Like the title says, this is my first post. I've been lurking for a while just reading and digesting as much as I could.
Quick back story, i have 2 boys in BSA. Oldest one is a Boy Scout 2nd class and youngest is a Tiger. I have been helping the oldest boy with PWD races since he was a tiger. Our first race as a Tiger with the oldest boy we came in 3rd place in the pack and got spanked in district races. Lots of really bad info from the adults and older Web's in the pack. That was the first time either one of us had even seen a PWD car. After district i decided to do some research and found a few websites. From then on my oldest always placed 1st in Den and never lower than 2nd in pack and even took 1st overall at district once.
Fast forward a couple years and now i'm back at it again with my Tiger. We just had our pack race this weekend and he took first in Tigers and 2nd overall. Hist time's were averaging 3.0XX. We'll be getting ready for District in about 3 weeks. Unfortunately i didn't get to order John's products soon enough due to pack issues, but i still ordered them anyway to prep for district.
Our pack/District rules aren't the worst, but they aren't the best either. We aren't allowed to use modified 3rd party wheels or axles or car bodies. They all have to be cut by us. No grooves on the axles and no oil, dry (graphite) lubricant only.
With those rules in hand i set out to do the best i could with what I had. I destroyed countless axles trying to get rid of those damn burr marks until i found the revell wheel/axle sets without the burrs.
I then concentrated on polishing those axles/wheel bores as much as i could without destroying them. I have used up to know another vendors products with good results. Cant wait to try John's.
I then moved on to weight and COM placement. All my cars i aim for around 3/4 from rear axle with good results. Always have built 3 wheel riders but haven't tried rail riding yet, but will for district.
The amount of info in this forum alone is more than i found with my first boy when i set out to build a fast car. I know this is a pretty competitive hobby and wanted to say thanks to all the pros that share their experience for us rookies. I have tried to return that favor by holding small clinics at my pack and helping the boys with their cars. Pretty sad to see the shape some of these cars show up to at the races. It shows both non involvement from the parents side or just lack of information on their part.
My oldest boy and I will probably join the NPWDRL and try our hand at that.
Below are the pics of the cars we entered in this weekends races. Please pardon my painting skills, they aren't the best and it was mostly rushed to get ready for the pack race.
Joel
Quick back story, i have 2 boys in BSA. Oldest one is a Boy Scout 2nd class and youngest is a Tiger. I have been helping the oldest boy with PWD races since he was a tiger. Our first race as a Tiger with the oldest boy we came in 3rd place in the pack and got spanked in district races. Lots of really bad info from the adults and older Web's in the pack. That was the first time either one of us had even seen a PWD car. After district i decided to do some research and found a few websites. From then on my oldest always placed 1st in Den and never lower than 2nd in pack and even took 1st overall at district once.
Fast forward a couple years and now i'm back at it again with my Tiger. We just had our pack race this weekend and he took first in Tigers and 2nd overall. Hist time's were averaging 3.0XX. We'll be getting ready for District in about 3 weeks. Unfortunately i didn't get to order John's products soon enough due to pack issues, but i still ordered them anyway to prep for district.
Our pack/District rules aren't the worst, but they aren't the best either. We aren't allowed to use modified 3rd party wheels or axles or car bodies. They all have to be cut by us. No grooves on the axles and no oil, dry (graphite) lubricant only.
With those rules in hand i set out to do the best i could with what I had. I destroyed countless axles trying to get rid of those damn burr marks until i found the revell wheel/axle sets without the burrs.
I then concentrated on polishing those axles/wheel bores as much as i could without destroying them. I have used up to know another vendors products with good results. Cant wait to try John's.
I then moved on to weight and COM placement. All my cars i aim for around 3/4 from rear axle with good results. Always have built 3 wheel riders but haven't tried rail riding yet, but will for district.
The amount of info in this forum alone is more than i found with my first boy when i set out to build a fast car. I know this is a pretty competitive hobby and wanted to say thanks to all the pros that share their experience for us rookies. I have tried to return that favor by holding small clinics at my pack and helping the boys with their cars. Pretty sad to see the shape some of these cars show up to at the races. It shows both non involvement from the parents side or just lack of information on their part.
My oldest boy and I will probably join the NPWDRL and try our hand at that.
Below are the pics of the cars we entered in this weekends races. Please pardon my painting skills, they aren't the best and it was mostly rushed to get ready for the pack race.
Joel
