We ordered some special speed axles:
Super Speed Axles
The fastest axles on the market, guaranteed!
Polished, nickel plated, with secret cuts to reduce friction and
eliminate wobble.
- Better than polished!
- These axles are machined perfect, then polished, then nickel plated for a super smooth, mirror-like finish
- Just insert these beauties and you are ready to race!• Friction eliminator!
- Cut in middle of wheel so less axle rubs on wheel
- Wheel does not contact axle so you have no friction (none, zero!!!) in this area
- Provides a cavity to hold graphite during the race• Friction Reducer!
- Tapered head so only a small amount is rubbing on the wheel• Wobble Eliminator!
- Axle shaft is undercut at the head to create a perfect 90 degree edge which eliminates wheel wobble...fixing another problem that slows down your car.
- Undercut at axle head also eliminates friction in this area because less wheel surface is rubbing on the axle.
- Undercut also provides another secret cavity to hold graphite during the race• Optimal Performance!
- Axles are machined perfectly round and straight for optimal performance
These axles have been shipped off to Boston to be coated w/ Dicronite, which for those of you who don't know is (in simple terms) the slipperiest stuff known to man. It has a co-efficient of friction of 0.030 (whatever that means... I just got if off the site http://www.dicronite.com/ If you want to know more feel free to explore).
We have also ordered the following speed enhancing items:
PRO Speed Wheels
These have been lathed seven different ways for trueness, weight reduction, and friction reduction; further coated with a "secret multi-step moly-graphite coating" for the ultimate speed advantage.
Tungsten Weights
And I know what you're asking... Why tungsten? Here's why:
Tungsten gives you an advantage because it is about 1.8 times denser than lead...
so tungsten is about half the size for the same weight.
The single tungsten cyclinder on top (.5oz) weighs nearly the same as the three lead cyclinders (.7oz) on the bottom.
This gives you ore flexibilty in your car design,
while allowing you to place weights more precisely in a smaller area for speed.
Since pinewood derby cars are so small it is important to place weight exactly where you need it.
Tungsten - maximum car design flexibility,
and
precise weight placement for speed.
Hopefully in the next week we will have the car designed and cut.
Just to clarify ALL who help out are going to receive credit for their contributions. The names of all contributors will be displayed on the car!
2 comments:
Maybe the names of all who have contributed should be put on the car AFTER the race...we wouldn't want the ink to add any extra weight!
Wow! Looks like you got all the parts to make a very fast car! Also fairly expensive as well. Keep in mind that not all these parts are as they seem and you could be spending good money for products that are not nearly as good as they claim. Check out DerbyTalk.Com for a more rounded (and even tested) opinions.
Two things I'll point out. First Dicronite is actually known as Tungsten Disulfide. This is a great lubricant when used under extreme pressure and/or high heat environments; unfortunately, Pinewood Derby's feature neither of these conditions. In tests performed by people at DerbyTalk have shown that this stuff is actually slower than standard graphite (check it out for yourself).
Second, if you check at DerbyTalk on the grooved axles you are buying, you'll find that they are no faster than standard polished axles that are not cut. Buy the ones without the cut axles and you'll go just as fast, only at a much cheaper price.
Good Luck.
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