rail riding question

[angarver]

I'm new to this forum and new to Pinewood Derby. Lots of great information here, thanks! My son is 6 and we are entering our first race in a few weeks. Apologies in advance if this topic has already been discussed.

I *we* have decided to build a rail rider with a raised front wheel.

My question is, has anyone done a test with the raised wheel as the one that rubs the rail and the active wheel running straight?
*edit* the active wheel having a 1 degree outward toe to keep the raised wheel against the rail*/edit*

My theory is that the free wheel rubbing the rail would generate less friction than the active wheel on the track and rail.

thoughts?

 

[5KidsRacing]

I have tested it... it is slower...

 

[angarver]

Awesome, thanks for the quick reply!

 

[5KidsRacing]

It is a good theory and I thought that it had promise too... but if you take your DFW and steer it away from the rail to get the lifted front wheel to ride the rail you end up having to steer about the same amount as the normal set-up to get the lifted wheel to stay on the rail and get the car to run straight... So I guess the friction associated with the lifted wheel riding the rail plus the DFW turning to keep the lifted wheel on the rail is more than the standard set-up...

 

[5KidsRacing]

I have done this by accident too... I had the steer come loose on a Eliminator and that car had the a small Delrin peg ride the rail instead of the DFW.... still slower

 

[angarver]

Thanks much for the detailed response. After thinking about it the rotational force of the spinning wheel and the inertia is probably making the drag on the DFW negligable, compared to all of the drag working against the raised free wheel in the other configuration. Insert fancy math equation here! Good stuff, thanks for the reply.