Race Day is Here! Final Prep Questions?

[ironband]

I suppose I should qualify my rationale - in our race format the winning cars typically race 20-25 heats or more. I don't mind having a little less performance at the top of the race while the graphite breaks in.

Maybe it's because we're wood-tracking it, or maybe because when I add a couple puffs of graphite it really isn't that much, but our times were as follows prior to the epic wrecks in the stop section that knocked our wheel askew:

2.477 (Lane 3)
2.475(Lane 1)
2.478(Lane 2) (thrown by bad stop section)
2.483(Lane 3)
2.480(Lane 3)
2.480(Lane 3)
2.480(Lane 3) (Hat trick!)
2.471(Lane 1) (Fastest Lap)
2.484(Lane 2) (thrown by bad stop section)
2.507(Lane 2) (VIOLENTLY thrown by bad stop section)
2.550(Lane 1)

After that everything was over 2.55. Sad times...The racer who eventually took first averaged 2.52, so we were tearing it up until that point.

But my point is that the times were pretty consistent in the beginning. I only wish we had good data to show how the times progressed, but the alignment being wrecked kinda made that hard to do.

Have a great race.

 

[Wolfram Racing]

Wow that's a lot of runs for a race. I had a mild obsession with looking at PWD data like this and doing analysis on it. It's a nice little example of applied statistics, but then you start looking more carefully at it.... and things begin to get deeper real quick. Then you start staying up late nights reading books about time series analysis and potential flaws in the assumptions of the augmented Dickey-Fuller test of mean stability. You look back and realize your doing more testing of the data for assumptions validation than you are getting the answers you were looking for in the first place. AAAAAAAAHHHHHH. I fell down the rabbit hole long ago...it's nice down here. A little cold and damp sometimes, but nice.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

Bad track setups make me sick. Hurts cars and all the work.

 

[Billstam]

Our church allows you too use any lubricant that you want to use.same with our district. So please help I am serious oil compared to silicone compared to graphite. What is the best one too use? This will be my 3rd year helping kids from our church.

 

[TRE]

Oil is 02 faster

 

[Jimmy & his 2 Kids]

Agree with Tre. We consistently dominate with oil over all the graphite cars in our Awana GP. Now for the most part it’s the build that gets us most of our speed over the others but when I switched from graphite to oil that gap increased.

 

[Wolfram Racing]

RACE oil is faster...the stuff you get from DD4H or Derbyevolution or PinewoodDerbyProducts. Stick to the Pinewood Derby specific oils and you have a much better chance of getting it right.
Don't use a lot. One reason I hear race coordinators say they scrap oil is because of the "A little is good, so more is better" mentality and end up having cars dripping all over the place. One or two drops on each axle and that's about all. Once it works its way in, should last for a long time.
And don't expect miracles...oil won't make a bad build a fast car.

 

[Brian Stanley]

What about dry lubes like Liquid Wrench Dry Lube, 3 in 1 Dry lube etc. verses graphite? Anyone have any info on those?

 

[Jimmy & his 2 Kids]

Honestly, what Wolfram said is exactly what should be your guide. Regarding lube, if the rules allow it the PWD specific lubes sold by the mentioned vendors is really the only thing recommended. The pros at all 3 leagues use those exclusively for good reason. No dry lube will match their performance. Now if cost savings is an issue than its wide open and at trial and error only as most folks just spend the $ and get the recommended oils. And even if they seem high dollar, like Wolf said, on a properly prepped wheel and axle it literally only takes the smallest amount. Personally on my Awana cars and my league cars I only use one drop.
Wolf also mentions the most important part... the car has to be a good build... good alignment, good prep, good weight distribution. Or it’s all a moot point.

 

[Brian Stanley]

The reason I ask is our Pack/District specify "Dry Lube Only". I was wondering if anyone had tested other dry lubes (liquid wrench, 3 in 1 etc.) verses graphite. I plan on testing it myself, but will be a few weeks before I'm ready and was curious if anyone else had.

 

[Jupiter 2.9]

Here in South Florida humidity is a killer, even in an air conditioned hall the heat gets up & gums up the powder. I can see the difference when the wheel stops spinning so at the start it's like glue. Friction is not linear so it may not be so bad across the hole run but I've already lost a .10 at the gate. I,m glad to see no added graphite has been suggested "plus it's such a mess. Prep & burnish, light dust just to fill any imperfections. I'm far from fast but the cars have been faster the less I use. I still believe some is needed just to protect the prep work. Larger axles & no graphite is a test I need to run prior to our Scout season.

 

[Wolfram Racing]

For dry lube only races, stick to graphite.
Jupiter...larger axles help to keep the wheels spinning smoothly. A smooth spin is crucial. Wobble kills speed.