Loss of momentum on my K'nex

I receieved a Screamin' Serpent set from my better half for our anniversary last fall and another set from Mom for Christmas. I built the single set model to figure out how to build it. After conquering that, I set out to create a larger combination of the two. The lift is two gray sticks taller than the original lift, yet it seems to have only a little more momentum than the normal model. I thought I was being overly cautious with my 2nd (half the lift height) and and 3rd hill (2/3 of the 2nd hill) heights...but it looks like I'll need to cut short the ride.

I made a four car train and plugged in all the little people to increase the mass. The track is quite smooth. Does anyone have tips for me? Should I strap some pennies in there to increase the mass? Lube the wheel assembly? Make teeny tiny hills? Fewer hills? Suggestions? Comments?

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"I'll bet that thing hits 5 Gs going through that loop.....faaar ooouut!"

Well, as we all know, increasing the lift hill needs to grow exponentially to get a linear increase in height. Also, the set is simply too small to carry much momentum. Everything after the first big or two small elements has to be pretty darn small. Good luck. (BTW, adding more weight to the trains doesn't always help the momentum. Especially if it has a lot of spins (zero-g/corkscrew style).
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The legend lives!

I'm an airtime whore...no loops! Then again, I want length too. I think I might be able to get away with decreasing the amplitude of the hills. Then I should be able to use all of the track.
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"I'll bet that thing hits 5 Gs going through that loop.....faaar ooouut!"

I found out that I had to keep the bottom of the first drop from going all the way to the ground. Take a look at the link. With 2 kits and a 5 car train, it is 1 1/2 sections higher at the lift, and the CCI-inspired turnaround is higher than the middle hill, but still only half as high as the lift. It then has enough to do a floating S-curve and turn up through the lift structure, but then poops out quickly. Keeping those first few drops from reaching the ground gives you lots more to work with later on. Your wheels shouldn't need lubed, if they spin like mine do!

http:www.angelfire.com/oh4/tk173/knex5.jpg
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Don't.....look.....back! The Headless Horseman awaits you in 2002!
Model coasters and rides

While the stand-up type of air on Phoenix or S:RoS is great for throwing you out of the train (God I love those rides), it doesn't make for excellent maintenance of momentum on a small scale ride.  Try rounding out the subsequent hills, so they look more like floater hills.  Also, increasing the angle of the first drop gives better speed.  Feeding your riders Knott's chicken dinners before riding should increase their mass, which really is a good idea (and tastes better than the pennies, but they'll work too, LOL).  A small dose of WD-40 on any axles, etc. probably wouldn't hurt either...but most importantly, do NOT reduce ride length!  If you can bank any turns, that would help, too...
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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

Thanks both of ya's! I'll get cracking tonight after supper(still at work out here). Ya, if I reduce the ride length, the little plastic folks might sign up for coasterbuzz and knock my ride until Jeff has to add "11) Don't knock Eric's rides." to the ToS. ;)
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"I'll bet that thing hits 5 Gs going through that loop.....faaar ooouut!"

A more general way of saying the "don't make your drops go all the way to the ground" would be: conserve your height (and consequently potential energy).  If you have a huge drop and then lots of ground level elements, you'll come out A LOT slower than if you do some smaller elements higher and continually drop a little bit followed by another element.  This is especially important towards the end of the course (I can almost never get the train to catch the chain unless I have the last turn about 3 inches off the ground with a small slope into the bottom of the lift hill).  Of course, this requires a lot more support structure.
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The legend lives!

*** This post was edited by ApolloAndy on 1/22/2002. ***

Yah...that's what I meant by "decreasing the amplitude". It's looking a little more hopeful now. However, I have to get creative with my sticks in order to conserve them. I put in about a half hour to an hour a night. I should be done in a couple days.
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"I'll bet that thing hits 5 Gs going through that loop.....faaar ooouut!"