Derby Talk

IMHO - if using BSA wheels and axles 0.5oz is not enough. With a pro car using machined wheels and axles on a well tuned aluminum track I can get a car with 0.5oz on the DFW tuned. With BSA axles and wheels I think you would want at least 0.7 oz on the DFW. Last years my sons car had 0.7oz on the DF...

And yes - this weight is necessary to give the DFW sufficient authority (I personally think this is perfect term - thx Stan). I apologize if I am mistaken, but I was thinking that "authority of the DFW" was coined by Kenny , which Stan endorsed? You are correct FS - your memory is much be...

rpcarpe wrote: I picked up Coach's Secret Lube this year, folks will probably use it at District.

I would consider properly applied krytox to be just as much of a dry lube as Coach's Secret Lube...

There will always be some weight on the DFW (unless you put so much weight in the rear that the car is doing a wheelie. If you were to put the DFW on a scale of a standard wheelbase car with a .75 com you would see it has .86oz of weight on it. If you had standard wheelbase care with a 1.00 com you ...

Speedster wrote:Let us assume the wax product called "Red Rocket" used on the wheel bore does in fact make the car go faster with graphite. Would using the product applied to the axle be an advantage?

A test run will tell for sure - but I would just apply to the wheel bore.

Thanks for the thoughts. We won't be going as thin as 1/4" for the whole car so looks like we may be all right. The front of the car has been sanded down to about 1/4" but we'll be a bit over 1/2" in the rear. Just trying to avoid any major issues for my son as we have seen cars that...

If it's a wedge I'm sure you will have plenty of strength. How thin in the front - how thick at the back? We have made many wedges that were approx 3/8" in the front and 3/4" in the rear. Over the years of playing with these cars they have never broken. I would be more concerned with bendi...

I thought I had already posted this but couldn't find it. While the solenoid works just fine - this door actuator has a longer throw making it easier to adjust. It was a bit harder to mount however.

So - What is the 'best' way to mount that mechanical switch onto the track? It's a BestTrack 4 lane setup and I see no simple mounting option to get that switch to stay where I need it to be. Also - I am in 100% agreement with you on the switch vs laser. the mechanical switch simply & elegantly...

habcdb wrote:What voltage is the 3000uF Capacitor? I am assuming the 50v. I am attempting to build something similar to this.

Thanks

I used the 50V cap

So, I just stumbled across this project. I had been considering another version, the schematic for which is a lot more complicated. Has anyone tried this method on a Best track? No reason it shouldn't work there, right? The solenoid doesn't care what kind of release it is pulling. Any thoughts? Yes...

The perfect gap is .005 as far as I cna tell. Wheels only ride on the one spot of the axle so I would make it be the biggest portion. I have found .005 to be a great value for a gap - but this was with pro axles that were canted on a rail-rider using a wax/oil prep. Anyway - If I read that correctl...

I'm no expert but I would think you would lose more energy by having more up and down play then you would gain in friction loss oriented the other way ... if there even was a gain. I'd imagine track smoothness would have a noticeable effect when oriented with minor axis vertical. Sounds like a seri...

After sand, polish, and wax accordingly. What kind of wax? Is there any situation where you would not want to wax the tool? Should one be concerned about wax transferring to the wheel bore? not sure what Kent uses but I polished the end of my Pro Hub tool and waxed with whatever I had - I think I u...

BSA axles are not round but more oval shaped. A raw axle that I measured was 0.090 at the widest cross section and 0.085 at the narrow. One could take advantage of this by carefully prepping just the half of the axle that the wheel will ride on - the bottom of the axle. So the question is - what is ...