Almost time for the Pack race!

[bracketracer]

Stephen, what are the rear wheel gaps? Maybe you could tighten them up a little to minimize some of that wobble.

Yep, thought of that! I tightened the rears to .020 and left the fronts closer to .030 in the end. I tried running the front wheels at .020 both at the same time and individually and it wasn't liking that so I left the fronts looser.

I figured out that with four down I was better off setting the steer with the NDFW off the car. Get the steer where you want it and then install the other front wheel. Recheck the steer and if it's not where you set it, then tweak the NDFW up a bit at a time until the DFW takes over again.

I fully reprepped both cars tonight for the big day tomorrow, made one pass after I set the steer, it was only .015 slower with the four down setup now. If that holds they'll be in good shape.

 

[Maglev]

Good job Bracket - all the best to your sons and have fun at the races today.

 

[Guest]

I wonder how many miles you have walked tracing those 40' back and forth. Betcha never knew the PWD would keep ya in shape too.

Best of luck fella.

 

[GravityX]

What if you graphite the OD of the NDFW so it doesn't want to fight the push of the DFW?

 

[bracketracer]

What if you graphite the OD of the NDFW so it doesn't want to fight the push of the DFW?

I'd be afraid that the wooden track would clean that off too quick?
I had some graphite residue on the treads that I wiped off as best I could before the race but they look clean now after eight runs. The wheels had that silvery sheen to them before and they're black again now.

Leaving the NDFW lightly weighted appeared to work! My oldest won his age group, Grand Pack Champion, and picked up the trophy for fastest run of the day! The next closest car in his age group was about .030 behind. This four down stuff on graphite ain't so bad! I still hate the graphite mess, though. I didn't pick up a copy of the times when they ran the pack champion, but it was closer. I think I saw he had about a .010 advantage in that race. My youngest tied for first in the family race, they had to use the cumulative time as a tie breaker. He missed it by .003 on the cumulative so he was second!

I think my oldest's car might actually be faster than my SS car if I swapped out the wheels and axles. It ran 2.761 on my track with four down and 2.744 on three wheels. If I took off about .050 for the lighter wheels and .030 for switching from graphite to oil it would be in the 2.680's. My SS car only runs 2.690's on my track. Might not pick up the full .030 switching to oil?, this graphite/red rocket combo seems really fast!

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[TRE]

Congrats

 

[Maglev]

Congrats way to go Stephen. I am glad all the hard work paid off. Kudos to your boys and celebrate!!

 

[HMH Racing]

Congrats, We are getting ready for our pack race next Sunday. We have the same rules Graphite, all 4 touch and flat. If you don't mind me asking, did you use Pledge on the axels? Just got our red rocket wax and graphite in. Cant wait.

 

[Guest]

Sweet times!!!!

Great job. I think those boys of yours have a gentle touch.

Be sure to have them help you prep your league cars too!

 

[bracketracer]

Congrats, We are getting ready for our pack race next Sunday. We have the same rules Graphite, all 4 touch and flat. If you don't mind me asking, did you use Pledge on the axels? Just got our red rocket wax and graphite in. Cant wait.

Yes we did!

 

[DEW36]

Congrats!!!!!!

 

[MOFAST]

Way to go! Never had any doubt.

 

[Kinser Racing]

Congratulations!

 

[bracketracer]

I emailed the District PWD chairman to ask for an interpretation of the rules for the upcoming district race. Their rules were worded the same as our pack rules regarding the only three wheels need to touch sentence. I also asked how vertical the wheels needed to be. He sent me back a response that gave me a chuckle:

"I don't know how your PWD Chair can read a rule that says it is not required that all four wheels touch the track, and interpret it to mean that all four wheels must at least lightly touch the track! Repeat that last line several times and see if that makes any sense....The rule is specifically written to ALLOW you to lift one of the wheels. I'm going to have to re-write that one for next year in even simpler english.

There is no rule that says that the entire tread width must contact the track. Wheels in the "vertical" position just means that the wheel and the axle have to be mounted into the slot on the side of the car. You can bend the axle up, down, front or back. Nothing in the rules prohibit that. The only requirement is that the nails must be in the slots, and they must be visible, e.g they can't be covered by putty or wood. Using a bent axle on the front to steer is perfectly acceptable. Bending the rear axles so that the rear wheels are "canted" is acceptable. One word of note: If you are going to bend one of the front wheels to steer, then you REALLY want to make sure the opposite front wheel is lifted, otherwise they will fight each other going down the track!

Hope to see you this weekend, and please let me know if you have any other questions."

So the lesson here is always ask the official what they mean because they are the boss when it comes to enforcement!

Now junior needs to make a few changes to his car to prepare it for the district race!

 

[Guest]

awww man! they are just making this stuff up as they go.

 

[DerikX Racing]

Bracket, glad to see you performed so well at your pack race, not that I’m surprised.

We weren’t so fortunate, I’ve now become the pack expert on all things Pinewood derby and I had two workshops to help boys and parents with their cars. While I was a hero to the boys that placed 1-5 since I essentially built their cars, I’m son is POed at me. He finished 9[sup]th[/sup] overall. To his credit he did all the work on his car and axles. We set it up together to be a rail runner but they ran it backwards once and killed his average.

I plan to make up for it this weekend at the district race with a little help from DD4H products. We ran the new car against our previous years district champ “my son” and beat it my half a car length. I’ve got that sick feeling in my stomach, I know we are fast but I’m always worried about the next guy catching me. Wish me luck; I’ll be hopefully posting some positive results on Sunday.

 

[Crash Enburn]

He sent me back a response that gave me a chuckle...

Sounds like you guys have a GREAT PWD chair. Most experiences I've heard about and experienced were very much the opposite.

Rule: "Wheels and axles: Your choice!"
Show up at the race with a three wheeler with a pin.
Official: "You can't do that. It has to have four wheels touching!"
Me: "The rules do not say that."
Official: "Your car has to have four wheels touching." *points to rules in a different class*
Me: "The rules for this class [adult, essentially Outlaw] do not say that."
Official: "Fix it or don't race."

(I added a fourth wheel, ruined my tune, and won anyway)

Good luck on Sunday, Derik!

 

[DEW36]

Bracket, glad to see you performed so well at your pack race, not that I’m surprised.

We weren’t so fortunate, I’ve now become the pack expert on all things Pinewood derby and I had two workshops to help boys and parents with their cars. While I was a hero to the boys that placed 1-5 since I essentially built their cars, I’m son is POed at me. He finished 9[sup]th[/sup] overall. To his credit he did all the work on his car and axles. We set it up together to be a rail runner but they ran it backwards once and killed his average.

I plan to make up for it this weekend at the district race with a little help from DD4H products. We ran the new car against our previous years district champ “my son” and beat it my half a car length. I’ve got that sick feeling in my stomach, I know we are fast but I’m always worried about the next guy catching me. Wish me luck; I’ll be hopefully posting some positive results on Sunday.

Good Luck!!!

 

[sondo007]

Good Luck DerikX

 

[bracketracer]

He sent me back a response that gave me a chuckle...

Sounds like you guys have a GREAT PWD chair. Most experiences I've heard about and experienced were very much the opposite.

Rule: "Wheels and axles: Your choice!"
Show up at the race with a three wheeler with a pin.
Official: "You can't do that. It has to have four wheels touching!"
Me: "The rules do not say that."
Official: "Your car has to have four wheels touching." *points to rules in a different class*
Me: "The rules for this class [adult, essentially Outlaw] do not say that."
Official: "Fix it or don't race."

(I added a fourth wheel, ruined my tune, and won anyway)

Good luck on Sunday, Derik!

Crash, the man that chairs our Pack race does an awesome job too! He just has a different perspective on the rules even though they were worded the same. He handles all the staging of the cars himself and once the cars are lined up, he verifies with each scout that their car is in the proper lane and facing the right direction.

I understand the "vertical wheel" rule now. If they didn't have that, I could use the stock wheels as decoration on top and run the car on razors! I need to ask the Pack chair when I pick up the track if canting is allowed on the rears or not. I never thought to ask how literal his interpretation of "vertical" is.

Derik, it may not seem like it now, but you did the right thing letting him do it himself. A lot of dads would have reworked the car the night before while the boy slept to make sure he killed it, but the child learns nothing from that. If he's not going to be physically injured it's ok to let them fall once in a while and learn IMHO.
Good luck at the district races!