Racing was performed in 2 minute heats in Red, Green and Purple lanes with driving duties being handled by:
Red Lane: myself
Green lane: local racer Jason Krantz
Purple lane: local racer Shaun Steede
The cars really took to the road course, making for some great racing action! :banana-dance:
We did have an issue develop with Racer1h's machine part way through the racing action, that unfortunately did not have a quick fix. :(
The increased torque of the Piranha motor apparently was a bit much for the factory crown gear and after claiming the #1 qualifying position and starting off the racing portion like a rocket, it started to develop a gear whine while accelerating during the last 30 seconds or so of the first lane. At the end of the lane, we stopped the action to inspect the car. What we found was that while there was no rubbing, binding, etc - a notable amount of gear wear could be seen on the teeth of the crown gear. :(
With no other issues being found besides the wear, we made the decision to try run the car, to at least finish out the race before side lining it for repairs. Unfortunately, even with trying to be cautious, we noted that the gear began slipping on acceleration after the fourth lap in the second lane. At that point we we suspended running it any further to insure that we did not potentially damage the brass pinion gear and/or motor / motor mounting.
Picture of the gear:
(For reference - I have talked to Racer1h and have the parts inbound to get this rocket ship repaired and back into the action for the next race! :D )
Here is how the field shook out:
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 12:59 pm
