Trim-free day

Should parks have a few days a year where they turn the trims off on all the rides, and let them run like they were built to?  I'm not talking about block brakes or new coasters so much but rides like the Beast, Revolution, Colossus, and other classic rides "killed" by trims.

sounds like a great idea, her is a better one, get rid of the brakes all together.
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Montu, God Of Coasters

Raging Bull, Don't Fight It, Ride It

while were dreaming lets just do away with otsrs altogether too

great idea. will it ever happen HELL NO . the gp does'nt even know about trims .

For most coasters, trims are necessary. Trims are used to keep trains from exceeding the speed originally planned for the ride and it keeps G forces at a minimal level. So trims have a purpose, unlike most coaster enthusiast think that park management put them in so they can purposely ruin a good ride. Which is very far from the actual reasons.

I think it would be cool. I remeber when Nitro opened it ran trim free, now they trim it before the hammerhead, and on the midcourse. When it opened, they never had to use them, and it made the bunny hills awesome.
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Nitro: The Most Explosive Coaster on the Planet explodes at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2001.

I'd prefer if they figured out a way to increase wheel drag as the day progressed. In this way, the proper speed could be maintained without breaking up the ride experience.

But again, we enthusiasts prefer "all out" do we not? ;)

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Yeeee Haaawwww!

I try to show my brother and his girlfriend what trims are, but they can't even notice them.  They don't even notice them on the Magnum, if you can believe that.  I remember when I got a trim free ride on  Magnum, and I was screaming "NO TRIMS!"  They had no idea what I was talking about.  It's true, the GP doesn't notice the trims, so it won't affect a ride's operation.  What is it that makes a ride run too fast so it needs to be trimmed?
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Please disregard anything said by me that is incomprehensible, incoherent, or just dumb. I am and will be drained from the arduous school year, thank you!

I think, especially on wooden coasters, parks slow the trains down for preventative maintanence reasons.  Other reasons maybe they just don't want to exceed certain G-forces on rides so that should something happen, they point to the trims.  Other than that I dont know, I just think that though necessary, rides like Revolution may as well be replaced.  I know we're all enthusiasts and we dont consider ourselves part of the so called "GP" but when most of us start scratching our heads about the necessetity of some trims, you have to question the motivation of some parks when they are installed.

Well, the Phantom's Revenge coaster was trimless all year!  But that will change next season because they need 2 train operation severely!  Plus they will be magnetic.
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Kennywood is my home park!!!

For Phantom's Revenge it wont matter that much cause its on the very last dip of the ride. But I think the Beast should definitely go with out trims for at least one day. I would definitely be there.

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NEW - Phantom's Revenge Video at G-Screams
http://gscreams.cjb.net

I would like to ride beast again without those trim breaks in the beginning after the drop. Especially at night. That would be fun :)

Jill and I have gotten in the habit of yelling "no brakes, no brakes" whenever we feel the brakes hitting...I'd pay double admission for riding all woodies with No Trims.  I understand why they have them, but if trims were really THAT necessary, how come HW doesn't use them?  Got to ride RT and Medusa with no tirms during ACE Conference, VAST improvement of the rides...
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rollergator - intent on improving the "guest experience" - coming soon to a park near you

A large part of why enthusiasts object to trims is the poor way that parks often use them.  First they are often used as a substitute for proper track maintenance and retracking on woodies.  Second, they are used to compenstate for structural problems rather than correcting the structural problems.  Third I can think of at least two major woodies that are famed for massive trim brakes that kill the first half of the ride then speed is allowed to build to levels that combine with rough track to the point that the later parts of the ride are painful.  While some coasters may need a trim in only one spot, most that do need trims would be better off with 2 or three small trims rather than one massive one.

Well, my advice for SFMM and Collossus is to reinstall the double dip!!!  My mom was telling me about how this little element was incredible to see and filled her with fear as she left the parking lot looking at the great white giant.
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The SFMM Salvi:
"Goliath Jr. looks to intense for me"
"I want to go on something more exciting than X"

Im with Salvi 100%.  The quality of this ride would improve greatly.  Some argue that they couldnt run 3 trains without the Block brake which currently sits there.  So what?  With so many rides in that park now, 2 train operation would work just fine.  Its not like theyre breaking any records for ridership now anyway.  If they needed it they do have a pretty wide track, almost wide enough for two trains to race!

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Jim Fisher said:
A large part of why enthusiasts object to trims is the poor way that parks often use them.  First they are often used as a substitute for proper track maintenance and retracking on woodies.  Second, they are used to compenstate for structural problems rather than correcting the structural problems.  Third I can think of at least two major woodies that are famed for massive trim brakes that kill the first half of the ride then speed is allowed to build to levels that combine with rough track to the point that the later parts of the ride are painful. 

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What can I say, you're absolutely correct.  Trims ARE cheaper than proper maintenance.  Maybe manufacturers need a booklet to hand out to parks when they buy woodies, titled "Care and feeding of your new wooden coaster".  They are NOT the same as steelies, DON'T try to treat them the same...

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rollergator - intent on improving the "guest experience" - coming soon to a park near you

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gatorwoodie said:
I understand why they have them, but if trims were really THAT necessary, how come HW doesn't use them?

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Those rides only have one train. It's safe to say that the majority of steel coasters have trims to keep the dispatch interval. Take Magnum, for example. I've been on the ride where it was running about 12 seconds longer than usual, presumably because it was very cold and very windy (this was the time they ran only one train and the ride barely made it up over the second hill). Needless to say, there were no trims being used that day.
On the other hand, if the ride is running really fast, they have to clamp down to keep it from returning too quickly. If they don't, the interval is shorter and there's greater risk for setting up the ride.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Watch the grass grow!

I don't think trims are put in just to ruin the fun and speed. Most of the time they are used to control the dispatch intervals, as Jeff said, or to reduce the forces and thus making it a more enjoyable ride. One example of the latter is Mantis
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Assistant Webmaster
Kennywood Park Unlimited
http://www.kpunlimited.com

Many parks, (I in the least know that SFoT) usually turns down/off the trims on the rides for ACE events, as a little bonus.
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.:| Brandon Rodriguez |:.
http://www.coasters2k.com