What kind of wheelbase are people going to while keeping front fenders? Started feeling a little better yesterday so I started my new SS entries, got one ready for paint but not too sure about the front fenders. I will mention that it was my first attempt at front fenders too. I feel like they may be too short and steep to actually be a benefit instead of a hindrance.
Longer Wheelbase SS
- Thread starter Ryanh
- Start date
I am testing mine this weekend. I will say this if you watch some wind tunnel testing, it doesn't take much of a object to divert air over a larger object. The air will continue in the direction diverted until the pressure on the opposite side levels it out. I believe that McKay and DF made frt fenders on cars that were a continuation of the plank of wood in frt of the frt wheel. The cars seemed to run very well. Just a thought.
Ryan, There must be some good info that people don't want to share.
I guess its time for some serious testing.
I don't have a lot of experience, so I don't know how much weight my comments will hold, but I am planning on running a 5 inch wheelbase. It does not leave much room on the front but one of the greats told me less is more when it comes to fenders. I think that advise is solid. I liked Quicktime's comment about the wind tunnel. I think short fenders will still help. When I finish mine I'll post a picture. I've got big hope's for this car. I'm anxious to see what it does. Sink or swim it's been fun.
started my Nationals Street Stocker last night. I'm going with a 5" Wheel Base. I believe QT gave the necessary info. It doesn't take much to move the air over the tires. I guess I will see what my car does and spend July Fine tuning for the second half.
Hey guys,it will be interesting to see what everyone comes up with while testing front fenders or "splitters".Me and my son just have always ran front fenders,why......cause derby dad did
.We never tested our cars because we don't have a track.All I can tell you is build your cars 3 or so grams light & tape the fenders on.Let us know how some of the testing goes.Most importantly...Have fun with it
I tested my new ss last night. i went with a 5.25 wheel base with micro front fenders and smaller than usual rear fenders. This car also has more added tungsten than i usually have and the same com as my other cars. My Times were exactly the same as my last ss. I`m tuning on 35`so maybe the extended wheel base will pick up the last 7`. Guess i wont know till I send it in
down4derby said:I tested my new ss last night. i went with a 5.25 wheel base with micro front fenders and smaller than usual rear fenders. This car also has more added tungsten than i usually have and the same com as my other cars. My Times were exactly the same as my last ss. I`m tuning on 35`so maybe the extended wheel base will pick up the last 7`. Guess i wont know till I send it in
If I was to bet I would say it would be slower over 42'. Less time on the hill.
Yes, I understand about more time on the hill when your front wheels are set further back as it takes longer to plane out. However, the 5.25 car seemed to play catch up at the end. Could this be attributed to the more concentrated weight set further back or the less amount of steer required for a longer wheel base? Also, the rear wheels are as far back as they will go without sticking out the back. If you were to keep the front wheels in the stock location and move the rears back all the way, you could then keep the favorable front fender length while having more concentrated weight in the rear, and possibly less steer required than stock and more hill time. I think i might move my fronts back to stock and see what happens.
Did some testing last night with the new SS, and well I can say that fenders are faster. I ran the car with no fenders at all and than with rear fenders only and picked up about .004 just by adding fenders. Still a lot of testing to go. Unfortunately the design of the car wont allow for frt fenders would have been a cool test.
I finished my new SS lastnight as wel. It is my first car with front fenders so I'm not sure what to expect but I know its not fast enough to be competitive, I hope to get some more tunjng in this weekend but I just dont see it happening. As always rushed at the last minute but something will be in the mail come Monday.
Oh yes the time dilemma!! You should have seen the look I got at 6:30 this morning when I started running cars down the track that runs through our room, and that was after finishing at 12:00 last night!
"Just one more quick run." I am sure tonight will be more of the same.
I was able to get front fenders on my "Thunder Cat" SS, but there was not a lot of surface area to attach them to with the 5 inch wheelbase and a razor thin nose. We'll soon see how they work. I'm excited to prep and run it. I posted a picture in the picture area. I'm happy how it turned out, but I wish my work was a little cleaner on a few aspects. I'm excited to see how it does, but even more exciting to see eveeryone's cars next week. I really hope I can run somewhere close to y'all.
G
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Just a little tip. My fastest cars are standard wheelbase.But to add speed you must shorten your wheelbase and lengthen your fenders.
It seams most of you have decided on fenders for your new builds
,I think its the way to go at this level.The wheel base.......well that's still to be determined.We will stay with the standard wheelbase this NAT's,as I'm sure several of the guys will.It will be fun to watch the different reactions of the variety of wheelbases in the transition.I'm sure there is speed to be found there with enough R&D........Did you have enough time.
Its going to be brawl to finish top 5 !I'm pulling for a standard wheelbase car to take the hardware this week! ; )
I ran my new SS RED FLAG through a number of tests yesterday.
I tried 5" then 5.5". Best times were decidedly with 5 inches on a completely hollow body covered with Monokote. Lots of rear weight and a tight COM
I tried two types of fenders, and also with no fenders.
Ended up with fastest time being with very small rear fenders, in fact they were the front fenders from a previous retired car.
Didn't have time to try any front fenders, but I predict very tiny fronts will do the trick. Next time I am going to attach the fronts B4 slimming the nose.
My times were very fast, but with the new rules, it's a whole new ball game as to what a good time will be.
I tried 5" then 5.5". Best times were decidedly with 5 inches on a completely hollow body covered with Monokote. Lots of rear weight and a tight COM
I tried two types of fenders, and also with no fenders.
Ended up with fastest time being with very small rear fenders, in fact they were the front fenders from a previous retired car.
Didn't have time to try any front fenders, but I predict very tiny fronts will do the trick. Next time I am going to attach the fronts B4 slimming the nose.
My times were very fast, but with the new rules, it's a whole new ball game as to what a good time will be.
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