What does it take to make a winning car?

I am not a builder!! I like to host! I am hosting my 1st ever mail in now. So I would like to take this opportunity to give you all a round of applause. Modding is special hard work you all do great things keep it up have fun!! 

this is my rookie year

learning alot, and enjoy building unconventionally.

have no idea what it truly takes to win consistanly as some here do,

but I am in this sport for the long haul, and fun is the priority

also like outragous builds, even if they aren't fast (yet)

dr

I gotta chuck in my 2 cents.  Confesion first.  Yes, I haven't been able to mail out any cars to races I have tried to enter.  I just don't find the money in time.  Most of my money gets spent on track building.  This is where I have the most fun.  I am great at salvaging building materials.  I haven't spent a dime on the wood, paint, mable, granite or garden flowers.  My money is spent on the Several boxes of screws, sealants, Gorilla Tape, over 800 cars in three years for testing and inhouse racing... 

Ok, confessions over. 

I have read everything I can find on the website about racing. The best info I found that helped me out the most was the article about building Pine Wood Deby Cars.  Also learning that not all wheel castings are perfectly equal, has been eye opening. Sometimes the axle hole is egg snapped, to various degrees,  thus causing wheel buzz at that particular wheels terminal velocity which translates into the wheel behaving like the ABS kicked in on that wheel faster than the rest of the wheels, causing the car to turn into the wall. 

So...   that brings us to time and testing.  As soon as I finished rebuilding the Center Valley Drag, I took ever single open car I had and tested them.  They all got sorted by how high they can climb the open ramp straight up. No turning. Anything that turned and did not go straight was put in a box I named "Skate Park" cars. (That's a story for another day.).  From there I have been testing the the ramp cars on the DINO RUN.  To become a "Certified" Dino RUN car they must survive 4 laps of ever increasingly difficult expectations. Most don't make it. From those Certified cars, they then race against each other and collect real points. Only the cars who achieve a minimum point score move on to a growing group of cars called the "Elite Class"   Those you don't,  pass the first round of Qualifying go on to the Pheonix Hills and try to get certified for that track and try to get certified there and pass both of the two different race styles   Those who don't, will have to wait for the "Santa's Sleighway" to try and get certified there. The Cage Match has claimed 32 cars from 8 Rounds with 4 Brackets each from which 1 car per 8 car bracket have moved on and currently waiting for that tournament to be held in the fall. 

So, What does this all mean?? I have learned that the body of the casting and how it rubs on the different style track walls is important, looking for sharp edges to sand smooth, over hands front and back that are too long and drag, or over hangs that are too short  exposing wheels that might grab a side wall edge and climb out. Bodies too wide and rub too much, wheel base too narrow and wiggle side to side like a belly dancer. Wheel base that is too short just start to spin uncontrollably. Castings that are too tall causing the center of gravity to rise, this flipping cars around tight corners. Some track styles like cars with axles with some suspension style movement, while others require a minimum of movement to succeed.  Wheel standing and polishing to help with taking off the molde lines and wheel balancing for smooth rolling. Poilshing the axel itself to remove the manufacturing burs and imperfections. 

I have found threades here that are specific to the multitude of axle lubing options.  From different combinations of dry brands and or wet/dry custom applications. 

The one thing I haven't found is more information about what is called "Tubing".  I understand that this is where builders use a tube of some form and "basting" needles for sewing as axles. These needs are generally nickle plated like Hotwheels NPA's and maybe even better quality.  Here I get the idea that now the "farming" is different. No longer is the axle width is not mportant anymore. Only the wheel casting itself, then needs to be balanced and the hole not egg shaped. 

Haha!! Ok I'm done, I guess my 2 cents turned into $2.00 lol. 

Good hunting!! And always remember, "Stay Off The Wall!"

I still don't know.

@Garden - Here's an old article about how to make custom axles with tubing. Basically just copper tubing from the hobby store and then slide in each half of an axle and glue it. I haven't done any axle modding in a long time but I figure the basic technique is the same now. I think the key is just keeping any custom axles straight and parallel so the roll is more true. Jigs and the likes will help there.

Shameless plug:

youtu.be/np2jfx9SUp8

Maybe something in there will help you out.

As I have been modifying hotwheels for competitive racing for going on two years I'm not quite a rookie but neither am I a master.

1st. For me personally I prefer lower stature cars with a wide wheel base. It allows for a smoother weight distribution. 
2nd. If possible I believe using cars with a metal base can help prevent tipping in tight turns. Stacking your weight too high is asking for disaster. 
3rd. Don't be afraid to try different media for polishing your axles! For instance I use carbon steel to polish before adding any buffing applications. 
4th. To go along with axles I prefer to glue at the very least my rear axles as straight and stable as possible. I find that even on stock cars the wheels often rub into the wheel wells creating friction that ultimately kills your momentum. 
5th. If your stuck in a scenario where you have to determine which half of your car gets the heavier half of your weight I always pick the front. Unfortunately many of my 1st customs had too much weight in the back and would often lead to my cars spinning around and going in reverse for the rest of the race.

like I said I'm no master and I still expiriment every day with new techniques. But maybe to someone the little things here and there that I have found help the way I customize my cars may help them as well. 

PS. (Bada$$ paint jobs may not add any horsepower but they are super fun to do!!)

I'm loving all the tips and input on this forum. I am also a rookie in this hobby. I had no idea how many people were in it. I just finished my first car and will be attempting to qualify for my first event coming up soon...and it's a big one. I'm not expecting my car to keep up with the "pros", but it was really fun to do, and hopefully I'll learn a lot from it. But to be able to see a car that I worked on run a track I've enjoyed watching and on a popular channel, that's all I could ask. I'm looking forward to more building, collecting, testing, etc.; and also to interacting with all of you diecast people. I appreciate the welcome I've gotten so far. This is a very cool community.

I don't consider myself as one of the top builders but I do have a few trophies on my shelf. I've been building since early 2021. I started by watching a few build videos, got a few ideas and began building my own way. I do things a little different than other builders. I start by drilling/tapping and adding weight. If the casting has decent wheels, I make sure it rolls in a straight line! If the wheels are good, I polish and graphite. Then the testing begins. I run the car down my timed straight track over and over and over. Till I'm satisfied with the speed. Starting speed and long end  speed. Then I finally take it back apart and strip and paint. I think most of my paint jobs are cool. But everyone has a different style and idea of what is cool. 

Started by finally out running my Stock gatekeeper(50th Anny Cougar) after months of trying. Now, the next step comes in April as I enter my first modified races, then I'll take stock of what I did and did it work, or did I come in dead last.

Blueline knows... and if you can hang with that racer yer doing something right...

I see "farming" as the most common way to get speed first.  No, I haven't mailed any cars out yet.  I have been building the mountains in my back yard.  It is on to this mountain range that I run hundreds of cars on them to find and sort out straight line speed and control along with handling dynamics.   I have been joining wheel doner cars with castings I want to mod for racing both here at home and abroad.  

Wheel and axle sanding are the magic that really makes sets the good wheels free.  For me here on home tracks, the tarmac is different for each track.  I have learned that how you sand and polish for the specific track makes a difference too. I understand coneing for straight Drag in guided track.  Zero friction equals speed.