Mixed race day results.... Now what?

[Bubblegum]

Today we finished 5th overall for scouts and 1st and 2nd for Outlaw. My 1st place car was 7 oz and extended wheel base and the second was 5 oz. and standard wb.

The 1st was second fastest overall out of 50 cars so that was good and 2nd was very close to my 1st.

We have advanced to district's for both classes and obviously want to improve but need suggestions of a starting point. We had a short build time because of life so I know I was not as meticulous as normal.

My scout car had the death wobble to begin with and even adding more steer it still happened. I quit messing at 1 am and hoped for the best.

The wobble was was still there during the race so I wanted to start there.

I have no idea of my times because the track had no display and the TV hook up failed.

So any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TRE]

Drill could be bad ...over polished wheels and or axles...how much steer does the car have

 

[Bubblegum]

Thanks for all helping me. I had a hard time putting axles in so that could have been an issue. I used my silver bullet to drill but was unhappy.

I usually run 2 x 5 cubes behind and the rest in front but this car had 12 in the rear. So that may have been a factor.

For steer I did 4 per 4 and upped it to 6.5 per 4 and still had wobble. It always wobbled half way on the first straight 7 ft section .

I really want to improve my alignments and believe this is one of those sources of extra speed for winning that I want.

 

[B_Regal Racing]

Consider:
1) clean wheels of debris, graphite, and wax with mild abrasive pad/micromesh/nail file block
2) check rear alignment
3) check steer; add more
4) rear wheel gaps too large; tighten gaps; check front as well
5) move weight forward (only adding a few grams to the FDW)
6) check rear wheels; hubs or edges deformed; replace
7) bore diameter not equal when measured at inside and outside hub; replace
8) re-polish a new set of rear axles (diameter is too small)
9) re-polish a new set of rear axles (rear axles slightly bent)

Could be any one or all of these things. 1 thru 5 are easy to do and usually can correct most problems.

 

[Bubblegum]

Thank you for the suggestions. I will address them to see if I missed something.

 

[Pinewood Outlaw]

You say this car was standard wheelbase?? 12 cubes behind rear axle so guessing your COG was close to 1/2" this maybe too aggressive for standard wheelbase. Try running 4.75" or 5" wheelbase

 

[TRE]

I run 2 oz behind rears on standard wheel base all the time..if everything is right they will run good..you might need inch more steer

 

[Bubblegum]

Rules were 4.25 in. I have always run longer wheel bases in my cars for stability. I don't feel like I have the skill set yet but am trying and this was a learning experience.

The pack rules followed district rules so they will be the same for that race.

Would I be better off doing 2 x 5 behind the rear as I have always done or do 2 x 6 as I did here and handle the more aggressive car?

 

[Bubblegum]

Finally saw times for the race and 1st place was 3.02x. We were a slow 3.146 so that wiggle really cost us dearly.

Our district race is March 23 so we have to get our butts in gear if we want to do better.

I just wish I had looked closer at the 1st place car to understand more but I doubt if the scout's mom would have answered questions. She was completely uninterested during the derby.

 

[Bubblegum]

Rules were 4.25 in. I have always run longer wheel bases in my cars for stability. I don't feel like I have the skill set yet but am trying and this was a learning experience.

The pack rules followed district rules so they will be the same for that race.

Would I be better off doing 2 x 5 behind the rear as I have always done or do 2 x 6 as I did here and handle the more aggressive car?

I am at work and I need a favor please since this is bugging me.

What is the wheel base of a BSA derby car with the axle slots? The rules stated that the wheel base must remain that of the axles at 4.25 inches but I thought it was around 4.5 inches.

 

[TRE]

4 and 3/8

 

[Bubblegum]

Thank you. So I wonder how much this affected the car having an even shorter wheelbase than necessary.

I wonder how many others went by the measurement and not the slot. I feel really dumb and disappointed right now.

 

[Pinewood Outlaw]

Sounds to me that someone wrote the rules wrong.....like they said slots only and standard slots on BSA blocks are 4 3/8

 

[DerbyDad4Hire]

If you had to cram the axles in then you could have bent an axle or killed the drill job in the rear.

 

[Bubblegum]

Just got home from districts. Our scout car took 4th and our outlaw took 2nd.

This track was the same one from pack and we dropped something like 0.07 sec between dates.

The crazy thing was that we built a second car for this race and it wasn't any faster and I was ready to call it but at midnight my oldest sat down and started talking shop. Yes we did that, no that doesn't matter..........

At 1:30 we started building a new car and finished at 5:30.

I guess he was right, loss of sleep was worth it because his brother was the only kid to jump up and smile when shaking hands.

Now onto to council and figuring out ways to drop another 0.04 seconds.