Track starter

Solenoid start gates make for consistent heat starts.
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hotrod
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Track starter

Post by hotrod »

I'm not sure if this post needs to go under tracks or electronics?? But here goes....I have a homemade wooden single lane track used for testing with a Judge et timer. For some years, I have attached rubber band to starting peg and pull for starts. Recently, I though I would update and build a starting lever to provide more consistent starts. This is where my question lies.

I took one of my sons older cars and recorded three runs using the hand pulled starting method....then I recorded three runs wth the same car ( no mods) with the new lever pulled method. The hand pulled method was on average .03 faster. :shock: I repeated same procedure again with same results. My first thought was the lever method spring was too strong and causing flex or a vibration at starting line. I used a weaker spring and placed damper under track to absorb the starting peg swinging under track...same results. :?

I did notice on the hand pulled method if I pulled it slightly slower, the car would have a quicker et. I'm now wondering if one can pull starting peg by hand consistent enough for acurate testing?? It looks like the baseline I have used for years may not be valid. Will probably have to start over again.

Has anyone experieced this before? Thanks in advance for your comments and wisdom. :) :)

hotrod
John Shreffler
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Re: Track starter

Post by John Shreffler »

If you load your gate with rubberband or spring so it "wants to open" and held by a latch, then the action will be so fast your starts will be consistent. A much larger contributor to variation in ET is how many times your car corrects direction on the lane guide. A car that corrects only 5 times is going to be a lot faster than the same car that corrects 20 times. This is largely beyond control, and is what makes derbies interesting.

The latch mentioned above is sometimes hard to find. A picture on one is at http://www.newdirections.ws/faq.htm#Q11 If you want one free, send a SASE (padded) to me.
John Shreffler
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hotrod
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Re: Track starter

Post by hotrod »

John, thanks for the reply. I will take you up on your offer for latch.

Ed
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