Who is Ready for the Mid America Pinewood Derby 2017 - updated

The graphite burnished into the treads has no effect on the track. It's just all the loose graphite poured into the bores that makes the mess.

That being said, RickMc, I would recommend taking a magic eraser to the back wheels to clear off the graphite, though. You don't want your tail end swishing around loosely on the track.

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I forgot to mention: Nice looking fleet!
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Okay Crash, now you guys have me worried about the graphite on the treads...lol...does it really matter much since the wheels are cantend and only riding on the edge? Will it make that much of a difference? We already sent the cars in so there isn't anything I can do now but I'd still like to know how much impact that will have on our speed?
 
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Okay Crash, now you guys have me worried about the graphite on the treads...lol...does it really matter that much if the wheels are cantend and only riding on the edge? Will it make that much of a difference? We already sent the cars in so there isn't anything I can do now but I'd still like to know how much impact that will have on our speed?
I didn't burnish the treads on purpose, it was the result of burnishing the bores but I thought it was cool having shiny treads...lol...I guess from the responses that it wasn't cool...oh well I guess we learn from our mistakes...Thanks for the input guys, I really do appreciate it. Win or lose at Mid-America we still built 4 cars that were at least 1 car length faster than the car my grandson won his district race with and we've learned a lot from all of you guys...Thank You Very Much !!!
 
Okay Crash, now you guys have me worried about the graphite on the treads...lol...does it really matter much since the wheels are cantend and only riding on the edge? Will it make that much of a difference? We already sent the cars in so there isn't anything I can do now but I'd still like to know how much impact that will have on our speed?

Hard to say. Dirty wheels can make a big difference, but I'm betting that track will be filthy in short order anyway. So, at most you'd probably have only gotten one clean run.

Don't let it bother you. Sit back, enjoy the races, and take it as a lesson learned for next time. :)
 
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Sending in three cars for the mid America derby...first timer..what do I need to do for proxy cars..wonna make it as easy as possible to get the cars there and back safely.
 
Sending in three cars for the mid America derby...first timer..what do I need to do for proxy cars..wonna make it as easy as possible to get the cars there and back safely.
We just sent 4 cars, all 4 put into derbydad4hire's larger shipping boxes. Then we packed all 4 boxes in to 1 large box with bubble wrap packing.
I wrote the name of the cars and the driver on each individual box, then wrote all 4 car names and drivers on the outside of the 1 large box.
Greg Dawes, from Mid America, told me, that they prefer that you pack the smaller boxes in to 1 larger box.
This will be our first Mid America race also.
Good Luck to you!
 
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Okay Crash, now you guys have me worried about the graphite on the treads...lol...does it really matter much since the wheels are cantend and only riding on the edge? Will it make that much of a difference? We already sent the cars in so there isn't anything I can do now but I'd still like to know how much impact that will have on our speed?
The wheels weren't obviously canted in your pic, so I thought they were running flat. I expect that the wheels will still be a little "greasy", but not as bad. I'm sure you'll be fine. :)
 
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What to include in box, and how to label cars for identification.

QUOTE="Skywalker Racing, post: 65527, member: 1321"]Good deal.

So is your question how to use it, or something else? How to print postage, what to include in the box? How to ship the individual legend boxes in one big box?[/QUOTE]
 
Go to the mid america website and register online before tomorrow, then print out the paper registration form and include that in your box with your car and the pre paid return shipping label , A Medium flat rate box from the post office is probably the cheapest and only way you will get it there before wednesday.

I have to mail my cars out monday morning because the district race is sunday morning. If you dont get it in the mail monday odds are it wont be there in time
 
Any Derby Dad's that live near Erie PA or near I-80, want to share a ride with my bear cub and I out to The Mid America race next weekend? My co-pilot and his son just decided that they can't make it and my loving wife doen't want us driving alone.