Rubber Band Powered Car Sponge vs Vinyl Wheels
907 views · Published 26 April 2014 · 4:20 · Indexed 22 October 2026
Channel: GrandadIsAnOldMan · 2014 · Science & Technology
Last night I made this car at the request of Paige Des but I was not happy that I needed to add lead weights to help the wheels grip. Tonight I have swapped the sponge wheels for old vinyl records and superimposed the video runs to compare performance. The vinyl wheels allowed the car to free wheel further and required less power to cover the distance but were slower on acceleration, so it depends on what task you have been set. Original build details... I made a lightweight frame chassis using the flower canes with two for each side and then a sort of diamond cross shape to give it rigidity. The final chassis is about 24" long and 4" wide. I used more flower canes for the axles. I used drinking straws as the axle tubes. The wheels are cut from a foam swimming aid (woggle). The back wheels are about 3" wide. The front wheels are about 1" wide I put a little hot glue on the ends of the axle to help it grip the back wheels. I needed 11 ounces of lead to weight the car down so the sponge wheels could grip without spinning. The vinyl records needed less power to cover the distance and the weights were not required although they did spin a bit when full power was applied. Main Components - Wheels cut from a swimming aid (woggle) * * or vinyl records 8 flower canes (previously I called these garden canes but I see the label says Flower Canes) Mine are 24" long or 60cm 2 Drinking straws Hot glue Rubber bands Main Tools - Hot Glue Gun Scissors Cutters Pencil sharpener If you need guidance on making the CD wheels here is my old helpfile. https://youtu.be/ZRrjBuWfmrM?list=PLA5a2xPRSrB2v0vxMJyZ9cPweAGx1FK6e Here is my old helpfile for putting rubber tyres on CDs https://youtu.be/ZnuPnveCbxs?list=PLA5a2xPRSrB2v0vxMJyZ9cPweAGx1FK6e Here is my old help file on connecting rubber bands https://youtu.be/EbYuhdwknbs?list=PLA5a2xPRSrB2v0vxMJyZ9cPweAGx1FK6e Rubber Band Power https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA5a2xPRSrB1otXh0w36OwsYIHZznUWp6 Rubber Band Powered Car #8 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA5a2xPRSrB0zJ5RHjvsw46Mio6uJjF5_ Rubber Band Cars https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA5a2xPRSrB3g5RiX8Kf_uUBOL0Tb7AS0 I cannot answer comments from people who have blocked replies, so if you don't get a reply to your question that may be the reason. It is probably worth reading my video description first because the answer may already be there. If you need a reply make sure your Google+ privacy settings allow replies from users that are not in your circles or add me to your circles first. Direct link: https://plus.google.com/settings Make sure "Who can comment on your public posts?" is set to "Anyone". I have over 1800 videos on YouTube covering a wide range of subjects. To find them follow my YouTube search guide https://youtu.be/ceBSOoOHcgw or see my playlists https://www.youtube.com/user/GrandadIsAnOldMan/playlists?flow=grid&view=1 Generally my projects are for my grandchildren to enjoy. OK, I enjoy them too. If anybody else likes them, that is a bonus. I like to keep my work as simple and basic as possible so that it can be copied easily and improved by anybody who wants to try themselves. I recycle or repurpose items rather than buy new and when I do buy I like to keep it cheap. https://www.youtube.com/user/GrandadIsAnOldMan
