Question After First Race
Got the first race completed in the GT Tournament on the Big O and it was a blast. I had some questions hopefully you experienced racers could help me understand. During qualifying the rear end of the car would break loose to the inside of the track on existing the turns. Was the balance more to the rear causing this? Thanks for the help.
Discussion
I haven't run on the Big O yet, but have a gasser there waiting. I saw you run today. You did well. Congrats
Pay attention to what real racers say, I'm just a fan who tries his best to learn by observation
If you don't maintain speed in those turns at The Big O, a heavy end of the car will droop and foul the exit. It's my understanding that this course has gone through a few iterations and tweaks to help keep a straight path for cars in those sweeping turns
A front/rear ratio setup may work better for one casting over another on one track and then not work at all on another venue, plus there's the factor of random chance anywhere you go. Gravity Throttle Racing is among the very few channels where the host gets us all that information each race, which I assume is a big help on his unique tracks. On road courses, I hear it too reliably to ignore that close to an event split F/R is the best overall plan for a build
I raced on that track and my car did the same thing. The track had not been fully revealed yet when I built the car, so I build hoe I normally would for an open track race. The back end was much heavier than front and the rear end was much lower than the front going through the curves and causing it to drag and flip around when exiting. It was a fast car, but performed poorly because it was not the right weight distribution for that track.
As ChaseFamily said its all about the type of track - all 2 lane - 2 lane and open - all open track - Rally with Jumps ... And then there is the car itself - narrow body or wide wheel then base base etc. Did you scrub your wheels? Does your car track straight (or at least mostly straight)
All of these come into how well / stable your car is. Congrats on your race at the Big O - your best bet is to get some orange or open track and a stop watch and start testing your builds. My track has been mostly shutdown since late December as it was just too cold in the garage. Getting it started back up next week with some test cars I was sent last Fall. I'd be happy to run any cars you want to send. It's 38ft long half 2-lane half crash racer.
I'm a child of the archives around here and the simplistic answer/advice is to keep the weight centered in the car for open track racing. However, I'm also a believer in trial and error and will be watching my car(s) performance in the Gasser Grand Prix and Timeless Truck Race. Just a rookies 2 cents.
I really appreciate all the feedback. I think luck had a lot to do with the race. Looking in the archives like GRURacing suggests I kinda was leaning towards the rear coming around and trying to put the heaviest end out front. I did sand the wheels and tracked pretty good on orange track. Being the first build I didn't realize how to get weight in all the little nooks. Small fishing weights are your friend. Next time going for 50/50 or maybe a little more towards the front. It was a lot of fun.
- I'm waiting with my fingers crossed when mine hit the track — GBURacing
- Start with a 50-50 neutral weight on a car then start tweaking weight placements — AbbyNormal
- I did, like I said a child of the archives and there's a ton of stuff if you dig — GBURacing
Possibly, yes. Those are steep turns, so more weight in the back could cause the rear end to slide downwards. Generally for an open track, you set the car up with more weight towards the center--I tend to bias slightly towards the back.