo on Jan 21, 2008 17:55:11 GMT -6
Thank you very much for your reply. I ordered the 1.9 gram wheels from Derby Champ so I wouldn't have to shave them myself (I know I'd mess that up). I polished the hubs before the race with a pipe cleaner and Crest whitening toothpaste. I think that we got very lucky with our car considering how much I've learned "after" the race. I hope that we do well at district.
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