"Pinecar" brand wheel modification help
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 6:56 pm
Sorry in advance for the long winded post but I figured if I was going to ask for help I should provide as much information as possible.
I'll start with what brought me here. My son, Ryan age 12, is in is 4th year of Boy Pioneers and we have been working hard on his car for the last few weeks. We have had a lot of fun working together and the kid is much more mechanically inclined than I ever was at 12. We are using almost the exact same design that won his Train's race, took 2nd at District, and was a participant at International last year.
So we had "time trials" last Sunday night which is a bit of a misnomer as the timing software was not running and the kids simply had a chance to test run their cars. We did quicky pick out who the competition was and tried to get on trial runs against them. We have some competition this year and split heats with a couple of the other top cards.
The car is pretty much done at this point using the Pinecar kit we were given. The single piece axles are highly polished and very well glued into the body so doing anything with them would really be difficult. The car is right on 5.00 oz of weight and puts the center of gravity at about 7/8 of inch forward of the rear axle. It is a 3 wheeler with the driver side front not making contact and the car pulls to the left about 2 inches per 4 feet on a flat, level surface.
The only thing we have not done is any wheel modification. It never crossed my mind as we had acheived good success last year without any. We have two really good wheels (by Pinecar wheel standards) in the back, the wheel touching in the front is decent and the "floater" is iffy at best. We run on an alluminum rail track.
I have been reading about possible wheel modifications on here for hours and am not sure what would be best for out situation. I saw the video about making "razor" style wheels with a drill press and a sharp chisel. I think I could pull that off if I practiced a couple times first.
Is this the best possible modification for our car? Is there any way I can ensure the "roundness" of our wheels without a lathe? I would be very grateful for any help.
Last year's international race was in Minnesota and we just couldn't make the drive so we have no idea how his car fared except that the got a participant ribbon. This year's international race is at our own church and would give him the chance to race 3 times if he makes the cut. He has such a blast racing, all I want to do is give him a shot at it.
Again, sorry for the long winded post. And I have read old threads and used the search function but it honestly only raised more questions as it pertains to our car.
Our rules are pretty liberal as far as wheel modification with the only restrictions being :
5. Bearings: Wheel bearings and bushings are prohibited. Metal or
plastic washers and spacers are considered bushings and not allowed.
Axles and wheels provided in the kit must be used. Wheels
may be modified. Axles may not be cut.
may not be cut.
7. Design: The finished product must have 4 wheels.
8. Attachments: All cars must be made from a normal official Pinecar
Derby Kit sold by the National Office (4 wheels, 2 axles and pine,
wood block). Paints, stickers and decals may be added. No other
commercially prepared products may be added to the design of
the car. Pipes, windshields, fenders and other attachments may
be made from parts of the original block that were cut away.
Complete rules here: http://www.lutheranpioneers.org/linked/ ... 20size.pdf" target="_blank
I'll start with what brought me here. My son, Ryan age 12, is in is 4th year of Boy Pioneers and we have been working hard on his car for the last few weeks. We have had a lot of fun working together and the kid is much more mechanically inclined than I ever was at 12. We are using almost the exact same design that won his Train's race, took 2nd at District, and was a participant at International last year.
So we had "time trials" last Sunday night which is a bit of a misnomer as the timing software was not running and the kids simply had a chance to test run their cars. We did quicky pick out who the competition was and tried to get on trial runs against them. We have some competition this year and split heats with a couple of the other top cards.
The car is pretty much done at this point using the Pinecar kit we were given. The single piece axles are highly polished and very well glued into the body so doing anything with them would really be difficult. The car is right on 5.00 oz of weight and puts the center of gravity at about 7/8 of inch forward of the rear axle. It is a 3 wheeler with the driver side front not making contact and the car pulls to the left about 2 inches per 4 feet on a flat, level surface.
The only thing we have not done is any wheel modification. It never crossed my mind as we had acheived good success last year without any. We have two really good wheels (by Pinecar wheel standards) in the back, the wheel touching in the front is decent and the "floater" is iffy at best. We run on an alluminum rail track.
I have been reading about possible wheel modifications on here for hours and am not sure what would be best for out situation. I saw the video about making "razor" style wheels with a drill press and a sharp chisel. I think I could pull that off if I practiced a couple times first.
Is this the best possible modification for our car? Is there any way I can ensure the "roundness" of our wheels without a lathe? I would be very grateful for any help.
Last year's international race was in Minnesota and we just couldn't make the drive so we have no idea how his car fared except that the got a participant ribbon. This year's international race is at our own church and would give him the chance to race 3 times if he makes the cut. He has such a blast racing, all I want to do is give him a shot at it.
Again, sorry for the long winded post. And I have read old threads and used the search function but it honestly only raised more questions as it pertains to our car.
Our rules are pretty liberal as far as wheel modification with the only restrictions being :
5. Bearings: Wheel bearings and bushings are prohibited. Metal or
plastic washers and spacers are considered bushings and not allowed.
Axles and wheels provided in the kit must be used. Wheels
may be modified. Axles may not be cut.
may not be cut.
7. Design: The finished product must have 4 wheels.
8. Attachments: All cars must be made from a normal official Pinecar
Derby Kit sold by the National Office (4 wheels, 2 axles and pine,
wood block). Paints, stickers and decals may be added. No other
commercially prepared products may be added to the design of
the car. Pipes, windshields, fenders and other attachments may
be made from parts of the original block that were cut away.
Complete rules here: http://www.lutheranpioneers.org/linked/ ... 20size.pdf" target="_blank