Mods for speed
Just sitting here thinking what kind of mods will make cars go faster?
I love tuning and tweaking with things and that is also true for diecast racing.
Buying a fast car is ok but to make a slow car fast or a fast car faster is what I enjoy.
I also don't have the ability (read funds) to go out and buy 20 cars and hope that one is fast.
The question that I'm asking is what mods have you done or have heard about or are wondering about that would help the not so quick cars become FTE killers?
Discussion
I almost always fix the axles.
I've experimented with weight changes but haven't done so very scientifically, so I don't have any results one way or the other. And I think it's less about the total weight of the car and more about weight distribution.
http://www.redlinederby.com/2009/10/rac ... es-matter/
Again, I got nothing but theories on this but hopefully this summer I'll get some time to flesh out some experiments and see what happens. I also want to do one that compares big wheels to little wheels
One thing you can do is: http://www.redlinederby.com/2009/09/fix ... ter-speed/I don't have much experience on this matter, but I used to oil wheels when I was a kid (with lubricant oil for home use). I also did that sometime ago to some Maisto Fresh Metal (which do not roll very fast), and the diference was noticeable.
However, I must point out that on an old Hot Wheels brochure (I guess 1970) is adviced not to oil wheels because it can harm the wheels, which are already lubricated with an special oil. May be this was only for the cars of that age, may be not, I don't know. However I can tell I had until 5 years ago a Matchbox Rolls Royce Silver Shadow (Superfast Nº 39) from the late 70s which I oiled many times and it never showed signs of deteriorations on wheels.
Greetings!
Yeah I know friction plays a big part. In stock cars the wheels spin on the axle but the axle also spins in the same direction, thus reducing the friction. But that just adds another variable to the mix because now you've got the anchor for the axle causing friction and to reduce that friction the axle is usually loosey goosey letting the axle move back and forth as well as the wheels.
I think I'm gonna experiment with fixed wheels and a rotating axle where the wheels do not rotate around the axle but the axle rotates. This should eliminate the friction between the wheels and axle and now there will be just one point of friction which should be easier to lube/whatever. The problem is to keep the axle as stationary (no left/right movement) while still allowing rotational movement with as little friction as possible.
Isn't have two points of friction worse than one?
So if the wheels are spinning around the axle, that's one point. And then the axle spinning within the chassis clamps, that's two. Don't you want to eliminate at least one of those? I guess that was my thinking behind fixing the axles...on top of it then helping eliminate the side-to-side wobble.
I also think modding a car to make its wheelbase wider within the track helps. You don't want that skinny wheelbase so it bangs side-to-side down the track. I think the energy lost there is probably more than in the axle/wheel friction...??
LOL, you guys are in luck. I have extensive knowledge in this department.
It is a mixture of everything. You have to have a balance of all areas, wheel track, wheelbase, wheel placement, center of gravity, amount of weight and overall balance of weight. there is no magic formula that will work on all cars. I've tried it.... alot.
I had a 300 C that I built out of a regular hunt. added blings wheels, secured the axles and finally setteled with a weight of 5.66oz. It is heavier in the rear (2.50oz on the front axle and 3.16 on the rear) I do use multiple scales and tons of test track time. weight was added, removed and moved with track tests between them all. This car was dominate on my track at the club meetings for over a year. It's now retired due to the fact that the wheels are worn out. I'm not sure a wheel swap will return it to it's previous glory, so I just let it go out on top.
The 300 was the car of choice at the time due to it's long wheelbase, wide wheel track and the wheels are placed very close to the corners of the car. The Lancer EVO is another great choice along with the cadillac V-16.
I use dry graphite to lube the wheels. a lot of the oils will harm the wheels and more importantly the track. I do not allow any type of liquid lubricants to be used on the cars that are raced on my track.
Don't leave the axles loose. I spent about a month testing this and nothing good can come from it.
Weight "balance" is different for every car. A 50/50 split will not guarantee you optimal performance.
Don't be afraid to go heavy. One of my fastest cars was right at 7oz. It's easier to remove weight then add it. Plus removing weight allows you to balance the car at the same time.
Get a very good and fast car to test against. make sure you leave the test car completely stock so that's it's performance is consistent. Don't lubricate anything. I use a JL Black w/ Flames '69 Camaro to test against. I know I am on the right track when I can beat that one.
and finally, build the car for the track you are planning to run on. A car will perform very differently on a 50' track then it will on a 20' one.
Wow, lots of good stuff there, thanks Jason. I think testing all these theories is a lot of fun. Even with some "proven" theories, I always try different things because every car and situation seems different. The range of difference between two of the same model car is sometimes pretty crazy...but that's the fun!
You have any pics of your retired super car?
And how do wheels wear out? Seems like you would need *a lot* of racing to wear down the plastic.
I'll have to find a pic of the 300. I think it might be on the other computer.
The average HW car weighs in around 1.1oz. The heavier cars made today are about 1.25oz. Bumping that weight up to 5.66 oz is a huge difference. It took the wheels about a year to wear out. I figure it was around 160 races in competition and a bunch more in testing.
The hubs wear out and the wheels get loose and sloppy. The car will just get slower and slower after that.
Damn you friction!
Kind of fun to know that some of the RDR cars may have to be "retired" at some point. I'll put little banners on the league home page, ha!
As far as I know, the only way to get the wheels off is to snip the axle in half...but naturally this means you'll need to rebuild the axle, which can be troublesome at best.
Skim through some of the customizing articles over at the blog for some thoughts:
http://www.redlinederby.com/customizing.php
Otherwise my suggestion is that instead of trying to supplant wheels from one axle to another, just find cars that meet the size criteria and transplant wheel+axle from different cars.
I have yet to find a method for creating new axles that hold up on the race track. If you're customizing for display, long hat pins can work (I used them for a restoration) but don't expect the car to roll.
Customizing cars is a lot of fun, whether you're just playing with a repaint or trying to make a speed demon. My attempts to mod a car to be faster than a off-the-shelf car have been less than successful, so I've limited most of my customizing to painting, body mods and engine add-ons. One suggestion, take photos of your process and share them. I wish I took more photos for my builds because looking back at them is quite fascinating...I'm amazed I was able to accomplish anything!
One thing you can do is: http://www.redlinederby.com/2009/09/fix ... ter-speed/
I don't have much experience on this matter, but I used to oil wheels when I was a kid (with lubricant oil for home use). I also did that sometime ago to some Maisto Fresh Metal (which do not roll very fast), and the diference was noticeable.
However, I must point out that on an old Hot Wheels brochure (I guess 1970) is adviced not to oil wheels because it can harm the wheels, which are already lubricated with an special oil. May be this was only for the cars of that age, may be not, I don't know. However I can tell I had until 5 years ago a Matchbox Rolls Royce Silver Shadow (Superfast Nº 39) from the late 70s which I oiled many times and it never showed signs of deteriorations on wheels.
Greetings!