Where to get more speed?

[galaxie]

We just had my daughters girl scout race this week. She won by a comfortable margin, but I can't help but think we left some out there. She averaged 3.06 on a 42' metal track (I think it was a Best Track, but not certain). The 2nd place averaged 3.10.

I thought we would be closer to 3. Is there any obvious mistakes you can see in our build? My son is racing in 3 weeks and want to see if we an gain a little more speed.

Our build was:
- drilled with silver bullet, rear canted
- 4 3/8 wheel base with rears at 5/8 (max allowed for our rules)
- stock axles polished with DD4H process with cheetah polish
- wheels were stock polished with DD4H process and red rocket
- COM 5/8" in front of rear (.72 oz on DFW)
- body was wedge just over 3/8" high in the back... body weight was .9 oz
- weighted with tungsten cubes, 12 behind axel, 7 in front, putty to get to 4.998
- 4" of steer over 4 feet
- DD4H graphite and sprayed with pledge

I don't want to buy wheels. I've read that if you can't buy, then best to leave them alone and not try to shave yourself. How much speed am I losing with stock wheels? The wheels weren't mold matched, but didn't seem to wobble much.

Could we gain significant speed by reducing the wood some? Had 0.9 oz wood.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I've already picked up a bunch of tips lurking for the last few months.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

your body is a little heavy at 25 1/2grams. You can get that down to 9-10 grams easy. Stock wheels suck, especially non mold matched. World of difference between stock and johns.

 

[BulldogRacing]

I have been finding a lot more speed as I perfect the silver bullet drill job. Are you doing a slow roll to check for rear wheels to migrate to axle heads? Great job o the win, it's hard to tell your true sped because of many factors of track conditions. If you really want to test the speed times send the car to the next NPWDRL race. Congrats on the W.

 

[galaxie]

Thanks- she was very happy.

I rolled forward and reverse on my makeshift tuning board ( 4 foot mirror 1.5 inch incline). They rolled to the head immediately abdstayed there. It drifted about an inch with a front straight wheel, so I guess the drill job wasn't perfect.

 

[HurriCrane Racing]

Dude! You won by .04 and you're worrying that you left something out there?!
A win is a win. Times will vary widely from track to track.

If you want a challenge, race in the NPWDRL.

 

[GravityX]

Dude! You won by .04 and you're worrying that you left something out there?!
A win is a win. Times will vary widely from track to track.

If you want a challenge, race in the NPWDRL.

I've got to agree with Hurricrane. But if you want to find what you left behind, come join the monthly fun here at the NPWDRL. You'll get fast! I know this doesn't help you right now.

Looking at your specs, I'd say your too heavy in a few places. 2 grams wheels will start faster than stock wheels all day long, but this is not an option for you. Body is too heavy ~ thin to win! .9 oz (25.5g) is heavy, most cars here topple the scale at 10 grams, or lighter, as already mentioned. Lighten body...

Congratulations on the win Galaxie!

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

Slow roll with your car drifting to one side or the other doesn't mean your drill job isn't perfect. Biggest thing is your wheels migrate forward and backwards with no sticking. You want them to come out as soon as possible.

 

[galaxie]

Thanks, guys. I'll go lighter on my sons build.

I do plan on sending some cars in soon.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]