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Post by Quillen Racing on Feb 24, 2007 11:04:32 GMT -7
Here's one I've been curious about, which wheel do most builders use to "hug" the rail?  I've always tried to align my cars to run as straight as possible, but the whole rail-hugging theory has made me rethink this strategy. Rail-hugging appears to be the most popular technique among the pros. David |
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Post by JOKER on Feb 24, 2007 11:14:49 GMT -7
Here's one I've been curious about, which wheel do most builders use to "hug" the rail? I've always tried to align my cars to run as straight as possible, but the whole rail-hugging theory has made me rethink this strategy. Rail-hugging appears to be the most popular technique among the pros. David The dominant front wheel (dfw) should rub the rail. Each time the raised wheel touches the rail it will result in a greater energy loss because the wheel will have to spin up. If you were to ride the rail with the raised front wheel - then you would have 4 wheels touching the track & more friction. (Keep the raised wheel away from the rail with only 3 wheels touching the track - less friction) |
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Post by Quillen Racing on Feb 24, 2007 11:27:26 GMT -7
Here's one I've been curious about, which wheel do most builders use to "hug" the rail? I've always tried to align my cars to run as straight as possible, but the whole rail-hugging theory has made me rethink this strategy. Rail-hugging appears to be the most popular technique among the pros. David The dominant front wheel (dfw) should rub the rail. Each time the raised wheel touches the rail it will result in a greater energy loss because the wheel will have to spin up. If you were to ride the rail with the raised front wheel - then you would have 4 wheels touching the track & more friction. (Keep the raised wheel away from the rail with only 3 wheels touching the track - less friction) Joker, have you or any other builders tried just using the raised front wheel as a guide? If you were to make it so the raised wheel can't spin, then you wouldn't have the dominate wheel experiencing any energy loss as a result of rubbing against the rail... Does that make sense? I'm curious to see if anyone has experimented with this concept. David |
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Post by JOKER on Feb 24, 2007 14:14:10 GMT -7
The dominant front wheel (dfw) should rub the rail. Each time the raised wheel touches the rail it will result in a greater energy loss because the wheel will have to spin up. If you were to ride the rail with the raised front wheel - then you would have 4 wheels touching the track & more friction. (Keep the raised wheel away from the rail with only 3 wheels touching the track - less friction) Joker, have you or any other builders tried just using the raised front wheel as a guide? If you were to make it so the raised wheel can't spin, then you wouldn't have the dominate wheel experiencing any energy loss as a result of rubbing against the rail... Does that make sense? I'm curious to see if anyone has experimented with this concept. David It does make sense - you are on the right track - but the dfw would never reach it's full potential. This set-up would be like a 4 wheeler with the brakes locked up on one wheel. This would be slower than rubbing the rail with the raised front wheel. Keep it up - when you are outside the box looking in - sooner or later, you figure out a way to go faster! |
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