Squeaky Millie!
Can anyone explain this..... all the MFs cars are squeaking...... i dont remmeber this last year at all.
The squeaking started when they started using the concave nylon wheels. I'm still not sure what the benefit of using them is, and what the logic is for using them at various points on the train.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
I though the solid nylon wheels are the "cold weather" wheels which yield a faster ride in cooler temps, as well as warmer temps. The trade off is a little more of a rigid ride and the squeaking around the turns.
When it comes to wierd sounds that MF makes, I'll take the squeaks over the anti-rollback ripping at the crest of the lift :)
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Scott W. Short
scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com
When it comes to wierd sounds that MF makes, I'll take the squeaks over the anti-rollback ripping at the crest of the lift :)
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Scott W. Short
scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com
Dont know if SOB and Beast are doing it anymore, but they were squeaking badle. They might need some grease on the track.
Wood coasters squeak for similar but different reasons than steel. Most wood coaster trains can't steer like steel trains. As a result, the turns need to be lubed so the trains can slide around turns. When the rails are lubed, you get the metal-on-metal grinding and squeaking that Mean Streak and more recently Beast and Sonny are known for.
Steel coaster trains can steer around turns so generally no lube is needed. Then why does MF squeak around the turn? There's probably a little resistance going on between the wheel and rail. The nylon wheels are different enough from standard polyurathane wheels that they make a squeaking sound when there's drag.
How can they fix it? I've got two ideas. One, put a little lube on the track. Since MF is running fast enough, I don't see this happening. The second idea came about when from Rideman sometime last year when the new wheels came in. Split each wheel down the middle so effectively you have two wheels in one. As a result, the wheel can turn at two different speeds, one for the inside and one for the outside of the turn. It's this difference in rotation speeds that causes the squeak. Allow for different rotation speeds and the squeaking should go away as well as resistance between the rail and wheel that could very well yield a faster ride.
Yes, it's a slow day at work :)
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Scott W. Short
scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com
Steel coaster trains can steer around turns so generally no lube is needed. Then why does MF squeak around the turn? There's probably a little resistance going on between the wheel and rail. The nylon wheels are different enough from standard polyurathane wheels that they make a squeaking sound when there's drag.
How can they fix it? I've got two ideas. One, put a little lube on the track. Since MF is running fast enough, I don't see this happening. The second idea came about when from Rideman sometime last year when the new wheels came in. Split each wheel down the middle so effectively you have two wheels in one. As a result, the wheel can turn at two different speeds, one for the inside and one for the outside of the turn. It's this difference in rotation speeds that causes the squeak. Allow for different rotation speeds and the squeaking should go away as well as resistance between the rail and wheel that could very well yield a faster ride.
Yes, it's a slow day at work :)
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Scott W. Short
scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com
I was pretty sure I knew what the benefit of the concave wheels was, but I wanted to check with my CP contact before I posted. The benefit is longer life.
With a flat wheel, only a very small part of the wheel contacts the track. This puts very high stresses on the plastic that contacts the track, and also causes it to heat up a lot as it flexes due to the high stresses. Eventually, this results in chunks of plastic breaking off the wheel, and the wheel has to be replaced. Last year, CP often had the pull trains from MF in the middle of the day to change wheels which didn't last a full day.
I've taken several rough rides due this. One particularly bad one was truly painful on Gemini, a coaster normally known for its smoothness.
The concave wheels wrap partially around the circular rails greatly increasing the "contact patch". This results in less stress and heating in the plastic which greatly increases the life of the wheel. These wheels are also showing up on other Intamin hypers. I noticed them on SROS at SFA this spring. *** This post was edited by Jim Fisher on 5/18/2001. ***
With a flat wheel, only a very small part of the wheel contacts the track. This puts very high stresses on the plastic that contacts the track, and also causes it to heat up a lot as it flexes due to the high stresses. Eventually, this results in chunks of plastic breaking off the wheel, and the wheel has to be replaced. Last year, CP often had the pull trains from MF in the middle of the day to change wheels which didn't last a full day.
I've taken several rough rides due this. One particularly bad one was truly painful on Gemini, a coaster normally known for its smoothness.
The concave wheels wrap partially around the circular rails greatly increasing the "contact patch". This results in less stress and heating in the plastic which greatly increases the life of the wheel. These wheels are also showing up on other Intamin hypers. I noticed them on SROS at SFA this spring. *** This post was edited by Jim Fisher on 5/18/2001. ***
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