I need some help.........coming up will be my second time at this Pinewood derby racing. The things I have already done to the cars are only 3 wheels touching the ground, weight as far back as possible, sanded and polished my axles, and tilted my wheels so that it would run on the least amount of wheel as possible.That's all that I know to do. If anyone could give me a little direction and tell me what else would help, it would be greatly appreciated.
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- Thread starter Jcagle1
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do you happen to know what time it runs? if we had a base time, we could help you know where you are at and how to get faster. it sounds like you are in the right place so far.
did you drill your axle holes at an angle or bend the axles?
did you drill your axle holes at an angle or bend the axles?
upload the pic to photobucket and when its done, if you hover over the pic a small box will pop up with 4 choices in it, the bottom choice is the one you need. click on it and it will say copied. then make your post here anf just paste it. thats it.
Jcagle1 said:
You can get the weight too far back. Put 1.6 to 1.8oz behind rear axle and rest right in front of it. You can use the slots and still cant your rear wheels without bending the axles. Never bend the rear axles. You do want to bend the front axle about 4 to 5 degrees. Align it in a positive cant (opposite from rear wheels) and slightly rotate it until the car steers towards your raised will at a rate of 3" over 4'.
The best way to align the car is get a pre drilled block or use the block to drill your own. The next steps you will take are to learn how to prep wheels and axles. After alignment this is where the next major gains in speed will be.
If you want to run with the big dogs you must polish the wheel bores. Most of the pro racers are using the kits sold by dd4h I believe but if you don't want to go that route you can get novus 2 at most motorcycle shops and it works really well for polishing wheel bores.
Jcagle1 said:
This year using the DD4H wheel and axle prep our car was #1 in Den and Pack races by about two car lenghts in every race. There are other options but you have the best that can be had at - http://www.derbydad4hire.com
Jcagle1 said:
Early on, I spent lots of time on axle polishing, and none on bore polishing. Once I got DD4H's DVD, the big missing item (bore polishing) made a big difference.
If you have time, get DD4H's kit of #1 and #2. If time is short, go get the premier 3M kit of Scratch Remover and Synthetic wax. However, even then, you need to know the process, which is the same as in John's DVD. In either case, finish of the bore prep with Brasso on leather straps.
Leather isn't really used on bores
There is a LOT newer information out there that is more current.
As far as I know a leather strip can be used to apply the final polish steps to the axle. I don't think there is a wheel bore application using leather for the wheels.
Bore prep is a must for a top performing car. You can spend a lot of time running around to find the individual components or you can get them all in one kit from DD4H. I'd opt for the kit as it comes with detailed instructions on how to use each product.
Good luck!
Good luck!
