Counting Rotations

[MoMoney$$$;)0)]

Isn't that illegal?

[MadCow2357]

Has anyone calculated the distance that the vehicle would travel for each of the possible target distances?
Or do you just roll the vehicle over the arc during testing and count the rotations then?

I would advise against trying to use those distances to calculate your brake setting, since the other factors that can affect your run are numerous and sometimes impossible to predict without extensive testing. It would be easier to test a lot, and base your wheel setting on previous data than use an equation to find the optimal brake setting for every distance.

So I don't know if your Battery Buggies will work like this, but what we do is we set the Battery Buggy at where we want to finish, put a piece of tape on the wheel, and roll the Battery Buggy backwards to the starting line we have, counting the rotations of tape. It makes for a pretty good estimate.

Isn't that illegal?

Yeah LMN you aren't supposed to do that. You may not roll the buggy on the "track" during competition day, that's a rule.

[LittleMissNyan]

I would advise against trying to use those distances to calculate your brake setting, since the other factors that can affect your run are numerous and sometimes impossible to predict without extensive testing. It would be easier to test a lot, and base your wheel setting on previous data than use an equation to find the optimal brake setting for every distance.

So I don't know if your Battery Buggies will work like this, but what we do is we set the Battery Buggy at where we want to finish, put a piece of tape on the wheel, and roll the Battery Buggy backwards to the starting line we have, counting the rotations of tape. It makes for a pretty good estimate.

Isn't that illegal?

Yeah LMN you aren't supposed to do that. You may not roll the buggy on the "track" during competition day, that's a rule.

I mean not during the competition...... we do that beforehand and just use the number we got at the competition

[invisiblebanana]

Has anyone calculated the distance that the vehicle would travel for each of the possible target distances?
Or do you just roll the vehicle over the arc during testing and count the rotations then?

I would advise against trying to use those distances to calculate your brake setting, since the other factors that can affect your run are numerous and sometimes impossible to predict without extensive testing. It would be easier to test a lot, and base your wheel setting on previous data than use an equation to find the optimal brake setting for every distance.

I've already calculated how many times I would need to turn the wheel to rewind the brake for each possible distance interval. What are some of the factors that I need to account for?

[MadCow2357]

I've already calculated how many times I would need to turn the wheel to rewind the brake for each possible distance interval. What are some of the factors that I need to account for?

Just to name a few: skidding (big), wheel slippage, oversteer, understeer, drifting

[Tendan]

Has anyone calculated the distance that the vehicle would travel for each of the possible target distances?
Or do you just roll the vehicle over the arc during testing and count the rotations then?

There are various modeling programs that you can use to draw a diagram of the track, with an arc representing the path of the buggy through the cans. You can then find information such as the travel distance of the buggy (length of the arc) and the angle the buggy has to start at. I would only recommend this approach if you have prior experience in 2D or 3D modeling, or if you have someone who could show you how to do it. Going into modeling blind can leave you with really odd/inaccurate results. The software that I've been using is called DraftSight. It's free and has a moderate learning curve if you're already experienced in modeling.

Keep in mind that the numbers you get probably won't be perfect for your buggy. You should use these numbers as a place to start testing. They should be adapted as you test your buggy.

The only downside to this is that you have to make a new diagram for every target distance and every bonus you want to try.

[Sarvesh]

Roll the battery buggy back from target distance to your start point

[waffletree]

Roll the battery buggy back from target distance to your start point

LMN already suggested this method. It's not allowed at competition, but you can do it before competition

So I don't know if your Battery Buggies will work like this, but what we do is we set the Battery Buggy at where we want to finish, put a piece of tape on the wheel, and roll the Battery Buggy backwards to the starting line we have, counting the rotations of tape. It makes for a pretty good estimate.

[invisiblebanana]

Roll the battery buggy back from target distance to your start point

LMN already suggested this method. It's not allowed at competition, but you can do it before competition

So I don't know if your Battery Buggies will work like this, but what we do is we set the Battery Buggy at where we want to finish, put a piece of tape on the wheel, and roll the Battery Buggy backwards to the starting line we have, counting the rotations of tape. It makes for a pretty good estimate.

Does that work reliably? @MadCow2357 mentioned that other factors could cause the result from rolling the vehicle to be inaccurate.

Just to name a few: skidding (big), wheel slippage, oversteer, understeer, drifting

[LittleMissNyan]

Roll the battery buggy back from target distance to your start point

LMN already suggested this method. It's not allowed at competition, but you can do it before competition

So I don't know if your Battery Buggies will work like this, but what we do is we set the Battery Buggy at where we want to finish, put a piece of tape on the wheel, and roll the Battery Buggy backwards to the starting line we have, counting the rotations of tape. It makes for a pretty good estimate.

Does that work reliably? @MadCow2357 mentioned that other factors could cause the result from rolling the vehicle to be inaccurate.

Just to name a few: skidding (big), wheel slippage, oversteer, understeer, drifting

*shrug* It works pretty well for our buggy, it depends on how your buggy works