Unlimited Car

[36racin]

Our district derby rules has a unlimited car class, bring anything rules and they encourage cheating. I am thinking about building a unlimited car simular to the ones you guys build. With the hope of joining a league race one day. Where do I start? I'll need wheels, axles, weight, etc. And alot of help from you pros.

Thanks,

Todd

 

[OPARENNEN]

Go to Hobby Lobby or anyone who sells Pine Cars, and buy one of their Pinewood Derby Trucks, one that has a bed.
Hollow out the bottom, and fill with lead
Also in the truck bed, buy some sheet lead, and fill it up.
Stop at somewhere about 15 ounces.

Buy a set of 4 razor wheels WITH BEARINGS, from DD4H.
Soak the bearings with Mineral Spirits, then blow them out with compressed air. I.e. don't make it 3 wheeler, use all four wheels on the ground.

Using the BLOCK or something similar, set 3 wheels absolutely parallel to the body. For the 4th wheel, DD4H will have one axle with a slight bend.

On an eight foot board with one end 2 inches high, let the car roll down and set the drift by rotating the bent wheel to about 10 to 12 inches to the left. Put the bent axle on the front right side, and rotate it to get the correct drift.

Take the car to the race, and win first place!

I have done this on several local races, and always ran away with the trophy.

Indecently, very few of the competition will spend much time on the wheel setup. They all thinnk of weight, but seldom of things like drift and meticulous setting wheels correctly.

 

[DNA RACING]

that souns great, just make sure you tell John you need 4 wheels, they sell in sets of 3.

 

[36racin]

By saying Razor, I guess you mean something like the GOAT wheels w/bearings? Or is there another type/style I don't know of? Would a 15oz car harm the wheels and axles? Paying that much for wheels and axles and then damaging them might not be worth winning a trophy. I could always reuse the wheels/axles if they are not damaged?

 

[Guest]

I say if your planning on racing here at NPWDRL in the future, then just build an Unlimited car with our rules. If you build a decent Unlimited even at the 5oz. rule, your still going to kick but at your race. The GOAT wheels are a perfect choice

. Get yourself a Sugar pine block from DerbyDad, have him drill it for the unlimited class. Then order up about 4oz of 1/4" tungsten cubes. Your block from John should have a weight pocket already milled out for you. Try to get 12 cubes behind the rear axles and the rest in front. Every bearing car is different but you should only need an 1" or 2" of steer in 4'. This will get you in the ballpark. I am betting you would take the trophy with this car. Hope this helps and really look forward to racing with you in the future if you decide to jump into league racing. Great group here and please let us know if you need any other help.

Ian

 

[36racin]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I have seen sugar pine listed many times. What is this? Is the blocks in the BSA box not good quality? I already know they more often than not are not square. So is there a advantage for using sugar pine blocks?

 

[Quicktimederby]

Sugar pine is great! It is a lot lighter than standard pine, making it possible to place the weight were you want it. It is also super easy to work with, cutting,sanding, and so forth.

 

[OPARENNEN]

By saying Razor, I guess you mean something like the GOAT wheels w/bearings? Or is there another type/style I don't know of? Would a 15oz car harm the wheels and axles? Paying that much for wheels and axles and then damaging them might not be worth winning a trophy. I could always reuse the wheels/axles if they are not damaged?

Yes, Goat wheels are even better than Jewkes with bearings, becasue the running edge is more sturdy.

I disagree with GoatBoy's comment above. My extreme unlimited races had lots of entries, and heaviest usually won. Some even had cars over a pound, but nobody used bearings. My 12 ounce extreme car significantly beats my NPWDRL league unlimited car that has goat boy wheels. However, the car has no other purpose. I thought of transferring the wheels back and forth, but am afraid that the much heavier weight will slow down, i.e. wear out, the bearings.

So Goat Boy's advice is definitely the least expensive, AND if the competition is not large or sophisticated, then he's right on.

 

[Guest]

Todd,

My advice for your build was geared towards you being able to turn around after your race and be able to race the same car with us in the Unlimited class here at NPWDRL. If you want to spend your money on a car that can be raced 1 time and then it's done, then you might want to follow Opa's suggestion. Either rout you choose Todd, I hope to see you over here racing with us league guys. You will have a blast!

Ian

 

[36racin]

While I would love to spank them at the district unlimited races, i dont believe I would risk ruining a $120+ set of wheels on the car and it somehow crashed. I like the idea of sometype of truck that I could fill the bed with lead or tungsten, use my DD products I ordered last week and have my brother turn down a set of BSA wheels to the lightest weight, and turn some axles and race that. Save the good wheels and blocks for a unlimited car I can run with the league. Any suggestions on a truck body? I once purchased a Nascar type body a few years back. If I could find one of the truck bodies, route out all the bottom and fill the whole thing with weight.

 

[36racin]

How about a Nascar type car haluler? Anyone ever build and run one of the semi trailer build trucks? I could paint it like a drivers car hauler. and put alot of weight in the trailer area? Anyone know how long they are? Would the longer truck make the curved section alright on a 42' Best Track? I'd have to make sure the truck fits above the starting pin.

 

[Kinser Racing]

Here you go.

http://youtu.be/phPpIUZN1DE