In order to preserve the race car one would ideally keep it in an environment that is temperature and humidity controlled near the conditions used for summer racing in our area.  We realize that this may not be possible for all of us to do.  We put this information together to help preserve the car. 

BODY:

Keeping the car in an outdoor shed over the winter will cause the body to expand (during a sunny day) and contract (on those cold nights).  The paint adhesion to the plastic shell on a Super Stock car may be affected by these temperature changes. 

The floorboard is susceptible to temperature changes and humidity and it is best to keep this part preserved in a comfortable environment. 

FLOORBOARD, AXLES, WHEELS and WEIGHTS:

The floorboard, axles, wheels and weights need some attention.  

Remove all of the weights from the car and store them in a box in a dry place to prevent rusting.  Record the weight locations so they can be installed to be ready or close to ready for next year weigh-in.  

Remove the wheels and lubricate the wheel bearings using a light oil (such as 3-n-1).  Use only a few drops and spin the inner race to run it in.  Do not store the wheels flat.  Keep the wheels upright with nothing touching the bearings and no weight above them that could flat-spot the rubber tire.  A cardboard box about 12x12x12 inches with three partitions would work for well for storing the wheels.  

The axles are not coated or plated and therefore will develop rust quite quickly if not addressed.  Lubricate the axles using the same light oil as the wheels.  This includes the round and square sections of the axle and the metal stabilizers at the rear of some cars.  

Support the car off the ground by raising it on saw horses.  It is best to raise the car about 3 feet off the ground.  A basement concrete or dirt floor could have humidity that affects the metal parts (rust), floorboard (warpage) and shell (paint and decals).  

Support the car at two locations across the width of the floorboard.  These locations are about 4 to 8 inches behind the front axle and 4 to 8 inches ahead of the rear axle.  Be sure the supports are parallel to each other or the floorboard may conform to an undesired shape (such as twisted or bowed). 

Put the helmet inside the car.  Cover the car and axles using a fitted twin bed sheet or the rain cover you used on race day 2009. 

The kingpin torque and steering can be left as-is for storage but will need to be checked and adjusted before race day 2010.

With an eye toward the coming Race on June 19, let’s take a look at how the race is governed.    

Prior to race day the officials of the DuBois Area Soap Box Derby supervise all race car drivers as they draw their own initial heat and lane assignments. 

On race day each racer will run the course through two heats, racing twice in each heat for a total of 4 times down the hill.  This is the minimum that a racer can race because, of course, as they win they will be required to defeat another opponent to keep moving forward.  They will alternate lanes and swap wheels with each race.  They race once on an initial set of wheels then they race again after switching lanes and exchanging wheels. 

The overall winner of each heat is found by recording the time difference between the cars crossing the finish line.  The first racer over the line starts the timer; the second racer stops the same timer, and the time elapsed in between is recorded.  On the next race (the second and final race of the heat) a second elapsed time is recorded in the same way.  The two elapsed times are compared to find the overall winner of the heat, and who advances in the winner’s bracket and who drops to the loser’s bracket.  All heats in both brackets are run in the same manner. 

For example, Racer “A” wins the first run in Lane #1 on the car’s initial set of wheels.  Racer “A” wins over Racer “B” by an elapsed time of 0.045 seconds.  In their second race down the hill, each in the other lane on the other Racer’s set of wheels, Racer “B” wins by an elapsed time of 0.022 seconds.  Racer “A” wins the heat by a favorable overall difference of 0.023 seconds.  Racer “A” advances to the next heat in the Winner’s Bracket.  Racer “B” drops to the Loser’s Bracket, where there is still the opportunity to win all of the remaining heats and return to the Winner’s Bracket to compete against the winner of the Championship Bracket for 1st Place in the overall event. 

The following information has been obtained from the Greater Pittsburgh Soap Box Derby organization.  The Pittsburgh organization provides these racing tips to help their soapbox derby racers gain a better understanding of some ways their cars can become more competitive.

In the build, assembly and set-up of the car, they’ve learned that making all the allowable physical changes to improve the control, the speed and the performance of the car, will only improve chances for winning by about 5%.  

The driver controls 95% of what it takes to win a race.  The driver needs to know where to drive the car on the track, make as little corrective steering moves as possible and keep a low aerodynamic position in the car.  One extremely small mistake by the driver can replace all the advantages made by setting the car up correctly.

These are only some of the many things done to make cars more competitive.  Most all secrets to racing derby cars can be obtained through involvement with soapbox rally racing held during the spring and fall of every year.

·        Wheels should be taken off the car and cleaned after each use.  Wheels can be cleaned while on the spindles as long as the spindles are cleaned and lubricated afterwards.  Rotate wheels and spray brake fluid or lighter fluid in the bearing as they rotate.  This will clean all dirt and oil residue from the wheel bearings.  Allow the bearing to dry for a minute and then rotate the wheels again and add a lightweight machine or honing oil such as WD-40 to the bearings to prevent rusting.  Prior to racing, the wheels should be cleaned and oiled again because the oil will turn sticky after long time storage.  If you don’t clean wheels before racing, your first run down the track will warm the oil and make it fluid again, which then places the faster wheels on the competitor’s car during the second round, so make sure you clean your wheels before final inspection and impounding of cars.

·        Alignment is critical.  Make sure it is perfect and within 1/64 of an inch.  Tighten all nuts and bolts holding alignment so it won’t come loose during race day due to vibration and mishandling of the car.

·        Spindles should be polished and lubricated on your car.  Although the wheels rotate on bearings, the heavy vibration of the car on the asphalt road will cause the bearing collar to slip on the spindle.  If the spindle is clean, polished and lubricated with light oil the collar can slip on the spindle.  For every amount of slippage on the spindle the wheel is gaining distance on the track.  Slippage on a 900 foot track may only be an inch or less but that can mean several inches to several feet of travel distance on the track that hopefully your competitor is not gaining.  Spindles can be polished with rubbing compounds (by hand only) or by using 3000 grit or finer emery cloth.

·        Steering needs to be adjusted to allow comfort for the driver and to prevent unnecessary wheel movement.  The steering cables need to be tight enough to prevent the axle from bending but to provide good tension on both sides of the steering column.  Any slack cable can cause the wheels to wobble slightly causing a decrease in speed.  Steering straight will also become more difficult for the driver if the cables are too loose.

·        The front lock nuts on the kingpin need to be tightened enough so the steering will not wobble but will allow ease in steering ability.  Nuts too loose or too tight will make steering jerky and difficult causing decrease in speed.

·        A tight rear kingpin is a necessity; however, do not over tighten.  Akron allows no more then 180 inch pounds of torch on this bolt.  This bolt will be checked at rally races for over tightening.  The danger is that the bolt could shear off causing loss of rear axle. (NOT A GOOD THING)

·        The rules allow for the installation of bushings for the kingpins.  Strongly recommend installing these bushings.  The kingpin bolt wears on the wood floorboard as cars are assembled and disassembled and through general use.  The bushings also prevent the washers from getting pressed into the wood floorboard causing the steering to come loose and axles to move over time.  The bushing will firm up the front and rear axles and prevent wearing of the wooden floorboard.

·        The turnbuckles on the steering cables need to be secured from movement during race.  The turnbuckle has a stop nut that needs to be good and tight once steering is adjusted.  Highly recommend installing a second stop nut on opposite side of turnbuckle.  The buckle can move even with the wire wrapped around it.  This can cause steering wheel to move left or right in order to make the car go straight and can make it difficult on driver to steer straight.

·        Wind drag can win or loose a race.  Highly recommend installing foam in the front and back of stock cars and all around the cockpit of super stock cars, unless the driver is large enough to fill the gaps around the cockpit.  Foam is always needed on the front of the cockpit.

·        The bottom of the car is loaded with exposed hex bolts.  These create a wind drag from air moving under the car.  It may be only a slight help, if any, but the hex head of the bolts can be turned so a point of the head is facing the front of the car to increase aerodynamics.

·        Make sure the shell of the car is not hanging below the bottom of the floorboard or is not too high on the floorboard.  Both of these will cause wind drag and cause the car to become less aerodynamic, slowing the car.

·        The weight nuts should be tight, but allow nut to be removed easily for weight changes. This is for safety of the driver and it will actually add strength to the floorboard.  Loose weights can move and effect breaking and steering actions along with coming loose and causing an accident.  If you use a tool to tighten wing nut, you better have the tool to loosen them during the race.

·        For long term storage, store the car by supporting it in the center to allow the ends to flex downward.  This will cause less bending in the spindles when car is loaded with driver.

·        Driver needs safety glasses to prevent dirt from blowing in eyes.  Many races are lost each year because the driver became distracted.  The eyes are in line with the cowling and all dirt is funneled directly into the eyes.

·        Electrical tape should be used to help secure the drivers helmet adjustment straps inside the helmet.  Many races are lost each year from the drivers helmet not being adjusted properly and from the adjustment strap coming loose during the race.  A loose helmet will either flip up causing wind drag or drop down effecting visibility and control of car.

·        Tape an extra wheel pin and wheel washer on the inside of the car’s body for safety.  Many fall out and get lost during the loading and unloading operations.

·        Recommend a simple tool box with at least the following inventory to maintain your car before and after the race:

Cleaning fluid and lubricating oil
Emery paper for spindles
Wrenches 7/16, 1/2, 3/8
Allen Wrenches
Regular and Philips screwdrivers
Electric screw driver, spare batteries and charger
Wax and rags
Rags for waxing and for cleaning
Metal file
Wire cutters
Spare car parts (i.e. wheel washers, wheel pins, shell screws and keepers)
Electrical, Scotch, Clear package style tape and duct tape
Tape measure
Utility knife
Pencil or marker
Glue for foam

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