Our Trail Life USA troop had our inaugural Pinewood Grand Prix this weekend. My younger son, Jack, won it all by a fair margin. I had competition this year, and managed only 2nd place in the Dads/Leaders bracket. My older son, Justin, built his car on his own this year.
Jack's Championship winner.
The PGP 2014 Fleet
This was the first time I used the oil process. Is it normal for the car to get faster over several runs? After a lackluster first run, Jack's car set five consecutive track records.
On our Test 'n Tune night (night before the race), our cars were still bare wood. I set the alignment on the cars w/ only Jig on the axles. I marked their final positions with Sharpie, and we painted. When I did the final prep on the axles, my fresh spray of Jig erased the Sharpie almost immediately. After oil, I re-mounted the wheels in the best guess positions. Jack's car flew. My car, not as much — although it turned out to be the 3rd fastest car in the race (Jack's was first). Later, I did a roll test on my car and found it was turning 10" over 4'. /images/boards/smilies/eek.gif If I'd have only had time to re-tune...
Thank you all, by the way, for your help in getting a rule set established for the race. I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but the race went well, and most importantly, the boys all had fun.
Jack's Championship winner.
The PGP 2014 Fleet
This was the first time I used the oil process. Is it normal for the car to get faster over several runs? After a lackluster first run, Jack's car set five consecutive track records.
On our Test 'n Tune night (night before the race), our cars were still bare wood. I set the alignment on the cars w/ only Jig on the axles. I marked their final positions with Sharpie, and we painted. When I did the final prep on the axles, my fresh spray of Jig erased the Sharpie almost immediately. After oil, I re-mounted the wheels in the best guess positions. Jack's car flew. My car, not as much — although it turned out to be the 3rd fastest car in the race (Jack's was first). Later, I did a roll test on my car and found it was turning 10" over 4'. /images/boards/smilies/eek.gif If I'd have only had time to re-tune...
Thank you all, by the way, for your help in getting a rule set established for the race. I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but the race went well, and most importantly, the boys all had fun.
