How do I go about determining what was wrong with our build? 3 cars. Fastest car ran about 2.97. That car had the best fenders but that is still about .04 to slow to win council. Placed 1st for rank and in top 12. I know the car came out of gate well but lost in the straight away. I also had a car built with no fender and wheels un lathed straight from the box at 2.99. All cars had 2 rows of 6 cubes behind axle and 2 rows of 6 just in front of axle. I currently do not have access to a track to test things on. I would love to hear any suggestions to discovering best way to improve and find speed gains. Thanks for your help!
PWD Car Build
- Thread starter Ken Hurley
- Start date
What wheels where u running? And what does the rules say about wheels. So many variation hard to say. Use slots or did u drill. If so was the drill job better on one car or another?
Great question 2 cars ran with dd4h mid america wheels. 1 car ran 2.97 and one ran 2.98. The last car had basic wheels with just polished bores and ran 2.99. That car was done to see how far off I am for basx. I drilled the axles using the block. It seemed as if the drill jobs were equal in quality. Wheels appeared to migrate out correctly on all 3 cars. Had 4 inch of steer on 42 ft best track. Did not use balsa x style fenders or air deflectors on any of the cars. I know top 2 cars had those item but that should only get me another .01 so I still need to figure out the other .03.
Might b in your wheel prep. That is what I am have a hard time with. Some things I do seems to work and others well let's say not so good. My first two races I did not go under sub 3 my last race I ran a 2.939. So I have found some speed for sure. So keep asking questions and keep trying ideas. I found one thing that helped me for sure and it feels good when something you try works for you.
If your cars are running at MA get John's MA wheels and fenders. I did not have time to put on the air glides. Next time we will add them.
Mid-America was a great event and my son had a great time watching his car on our tv. He has already started working on a car for next year out of an extra block we had from getting a couple of extra Scout kits to sort through. I just wish they would make a rule change on the wheels. It is a scouting event and I don't think you should have to buy a $50 set of wheels to race and be competitive. Should be about teaching a kid about physics and how to build a fast car with standard parts. Not a lesson about online shopping to find the most expensive wheels available.
V
Vitamin K
Guest
Hahahahahhaha....yeah, I've been banging this drum for a long time. It's an old debate, and I think it's probably best just to accept that the rules for wheels are what they are. I would LOVE to see them adopt a set of rules closer to what the Northern Star Council uses for Scout races, but it's their race and that's the ruleset that they've settled on. So while I agree with you, I just don't think they're gonna change the rules anytime soon, and folks should just accept that they are what they are and make decisions for participation accordingly.
now this is coming from a newb but it almost sounds like all thats left is just hardcore wheel & axle prep and for more adding fenders and sliders. Sounds like the fastest cars have the fenders and sliders so might be hard to get by them without. I saw John's vid about the benefits of fenders. While not a huge gain it was an obvious gain. He mentioned potentially gaining a solid .01 with 4 fenders which you already know. That's the difference in a close race but if they are already running them... It will be hard to figure out another solid .04 on prep and alignment alone if you want to not buy anything which i totally get. What a puzzle. Is oil allowed or just dry lube?
I would offer don't buy Gee fenders and just make your own with balsa. Bulldog's vid on making X3 fenders is nice. Balsa fenders worked out great on my kids Awana GP cars. Good prep, weight placement and fenders got them the whole enchilada but of course that was also against a lot of folks who were just throwing wheels on the blocks and painting cars.
Wheel prep... when you hold the car and spin the wheels how long to they go for?
Interested in how you solve this puzzle. Good stuff. Please post your R&D.
If you haven't seen John's fender comparison vid here it is.
I would offer don't buy Gee fenders and just make your own with balsa. Bulldog's vid on making X3 fenders is nice. Balsa fenders worked out great on my kids Awana GP cars. Good prep, weight placement and fenders got them the whole enchilada but of course that was also against a lot of folks who were just throwing wheels on the blocks and painting cars.
Wheel prep... when you hold the car and spin the wheels how long to they go for?
Interested in how you solve this puzzle. Good stuff. Please post your R&D.
If you haven't seen John's fender comparison vid here it is.
Oil want spin as long as graphite but will out run it. If you don't want to buy or cut your wheels there is a box stock division they run. Must have bsa axels and original wheels. Can not lathe wheels. It is a perfect class your guys. You are correct don't see rules being changed because there is a race for those cars. BOX STOCK.
Are you talking about there being a Box Stock class at his Council races? Do they run Box Stock?
No the npwdrl and John run the box stock class ( if you want to run stock parts and work on your prep and get faster. This is a good way to practice and get faster and then when council or district come you will b more than ready. I have done this in basx class. Its close to our rules here for scouts. Last week my scout won 5th overall and 1st in bear division at mid America. Two years ago I could not break the sub 3 mark. So yes practice building and prepping has helped me a bunch.
Yeah BS over at NPWDRL is where I am headed hopefully soon. Just wasn't sure when you mentioned it if you were talking about the actual pro league or the Council races. I can't wait to get mine built. Kit is sitting right on the table just itching to be built. 
That is a Pro Race and not a Scout race. My son builds most of his car and at this age is not interested in repeatedly testing to improve prep.
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