Post by Vitamin K on May 3, 2018 11:20:44 GMT -5
fake-ass georgewebber Asked me what my Top 5 things would be for Pinewood Speed. Not that I'm some kind of speed guru, but I guess if I were talking to somebody wanting to build an entry to get their feet wet in League racing...
Maybe other folks could weigh in with their own Top 5s...
1) Learn the basics of a good oil prep process. Polished axles. Polished bores. Polished hubs. A fast oil (I guess BB-Extreme is the stuff to beat nowadays?) and good products for coating the axle and bores (probably Jig-a-Loo and...I dunno, Derby Evolution's Simple Green, respectively?).
2) Alignment is key. All of the fast racers build 3-wheel-touching rail riders. Learn the theory and practical application thereof. Find a process (or tool) that gives you rear axles with zero toe-in or toe-out. Build a tuning board. Start with a modest amount of steer (4" over 4') and tune from there.
3) Body and weight: Thin to win is still the way to go. Go with tungsten cubes (or TxW's weighting system if you got the bread to burn) and plan to run 10-12 cubes behind the rear axle. The further back your weight is, the more "motor" you give your car, but remember that more weight in the back means more potential for wiggles, so make sure your alignment is spot-on.
4) Parts matter: You want the best parts that the rules for your class allow. If you're going with BASX, that means you need stainless steel grooved axles and wheels that have been trued down to 2.4 grams with the hubs coned. If you race Box Stock, plan to sort through a lot of stock wheels in search of good ones.
5) Aero plays a part. If your class allows it, you need fenders. If your class doesn't allow it, there are still aero considerations. Start with a basic tapered front end and start worrying about squeezing more milliseconds out of your performance when you get better at the other things.
Maybe other folks could weigh in with their own Top 5s...
1) Learn the basics of a good oil prep process. Polished axles. Polished bores. Polished hubs. A fast oil (I guess BB-Extreme is the stuff to beat nowadays?) and good products for coating the axle and bores (probably Jig-a-Loo and...I dunno, Derby Evolution's Simple Green, respectively?).
2) Alignment is key. All of the fast racers build 3-wheel-touching rail riders. Learn the theory and practical application thereof. Find a process (or tool) that gives you rear axles with zero toe-in or toe-out. Build a tuning board. Start with a modest amount of steer (4" over 4') and tune from there.
3) Body and weight: Thin to win is still the way to go. Go with tungsten cubes (or TxW's weighting system if you got the bread to burn) and plan to run 10-12 cubes behind the rear axle. The further back your weight is, the more "motor" you give your car, but remember that more weight in the back means more potential for wiggles, so make sure your alignment is spot-on.
4) Parts matter: You want the best parts that the rules for your class allow. If you're going with BASX, that means you need stainless steel grooved axles and wheels that have been trued down to 2.4 grams with the hubs coned. If you race Box Stock, plan to sort through a lot of stock wheels in search of good ones.
5) Aero plays a part. If your class allows it, you need fenders. If your class doesn't allow it, there are still aero considerations. Start with a basic tapered front end and start worrying about squeezing more milliseconds out of your performance when you get better at the other things.
