Race is this Saturday. My son really wants to win.

[Thinkin'Bout Racin]

I don't think I can get any new ones in time. I'm going to sand and polish the wheels. What else should I do?

I think I would hit the Scout store and pick up about a dozen wheels. This is a really crude version, but drill a hole in a block of wood with a very smooth side on it. Find a very straight axle and use it to test spin all of the wheels. It is nice if you the block of wood is tall enough to draw some parallel lines on the side. They should be about a1/16" apart. Use this to help identify radial runout. It would be best if you put a drop of lubricant on the axle before spinning. Look for both lateral and radial runout of the wheels. Turn the block so the wheel both rides on the inner hub and then the outer hub. Pick out the best wheels and use them. Do not sand them! Do a bore prep for your lubrication choice and run the wheels that way. There are a LOT of wheels that run slower after trying to sand them. There are a number of reasons why this doesn't work for most people.

Sorting thru 10-12 wheels has normally yielded 3-4 wheels that are decent. Yes, this does make a difference.

 

[Brian Stanley]

Why not sand them, you've piqued my interest on that.

 

[Thinkin'Bout Racin]

Why not sand them, you've piqued my interest on that.

How are you going to attempt this? What normally happens is that someone puts the wheel on a wheel mandrel and spins the wheel in a drill press or drill. They take sandpaper of various grits and try to sand the tread. The wheel slips on the mandrel, so they tighten it down some more. Over tightening the mandrel causes damage to the bore end. They become distorted and the wheel will not run true on the axle. This kills speed.

Also, it is nearly impossible to keep your paper, board, angle iron parallel to the bore axis. I know, I have tried. I had limited success sanding wheels, but only after I built a fixture that bolted to the drill press table. This fixture had a hinge that allowed me to move the paper with an aluminum backer in an arc that was nearly parallel to the drill chuck. This allowed me to "sneak up" on how much pressure was being applied to the wheel surface. It also kept the paper parallel to the bore.

I have found that sorting thru a dozen or so wheels by checking for run out has produced better and more consistent results. This is what has worked for us.

You still need to do bore prep either way! A good bore prep really helps.

 

[e/o]

I'm digging all this wheel talk but if the poster's son is not placing in the top 3 in his den there's no way the issue is what brand of wheel he's using. I know a lot of y'all have more competitive packs than my sons', but are there really pack level races where good alignment, appropriate weight distribution, and halfway decent axle prep don't get you into the top 3 at the den level?

 

[Brian Stanley]

How are you going to attempt this? What normally happens is that someone puts the wheel on a wheel mandrel and spins the wheel in a drill press or drill. They take sandpaper of various grits and try to sand the tread. The wheel slips on the mandrel, so they tighten it down some more. Over tightening the mandrel causes damage to the bore end. They become distorted and the wheel will not run true on the axle. This kills speed.

Also, it is nearly impossible to keep your paper, board, angle iron perpendicular to the bore axis. I know, I have tried. I had limited success sanding wheels, but only after I built a fixture that bolted to the drill press table. This fixture had a hinge that allowed me to move the paper with an aluminum backer in an arch that was nearly perpendicular to the drill chuck. This allowed me to "sneak up" on how much pressure was being applied to the wheel surface. It also kept the paper parallel to the bore.

I have found that sorting thru a dozen or so wheels by checking for run out has produced better and more consistent results. This is what has worked for us.

You still need to do bore prep either way! A good bore prep really helps.

Interesting points, I could certainly see a ham fist with the mandrel being an issue. I certainly messed up a couple wheels starting out with that thing.

 

[Brian Stanley]

I'm digging all this wheel talk but if the poster's son is not placing in the top 3 in his den there's no way the issue is what brand of wheel he's using. I know a lot of y'all have more competitive packs than my sons', but are there really pack level races where good alignment, appropriate weight distribution, and halfway decent axle prep don't get you into the top 3 at the den level?

Good point.

 

[Craigs Cruzer]

I think you can be pretty competitive at scout Pack/den level with a couple things: (1) thin car, (2j weight placed to the rear, (3) axles properly prepped (no signs of any crimp marks), (4) car aligned so it is not pulling hard in one direction.

 

[Charles Studer]

Good luck tomorrow!

 

[Deckard]

Good luck tomorrow!

Thanks!

 

[Deckard]

I think you can be pretty competitive at scout Pack/den level with a couple things: (1) thin car, (2j weight placed to the rear, (3) axles properly prepped (no signs of any crimp marks), (4) car aligned so it is not pulling hard in one direction.

Yeah I hope so. I've done all of those things and then some. As for competition, we have a few good racers. Only one maybe two others rail ride. It's hard for me to judge what new thing is a good bang for my buck/time technique or product wise. The suggestions on this forum are amazing but sometimes I think some of it is too much. Really all I want to do this race is for the boys to win their dens and maybe the pack. Next year I can take it to the next level. But don't get me wrong my wife has cut me off from buying anything else PWD related until next year. LOL.

 

[e/o]

Yeah I hope so. I've done all of those things and then some. As for competition, we have a few good racers. Only one maybe two others rail ride. It's hard for me to judge what new thing is a good bang for my buck/time technique or product wise. The suggestions on this forum are amazing but sometimes I think some of it is too much. Really all I want to do this race is for the boys to win their dens and maybe the pack. Next year I can take it to the next level. But don't get me wrong my wife has cut me off from buying anything else PWD related until next year. LOL.

I definitely feel this and is why I made my comment. It just seems really likely there's still some aspect of something basic like your scout's alignment or weight distribution that is holding the car back, and if you can diagnose it correctly it will reduce the car's time by 10 times as much as some of the entirely-correct tips on this forum.

 

[Prozach2]

The last few years my son (Web 1 now) has come close but hasn't placed in the top 3 of his den. This year he said he really wanted to win a trophy. So I decided to pull out all the stops(or as many as I could). One question I have is wheel gaps. If I have the rear axles canted do I still make it .015 of gap?

Well, how’d it go??

 

[Deckard]

Well, how’d it go??

http://www.pinewoodderbyonline.com/threads/we-did-it.6315/