Remove wood from side of car for RR?

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smackdab
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Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by smackdab »

Hello,

My son's car won at the pack races and now we can go to the council races. Because he will cross over to Boy Scouts between now and then he will be running his car in an open class. The rules are more flexible as a result and I don't think we have to worry if his car isn't 1 3/4" wide.

My question is: Would it be beneficial to remove 1/16" from the side of the block in the area of the right front wheel?

This is the way we have the car set up....pretty standard for RR's I think....

Standard BSA wheel base, drilled axle holes
COM at 1" in front of rear axle
Rear axles bent at 2.5 degrees
Right front axle bent at 1.5 degrees
Left front axle is straight with raised wheel

The wheel gap for the wheels touching the track was set using the plastic multi-propose derby tool (1/32"?) and the gap for the left front raised wheel is approximately 1/16". The car has a drift to the left of 1 1/2 to 2" over 4 to 5'.

To rework the car a little now would certainly not be a chore. Or should we widen the gap on the rear wheels to try for the same result?

Thanks in advance....this board has been very helpful over the past few years.
doct1010
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Re: Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by doct1010 »

If it doesn't require major surgery take the 1/16 off the DFW side. Since he will compete in open class (not sure why since he qualified as cub) check the rules, there maybe other areas you can tweak for more speed. Generally open classes have relaxed wheel and axle requirements, if so lighten 'em. Some allow greater weight limits. Don't hesitate to ask any question we are glad to provide some insight.
smackdab
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Re: Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by smackdab »

I'm thinking that removing the wood may be a better way to go and was leaning in that direction....I just wasn't sure what most people had the best luck with. Removing the wood won't be too difficult at this point.

They do have a set of rules for the open class and they are relaxed a bit....I'll take a closer look at them. I do know they don't allow razor wheels....I tried that one year. I wanted to enter my Dads Division car from our pack races....nope.

He raced this season as a second year WEBLOS member, but his pack will have crossed over to Boy Scouts by the time of the council races and that will put him into the open class. I'm getting the impression that the local council chapter isn't thrilled his pack is crossing over and not finishing the year as WEBLOS. They do have all their requirements to move on and I don't think anybody will go to jail over this, but I didn't really understand what the rush was all about.

Thanks
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FatSebastian
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Re: Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by FatSebastian »

smackdab wrote:My question is: Would it be beneficial to remove 1/16" from the side of the block in the area of the right front wheel?
:nod: That seems to be the conventional wisdom.
smackdab wrote:Right front axle bent at 1.5 degrees
Many have reported success with positive camber on the DFW (the top of the wheel outward). See this discussion for some explanation as to why.
smackdab wrote:The wheel gap for the wheels touching the track was set using the plastic multi-propose derby tool (1/32"?)
I believe the measured width of my plastic tool was actually 0.035". At least one vendor now offers a stainless steel feeler gauge at that width.
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Stan Pope
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Re: Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by Stan Pope »

If you have not already asked someone who really knows, verify that your Crossed-over Scout can not participate. Our district allows boys who qualified in their pack races to race in the district race even if they had crossed over in the interim. Your district, of course, may be different, but many districts have adapted the Wotamalo rules to their own district and may well have retained this aspect.
Stan
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rrrbbb
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Re: Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by rrrbbb »

What Stan said. It's common practice to allow the "just crossed over scouts" to race.
Smackdab62
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Re: Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by Smackdab62 »

Hello,

Thanks for the help and advice....I will be reading more of Stan's alignment techniques and hopefully get this car at it's best performance.

I will ask again if he can run as a WEBLOS scout, but so far it doesn't look that way. They just don't seem to have an accommodation for this situation and since they crossed over early in the opinion of the council it may stay this way. I don't get the sense that anybody is being hard-nosed about this it just seems they haven't decided what to do about it.....or maybe they have.

Anyway....the car took first place overall at the pack races and if we can hold on to a good showing at the council races my son probably notice what happened.

Thanks
doct1010
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Re: Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by doct1010 »

Whatever the final decision, Good Luck! Although, in my experience cross overs were allowed to race as cubs.

Have you checked the open class rules just in case? Post 'em here so we can have a gander and offer some ideas.
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Stan Pope
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Re: Remove wood from side of car for RR?

Post by Stan Pope »

The "just crossed over" should be permitted to race as they are just "completing an activity that they began as a Webelos Scout." The exact "crossover date" is just an arbitrary administrative decision. A scout should not be required to delay crossover just to retain Council PWD elegibility!
Stan
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