Graphite or Alignment - who knows??
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- Master Pine Head
- Posts: 197
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:26 pm
- Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Graphite or Alignment - who knows??
My son's unmodified car came in 8th in the pack, shameful he said. I told him not to worry that he could tweak it for the district race. He changed out some of the wheels and messed with the alignment. Of course we have no way to know how it would do, but we hoped for the best.
The morning before checking he asked about applying graphite - I said that some people say that an overabundance of graphite is wasteful and just may just be getting the car dirty without making it faster. He said that looks weren't as important as speed and proceeded to cover the entire car with graphite. Changed the color alot and it still looked ok.
Came in 3rd place at district! Was it his alignment job, new wheels or the graphite rubdown? Who knows but it worked!!! He's very excited.
We're both sad to see his Cub Scout PWD days come to an end. It's been his favorite event for the last 5 years! AND, he has a trophy shelf full of memories.
He tells me he isn't finished with cub scouts until after the council race!
The morning before checking he asked about applying graphite - I said that some people say that an overabundance of graphite is wasteful and just may just be getting the car dirty without making it faster. He said that looks weren't as important as speed and proceeded to cover the entire car with graphite. Changed the color alot and it still looked ok.
Came in 3rd place at district! Was it his alignment job, new wheels or the graphite rubdown? Who knows but it worked!!! He's very excited.
We're both sad to see his Cub Scout PWD days come to an end. It's been his favorite event for the last 5 years! AND, he has a trophy shelf full of memories.
He tells me he isn't finished with cub scouts until after the council race!
- Stan Pope
- Pine Head Legend
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Re: Graphite or Alignment - who knows??
So, does the car get another graphite bath just before the council races?AlabamaDan wrote:He tells me he isn't finished with cub scouts until after the council race!
Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
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- Master Pine Head
- Posts: 197
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:26 pm
- Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Re: Graphite or Alignment - who knows??
Of course it will!
Re: Graphite or Alignment - who knows??
Good job of letting your son make some decisions, Dan.
Glad things worked out and got better.
Paul
Glad things worked out and got better.
Paul
- derbyspeed
- Master Pine Head
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Re: Graphite or Alignment - who knows??
I know a lot of people talk about how re-graphiting (if that's a word ) tends to slow the car down but in my experience, everytime we have re-applied graphite after racing, the car always gets faster, even on the first run.
Especially when we rub graphite on the inner edge of the rail-rider wheel.
Maybe it's our amount or procedure for application, but we really have no science to it.
We have only used Max V's graphite, nothing else.
Once again that is just our experience.
That's really cool that he did make the decision and was able to see positive results, always makes your day
Especially when we rub graphite on the inner edge of the rail-rider wheel.
Maybe it's our amount or procedure for application, but we really have no science to it.
We have only used Max V's graphite, nothing else.
Once again that is just our experience.
That's really cool that he did make the decision and was able to see positive results, always makes your day
Mike Webb
"Do or Do Not, There is No Try"
"Do or Do Not, There is No Try"
Re: Graphite or Alignment - who knows??
When testing on my track I always find that when I add graphite (Max V) the speed gets better, especially the first run. Burnishing the inner edge of the DF wheel also helps, in my experience. The last thing I do before sending in a graphite car to proxy races is re-graphhite!derbyspeed wrote:I know a lot of people talk about how re-graphiting (if that's a word ) tends to slow the car down but in my experience, everytime we have re-applied graphite after racing, the car always gets faster, even on the first run.
Especially when we rub graphite on the inner edge of the rail-rider wheel.
Maybe it's our amount or procedure for application, but we really have no science to it.
We have only used Max V's graphite, nothing else.
Once again that is just our experience.
That's really cool that he did make the decision and was able to see positive results, always makes your day
- 5kidsracing
- Master Pine Head
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- Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:47 pm
- Location: Bettendorf, Iowa
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Re: Graphite or Alignment - who knows??
I agree with Cycrunner.... I use Max V for burnishing and HobELube for running.cycrunner wrote:When testing on my track I always find that when I add graphite (Max V) the speed gets better, especially the first run. Burnishing the inner edge of the DF wheel also helps, in my experience. The last thing I do before sending in a graphite car to proxy races is re-graphhite!derbyspeed wrote:I know a lot of people talk about how re-graphiting (if that's a word ) tends to slow the car down but in my experience, everytime we have re-applied graphite after racing, the car always gets faster, even on the first run.
Especially when we rub graphite on the inner edge of the rail-rider wheel.
Maybe it's our amount or procedure for application, but we really have no science to it.
We have only used Max V's graphite, nothing else.
Once again that is just our experience.
That's really cool that he did make the decision and was able to see positive results, always makes your day
For my "Pinewood Story" go to: http://5kidsracing.webs.com/index.htm