©
Break in Process
®
Closeup of Derby Dust™ Dry Lube.
Human hair pictured as a reference.
The lube even sticks to it!
Derby Dust was designed for use by the new/novice builder. We understand that building a derby car can be an overwhelming experience for
those who are not proficient in shop skills. Derby Dust Dry lube is best utilized when a proper break in is done. SImply dusting the wheels and
axles does not do the trick.
Will this process beat a league racer's 5 hour, $100 multiple micro mesh, file, sand and polish job? We really don't know, but it might! WIll it beat oil? Probably not, oil is in a league of its own.
Will this lube and process beat someone that just dusts a little graphite on wheels and spins them with their hand or a dermal tool?
ABSOULETLY!!!!
Assumptions in place for this process: You are not using modified Axles. You are not using Modified Wheels. We have not tested the process on any other type of aftermarket wheels/axles.
Will this process beat a league racer's 5 hour, $100 multiple micro mesh, file, sand and polish job? We really don't know, but it might! WIll it beat oil? Probably not, oil is in a league of its own.
Will this lube and process beat someone that just dusts a little graphite on wheels and spins them with their hand or a dermal tool?
ABSOULETLY!!!!
Assumptions in place for this process: You are not using modified Axles. You are not using Modified Wheels. We have not tested the process on any other type of aftermarket wheels/axles.
Axle preparation: De-bur them with a file, Straighten them, then wet sand the axles to following grits: 400, 800, 1000. Stop.... Inspect your
axles for imperfections. If imperfections are present, start over. No other work on the axles is necessary. Do not polish. Do not burnish. Do
nothing else.
Wheel preparation: Simply sand the outer tread for imperfections, sand the inner lip of the outer tread. Do this for all four wheels. Do no
other prep work to the wheels. No other work necessary. The break in process will do the rest.
Necessary tools needed for optimal break in: Treadmill. It is the corner stone of the process. The car must be under load at its top speed,
which is well over the max speed of treadmills. String-18" length. Painter's tape. Derby Dust™ Dry Lube Graphite. Fine tipped sharpie.Derby
Dust™ Perfect Gap (gap gauge). Axle pulling pliers.
Optional equipment: Derby Worx Axle Press, Derby Worx pro rail rider.
Optional equipment: Derby Worx Axle Press, Derby Worx pro rail rider.
Setup: Install the wheels and axles on the car, use the gap gauge to properly gap wheels. Mark the 12 o'clock position on all wheels with
sharpie, depending on setup.
Tape the string on the center of forward kick plate, and tape it to center on the front of the car.
Dust the wheels and axles with Derby Dust Dry Lube.
Tuning:
Turn the treadmill on. 1-2mph at first. If incline is available, 1 degree would be great.
Note the characteristics of the car. If it is swerving all over the place, there is a lot of work to be done. If it pulls to one direction or the other, directional tuning needs to be done to get to a slight deviation off center for a center rail rider (3 wheels) or center (4 wheels).
The goal is to get your car to deviate just slight off center to make a center rail rider or straight down the middle if you have one of those type of races.
Using pliers, make an adjustment on a single axle turning 1/8th of a turn or less until you have made up to one complete rotation. If no change in deviation, then move to another axle on the car, and repeat process. Continue this process until you get the car to be off center or straight down the middle, depending on your car and race scenario.
If no change is noted after adjusting all axles, then you will need to bend one axle. 1.5 degree would be best. I would install that axle on the front. Repeat tuning process until deviation is obtained. If no change, make sure the bent axle is touching the ground. If so, then the bent axle needs to be moved to the rear side of the direction of deviation and then tuned. If no change is noted, move axle to opposite side of car. Bending more than one axle is counterproductive. If you car does not respond to tuning with just the bend of one axle, think about making a new car.
Point being, if your inspections requires pulling of axles, and you have more than one axle that has to be bent, there is a greater chance that all of the tuning work will be ruined.
Break in:
Once tuning is complete, turn the treadmill up to as fast as it will go. Your wheels are not going to burn up! Now observe characteristics. Note if wheels are running the way you want them to i.e. rubbing on the outer wheel hub, running in the middle of your axle, rubbing against the body. Adjustments will need to be made if not satisfied. A wheel that rubs on the body needs to be bent upward. A wheel that rubs on the axle head, needs to be bent downward. At top speed on treadmill, you will be able to visualize the performance of the car. This method is better than any "tuning board" every day of the week.
Once you are happy with the wheel play, then it is time to start building up layers of dry lube.
Add a LIBERAL amount of dry lube to all running wheels as it is traveling every 45-60 seconds. Continue this process for 10 minutes. 10 minutes at top speed should yield the equivalent of approximately 400-500 races.
This process will also yield the 20-30 second spin benchmark theory! If you have a wheel that is not performing this well, it could possibly be that it is out of balance or has a warped inner hub due to cooling during manufacturing. Replace it and start process over from beginning (SORRY!)
Using rubbing alcohol applied to a rag, remove the marks on axles without getting alcohol into the hub, then reapply new marks back in the 12 o'clock position. If you had to bend an axle, then be sure to make a mental note which one it was or mark it on the bottom of the car, and BEG your inspectors not to pull it.
After the 10 minutes and the final marking. PACK your car up, and do nothing with it until race day. If you have to pull an axle, be sure to return it to the exact spot.
No other lubing is necessary. We have not seen any data that shows any additional lube after this point helps.
What you have done by doing this process is used the cars weight under load to "roll" multiple layers of lube on the axle and wheel. You have also tuned your car to eliminate fish-tailing and gain greater speeds for your derby car way beyond a simple dust/ finger roll job. We have decided to share our research with you. This technique does not require a "drift" board, it does not require a test track, and it does not require a great knowledge regarding polishing techniques. It does build layers of near frictionless surface on both the axles and inner wheel hubs that is good for many races.
This process is very hard to describe with words, and our video will show you how simple it really is.
Tape the string on the center of forward kick plate, and tape it to center on the front of the car.
Dust the wheels and axles with Derby Dust Dry Lube.
Tuning:
Turn the treadmill on. 1-2mph at first. If incline is available, 1 degree would be great.
Note the characteristics of the car. If it is swerving all over the place, there is a lot of work to be done. If it pulls to one direction or the other, directional tuning needs to be done to get to a slight deviation off center for a center rail rider (3 wheels) or center (4 wheels).
The goal is to get your car to deviate just slight off center to make a center rail rider or straight down the middle if you have one of those type of races.
Using pliers, make an adjustment on a single axle turning 1/8th of a turn or less until you have made up to one complete rotation. If no change in deviation, then move to another axle on the car, and repeat process. Continue this process until you get the car to be off center or straight down the middle, depending on your car and race scenario.
If no change is noted after adjusting all axles, then you will need to bend one axle. 1.5 degree would be best. I would install that axle on the front. Repeat tuning process until deviation is obtained. If no change, make sure the bent axle is touching the ground. If so, then the bent axle needs to be moved to the rear side of the direction of deviation and then tuned. If no change is noted, move axle to opposite side of car. Bending more than one axle is counterproductive. If you car does not respond to tuning with just the bend of one axle, think about making a new car.
Point being, if your inspections requires pulling of axles, and you have more than one axle that has to be bent, there is a greater chance that all of the tuning work will be ruined.
Break in:
Once tuning is complete, turn the treadmill up to as fast as it will go. Your wheels are not going to burn up! Now observe characteristics. Note if wheels are running the way you want them to i.e. rubbing on the outer wheel hub, running in the middle of your axle, rubbing against the body. Adjustments will need to be made if not satisfied. A wheel that rubs on the body needs to be bent upward. A wheel that rubs on the axle head, needs to be bent downward. At top speed on treadmill, you will be able to visualize the performance of the car. This method is better than any "tuning board" every day of the week.
Once you are happy with the wheel play, then it is time to start building up layers of dry lube.
Add a LIBERAL amount of dry lube to all running wheels as it is traveling every 45-60 seconds. Continue this process for 10 minutes. 10 minutes at top speed should yield the equivalent of approximately 400-500 races.
This process will also yield the 20-30 second spin benchmark theory! If you have a wheel that is not performing this well, it could possibly be that it is out of balance or has a warped inner hub due to cooling during manufacturing. Replace it and start process over from beginning (SORRY!)
Using rubbing alcohol applied to a rag, remove the marks on axles without getting alcohol into the hub, then reapply new marks back in the 12 o'clock position. If you had to bend an axle, then be sure to make a mental note which one it was or mark it on the bottom of the car, and BEG your inspectors not to pull it.
After the 10 minutes and the final marking. PACK your car up, and do nothing with it until race day. If you have to pull an axle, be sure to return it to the exact spot.
No other lubing is necessary. We have not seen any data that shows any additional lube after this point helps.
What you have done by doing this process is used the cars weight under load to "roll" multiple layers of lube on the axle and wheel. You have also tuned your car to eliminate fish-tailing and gain greater speeds for your derby car way beyond a simple dust/ finger roll job. We have decided to share our research with you. This technique does not require a "drift" board, it does not require a test track, and it does not require a great knowledge regarding polishing techniques. It does build layers of near frictionless surface on both the axles and inner wheel hubs that is good for many races.
This process is very hard to describe with words, and our video will show you how simple it really is.
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