Post by the woodbutcher on Mar 29, 2009 10:52:45 GMT -6
I have 3 cars under my belt so far. Each have been built a little different, building from previous experiences.
This shot is all 3 cars. from left to right, "Flo" is our Awana car I built with my youngest Daughter (8yrs). The truck is a corporate sponsored class at a local pack race (Pack 226, thank you for being nice enough to have me! I had a great time). The last car is an experimental car that I intend to be the R & D car.
When we made Flo she was to be modeled after Flo from the movie "cars". We had a lot of fun building her and my Daughter absolutely loves this car.
The build was pretty strait forward :
3 wheels touching
RR - was my first attempt, FDW was cambered backwards
polished wheels inside and out - but not lightened
polished axles, cambered by off drilling the axle holes
COM 1 5/8"
I put the extra weight (about 2oz) in holes drilled across the rear, 1 behind the axle and the other in front of it. Weights are lead bullet fishing sinkers. Viewed from the rear we made 4 small ones into tail lights.
The truck was set up similar but was a pre cut kit.
3 wheels touching
RR - second attempt, bent the axles in the vise (worked better but all 3 were different angles )
PW (stage 2) and polished axles
no lead - lead weights were used. (about 2.6oz) And let me just say, I will never use them again ... I had to put 2oz's behind the axle to get COM to 1 1/8"
The truck was very unstable on the long strait of the track. Run times were all over the place.
R & D car we took to calling 'woody' was different yet :
started it's life as a 2x4
wing design, chosen for ease of build and modifying
3 wheels touching
RR with axles bent in the vise, got them a little more consistent this time
basic kit wheels (unmatched a 1,3, & pair of 4's) and axles I massaged myself
3oz sinker for ballast weight mounted directly on top with a slot cut in to allow COM adjustment
moved DFW in about 1/16" inward. I actually thinned the body all the way back to the rear. Initially I could set the COM to 1 1/8" in this configuration. After I saw the track had virtually no flat section, I bumped it up to 1 3/8"
Check out the differences in the next few shots.
The bottoms. Flo has a 1" socket for trim weight. Yes, that's a plugged penny. The truck used the stick on no lead plates.
Woody has 1 single movable weight.
This shows the cars lined up for a COM comparison. As stated before, woody was is able to get to 1 1/8" maximum, but as raced was moved to 1 3/8"
I ran all 3 cars in a race yesterday. Best track, almost all downhill and kind of short. Aggressive COM was all but negated. Interesting thing in this race was the avg. times the cars ran :
Woody - 2.172
Flo - 2.181
truck - 2.184
( 4th place was 2.226 )
Click in the frame and view the race between them.
Let me know what you guys think. I'd like to hear your feedback on my approach to building, offer suggestions and share your journeys too !
This shot is all 3 cars. from left to right, "Flo" is our Awana car I built with my youngest Daughter (8yrs). The truck is a corporate sponsored class at a local pack race (Pack 226, thank you for being nice enough to have me! I had a great time). The last car is an experimental car that I intend to be the R & D car.
When we made Flo she was to be modeled after Flo from the movie "cars". We had a lot of fun building her and my Daughter absolutely loves this car.
The build was pretty strait forward :
3 wheels touching
RR - was my first attempt, FDW was cambered backwards
polished wheels inside and out - but not lightened
polished axles, cambered by off drilling the axle holes
COM 1 5/8"
I put the extra weight (about 2oz) in holes drilled across the rear, 1 behind the axle and the other in front of it. Weights are lead bullet fishing sinkers. Viewed from the rear we made 4 small ones into tail lights.
The truck was set up similar but was a pre cut kit.
3 wheels touching
RR - second attempt, bent the axles in the vise (worked better but all 3 were different angles )
PW (stage 2) and polished axles
no lead - lead weights were used. (about 2.6oz) And let me just say, I will never use them again ... I had to put 2oz's behind the axle to get COM to 1 1/8"
The truck was very unstable on the long strait of the track. Run times were all over the place.
R & D car we took to calling 'woody' was different yet :
started it's life as a 2x4
wing design, chosen for ease of build and modifying
3 wheels touching
RR with axles bent in the vise, got them a little more consistent this time
basic kit wheels (unmatched a 1,3, & pair of 4's) and axles I massaged myself
3oz sinker for ballast weight mounted directly on top with a slot cut in to allow COM adjustment
moved DFW in about 1/16" inward. I actually thinned the body all the way back to the rear. Initially I could set the COM to 1 1/8" in this configuration. After I saw the track had virtually no flat section, I bumped it up to 1 3/8"
Check out the differences in the next few shots.
The bottoms. Flo has a 1" socket for trim weight. Yes, that's a plugged penny. The truck used the stick on no lead plates.
Woody has 1 single movable weight.
This shows the cars lined up for a COM comparison. As stated before, woody was is able to get to 1 1/8" maximum, but as raced was moved to 1 3/8"
I ran all 3 cars in a race yesterday. Best track, almost all downhill and kind of short. Aggressive COM was all but negated. Interesting thing in this race was the avg. times the cars ran :
Woody - 2.172
Flo - 2.181
truck - 2.184
( 4th place was 2.226 )
Click in the frame and view the race between them.
Let me know what you guys think. I'd like to hear your feedback on my approach to building, offer suggestions and share your journeys too !