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I understand that it is preferred to build the vehicle as wide as rules allow but I don't understand why. I understand as long as the rules allow but not the width. Would someone please enlighten me? Thank you.

Hey guys,
So this is my first time so help me out. I am trying to build a new vehicle and want to know the secret to go as fast as possible. Right now my vehicle is going at around 3 seconds. I used elastic to propel last year and at nationals got top 20. I want to know how to harness the elastic to go faster than two seconds. Also what type of elastic should I use. I used elastic that is like a really stretched out rubber band and need a new idea. Also is there any suggestions on how to harness bearings and how to attach them on to my vehicle as I have a lot of problems when I try to do that. What type of elastic should I use? I have heard about surgical tubing but I want to know what gives the most force and is easy to attach to my drive axle.

Thanks Guys,
and May the F=MA be with you!

may f-ma be with you wrote:Hey guys,
So this is my first time so help me out. I am trying to build a new vehicle and want to know the secret to go as fast as possible. Right now my vehicle is going at around 3 seconds. I used elastic to propel last year and at nationals got top 20. I want to know how to harness the elastic to go faster than two seconds. Also what type of elastic should I use. I used elastic that is like a really stretched out rubber band and need a new idea. Also is there any suggestions on how to harness bearings and how to attach them on to my vehicle as I have a lot of problems when I try to do that. What type of elastic should I use? I have heard about surgical tubing but I want to know what gives the most force and is easy to attach to my drive axle.

Thanks Guys,
and May the F=MA be with you!

First of all, congrats on the top 20 at Nats last year! In answer to your question, my partner and I use really long (I think 7 inch) rubber bands to power our vehicle, and it goes pretty fast. However, at tournaments I've noticed several devices that utilize fishing poles as power. I believe they wind the string around the axle, which bends the fishing pole. That gives tension to the string. As for bearings, what is your car made of? There are a few methods I can think of that might work.

dragon_fruit35 wrote:

may f-ma be with you wrote:Hey guys,
So this is my first time so help me out. I am trying to build a new vehicle and want to know the secret to go as fast as possible. Right now my vehicle is going at around 3 seconds. I used elastic to propel last year and at nationals got top 20. I want to know how to harness the elastic to go faster than two seconds. Also what type of elastic should I use. I used elastic that is like a really stretched out rubber band and need a new idea. Also is there any suggestions on how to harness bearings and how to attach them on to my vehicle as I have a lot of problems when I try to do that. What type of elastic should I use? I have heard about surgical tubing but I want to know what gives the most force and is easy to attach to my drive axle.

Thanks Guys,
and May the F=MA be with you!

First of all, congrats on the top 20 at Nats last year! In answer to your question, my partner and I use really long (I think 7 inch) rubber bands to power our vehicle, and it goes pretty fast. However, at tournaments I've noticed several devices that utilize fishing poles as power. I believe they wind the string around the axle, which bends the fishing pole. That gives tension to the string. As for bearings, what is your car made of? There are a few methods I can think of that might work.

So my car is made of aluminum angled like a L. I have heard of premounted bearings inside bearings but I want to use my own as they are really good. Right now I use two fishing poles but I know I can go faster with elastic. Where did you get your rubber bands from?

We're using 3/16" silicone fuel tubing and running in the middle two second range. The elastic easily overcomes the traction of the tires so we opted for a weaker but longer power stroke. By anchoring the tubing just in front of the rear axle and then running it to a roller pivot just behind the front axle where it attaches to a cord that runs back to the rear axle. As the axle is wound the tubing is stretched almost the full length of the chassis. By staying under power longer, we get better run times. Here's an early run, they've since got it down into the 2:50's: https://youtu.be/l_7BuyjG3Gg

may f-ma be with you wrote:

dragon_fruit35 wrote:

may f-ma be with you wrote:Hey guys,
So this is my first time so help me out. I am trying to build a new vehicle and want to know the secret to go as fast as possible. Right now my vehicle is going at around 3 seconds. I used elastic to propel last year and at nationals got top 20. I want to know how to harness the elastic to go faster than two seconds. Also what type of elastic should I use. I used elastic that is like a really stretched out rubber band and need a new idea. Also is there any suggestions on how to harness bearings and how to attach them on to my vehicle as I have a lot of problems when I try to do that. What type of elastic should I use? I have heard about surgical tubing but I want to know what gives the most force and is easy to attach to my drive axle.

Thanks Guys,
and May the F=MA be with you!

First of all, congrats on the top 20 at Nats last year! In answer to your question, my partner and I use really long (I think 7 inch) rubber bands to power our vehicle, and it goes pretty fast. However, at tournaments I've noticed several devices that utilize fishing poles as power. I believe they wind the string around the axle, which bends the fishing pole. That gives tension to the string. As for bearings, what is your car made of? There are a few methods I can think of that might work.

So my car is made of aluminum angled like a L. I have heard of premounted bearings inside bearings but I want to use my own as they are really good. Right now I use two fishing poles but I know I can go faster with elastic. Where did you get your rubber bands from?

First of all, sorry for the late answer. What kind of bearings do you have? We use pipe clamps to hold our bearings (roller skate ones) on and run our axle through the bearing holes. The rubber bands came from Office Depot, they say brights on them and, as I thought, are 7 inches. They are blue, orange, and pink. By the way I timed the car the other day and we're getting about 3 secs too, but maybe a hybrid of some sort?

Today my rig ran a personal best of 2:32 and one of my teams ran a 2:52. We use 1/10 RC wheel bearings: 3/16" X 3/8" metal shielded.

Hi Everyone!

My partner and I have been having trouble getting our car to go the distance it needs to. The farthest it has gone is around 10 meters. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to make it go farther?

Thanks!

Nerdy

Obviously, not enough power. So, what is your power system??

retired1 wrote:Obviously, not enough power. So, what is your power system??

We are using elastic as our source of power. We have somewhat short rubber bands that lare used to aunch models planes. Do we need different rubber bands?