Really stupid question: rail riding...

General discussions for car and semi-truck racers.
Post Reply
User avatar
JackBauer
Apprentice
Apprentice
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:27 pm
Location: Coralville, IA

Really stupid question: rail riding...

Post by JackBauer »

OK, this may be really, really, really dumb, but...

I see all sorts of posts that talk about "how" to do something to rail ride, but "what" exactly is it, and "why"?
TAL
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 300
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 8:47 pm
Location: N.C., USA

Re: Really stupid question: rail riding...

Post by TAL »

It is a technic used to slightly steer the car to the rail in a controlled manner .

A properly aligned railrider will slightly rub the dominent front wheel only up against the rail and the rear wheels should be slightly outset of the front wheels to keep the rear wheels off of the rail.

Example : Rear wheels should steer the car straight and stay off of the rail.
One of the front wheels will be lifted (Non-dominent) and the dominent front wheel should be the only wheel that will ever touch the inside guide rail.
During staging, the car should be set to wheel it will steer towards the rail and the further down the hill you can get without touching the rail the better off you will be. Too much steering and you will cause more friction , not enough steering and you will uncontrollably bounce of the rail causeing the other lifted wheel to touch the rail and that is like appling a brake.
Object :Slightly rub rail with one wheel without bounceing off.
User avatar
Randy and Son
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 272
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:02 pm
Location: Elkhorn, Nebraska

Re: Really stupid question: rail riding...

Post by Randy and Son »

JackBauer wrote:OK, this may be really, really, really dumb, but...

I see all sorts of posts that talk about "how" to do something to rail ride, but "what" exactly is it, and "why"?
Not a stupid question.

Its simply a technique used to help your car "do its (your) best".

The car is intentionally steered into the center guide rail so that it takes the shortest path to the finish instead of wandering back and forth in the lane. One front wheel is raised and the other wheel does the steering. The steering wheel is referred to as the dominant front wheel and lightly rubs the rail on the way down the track. The non-dominant front wheel is usually raised so that it does not contact the track and produces no friction. By raising the wheel, the rolling resistance of the car is also reduced.

You're probably still wondering about the wisdom of intentionally rubbing the rail with a wheel. This does produce some friction but there is much less of a loss in doing this than there is in repeatedly crashing the rail on the way down and then wandering around the track as well. Its a much more stable and efficient way to race.

There are many nuances to this approach and you should refer you to the "sticky" link that contains much more information for a start.

http://derbytalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=2460

Randy
Post Reply