Author Topic: At the track.  (Read 285669 times)

Offline Kim

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #30 on: December 09, 2013, 04:09:47 PM »
Hey Dave,
Pass my congratulations along to William and his pit crew :)  That's fantastic!

Just participating in something like this and holding it together is enough to make a dad proud!  But he really stayed calm so his talent and practice could show through! You have a right to be proud! As does William!  :whoohoo:

Keep doing it as long as you guys are having fun!  That's my incredibly insightful advice :D

Congrats!
Kim

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #31 on: December 09, 2013, 04:22:48 PM »
Thanks Kim,

I checked the stats this morning....he had the fastest lap of the class last night during the A main...nearly a full second faster!

Now we need to work on his consistentcy....that is just practice.

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline HobbyNut

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #32 on: December 09, 2013, 04:32:43 PM »
Congrats Dave on having the time and interest for the boy...My father had that for me in model aircraft at that age. Since then I have raced a lot of laps on dirt, and worked on race cars in the round d round business. The best advice I can give you is to completely clean the car after each meeting, so you can find the problems and fix them before you hit the track again. We found that this helped immensely in the overall performance of the car and driver/operator. Just 2 grains of clay in a bearing can cause a lot of drag in a small car like that.
Besides, there is a side benefit(of sorts) everyone will think that you are uber rich and rebuild your car for each outing, gets in their head.... :LittleDevil:
PatO
I started out with nothing, I still have most of it left.

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #33 on: December 09, 2013, 04:57:10 PM »
You're so right Pat!....we found the stock half shafts would get dust in them...and as a result, were nearly seized and would not extend/retract with the suspension travel...it's like having super high rate springs on the car and it bounces all over the place....you have to take them out and apart, and with the back of a Xacto blade...scrape the male side clean of the bedded in dirt until the shaft will fall apart when hung vertically.   HUGH difference in how the car behaves.    We'll be doing that again this week...as well as putting the body back together again....and fixing the worn pivot holes in the steering knuckles....and......you get the idea.

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #34 on: December 09, 2013, 05:24:42 PM »
Dave-

A very big congratulations to William!!!   :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp:  That is an amazing first outing.  I can assume with great certainty that the both of you now have the disease.  Are you going to get a second job to finance this new addiction?  It sounds like he has the discipline and brains to very well at this.  Once again, a very big congratulations to William. 

I showed my son, who is also ten, the video and explained to him that your son is 10 and was racing against guys my age.  The look on my son's face said it all.  To say he was very impressed is an understatement.

-Bob

Well Bob.....if I told him he would be racing in the "pro" group...I don't think he'd a gone!...we got kinda thrust into the class...and I was worried....but apparently I didn't need to be!....

I'm filing this under "It's amazing what you can accomplish when you have absolutely no choice in the matter"!

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #35 on: December 09, 2013, 05:36:18 PM »
Suspension bushings......I'm thinking Torlon plastic ( Polyamideimide)!.....very light, won't corrode...self lubricating with hugh impact resistance and machines like aluminum.

Done!,......I'm ordering a stick of it....a  small stick of it!..... ($$$$)

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline 90LX_Notch

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #36 on: December 09, 2013, 05:54:04 PM »
And so Dave's journey begins.... 
The madness has already set in.  You can't say I didn't warn you.  Your case has progressed much faster than I even thought possible.  Poor, poor Dave.  Start buying all of the other high dollar exotic materials now.  You might as well get it over with.

Seriously though,  what a great father and son activity.  Enjoy every minute of it.  It really could lead to something for young William.

-Bob
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Offline Dave Otto

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #37 on: December 09, 2013, 09:37:01 PM »
How much do you need Dave?

I have some left over form a job; it has been on the rack for years. I would have to check the size but I think it is 1/4" or 3/8"

Dave

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #38 on: December 10, 2013, 04:43:36 AM »
Ahhh!.....already ordered it!.....

Oh well...it's a small piece.

Thanks anyway Dave!  :ThumbsUp:
Dave
« Last Edit: December 10, 2013, 07:55:11 PM by steamer »
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline ths

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #39 on: December 11, 2013, 12:38:55 AM »
...scrape the male side clean of the bedded in dirt until the shaft will fall apart when hung vertically.   HUGH difference in how the car behaves.   

Dave

Does that mean you want me to come over and take the controls? I'm flattered!

Thanks Dave, Hugh.

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #40 on: December 11, 2013, 12:41:05 AM »
As long as you bring beer and don't mind me flattering you for your size...we're good!

 :LittleDevil:

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #41 on: December 11, 2013, 01:49:51 AM »
We will be needing pics once the material arrives Dave...:)

Bill

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #42 on: December 11, 2013, 02:48:23 AM »
Hey Bill,

I took some measurements last night, and there isn't a lot of meat to play with here.   The spindle carriers are made of aluminum, and it's a steel pin on bare aluminum bearing at the king pins.   I came to the conclusion that the bushing would have a wall thickness of about .015"....pretty damn thin for Torlon!

Here's a sketch......


I took a few shots at making one out of drill rod.   The third one was pretty successful..but the wall thickness is thin.

I was able to harden it, but I'll need to do that over a mandrel to avoid distortion.

Once they're done, I'll open up the original bores in the spindle carriers, Loctite these in, and off we go.

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #43 on: December 11, 2013, 01:29:44 PM »
Dave...so are you going to stick with the drill rod now instead of the Torlon?

Bill

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #44 on: December 11, 2013, 02:28:06 PM »
On the first prototype fix....yes.  If I have time, I'll try the Torlon, but I don't think I'll have as much luck turning a .015 wall with Torlon as I do with 0-1 ( Silver Steel)

There is a very small increase in unsprung weight over the original aluminum, but the weight penalty will be more than offset by the reduction in friction and the reduction in variation of Camber...which due to aspect ration is about 3 degrees!...

Earth moving equipment uses similar bearings all the time...so If I keep them clean and dry...we should be good.

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

 

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