Event Coverage Rubber Bands @ Bonneville

I bet with taller wheels and a good shove off, it would break 50!

 

Very inspirational.... makes me want to build something and go to bonneville..... If they didnt set a record.... Im sure they will bounce back!!!! Sorry couldnt resist the rubber pun

 

... and then there's this from PopularMechanics Online:

Car #876 (aka Twisted) is a rubber-band-powered racer. Mounted between two thick
pieces of high-strength aluminum, the bands are twisted and released to provide the
energy necessary to move. All we're hearing now is that —along with a ton of light-
weight tubing and high-speed racing allow wheels and narrow tires—there's a ton of
gears, chains, hydraulic brakes and those rubber bands inside. As soon as I see
Twisted move under it's own power (i.e. when I believe it), I'll bring you more details.​

 

I didn' hear about it running. Did it? If so what did it run? did it make 30 mph?

 

Screw that thing, Hooley's Stude is in the Popular Mechanic's write up! How cool is that?

 

Talked to him and he said, with a semi-straight face, that they couldn't find anyone stupid enough to wind it!! superb workmanship though.

 

Did it run? The tension is killing me.

 

my question on page 2

 

not to mention all the SFVISBF soapbox car threads on here!


this one is traditional, and it says it goes 3 miles!!
That car is sweet though...Im curious to see what it does also. If there's a record
up for grabs, why not take it!?

 

another one...pretty sweet!

 

@OLLIN ... Way cool ... Thanks for posting

 

"Let's wind up Ollin and watch him go!"

 

.....BWWWwaaaaahahahaha!!!....This thread is FUNNY !!!!.....All that serious stuff about respecting the guys that built the rubber band car is fine ....But I bet they were laughing their heads off right from the conception of this project.....I think some guys are just to wound up and should snap out of it !........

 

I would do it too! haha. I love nerdy **** like that...

 

OLLIN.....you're a good sport.....

 

Just last weekend, "Twisted" was spotted in Mojave, CA ... at Gene Winfield & Larry Watson's Custom Car & Hot Rod Gathering:

​

 

I talked to Ron at Bonneville, they were going to take the car to the Wendover airport for a "test and tune" (?). I don't believe it actually ever ran at speedweek.

Knowing Ron, I believe he is trying to get a government grant as an "alternative fuel vehicle" !!

Mick

 

It reminds me of the time my grade school daughter had a science homework project to design a car to cover a precise distance and stop on a target. We built one with a rubber band drive that unwound off a pulley while it wound up a piece of fishing line on an adjacent pulley. She took second place in her school.

 

^^ May I suggest a seat more like this atop those springs?

 

Here's what I think may be an improvement on the rubber band powered car idea.

Instead of storing up all that energy by twisting the rubber bands, then transmitting the power to the wheels via a series of chains and gears, maybe he could set a few new records if he took the rubber bands out of the car, tied them all together into one big long rubber band. Then he could tie the two ends to a giant Y shaped post in the ground, like a big sling shot. [emoji39]

He could get rid of all that parasitic car weight by simply launching while sitting in nothing but his car seat.

 

Band width, nobody has mentioned if this is just using up band width. Bob

 

that was funny

 

how did it run? all this time and no report?

 

I just replaced the springs like these on my Garage Door (One broke.........WITH A BANG!)
I would NOT put my Cojones on that sadle!