Post by thisnametooktolong on Feb 21, 2011 21:53:14 GMT -7
Yep
I know for a fact that fresh graphite is a bad thing. It cost my son the district race. He set the track record but his first run was pig slow. They did an average, so he came in second over all. After the first run, he set the track record three times. At the pot hole pack race, I think the gamble paid off. After 12 runs, every ones graphite was gone. My oldest had lost one race to the same kid that he dogged in the final round. The Boy Scout placing the cars on the track (the other Kids older brother) actually swapped the lane rotation to give the other kid lane advantage of about 3 inches
(no timer there, just a win/lane light)
My son spanked that kid with about a 5 inch advantage on a 27 foot pot holed race track. with the other kid in the good lane it was at least a 5 inch win. I gambled with weight placement. I traded the 2-3 inch speed down the ramp for stability. I also traded hole shot for stored energy on the wheels. The lightest legal BSA wheels after machining came out to .088 ounces ( no inside machining aloud). We ran 95s . On the flat portion of the track, it looked like there was a motor installed. That track is a kinetic energy eating demon. From the stability, the precision of alignment and the wheels….. it actually made up for a full car length at the end, and some times more.
My youngest son did not fair that well. He ran .100 wheels. He had the third fastest car at the Pack, But because of random selection….. he was knocked out early. He wanted to make a watch. The car looks like a watch with a 7 dollar running K mart watch on top. The frontal area is about an extra ½ inch. Lets not forget about that mass getting slung back in forth over all those bumps so high off the track.
Just think of Newton!
If some one told me that a cub scout race was this complicated 2 years ago……. I would have said…… “ are you smoking crack?”
I know for a fact that fresh graphite is a bad thing. It cost my son the district race. He set the track record but his first run was pig slow. They did an average, so he came in second over all. After the first run, he set the track record three times. At the pot hole pack race, I think the gamble paid off. After 12 runs, every ones graphite was gone. My oldest had lost one race to the same kid that he dogged in the final round. The Boy Scout placing the cars on the track (the other Kids older brother) actually swapped the lane rotation to give the other kid lane advantage of about 3 inches
(no timer there, just a win/lane light)
My son spanked that kid with about a 5 inch advantage on a 27 foot pot holed race track. with the other kid in the good lane it was at least a 5 inch win. I gambled with weight placement. I traded the 2-3 inch speed down the ramp for stability. I also traded hole shot for stored energy on the wheels. The lightest legal BSA wheels after machining came out to .088 ounces ( no inside machining aloud). We ran 95s . On the flat portion of the track, it looked like there was a motor installed. That track is a kinetic energy eating demon. From the stability, the precision of alignment and the wheels….. it actually made up for a full car length at the end, and some times more.
My youngest son did not fair that well. He ran .100 wheels. He had the third fastest car at the Pack, But because of random selection….. he was knocked out early. He wanted to make a watch. The car looks like a watch with a 7 dollar running K mart watch on top. The frontal area is about an extra ½ inch. Lets not forget about that mass getting slung back in forth over all those bumps so high off the track.
Just think of Newton!
If some one told me that a cub scout race was this complicated 2 years ago……. I would have said…… “ are you smoking crack?”