Search found 6835 matches

by Stan Pope
Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:10 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Four on the floor rail rider thoughts
Replies: 62
Views: 136420

Re: Four on the floor rail rider thoughts

Yes, to maintain contact is another possibility... tilted a bit forward on the DFW; a bit backward on the other.
by Stan Pope
Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:21 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Four on the floor rail rider thoughts
Replies: 62
Views: 136420

Re: Four on the floor rail rider thoughts

Nelvis wrote: In my earlier post I linked someone's 4wheeler that appeared to have positive cant on both fronts.
That could be a "rail hugger" configuration. Both fronts rolling. Both tuned to run straight. Both indented.
by Stan Pope
Sun Feb 07, 2016 8:54 am
Forum: General Topics
Topic: Rail Riding drifting wrong direction
Replies: 23
Views: 27482

Re: Rail Riding drifting wrong direction

Way to go!
by Stan Pope
Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:17 pm
Forum: General Car/Truck Racer Topics
Topic: Re-prep wheels or axles a year later?
Replies: 4
Views: 8023

Re: Re-prep wheels or axles a year later?

Since you pulled the axles to inspect them, can you be confident that they will have the same orientation when they are reinstalled? Even different depth of insertion can affect times. And if the axles are not perfectly straight, rear axles can fight each other and, in so doing, slow your car.
by Stan Pope
Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:13 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: How to secure DFW axle?
Replies: 16
Views: 22895

Re: How to secure DFW axle?

The reason "super glue" is discouraged is that the fumes released as it cures tend to condense on nearby surfaces. There are some surfaces in the vicinity of the axles that you definitely don't want affected by the condensate... e.g. polished wheel bores, polished axles. However, I have no...
by Stan Pope
Sat Feb 06, 2016 10:52 pm
Forum: General Topics
Topic: Rail Riding drifting wrong direction
Replies: 23
Views: 27482

Re: Rail Riding drifting wrong direction

For your future reference ... it sounds as if your rear axles are not perfectly aligned. Further, if they were in alignment, the rear wheel behind the DFW might rub the rail. Those can be corrected by notching the DFW-side by 1/16" or by aligning the rears to slight "dog trot", i.e. t...
by Stan Pope
Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:13 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: Axle prep...
Replies: 15
Views: 19835

Re: Axle prep...

Nice work well shared!
by Stan Pope
Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:06 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: First attempt....
Replies: 7
Views: 8909

Re: First attempt....

Looks good! Next try, I'd pull the front axles back a bit ... maybe by 1" ... to increase the weight on the front wheels so that less toe-in is needed to keep the car "glued to the rail." That also reduces the CMx location a bit, maybe to 16/32". :) My reason is that it protects ...
by Stan Pope
Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:58 am
Forum: General Topics
Topic: various questions
Replies: 14
Views: 17189

Re: various questions

Bend the axles with the "Armstrong" method ... i.e. pliers and a block of wood. Use your weight on the pliers and your strength to hold the nail at an angle to the wood block. Check angle with the chart at http://www.stanpope.net/pwaxlebend.htm Or bend them with a hammer, screwdriver, and ...
by Stan Pope
Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:09 pm
Forum: Planning, Preps & Running the Race
Topic: Track malfunction
Replies: 11
Views: 24770

Re: Track malfunction

Good points, Darin!! As a bonus, the PPN-like schedule is faster, because you can start loading the on-deck cars without waiting for the just-finished cars to make it back to the start end of the track. But it is harder to score by hand. Not impossible (we've done it by hand), but harder. I did that...
by Stan Pope
Sat Jan 30, 2016 9:59 pm
Forum: General Topics
Topic: Maximum Theoretical Weight
Replies: 9
Views: 12993

Re: Maximum Theoretical Weight

From intuition ... run cambered axles with wheel's inverted to put weight on strongest part of the tread.
by Stan Pope
Sat Jan 30, 2016 2:48 pm
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: weight advice---pic
Replies: 23
Views: 25835

Re: weight advice---pic

I've been wondering how guys get COM's of .50". I was playing with the COM calculator last night and see that just by moving the front axles back the COM goes down. Looking closer at your posts in this thread I think I've been trying to get short wheelbase numbers out of a long wheelbase car. ...
by Stan Pope
Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:56 am
Forum: Planning, Preps & Running the Race
Topic: Track malfunction
Replies: 11
Views: 24770

Re: Track malfunction

If I'm understanding this correctly, this would be a good example where the Point system would have been more fair than Elapsed time. "Lane Rotation" does not work well for points scoring. For "points" to function accurately, the cars must race against many other racers instead ...
by Stan Pope
Sat Jan 30, 2016 9:57 am
Forum: Planning, Preps & Running the Race
Topic: Track malfunction
Replies: 11
Views: 24770

Re: Track malfunction

It would have made sense to have the last race prior to the track repair rerun and compare the times to the times prior to the repair to prove that the repair did not affect timings. And if there was a significant change, then start over. But the organizers of this event were apparently relative nov...
by Stan Pope
Wed Jan 27, 2016 12:19 am
Forum: Car & Semi-Truck Construction
Topic: weight advice---pic
Replies: 23
Views: 25835

Re: weight advice---pic

re lowering CMz ... I'd only have concern if you were already right "on the edge." I don't think you are there. re reference point for measuring CMz ... It is usually measured relative to the axle, positive as it rises toward the top of the car. I can not justify saying which part of the a...