Newbie Recommendations?

[HippoHero]

Thanks. What would you recommend instead of writs and pipe cleaners?

 

[ZZRacing]

If you get shrink tubing you can remove some of the pipe cleaner material and put the shrink tubing on the wire to prevent scratches in the bores. I have always been able to find it at RadioShack.

 

[HippoHero]

Shrink tubing is a great idea. I was thinking of using a dab of hot glue on the end to kind of rubberize the end but I was worried about inconsistent diameters. Heat shrink would definitely fix this - and I have some on hand so that is even better. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[FDM]

The only thing sharp on a pipe cleaner is the end, so in this case you must have spun the wheel with the pipe cleaner not totally inserted, if you didn't do that, I wouldn't see how a pipe cleaner would do this damage, unless there was something sharp on the shaft of the cleaner (something I never noticed). However using the shrink tube on the cleaner is not a bad idea since it will limit damage when inserting the pipe cleaner. Looking at the wheel in the picture I don't think the damage is that bad, the scratch is going with the rotation of the wheel so you might not even notice it, esp for a scout race. If the scratch was going from one side of the wheel to the other (like you normally would get from inserting something sharp into the wheel) I would think twice about using it.

 

[HippoHero]

I bought some new wheels so I figured we'd give it another shot. This time we are going to try the heat shrink trick on the end (after twisting the metal as good as possible) and we'll see how things look. I figure we still have about a month, so lots of time to tinker with things. Once we get the body built I'll post some pictures.

 

[txchemist]

Look in the bores and blow out clean. Sometimes some plastic or other material is in there and will scratch if not removed.
For in the house, I use a DataVac 500-Watt, .75-HP Electric Duster. It has paid for itself in canned air replacements, and you can really get after it for drying wheels, removing lint , running in wheels if you have no track etc.

 

[SuperSlow]

Inspect them well before u work on them so you can see what wheels are best to start and you will know what damage you caused if any. Also not as fancy but as you said Hippo a dab of hot glue will work fine on a pipe cleaner for folks that dont have the heat shrink tubes on hand.

 

[HippoHero]

So looks like we are are restricted to graphite so I will have to save DD4H oil for another race. Is pledge and graphite burnishing still the recommended method for the final wheel/axle prep? Should I do this on the axle/wheel where I used the DD4H wheel/axle prep? I plan on having my son put gel nail polish around the axle holes and then rubbing graphite on those to burnish. How thick do you try and make it to act like a washer, without actually using a washer? I have read about polishing that, but I'm not sure how to polish it other than with something like a selvt cloth. Any other final prep advice? on the wheels/axles?

 

[HippoHero]

My son and I wanted to thank everyone for the great advice. We raced tonight and took first in every heat. We tuned his car prior to the race and when we got home checked the tuning and it was going the opposite way which makes me wonder at what point it got out of alignment. Our average race time was 3.660 on a best track 49’. My son was literally praying when they announced winners that they would call his name. Overall it was a really good time and my son was excited to see his hard work and preparation pay off.

Here’s a pic of the car.

 

[TWarwick07]

Nice car Hippo, love the wiimote theme. Glad to hear your race was a success. Tune up the car and ship it off to mid america derby next