Any last minute advice in terms of graphite?

[John-newbie11]

Race is this Sunday (local pack race). Cars are all done.

Any suggestions for final 'graphiting' of the wheels/axles (bores were polished and graphite applied several times before installing wheels)?

Once car is complete, do you pour more graphite in bore/axle area, spin, repeat, etc...? If so, how many times?

Or not necessary as I did this multiple times before installing the wheels?

Do you do a final graphite and then not really touch it? Or is it better to do some final spins before the first race...?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Castoro Racing]

Race is this Sunday (local pack race). Cars are all done.

Any suggestions for final 'graphiting' of the wheels/axles (bores were polished and graphite applied several times before installing wheels)?

Once car is complete, do you pour more graphite in bore/axle area, spin, repeat, etc...? If so, how many times?

Or not necessary as I did this multiple times before installing the wheels?

Do you do a final graphite and then not really touch it? Or is it better to do some final spins before the first race...?

Thanks for all your help!

I have always found our best runs were the 2nd or 3rd run, which I assume is after the graphite broke in/the excess I applied worked it's way out. So I would be cautious about over applying graphite.

The last few graphite races I burnished than applied a few puffs when we set up the track and ran my cars once or twice and put the cars away. Clearly I was always tempted to add more graphite but based on what I have read on this forum I left the cars as is. This seemed to work for me. If I couldn't take a few test runs I would apply a light amount and spin the wheels by hand with light pressure. If you search on the forum I think others may have better ways of doing this. I read that some use air to spin the wheels or apply some pressure to the car and move the car as if it's running down the track, I have no idea what's the best, just what worked for me.

 

[John-newbie11]

Great, thank you.

 

[Chief]

Did you use pledge on your axles?

 

[Castoro Racing]

Did you use pledge on your axles?

Chief-any idea if there are performance differences between pledge and sailkote?

 

[John-newbie11]

I did use pledge

 

[Chief]

Chief-any idea if there are performance differences between pledge and sailkote?

I have been out of this racing game for a while so things may have changed...(im coming back though), I have never used Sailkote on anything but I can say that when we used graphite in scouts we burnished the wheel bores and pledged the axles and we were untouchable...So much so that we were accused of cheating hahaha imagine that??!!

 

[Castoro Racing]

I have been out of this racing game for a while so things may have changed...(im coming back though), I have never used Sailkote on anything but I can say that when we used graphite in scouts we burnished the wheel bores and pledged the axles and we were untouchable...So much so that we were accused of cheating hahaha imagine that??!!

If you win you must have cheated! Forget researching, hard work, skillset or especially doing your best!

 

[Mojo Racing]

The boys I help always pledge their axles.

It is funny the properties of pledge. It keeps dust off tables and such, but you pull an axle, that has been pledged, out from a graphited wheel, and there is graphite all OVER that axle.

 

[DuckOfAllTrades]

Everyone does it different. I personally like to apply a last coat of graphite and spin a time or two on race day before check in...a light coat... but leave the break in for the track. Sure, it will run a little slower for the first 2 runs, but I'm not concerned about those runs. All I want to do in the first round is have a fast enough average to advance. This gives me more graphite if needed for the final rounds. Gives me at least two extra runs before the graphite starts to wear out, which can be the difference between 3rd and 1st.

 

[Castoro Racing]

Everyone does it different. I personally like to apply a last coat of graphite and spin a time or two on race day before check in...a light coat... but leave the break in for the track. Sure, it will run a little slower for the first 2 runs, but I'm not concerned about those runs. All I want to do in the first round is have a fast enough average to advance. This gives me more graphite if needed for the final rounds. Gives me at least two extra runs before the graphite starts to wear out, which can be the difference between 3rd and 1st.

How many runs do your cars get at a normal race. Ours were 6 runs pack, 8 runs districts unless there was a tie at districts then there would have been an extra 2 or 3 runs.

 

[Chief]

This was my sons car at districts. Yes we are way out front...Funny it is just the opposite when I race here hahaha!!

 

[Castoro Racing]

This was my sons car at districts. Yes we are way out front...Funny it is just the opposite when I race here hahaha!!

That track is huge, I had to count those lanes on my fingers. It looks like a wooden track, if so God bless the person that built it.

 

[Chief]

That track is huge, I had to count those lanes on my fingers. It looks like a wooden track, if so God bless the person that built it.

Ya no kidding!! Our old pack track was only a 4 lane made from wood and Good NIGHT it was heavy!!! I am glad I had nothing to do with this one...Whew!!!

 

[Chief]

My apologies to John Newbie...I did not mean to hijack the thread! I wish you and yours the very best of luck this Sunday and I cant wait to see the hardware you all bring home!!!

 

[John-newbie11]

My apologies to John Newbie...I did not mean to hijack the thread! I wish you and yours the very best of luck this Sunday and I cant wait to see the hardware you all bring home!!!

No worries and thanks! That track above is crazy. We have 4 lanes (metal track). Also, we only run, I believe, 4-5 times (dropping the highest), and that's it. We don't have different rounds.

I'll keep you all posted after the weekend!

 

[Ohly]

I am watching this tread as my Son's race is coming up this month. Last year I believed I over did it on the graphite, his car kept getting faster and faster with each run... Six runs on Rank and Six runs on Pack Championship... We still won but ...

 

[e/o]

How many runs do your cars get at a normal race. Ours were 6 runs pack, 8 runs districts unless there was a tie at districts then there would have been an extra 2 or 3 runs.

I take the same approach as DuckOfAllTrades, though the answer may depend on how your races work. My son races four times against his den then four times in the finals. He's not realistically going to miss the finals cut off, so we treat the den runs as part of the break in.

 

[e/o]

I am watching this tread as my Son's race is coming up this month. Last year I believed I over did it on the graphite, his car kept getting faster and faster with each run... Six runs on Rank and Six runs on Pack Championship... We still won but ...

Both years so far my son's time has increased each run until around run 6-7 and then leveled off.

 

[DuckOfAllTrades]

I take the same approach as DuckOfAllTrades, though the answer may depend on how your races work. My son races four times against his den then four times in the finals. He's not realistically going to miss the finals cut off, so we treat the den runs as part of the break in.

Yes, it all depends on how many races you have to go and how big your pack is. We have 6 races for the den, 6 for the semi finals and six for the finals. We also ended up racing three more times in an overtime heat. My daughters car had the 4th fastest average overall in the den races, but had the fastest car the rest of the way. By the overtime, other cars slowed a bit, we were just as fast as we had been. And of course we had bad luck in the end! But that’s a whole other story, lol.