Mamba at WOF's wheel problems

I was at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City last week on vacation and while in line for Mamba, they had a "scheduled breakdown" 2 times! They were not right after one another, it happened at different times during the day. I witnessed the mechanics fixing the train as I was waiting for the backseat, and both times it was the third car, front left wheel. All of the polyurethane (sp?) was torn up, and the ride ops told us it happens a lot, almost like a flat tire. Anyone ever seen this?

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Yes I'm 15, no I'm not childish, I'm not being sarcastic, well maybe I do have somewhat of an ego...

Hyper wheels get changed all of the time. I'd go as far to say that it's fairly routine. Happens on Magnum constantly. Depending on who the mechanics are, it's also not uncommon to be able to change a wheel in less than 15 minutes.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

Consider yourself lucky. VF's WT doesn't blow many wheels any more because they choked up on the midcourse brakes.

I'll take blown wheels (and a better ride) anyday.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

Yeah, but Wild Thing doesn't really need that speed for the 2nd half of the coaster to be exciting...they're just bunny hops after all, and still provide great airtime, even with the braking at the midcourse.

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Current favorite coasters:
Wooden: 1) Beast 2) Raven 3) Son of Beast 4) The Boss 5) Timber Wolf
Steel: 1) Raging Bull 2) Millennium Force 3) V2 4) Wild Thing 5) Mr. Freeze
Visit: http://www.dynamicgroove.com

And, by the way, that's typically called a "blow out"; I think I related Uremet's explanation in another thread...but now I can't seem to find it. As the wheel operates, heat builds up in the tire, right in the middle, and can't escape because the urethane is a good insulator. Eventually it will find a weak spot and push through the surface of the tire, or squeeze out between the tire and the hub.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I thought "airtime" meant you actually left the seat...I never did any of that on Wild Thing's second half.

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It tastes like burning.

And as a veteran coaster rider you know that rides can give a very different ride from day to day.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

Oh, I'm fully aware of that, but in the case of Wild Thing, I have never heard of it referred to as any sort of airtime machine. I just guess "great airtime" means different things to different people.

Joe, who thinks CCI's vary the most for whatever reason.

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It tastes like burning.

Mamba has had more wheel problems than the other Morgan hypers have. In 98' it would frequently lose a wheel on the double up hop. We knew by the sound it made, a very loud pang, and if we looked quick...see where the wheel landed. It was usually the left rear guide wheel on car 3. I always loved going to get the wheel and watching the guests faces as I carried it back to the station. That issue was fixed in the off season after 98. It also burns up wheels very fast. In 98 we actually ran out of wheels and had to steal from the third train for a while(for all of you wondering why on a packed Saturday Mamba only ran two trains it's opening season...this is why) We borrowed wheels from Dorney to get our third train functional again. When Morgan checked into it, they blamed it on the constant midwest heat and humidity. Especially the past two weeks temperatures have been hovering around 100, with few clouds. This heats the track up something fierce, which combines with the natural heat building properties of the wheels. Also, in comparison with Wild Thing, Mamba retains much more speed throughout the ride. It (according to Morgan) reaches 75 twice, on the first and second hill. Wild Thing's speed tanks quickly after the first hill.

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wof fan

Yea, total downtime for a wheel change on Magnum is almost always under 15 minutes. Supposedly, "maintenance Jim" got one done in three minutes earlier this year. Basically, the ride gets emptied, the trains stopped in the proper places, the wheel is changed, then that train has to be sent around once for testing. The train after the one with the wheel change can be boarded. Although we weren't supposed to say what was going on, when guest asked what was wrong, we usually just said, "flat tire." :)

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Jeff said:
And as a veteran coaster rider you know that rides can give a very different ride from day to day.

Not in the case of WT....she ain't what she used to be. You can't even fool CBaby.

Ask any VF veteran and we'll all agree that from '96-'98 WT was a freaky, wheel-blowing beast. This year is a compromise of sorts--it hasn't been as bad as '99- '01, but not as good as the good ol' days. The last car has some air, but roughly as much as you'd get from the middle back in the day.

On cool evenings, you just might get a run with light braking. Harvest weekends (september) are also a good bet. Otherwise, the odds are very, very slim...

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya on 7/31/2002. ***

I haven't ridden Wild Thing this year, but last year in August & September, and the year before that (can't remember exactly what time of year), it has always provided me with great airtime, especially in the last seat or seat 1.3

Good enough to make my Top 5.

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Current favorite coasters:
Wooden: 1) Beast 2) Raven 3) Son of Beast 4) The Boss 5) Timber Wolf
Steel: 1) Raging Bull 2) Millennium Force 3) V2 4) Wild Thing 5) Mr. Freeze
Visit: http://www.dynamicgroove.com

Not to mention that the 2nd hill, in the last seat has the best floater airtime of ANY coaster I've ever ridden.

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Current favorite coasters:
Wooden: 1) Beast 2) Raven 3) Son of Beast 4) The Boss 5) Timber Wolf
Steel: 1) Raging Bull 2) Millennium Force 3) V2 4) Wild Thing 5) Mr. Freeze
Visit: http://www.dynamicgroove.com

Well, let me be the first to tell you it used to be way, way better.

During its first seasons the trip back was as good as the trip out--maybe even better. People used to ask their friends which seats were the best and be answered, " I dunno...all of 'em."

But don't take my word for it--ask my 9 year old. She enjoyed a few 'sneak' laps when she was five and plenty of laps during its final great season. She'll tell you the same thing.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

Wild Thing is still its freaky self when Maintainence lets it be. As I can attest to the 10 brakels rides I've got in on it so far this summer. Quite frankly, I think Operations wants the brakes off, but the mid course stays on because Maintainence doesn't want to deal with having to replace its fourth sets of brakes.

In 1998 the ready brakes on WT needed to be replaced for a second time in two seasons and I think the park figured it could afford to replace them all the time.

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Excalibur Team Lead 2002

RideMan said:
And, by the way, that's typically called a "blow out"; I think I related Uremet's explanation in another thread...but now I can't seem to find it. As the wheel operates, heat builds up in the tire, right in the middle, and can't escape because the urethane is a good insulator. Eventually it will find a weak spot and push through the surface of the tire, or squeeze out between the tire and the hub.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I thought in 98 The Mamba had Firestone Wilderness AT Wheels on it. Is Uremet a tire manufacture or is it a type of rubber/plastic?

I have seen these tires on Boomerang and the Orient Express and they may have them on Mamba too.

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Chris Knight
Whoa I'm the 88984594th Vistor to Coasterbuzz. I wonder what I have won.

I like the reference to the Wilderness AT...gave me a laugh. (Not to pick on Firestone, I had Wilderness AT's on my truck and never had a problem)

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wof fan