Competitive Times for Nationals

[shrewdPanther46]

In order to be competitive at nationals, is there a requirement for atleast <2.5 second times? We are looking to significantly slow down our car to help our accuracy, but I am very curious as to what times would remain competitive at nationals. We wish to not drop to far down, but our car is skidding to the point where it is not possible to close in on even <4 cm accuracy consistently...

[cheese]

The accuracy will matter a large portion at nationals, but teams will be so close to the point to where the ultimate winner will come down to the fastest vehicle at a very, very accurate distance (1-10 mm)

[shrewdPanther46]

how would they even measure a distance like that if the dowel itself is a quarter inch dowel minimum? I'm pretty sure they would consider anything like that just 0 cm off... but hopeflly they have a system for that

[SPP SciO]

how would they even measure a distance like that if the dowel itself is a quarter inch dowel minimum? I'm pretty sure they would consider anything like that just 0 cm off... but hopeflly they have a system for that

I think 1mm accuracy is pretty reasonable for that measurement. The dowel needs to be within a cm of the floor, so it's simple to put a dot directly beneath the dowel, and measure to the center of that dot.

[Unome]

how would they even measure a distance like that if the dowel itself is a quarter inch dowel minimum? I'm pretty sure they would consider anything like that just 0 cm off... but hopeflly they have a system for that

I think 1mm accuracy is pretty reasonable for that measurement. The dowel needs to be within a cm of the floor, so it's simple to put a dot directly beneath the dowel, and measure to the center of that dot.

The rules answer this question:

its [the dowel's] front bottom edge will be the vehicle’s Measurement Point for distance measurements

[SPP SciO]

how would they even measure a distance like that if the dowel itself is a quarter inch dowel minimum? I'm pretty sure they would consider anything like that just 0 cm off... but hopeflly they have a system for that

I think 1mm accuracy is pretty reasonable for that measurement. The dowel needs to be within a cm of the floor, so it's simple to put a dot directly beneath the dowel, and measure to the center of that dot.

The rules answer this question:

its [the dowel's] front bottom edge will be the vehicle’s Measurement Point for distance measurements

Thanks for the correction! If you're within a dowel's width of the target point, you've had an amazing run.

[MadCow2357]

Right now my wooden car travels the target distance in about 3 seconds. As long as the accuracy holds up, I can take gold. Rhode Island is not really competitive.

[cheese]

I will bet you that there is someone faster *wink*

[MadCow2357]

I will bet you that there is someone faster *wink*

Probably.

[shrewdPanther46]

I just realized I accidentally labeled this as "regionals"

Sorry for the confusion. I meant at the national level. Thoughts?