Derby Talk

One word of caution I would give you is to make sure that the rig is balanced. If it is out of balance, it could easily effect spin times. On my test rig and the one that I built my to model off of, the ring was pressed directly on to the wheel. On the one that I built, I used wheels that I was not ...

I am also curious how the consistency compares to a spring loaded gate. Is there a major difference or is this system more geared towards replacing the manual dropped gates?

One variable I have been thinking about is the effects of temperature on the Nyoil. The tests were conducted in a room that was 68 degrees give or take a degree. What is the safe temperature range for Nyiol to operate effectively at?

While the alignment may not be perfect it was the same for all of the tests. I used the same axles, wheels and cars for the test. The rear wheels on the car are drilled at an angle and straight axles are used. The left front is bent and adjusted to steer. My concern was that I did not have enough Ny...

The Nyoil probably showed very poorly in spin tests ... that is the report, anyway ... unless they are made "under load." For my spin tests, the Nyoil was significantly better than the graphite. It averaged 20% longer spin times. The "load" I used was a ring that when coupled wi...

For the Nyoil: I would place two drops on the axle, wiping it around with my finger, then wipe the axle with a cloth until there was a dry film left on the axle. For the Max-V: Puff graphite on the axle, slide the wheel on the axle, holding axle with wheel facing down, puff graphite on inner hub, sp...

I did not have a chance to test any other lubes. I also did not test the mix of a dry and wet lube. I may have a chance after our race this weekend to do that. An interesting note. I built the spin testing fixture that Stan had described and during that testing, the longest spin times were with the ...

Just a bit more info, last year was the first time this track was raced on and the fastest run during that race was 2.62 so I am confident that the Nyoil is fast, just not quite as fast as the Max-V.

I had a chance to make some test runs this weekend and found something I thought was interesting. For my combination, I found that the Max-V-Lube graphite was the fastest but it appeared to slow down quickly. Along side the Max-V I was also testing Nyoil II. While the Nyoil lasted longer, it was nev...

If I had a track with a timer, then I'd go with a cumulative time system before I'd go with a single-elimination system . Yea, verily! :) BTW, our district derby chair decided to run times (4 heats per car) last year and would not be dissuaded. I did some follow-up analysis and noted that for the d...

Thanks for the feedback. Last year the race was a single elimination format. In each race, only the winner advanced. Yes, there were a few of the faster cars that were eliminated very early in the race. We may work on using a different format for this year but I am not sure that I will be able to wo...

I am wondering if anyone is using time trials to place the cars in heats? Last year our heat placements were done by random drawings. This resulted in a few heats where some very slow cars advanced while some much faster cars were eliminated in faster heats. This year I am thinking about trying a ti...

I am preparing to test some different wheel and axle combinations. Part of what I would like to test is graphite verses oils. I would like to be able to use the same axles/wheels for a couple of tests. I am wondering if there is a good/recommended way to clean the axles and wheels when switching bet...

Thanks for responding. I will be setting up the track early next week so I will give you a better description of how it goes together this time. The biggest problem I noticed was with the joints at the center rail but again, I will update you next week.

Here is the link to our most recent draft of our rules that I designed for the Pack, the District, and the Council events here in Central Florida. Feel free to use any or all of its content as you need: http://gotvows.com/futureeagles/CFCRULES010109REV.docx This is a very well done document. I real...