Gravity Vehicle

General Details

For gravity vehicle, maximize the dimensions of the ramp, and use material such as plexiglass as the ramp to minimize friction, but be careful because plexiglass does snap easily, so it might be better to use another material. At nationals, many of the ramps were made out of wood, but this doesn't work as well because of the friction problems they have to deal with. Use the classic model of a car too, because the one wheel in front, two wheels in back is really unstable and has a tendency to fly off to the side. Also, make the release mechanism completely independent of human error. Make it so that the car releases the same way every single time, or else your calibrations won't be correct. For breaking mechanism, use a wingnut, and this way, you can calibrate based on the turns of the wheel (which is pretty accurate). Don't use KNEX in building the car, because the car is very flimsyish then and it doesn't go STRAIGHT (which is really important). Again, like most building events, READ THE EVENT DESCRIPTION THOROUGHLY!!!! Basically, the "distance" measurement is taken from a single point, so its very important for the car to go straight, or else you could get the right distance, but get a low score because the car is off to the side. Using CDs as wheels has its ups and downs too. For one, its really really really hard to center the wheels, and if one is off then the car doesn't go straight. But CDs are really cheap and easy to replace so that makes it better, and if you do have the CDs centered they will not fail you.

Most Important Detail

'''CALIBRATION! '''Try to calibrate multiple times and early because calibration is very important. When calibrating, make sure the relsease mechanism makes the car go the same way every time, or else all your calibrations will be off. Also, use a floor similar to the one being tested on at the competition, because trying to extrapolate data based on different flooring does not go very well.