Search found 102 matches

by Den_Leader
Thu Jan 26, 2006 7:18 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: alignment and 3-wheelers
Replies: 242
Views: 224595

Re: alignment and 3-wheelers

Was the track you run on relatively rough (wood vs. aluminum)? Our pack track which we tested on is a custom 32' old wood track which slopes for 16 ft than is flat for 16 ft. The district track is a 50+ ft aluminum track, and we will test on that track in two weeks then compete on that track in 16 ...
by Den_Leader
Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:21 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: alignment and 3-wheelers
Replies: 242
Views: 224595

Re: alignment and 3-wheelers

Three out of four wheels are cambered, one is lifted. The three that are touching are running on the inside edge only and are always against the nail head. The adjustment was performed by removing the nails and discarding the wax paper shims. Then we re-inserted the nails at the angle. There may be ...
by Den_Leader
Wed Jan 25, 2006 7:03 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: alignment and 3-wheelers
Replies: 242
Views: 224595

Re: alignment and 3-wheelers

I'm like HookedOnPine....this intentional 'running the rail' also has me perplexed. Last night we had our pack 'test-n-tune'. We took three cars we built this year and our three previous pack winners and a district winner we call 'cherry bomb'. All the new cars were 'dead on', beat cherry bomb by a ...
by Den_Leader
Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:19 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Wheel size
Replies: 24
Views: 22164

Re: Wheel size

The lessons your son learns will be with him for a lifetime. There will always be rules. There will always be some rules that don't make sense. There will always be those who break rules. There will always those who follow rules. What do you want your son to take away from his derby experience? Our ...
by Den_Leader
Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:07 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Weight placement on three wheelers.
Replies: 3
Views: 5058

Re: Weight placement on three wheelers.

That small of a weight will not shift your CM very far reguardless of where you place it. We have had several cars with similar CM locations to yours, and our cars have done quite well. Think about your car as a triangle formed from the touching front wheel to the two back wheels. As long as your CM...
by Den_Leader
Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:56 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: COM....How Clustered? How High or Low?
Replies: 41
Views: 37013

Re: COM....How Clustered? How High or Low?

dknowles67 wrote:... I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken ;-).
I love it! 8)
by Den_Leader
Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:51 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: COM....How Clustered? How High or Low?
Replies: 41
Views: 37013

Re: COM....How Clustered? How High or Low?

Notice in the diagram, the low CM is much closer to the back of the car, as it sits on the incline (not necessarily the back when level). In the diagram, the distance of the CM from the back of the car does not change for the high or low version. Assuming the CM was the same distance front to back ...
by Den_Leader
Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:12 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: COM....How Clustered? How High or Low?
Replies: 41
Views: 37013

Re: COM....How Clustered? How High or Low?

...Or were you trying to point out that putting weight on top of the car (high) as opposed to the bottom of the car doesn't change the PE much, since the weight falls the same distance?... In this thread, Terry posted the diagram below for illustration. It graphically displays the difference in PE ...
by Den_Leader
Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:04 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Aggressive backweighting and short tracks
Replies: 9
Views: 8869

Re: Aggressive backweighting and short tracks

... We have to use the standard slots and have cut some off the front of the block and added it to the back. ... Um? That doesn't sound right. Perhaps you mean the other way around. The physics is much better if you cut off the rear and add it to the front. See this thread for an example. Just tryi...
by Den_Leader
Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:13 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Wheel Spin times
Replies: 9
Views: 10299

Re: Wheel Spin times

We get 35 seconds at best.

42 seconds... :shock:

Similar to your method but we go to 2500 grit and then use 'Mothers mag and aluminum polish'.

Good Luck
by Den_Leader
Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:09 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: How thin is too thin?
Replies: 6
Views: 7420

Re: How thin is too thin?

We like to mix fiberglass resin and brush the entire body for strength. With this method we can run at 5/64" thick. Our cars typically have between 4.2 and 4.4 grams of 'pinewood'. :)

Good Luck
by Den_Leader
Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:46 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Shimming with a raised wheel.
Replies: 8
Views: 7692

Re: Shimming with a raised wheel.

... Is there any benefit to raising a wheel? IMO, if you beleive that it takes one ounce of weight per front wheel to keep the 'death rattle' from showing up. Then by only having one front wheel touch, you only need one ounce of weight on the front axle slot. If you need to put two ounces on the fr...
by Den_Leader
Thu Dec 29, 2005 8:00 am
Forum: Planning, Preps & Running the Race
Topic: Ideas for conducting multi-pack derbies?
Replies: 6
Views: 9718

Re: Ideas for conducting multi-pack derbies?

I knew there would be some good advice from fellow pineheds. Thank you all. Our district races are open to any scout that wishes to register. I've already tried to change that and failed. There is usually around 300 racers at the local mall for district race day. Four years ago our pack had 8 boys a...
by Den_Leader
Wed Dec 28, 2005 7:39 am
Forum: Planning, Preps & Running the Race
Topic: Ideas for conducting multi-pack derbies?
Replies: 6
Views: 9718

Ideas for conducting multi-pack derbies?

We have 18 boys in our pack, another pack has 8 boys, and a third pack has 12 boys. We have an old 4 lane wood track in good shape, another pack has a one year old 6 lane aluminum track, and a third pack has no track. I have been asked if we would consider running a multi-pack derby on the 6 lane al...
by Den_Leader
Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:35 am
Forum: General Car/Truck Racer Topics
Topic: Which way is forward?
Replies: 14
Views: 15291

Re: Which way is forward?

...By the way, we have had boys whose cars ran better backwards than forwards! Probably indicates less than optimal setup, but it was legal for them to run their cars that way since our rules do not address what consitutes the front or back of the car. ... I have also seen cars do better when stage...