Derby Talk

FatSebastian wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 5:15 pmI haven't looked very hard, but...

And now there's this Bushnell case at $130 that also advertises to be about the right width internally... in fact, it is made by Eylar and (except for the Bushnell label) may be identical to the case just mentioned above.

whodathunkit wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2024 5:59 pmFor the Derby Magic track with rails.. your car could need more steer to hold it to the rail...

mozartk626's "pack's track does not have a center rail, so no rail riding is possible."

My question is, does anyone know if this is a commercial derby kit being offered by someone? For future reference, Maximum Velocity has a " Pinewood Derby Kit Help " page that, although perhaps not exhaustive, shows various organizational kits. the overall molding was just ugly, like real...

It is mainly for speed and precision issues. ... but am not sure which would be helpful on a limited personal budget. I would say that our first - and perhaps most used - tool for enhancing speed was an inexpensive electronic pocket scale. Currently you can get them from Harbor Freight with suffici...

:welcome: RollerDerby! What are recommended tools and accessories needed to create a fast car? I’m trying to limit personal spending to around $50 total... May we assume that the question is limited to just derby-specific "speed" supplies, beyond what is already necessary to build a car (s...

whodathunkit wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 8:57 am...On what you have typed above.

The Trackmaster's Challenge is a variant of "Challenge the Cubmaster" as suggested on DT many years ago (before the OP davet joined DT).

Has anyone tried anything like this? "Doc Jobe", at the beginning of Chapter 12 of the book Physics of the Pinewood Derby, describes such a car and analyzes its performance via computer simulation. Instead of a tungsten ball, he considered a 3/8" lead (Pb) cylinder that rolls in a J-...

Hi, this is my first post here. So I won last years pack derby... :welcome: Champ! ...to make sure I win again ... any other tips I might not have thought of? If you are a Scout, congratulations on how much you've accomplished! :bigups: But if you are Akela... :thinking: the most important tip I ca...

Is wobble the issue? Perhaps. A bulky body such as your competitors will not have an aggressive CoM placement and thus won't be as susceptible to instability. I personally have no experience with a plastic track or channel-shaped lanes , but generally speaking, if the axles are leveled so that the ...

whodathunkit wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2024 8:30 pmHe has no Idea that he is going to use real salt from a salt shaker tomorrow night while clear coating his car.

Have you tested to make sure that the salt doesn't dissolve when it contacts the (wet?) clear coat?

Here is the main source I found that supports it... Ah, that helps. There are two advocated reasons for using the treadmill. One purpose is to "break-in" the lubricant or whatever; that is what the TurboDerby ebook mostly speaks against and the purpose that I have always associated with t...

What’s the consensus's on using a treadmill to break-in a car and also check axle alignment? Does more damage than good? :thinking: I think you are on the right track (pun intended) by suspecting damage potential. What one person calls "break-in" others might describe as "wear-and-te...

whodathunkit wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2024 10:28 amThe districts race to be built with the current kits.

Wood is wood, so if he races in a derby requiring post-2009 wheels, then a wheel & axle swap ought to be enough...

Those old-style wheels bring back some memories! The ones after 2008 require much less work...

Vitamin K wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2024 9:30 amThe sides will likely be wood trim material... Considering using balsa... I may need to inset the rear wheels a bit...

It sounds like you thought through a few potential issues already... eager to see what you come up with!

I have some ideas and I'm roughing out the design, but if anyone's done something like this and has suggestions or gotchas, please chime in. :D :wow: We've tried nothing quite so exotic, but I suppose that it would be constructed like an old-fashioned body-on-chassis , where the chassis is a "...