What is the fastest way to run? Front wheel rail running or notching the front wheels in by 1/10 of an inch each side? I built a car this year for my daughter that beat the 3 time pack champ by 4 car lengths using the notched front method and uncanted axles (wasn't aware of this site yet). The car was really fast but wondering if rail riding would have been faster. Your Thoughts?
Wheel Running or Notched Front End
- Thread starter Falcon777
- Start date
I definitely vote 3 wheel railrunning.... I am guessing the 3 time pack champ wasn't really that fast and you can beat him by more.
Some of these folks are very serious about testing.
With attempting to run straight, you might get a super run once in 30 runs.
With proper rail running, you get a very tight distribution that beats 97% of the straight runs.
If you look at the videos, you might see how to get almost NO added friction from how you set up. You are going to get friction as you roll down the track. If you contact very near the bottom of the wheel against the rail, you roll against it without adding friction. Every time a straight car hits the rail, even the front wheels, they lose energy big time because they grind into the rail at an angle that produces more friction in a few bumps than you get with rolling all the way.
Many of these builders have built a car as you describe early in their racing days. They won- they came here- they lost to rail running.
With attempting to run straight, you might get a super run once in 30 runs.
With proper rail running, you get a very tight distribution that beats 97% of the straight runs.
If you look at the videos, you might see how to get almost NO added friction from how you set up. You are going to get friction as you roll down the track. If you contact very near the bottom of the wheel against the rail, you roll against it without adding friction. Every time a straight car hits the rail, even the front wheels, they lose energy big time because they grind into the rail at an angle that produces more friction in a few bumps than you get with rolling all the way.
Many of these builders have built a car as you describe early in their racing days. They won- they came here- they lost to rail running.
This year at districts a father from our pack had two of his son's cars in the race. Both of his son's cars put down a time considerably faster than my son's car (one of them the fastest of the day out of 140 cars), but they finished 4th and 7th while my son's car finished 2nd. My son's car ran 4 times and his times were within thousandths of each of the other times. The other two had differences of almost tenths. The main difference is my son was a rail rider.
Straight line is faster. I have never built a straight running car that would ever beat a rail runner. Never seen one.
- Nov 24, 2011
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The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. (Rail Runner)
The notched method will wiggle side to side and have to travel farther, it will also encounter wheel impacked on the rail each time it goes side to side.
The notched method will wiggle side to side and have to travel farther, it will also encounter wheel impacked on the rail each time it goes side to side.
