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SirBobo wrote:

Pauly_Rocks wrote:Anyone have any ideas on how to make the vehicles go faster without making it lighter? My car was averaging about 20 sec. per run today which is really slow, although it might just be that I needed a new mousetrap to put on, the one I was using was pretty old. Any suggestions? thanks

Why wouldn't you want it lighter?

I would want it lighter, but my vehicle is so light already that I don't think I could make it lighter without redesigning the vehicle. At this point, the last thing I want to do is rebuild. States for us is in a month! I can't believe it, I'm scared!

What material is your vehicle made out of? my vehicle was really slow, so we had to take it apart and substitute the heavier parts with lighter versions.

qwertyuioplkjhgfdsa wrote:What material is your vehicle made out of? my vehicle was really slow, so we had to take it apart and substitute the heavier parts with lighter versions.

I have mine made out of wood. It's not a solid block though, it is just a frame. A few of the materials I may be able to substitute would be the pull arm, or maybe take 2 of the CDs off (I doubled up the front wheels). Speaking of which, do you know if having a double-wheel in the front or back effects how straight the vehicle might go? I thought it might help to make it go straighter but it might just be a little extra weight I could take off.

I am getting my vehicle to go 9 seconds. What are your times?

StrongWind wrote:I am getting my vehicle to go 9 seconds. What are your times?

I've seen that most vehicles that win are somewhere between 7-10 seconds (of course, accuracy matters a lot too). What would you guys consider a 'good' time?

86F3TDNR wrote:

StrongWind wrote:I am getting my vehicle to go 9 seconds. What are your times?

I've seen that most vehicles that win are somewhere between 7-10 seconds (of course, accuracy matters a lot too). What would you guys consider a 'good' time?

My vehicle is around 10 seconds, but were going to make it faster before states. At on invitational, the winning team had a score around 60...

86F3TDNR wrote:

StrongWind wrote:I am getting my vehicle to go 9 seconds. What are your times?

I've seen that most vehicles that win are somewhere between 7-10 seconds (of course, accuracy matters a lot too). What would you guys consider a 'good' time?

A good time is the shortest time you can get that is possible and it needs to be consistent.

EDIT: i realized that i didn't answer your question. For a car with a wood chassis, 8-11 would be a good target

Pauly_Rocks wrote:Anyone have any ideas on how to make the vehicles go faster without making it lighter? My car was averaging about 20 sec. per run today which is really slow, although it might just be that I needed a new mousetrap to put on, the one I was using was pretty old. Any suggestions? thanks

I would check to see if your wheels spin freely. There may be friction that you can remove. Also, the location of the mousetrap and the length of the arm can change speeds. You may try setting your vehicle up with a little bit of slack in the string so the mousetrap moves the arm a little bit before it moves the vehicle.

what is a good sighting device really having trouble

Thanks for your suggestions. I made a few changes to the vehicle and got a different mousetrap, so it's going about 14 - 18 seconds now. Hopefully we'll get it better.