how thin do you get your car bodies and how do you keep them from warping of flexing..sanded one down yesterday to just over 1/4 inch then after all that work it bowed on me
car bodies
- Thread starter TRE
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- Nov 24, 2011
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Mine are a 1/4" in the back and depending on my covering, may get as thin as 3/16" up front. The side rails are 1/8" thick. I'm trying to keep my finished body including graphics under .4 ounces. My car "Rookie Driver" is almost .8 ounces and my car "Ghost" is .38 ounces. I think my greatest speed increase was due to the lightening of the body and the proper placement of weight. .8 ounces just seems way too heavy.
After my first race my results were just the opposite. I had a car body that weighed .41 ounces and one that weighed .80 ounces. The one that weighed .80 ounces ran .03 seconds faster.
All things being equal (specifically, the drill job), if the two cars had the exact same CoG, the lighter bodied car would do better.
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I stopped trying to go super light, though recently I have been toying with it again.
My thoughts are that theoretically lighter is better, but if proper stiffness and structure are not there then it is for naught. I feel that MVD will nullify any gains.
My thoughts are that theoretically lighter is better, but if proper stiffness and structure are not there then it is for naught. I feel that MVD will nullify any gains.
Sorry, what is MVD? Moist Velveeta Dish? My Velvet Disco? Massive Vermin Dinner? Minuscule Vibratory Discernment?Laserman said:
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I too feel that too light of a body will invite unwanted MVD.
Over the years, I have looked at my super light pure stock car and figured it did as well as it did partly because I messed up the paint and covered the entire car with a thick coat of Bin primer. I think that thick coat of primer helped diffuse and soak up the potentially speed scrubbing MVD.
Over the years, I have looked at my super light pure stock car and figured it did as well as it did partly because I messed up the paint and covered the entire car with a thick coat of Bin primer. I think that thick coat of primer helped diffuse and soak up the potentially speed scrubbing MVD.
Crash Enburn said:
Good thing you asked because I was clueless /images/boards/smilies/confused.gif
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PushcartDerby said:
Hi Pushcart,
Welcome to the subject that the elite of racing dance around.
You are lucky to have come across this thread because it could be a while before someone has the gusto to just throw it out there again.
MVD has been the downfall of many a PWD car and I will leave it at that for now.
My thoughts on warped wood is this:
If you weaken any material through removing part of it, then it will always be subject to warp/ flex.
The only way I know of to combat this is to fix it to other things to complete the structure before it has time to do so.
Kinda like the frame of a house before the plywood is up. It will blow over with a stiff wind.
Once the plywood goes on it completes the structure to the point where it can take some abuse.
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There's a company, Sensolute, that sells micro vibration sensors that are smaller than 3mm. Somebody good with electronics should delve further down this largely unexplored realm of MVD.
They use a gold plated micro ball that features "silent ball movement". Not sure how one would extract the data from it or how much they cost but it sure would be interesting to see just how much MVD affects various car body designs and how much of a robber of speed them micro vibrations really are.
They use a gold plated micro ball that features "silent ball movement". Not sure how one would extract the data from it or how much they cost but it sure would be interesting to see just how much MVD affects various car body designs and how much of a robber of speed them micro vibrations really are.
laserman said:
+1
I cut mine pretty thin (1/4) and they are pretty much cut out, and If I have to leave mine cut out over night I'm a little nervous. I top mine as soon as I get done cutting it out. Then I seal everything pretty quickly with CA. the only Reservation I have about sealing everything is Cubes will not sit flat in the edges. (still working on that, I'm all ears if someone has something) I'm at the point that everything is so thin that I'm thinking about leaving a bar across the open area till the top has glued and removing it later.
Now I've heard MVDs before at its worst, it was on a a MA car running Dynasty Intimid8rs. The car was completely hollowed out completely CA'd and it made a noise like I've never heard before. It was a very loud screaming howl, and I was like what the??? I put on a different set of wheels that weren't as thin and it wasn't as bad. So the thinner the wheels the higher/louder the vibrations and I'm sure being completely CA'd played a part in it. My thought on this, you need something in there to remove the Vibration, how much depends on the thickness of the front wheel and how much body is cut out.
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Corvid Racing said:
Fella,
That wit of yours is becoming so dry I am having a hard time knowing when you are serious!
This what was I was making tonihgt.
After laser cutting the body I laid in the aluminum.
In the process I glued the whole kit and kaboodle to the UHDMW cutting board.
Oh well!
It should be ok.
Now it is somewhat stabile.
So now I lay in the rest of my aluminum structure. (more or less)
Before I remove it from the cutting board I will reinforce all the holes. (even if they are just temporary place holders) Thin balsa is great. Even if you change your mind it sands off easily.
When I want to take it off the UHDMW cutting board I slip a knife between.
Usually the glue separates from the cutting board long before damage is done to the wood.
- Nov 24, 2011
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For you guys that are concerned about warping. My current Unlimited was built in 2011, it's been bare wood and never sealed or painted only Sharpied. It has been in the garage through the fluctuating weather of single digit winters and triple digit summers. It's placed fairly well in it's class the past two races. It's Johns Sugar Pine. I don't know that I'd worry to much.
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Laserman: What the .../images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif you just took your builds into the Stratosphere!
Amazing and inspiring.
How much does it weight? Should be able to easily add 4 oz ballast with that kinda built!! Envious!!
Did you drill the axle holes already?
Is it gonna get a veneer cover or that's it?
Looking forward to see it finished (keep the build pictures coming) and run on the NPWDRL track soon. What class r u gonna run it in?
Maglev
Amazing and inspiring.
How much does it weight? Should be able to easily add 4 oz ballast with that kinda built!! Envious!!
Did you drill the axle holes already?
Is it gonna get a veneer cover or that's it?
Looking forward to see it finished (keep the build pictures coming) and run on the NPWDRL track soon. What class r u gonna run it in?
Maglev
