Raw Body cut out

derbychip said:
i understand most are using hvac metal tape, i also am interested in how the tape is applied, i worry that the leading edge would tear after a few runs in the stop section on the best tracks and lead to a flapping front end of the tape job or worse yet tearing and weights loosing from locations. am i over thinking this?

HVAC aluminum tape is extremely sticky. As long as it has enough wood surface to adhere too, it has absolutely no problems staying on. We've used it 9 cars over the last two race seasons with no problems.

I'm not the level of builder as the guys on the forums here, but here's my 6 year old daughter's car (built by me). It ran between 3.04-3.06 average on a 42 ft track with lightly prepped BSA tube wheels and kit axles, which was a bit of a shock considering it was not tuned. It was the second fastest car we raced, second only to mine which I tuned extensively since it was a grudge match between the Cubmaster and I that involved the loser taking a pie to the face. It's about 3/8 thick in the rear and thinner towards the front except for the section where the front axles are drilled. 12 cubes behind the rear axle, 10 cubes in front (balsa used as spacers for the 2 missing cubes). Tape job covered the underside and up the back, but did not touch the top.

20140215_142106.jpg


asdf

20140215_141915.jpg


20140215_142016.jpg
 
Thank you. Yes, that is lube on the wheels. They were actually much worse before I cleaned them up, but didn't want to use anything wet and potentially compromise the hub lubrication. I was experimenting with some of Derby Dust's techniques on that car, though I'm not sure if they helped without more actual scientific testing. My car did not have anything on the wheel tread surface, and was slightly faster.