Last Minute Re-Prep

[DerbyJP]

Hi everyone - I've lurked for a while, have a question specific to our build. This weekend is our PWD and I am trying to eek out a little extra speed after being a little slower than 1 or 2 cars at practice last weekend. To summarize the build:

- 3 wheel rail runner w/out canted wheels (per rules axles have to be installed parallel to track)
- body next to DFW narrowed by 1/16"
- steer is about 4" over 4' and practice runs were fairly stable
- bores polished w/DD4H kit (using polish #2, not Red Rocket) and burnished w/straight graphite the first time
- no pledge the first time around on axle prep
- Max-V graphite

So, to gain a little speed I was planning on the following w/reprep:

- pledge on axles
- DD4H graphite

Anything else that would be easy to do in my short time frame, knowing I don't have RR polish and won't get it prior to racing? For example, I saw mentioned that some folks put RR/graphite mix in bores prior to burnishing - would that work well enough w/the DD4H polish #2 as an alternative to RR? If so, should I clean out the bores w/alcohol first?

Thanks in advance!

JP

 

[HurriCrane Racing]

If you still have access to a track, I would try reducing the amount of steer to see if you can pick up some speed. How far off were you from the two faster cars?

 

[~JBD RACING~]

Get rid of Max V graphite for starters and you Hobby lube

 

[~JBD RACING~]

What's your steer set at, what's ur gaps.. Put a pic so we can see what u have to ensure we help

 

[DerbyJP]

Thanks guys. To answer some questions:

- our times were in the 3.05 range (42' aluminum), a couple others were around 3.0 even slightly under...probably won't gain that much but we're going to try our best
- steer is currently 4" over 4'
- graphite fix is pending (DD4H graphite on it's way, I think that's better than HobbyLube?)
- gaps are unofficially set to the width of an old blockbuster laminated card...very scientific, I know
- I have access to track for about an hour before check-in, so can try anything that wouldn't require much re-prep, could re-graphite but that's about it.
- may get a picture posted later, but the axles and wheels are currently not installed so not sure it would help much

 

[DerbyJP]

bumping to see if I can get any more responses before check-in tomorrow, and also to ask the best way to set wheel gaps without a tool? currently using old blockbuster card, which seems to be about 1/2 the width of a credit card. Should DFW wheel gap be any different than rears?

 

[ngyoung]

A business card is just fine too. For the track tuning you can try backing off on your steer until you start getting unstable or lose speed. You will want a couple runs each adjustment and refresh graphite before testing each adjustment. If you can inspect the track and try to test on the best alligned lane. Testing on a bad one can chew up your wheels.

 

[DerbyJP]

So I just ran it down the tuning board to check for rear wheel migration on axle (which looks ok). Funny thing is I realized that when I previously tuned the steering I was attempting to start the car straight down the line by lining up the wheels on the DFW side, forgetting that since the car is notched on the DFW side that naturally started the car toward the direction of the DFW. Once I lined it up correctly I realized that I had 6" of steer on the 4' board so backed that off to 3".

Another rookie mistake!!

Thanks to everyone for their responses and all the other posts - I've tried to be a sponge the past 2 weeks reading all of the threads.

JP

 

[IAE Racing]

So How'd you turn out?

 

[DerbyJP]

We ended up winning the pack, thanks for asking! We gained about .02 by adjusting steer, using DD4H graphite and pledge on the axles during re-prep. I think we would have won without all of that - the times I had heard existed were nowhere to be found come race day - but nice to learn more about making the car faster. Now on to districts...

 

[ngyoung]

We ended up winning the pack, thanks for asking! We gained about .02 by adjusting steer, using DD4H graphite and pledge on the axles during re-prep. I think we would have won without all of that - the times I had heard existed were nowhere to be found come race day - but nice to learn more about making the car faster. Now on to districts...

Gaining .02 is nothing to sneeze at. Congrats on the win and good luck at the next race.

 

[BulldogRacing]

congrats on the win.