Wheel testing
- Thread starter pony express
- Start date
I hope to find some good answers to this query, as I am not doing good in any class except Unlimited.
However one thing I do. I put a soft rubber strip at the end of my 8' test board, raised 2" on the other end.
Before setting the true drift, I set the drift close to zero.
The car rolls down the board, bounces off the rubber, and returns about half way. Then I put a mark by my best car. If future cars don't hit that mark, I fix them or throw them away.
Note the mark is different for each class. SS is shortest and Unlim is highest.
For additional unlimited testing, I bought a lot of extra bearings from various locations, at which time I found out there is almost no difference between 6 ball and 7 ball bearings. On the average, 7 are superior. But my best car Spyder has a mixture of both 6's and 7's. Go figure!
I install an UNL axle at the end of a piece of wood 1" by 12".
I bought extra bearings. I put a single bearing on a spare UNL wheel, and spin it by hand (index finger). If the wheel spins 40 seconds, you have a winner. If it spins for less than 20 and additional cleaning does not change the time, throw the bearing away or put it on a car for you son (grandson).
FYI - I bought over 60 spare bearings. Findings: 10-15% are excellent; 20-30% are good. The rest will never do well, and at least 15% are definitely throw-away.
After I install the two of the best bearings in a wheel, I again perform the spin test. With two bearings installed in a wheel, it better spin for over 30 seconds, or it will be a loser.
Except for my best bearing car (which I leave alone between races except for blowing the wheels out with compressed air), I retest all the others between races. I have found that some bearings will degrade over time (maybe wear and tear; maybe just dirt or debris picked up during races.
NOTE: Making a winning Unlimited car is expensive, and probably exceeds the budget of many. Don't expect to place in this class unless you can afford to purchase a lot of bearings. Also, the best winning wheels are the GoatBoy wheels that break easyily. The black durable wheels don't perform.
IMHO, OPA
After all of this, I would like some additional input on how you clean (prep) your bearings. What lubricant, what cleaning process, multiple lubricants????? During the prep, have any of you had bearing come apart?
Also, what are you doing to the UNL wheel (not the bearings) after you buy them?
QT or 5K's, what are you doing when you create your own wheels. Are they still ultra fragile?
However one thing I do. I put a soft rubber strip at the end of my 8' test board, raised 2" on the other end.
Before setting the true drift, I set the drift close to zero.
The car rolls down the board, bounces off the rubber, and returns about half way. Then I put a mark by my best car. If future cars don't hit that mark, I fix them or throw them away.
Note the mark is different for each class. SS is shortest and Unlim is highest.
For additional unlimited testing, I bought a lot of extra bearings from various locations, at which time I found out there is almost no difference between 6 ball and 7 ball bearings. On the average, 7 are superior. But my best car Spyder has a mixture of both 6's and 7's. Go figure!
I install an UNL axle at the end of a piece of wood 1" by 12".
I bought extra bearings. I put a single bearing on a spare UNL wheel, and spin it by hand (index finger). If the wheel spins 40 seconds, you have a winner. If it spins for less than 20 and additional cleaning does not change the time, throw the bearing away or put it on a car for you son (grandson).
FYI - I bought over 60 spare bearings. Findings: 10-15% are excellent; 20-30% are good. The rest will never do well, and at least 15% are definitely throw-away.
After I install the two of the best bearings in a wheel, I again perform the spin test. With two bearings installed in a wheel, it better spin for over 30 seconds, or it will be a loser.
Except for my best bearing car (which I leave alone between races except for blowing the wheels out with compressed air), I retest all the others between races. I have found that some bearings will degrade over time (maybe wear and tear; maybe just dirt or debris picked up during races.
NOTE: Making a winning Unlimited car is expensive, and probably exceeds the budget of many. Don't expect to place in this class unless you can afford to purchase a lot of bearings. Also, the best winning wheels are the GoatBoy wheels that break easyily. The black durable wheels don't perform.
IMHO, OPA
After all of this, I would like some additional input on how you clean (prep) your bearings. What lubricant, what cleaning process, multiple lubricants????? During the prep, have any of you had bearing come apart?
Also, what are you doing to the UNL wheel (not the bearings) after you buy them?
QT or 5K's, what are you doing when you create your own wheels. Are they still ultra fragile?
Thanks Opana and Bracketracer. The variation in the SS cars must be the wheels. I have built several cars withe the same technique, but with different speeds. It drives me crazy.
Opa, yes they still are very fragile. As long as you have a well build legends carrier and it doesn't get dropped they are great. I think I cut mine different than others but it works for me. I don't have anywhere near the bearings you do, I have the set in the car and one other. I got mine from John and just make sure they are good and clean, I don't see really any difference in any of them. It would be a really hard test to figure out what the best bearing is loaded, at times the best unloaded bearing wont necessarily be the best bearing with a load on it.
I don't think the wheels are always to blame. I have 3 SS cars and no matter how I move the wheels around between them the time differences are always pretty much the same. What has taken me to the next level in the SS is the setup and prep. There is a lot more to making a fast SS car than the proper amount of steer. Everything effects everything. If you are hitting a wall in speed don't expect to find more speed by doing the same thing over and over. I'm going to give you guys a HUGE hint here. The non dominate wheel has a lot more to do with speed than you think. Ill just leave it at that for now.
pony express said:
pony express said:
So you then tried swapping wheels between the cars and the speed went with the wheels, right? An A-B-A test to prove your theory?
I've done that occasionally in the past, but what if B is a bad wheel too? I think I've just hit a wall.
I'm with you QT.. I don't check anything with the wheels just polish .. Prep.. And go and a lot of tuning lol.. Like he said not all cars are the same .. Different cars like different things.!!
pony express said:
What if it's only one wheel in the set of three that's slow?
I haven't bought enough aftermarket wheels to comment on those, but as far as stock Scout wheels goes, there's at least one stinker in every tube!
Try swapping one wheel at a time between sets and running it?
Try swapping the fronts to the rears? Maybe a "bad" wheel would be happier at a different position?
Just throwing ideas out there!
Quicktimederby said:
I haven't lost any wheels in shipping. My problem is at the stoping end. I have tried several cushions, and keep losing wheels. I know front one is too far to the front, patterned after goatboy, but every thing I try eventually causes damage to front wheel. Unfortunately, I am limited to a 5 foot stop strip, but I have to find something softer at the end. Advice?
pony express said:
I replace one wheel at a time, then test run.
If time is not faster, I replace that wheel and exchange another.
I have always found the culprit this way.
Opa, are you trying to get your cars to stop before the end of your stop section? Something I have done before is apply a small amount of shoe goo on the weight pocket tape. It worked for me.
Only used stock bsa wheels and axles. I have a race in December and can only use stock wheels. but axles ? How can I get the best out of these. racing about 300 cars in this event. Any help from anyone would be helpful. Thank You T. Anderasen
Look to the left side of your screen and click on the dd4h performance shop. Search for axles with BSA point. Oil prep use the video dd4h sells. Follow it exactly!!!!
OPARENNEN said:
Sorry for the late response Opa.... long Camporee weekend with my Boy Scouts/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
When I break my razors, I always break them during making them or installation.... I never have had any problems with razors during shipping or running down the track. I make mine about .013 thick and they weigh around .4 grams give or take. I can get them less, but I like a thick hub.... which doesn't affect speed very much.
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