Hot Wheel race for SCCa meeting...now I need ideas.

We were discussing ideas for activities to get more members to come to the meetings, since free appetizers do not seem to be enough to get them to listen to us talk about the same crap over and over and the new RE worry about spending $ on every single thing...

I first said pinewood derby car racing, someone popped up Hot Wheels and looked in my direction. My collection seems to be well known. I mentioned we could do something similar to my slot car tournaments every week, and it went from there.

So now our next (regular) meeting is slightly less than 2 weeks away. I figure everyone can bring one car, if they don't have one they can spend $.97 on their next grocery trip. Someone said they still have lots of their son's track. I figure 4 lanes about x number of feet, elevated. I can figure that part out.

I need ideas for the competition. Brackets? 3-4 qualifiers that narrow to 2 races and narrow to the big showdown?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-U9NrMcD_g

You crash, you are out (until the next round). If you win, you move on. If you don't win but stay on track, you live to race again (in that round).

In reply to Robbie:

Hm, I was hoping to get out of this just using "vintage" track. ie- no $

No-holds-barred Death Race 2000?

OK, seriously, I may have played with my son's setup a bit recently. I find that some cars are great in the loop, others excel in the Spiderman figure-8, and still others are great on the floor. So I recommend that entrants have 3 cars and do a single elimination until one car is left. That gives everyone 3 races minimum, and overcomes having a sucky car.

You could use your autocross timing system and do time trials over a single long course. so grab as much track as you can, you have 3 runs through the course of the night and best times win a cheap plastic cup. (or beer)

Later you can allow for mod classes for those that want to turn wheels on lathes and such, just provide weight specs for a mod class. (and no power adders)

Actually... I have an old TAG timing system that just found a purpose in this...

gonna have to get it working now.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=172127861097&alt=web my kid has this. While you said no $$$, this could easily be cloned with existing parts. 4 men enter, one man leave. Or something. Protip, pinewood derby balance rules here.

Have a stock class in which the blister pack must remain sealed until the moment of the race.

In reply to Appleseed:

I like that. I'm going to try and pick up the track from the member this weekend, see what I have to work with. Then MAYBE just a quick trip to Toys R Us. For science.

Appleseed wrote: Have a stock class in which the blister pack must remain sealed until the moment of the race.

Aww, you mean I cant graphite the hell out of the axles?

Apexcarver wrote:

Appleseed wrote: Have a stock class in which the blister pack must remain sealed until the moment of the race.

Aww, you mean I cant graphite the hell out of the axles?

Sure, but youre not in hw-stock anymore.

Here's what I ended up borrowing...

21 cars were entered...

And these guys/girls had a great time. It ended up being very popular! 25 people attended, versus our usual 8-10.

Great! Now you have to keep it sustainable. What's next?

Next? Loop the loops and jumps, duh!

In reply to gjz30075:

Luckily the redhead in the center is our new Activities Chair, and has a crapload of ideas that I hope work out. I proved we can bring the members if there's something to do besides talk, let's see how it goes. (I also hope to borrow this a few more times. He wouldn't sell, dammit.)

Jerry wrote: In reply to Robbie: Hm, I was hoping to get out of this just using "vintage" track. ie- no $

If someone has the track sections from one of the old '60s Sizzlers ovals, use those track sections for the flat and modern single lane track for the downhill. It makes the racing not only about the cars speed, but also if it can track straight. Back when myself and friends did this regularly, some of the fastest cars any of us had were '69 road runners and jaguar d-types.

Who won anyway? I bet it was the speed racer car

We used to have four separate tracks, but now I can't find them. Had we not already donated them they would have been yours for the taking.

You could always do what one of the local to me car groups does....depowered power wheels on a soapbox derby hill.

I'm trying to secure a BMW i8 to use as my chariot for that.

I'll bet the van at the end won. It's all about mass in gravity racing.

In reply to Appleseed:

Bingo! I had the Mach 5, it did not win. But the funny thing is, one guy wanted to do a Modified class, I told him go crazy I didn't care what he did and we'd do a separate class if others did the same.

He filled a Honda CRX with lead shot and sealed the windows with solder. Guess what? I tested it against the Mach 5 (total stock) and still beat him. We were all a little surprised.

In reply to Jerry:

It's not always about weight with these, there is a happy medium to aim for that a few cars have out of the box.

There may have been too much friction for the axels. Now, sleave the axles in a brass bushing...