Wedge - strictly for speed

[smartyman]

Here is my son's car for this year's Awana Grand Prix. It was built for pure speed, and it didn't disappoint . It posted the fastest times I've ever seen on our church's aluminum track.



Here's the underside -- you can see it's totally rear-weighted. There's more tungsten weight drilled in sideways across the very back, too.

[Scubersteve]

very nice. Do you run packing tape or something across the bottom to reduce drag?

Congrats on the win.

[smartyman]

very nice. Do you run packing tape or something across the bottom to reduce drag?

Congrats on the win.

Thank you. No, we didn't cover the bottom, but that's a great idea.

[rpcarpe]

Any wheel modifications?

[smartyman]

Any wheel modifications?

Sanded tread to remove mold marks, polished bore. In past years I've tapered the hub, but not this year.

[whodathunkit]

Smartyman,

That is a sweet looking Awana Grand prix car.

From the bottom view photo... It looks like alot of work went in to it.
Did your Son have fun on the drill or drill press drilling all them holes.

What type of glue did he use to glue the weights in?

I want to get me some of that stringy glue stuff seen in the photo.

For a car i've been looking to build!
Been thinking i'd call the car "the Saggin Draggin"
And that stuff looks like it will work for the Dredlocks i've been
wanting to create on it.
NO JOKE.. What is that stuff.. if i may ask.

whoda.

[FatSebastian]

What type of glue did he use to glue the weights in?

Hot glue?

[BallBoy]

The car looks great. I agree with Scubersteve's suggestion to cover up the void in the bottom with something. Eliminating the drag that the void creates can give you the extra miliseconds it could need.

[Scubersteve]

The car looks great. I agree with Scubersteve's suggestion to cover up the void in the bottom with something. Eliminating the drag that the void creates can give you the extra miliseconds it could need.

Yeah, a millisecond never sounds like much until you lose by one.

[FatSebastian]

Do you run packing tape or something across the bottom to reduce drag?

Thank you. No, we didn't cover the bottom, but that's a great idea.

Packing tape is relatively slick. We tend to cover the bottom with paper or cardstock because of concerns over slippage in the braking section.

[PeterT]

We use the peel and stick aluminum tape made for patching holes in duckwork. It is obscenely light, very strong, and makes everyone wonder why (and how) we stuck aluminum foil to the underside! It also hides any handiwork, and while flexible is far more rigid than packing tape.

[rpcarpe]

Good idea on the aluminum tape, I have some of that and will use it!

When someone in the workshop wants a higher body style, I always advise hollowing out the bottom. Less wood, more metal.

Nice hot glue job on the lead wire in the back end.

[smartyman]

Smartyman,

That is a sweet looking Awana Grand prix car.

From the bottom view photo... It looks like alot of work went in to it.
Did your Son have fun on the drill or drill press drilling all them holes.

What type of glue did he use to glue the weights in?

I want to get me some of that stringy glue stuff seen in the photo.

For a car i've been looking to build!
Been thinking i'd call the car "the Saggin Draggin"
And that stuff looks like it will work for the Dredlocks i've been
wanting to create on it.
NO JOKE.. What is that stuff.. if i may ask.

whoda.

Sorry for the super late reply, I'm sure you got your dreadlocks figured out a long time ago, but just in case, that's just lead wire, available on the fishing aisle of your local Fred Meyer. Bends easily, and easy to trim with side cutters. We just used hot glue to hold them in place.

It was actually pretty easy to hollow out. My son and I do it together on the drill press using a forstner bit. I hold the car, he lowers the bit into the wood. A forstner bit is almost completely flat on the bottom except for the little pilot point. Makes it real easy to remove a lot of material from the underside of the car. We use it for pretty much every car we build!