Tower of Terror Update

[Reanimated35]

I'm sure its just the video not doing it justice, but the new car looks kind of 'cheap' and made of aluminum instead of the darker 'tougher' looking ToT car

[whitsy]

....And it seems smaller?

[Scott.]

I'm sure its just the video not doing it justice, but the new car looks kind of 'cheap' and made of aluminum instead of the darker 'tougher' looking ToT car

Why is being made of aluminium a bad thing? its lighter so can be launched faster with less power. But i'd say at least the chassis would be steel even if the casing is aluminium.

[Reanimated35]

Nothing is bad about it. But it could use a darker paint job

[Scott.]

its inside a dark tunnel all day every day, you see it in the light for what 7 seconds?

[Rick]

....And it seems smaller?

Yeah, 12 seats is a little worrying. More speed though, I guess.

[Spotty]

At least there isn't a huge arsed windshield in your face now...

[jakeman398]

There are actually 14 seats...

[Richard]

I'd have thought trimming some weight from the chassis would give them the opportunity to add a row or two of seats to give the ride a much-needed capacity boost. Bizarre to see that they've gone in the exact opposite direction.

[Reanimated35]

its inside a dark tunnel all day every day, you see it in the light for what 7 seconds?

Haha, I'd actually forgotten about the tunnel. It's been a while since I've been there

[Rick]

I'd have thought trimming some weight from the chassis would give them the opportunity to add a row or two of seats to give the ride a much-needed capacity boost. Bizarre to see that they've gone in the exact opposite direction.

Maybe lengthening in the vehicle wasn't an option due to the curve up to the tower? Just a thought.

[Gazza]

^Shouldn't make a difference since it only has 2 sets of wheels, front and rear, and it is only travelling on the inside of the curve, therefore there is ample opportunity to lengthen the car ....Surfrider at WnW manages to negotiate a tighter curve with a longer car.

[varekai]

Is there going to be any soft opening before the official on the 18th?

[Rick]

^ but half pipe cars are marginally articulated, are they or are they not? I've never really paid too much attention. Press night on Thurs so good chance it'll run on Friday for Screamworld.

[Scott.]

Sure adding another row would be nice but none of you even know if the new car is lighter, the chassis would have to be steel, ally would just flex too much under high g's, the plating may even be steel too depending if its a paint job or raw, noone knows if it is lighter or not and you cant base that on a picture. Considering none or you have an engineering degree (that i know of) i would be reluctant to just throw stuff out there thinking its possible when the designers have gotten the most out of it they can. Im a boilermaker and even my companys design team gives us some shit you just look at and think wtf sometimes but theres always a reason for everything in production like this.

Edited September 10, 2010 by Scott.

[Bmull19]

Is there going to be any soft opening before the official on the 18th?

Yes, there will be, the 16th of September (Thursday night).

[Gazza]

^ but half pipe cars are marginally articulated, are they or are they not? I've never really paid too much attention.

Since its just a set of wheels at the front and the back, and the car is only ever on the 'inside' of the curve there is no physical need for articulation in the middle of the car, since the car as a whole 'bridges' the curve. http://www.parkz.com.au/photo/large/genera...er_IMG_4758.JPG http://www.parkz.com.au/photo/AU/Gold_Coas...-Surfrider.html Besides, over in Paris they stuck a 20 person car on RC Racer..I wanted one like that http://www.rcdb.com/m/1170.htm?p=29924

[lollydove]

Sure adding another row would be nice but none of you even know if the new car is lighter, the chassis would have to be steel, ally would just flex too much under high g's, the plating may even be steel too depending if its a paint job or raw, noone knows if it is lighter or not and you cant base that on a picture. Considering none or you have an engineering degree (that i know of) i would be reluctant to just throw stuff out there thinking its possible when the designers have gotten the most out of it they can. Im a boilermaker and even my companys design team gives us some shit you just look at and think wtf sometimes but theres always a reason for everything in production like this.

Statement from Dreamworld: "The new car is definitely lighter and faster. These days materials no longer need to be as big and bulky to do the job. Take mobile phones for example." And Dreamworld has been saying for a while that it will be lighter... It seems confirmed but I'm not sure, so I wouldn't go saying that they haven't said anything yet.

[Scott.]

Statement from Dreamworld: "The new car is definitely lighter and faster. These days materials no longer need to be as big and bulky to do the job. Take mobile phones for example." And Dreamworld has been saying for a while that it will be lighter... It seems confirmed but I'm not sure, so I wouldn't go saying that they haven't said anything yet.

Heres a "statement" from the engineering world, materials have not gotten stronger over the years, neither have welds so i dont see how thats possible, ive seen drawings of the first ships my company built and comparing it to the current ones 20 years later nothing has changed, still the same materials with the same strength. If its going to be lighter its not even going to be 100kg lighter so it wont make much difference anyway. When has something dreamworld ever claimed be remotely true anyway....

[Gazza]

What about when they converted X to X2 at SFMM? The whole thing about that upgrade was making the trains lighter to reduce stress on the track and the trains themselves: Before: http://www.rcdb.com/m/750.htm?p=3514 After: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:X2-newtrain.jpg Notice the extra holes, less superfluous mouldings, the more lightweight means of hanging the trains off the side etc etc.

Heres a "statement" from the engineering world, materials have not gotten stronger over the years, neither have welds so i dont see how thats possible

What about the design of the structures themselves? Surely that has improved over time!

[Brad2912]

How do we get an invite to the Press Night??

[Bmull19]

How do we get an invite to the Press Night??

Obviously be media??? That's what I would think.

[Scott.]

You'd be surprised how little design has been changed, yes you can use lighter materials and you can reduce weight but you cant do it by sacrificing the strength so you have to put more material into it. In the end were talking about building a car here not something that involves alot of engineering, there's only so much you can do with a basic frame. All they've done with x2 was remove material from low stress areas, from looking at that that's how the train should have been made in the first place, that was only needed because the first train was way over engineered.

Edited September 11, 2010 by Scott.

[Bmull19]

You'd be surprised how little design has been changed, yes you can use lighter materials and you can reduce weight but you cant do it by sacrificing the strength so you have to put more material into it. In the end were talking about building a car here not something that involves alot of engineering, there's only so much you can do with a basic frame.

The cart is a major part of the ride! It would have to be strong to be able to cope with those strains 7+ hours a day! All this has begun over what it looks like. What if everyone is wrong and it's just paint on top???? The cart is as complex as a car, in my own opinion, and no one better get angry at me for saying that, because I'm entitled to my opinion, as much as you are! There seems to be a lot of fury around here about people when they have a different opinion. My opinion is that this cart, it has to interact with the electromagnets at the EXACT millisecond required. Yeah, sure, you might think 'but it's all just the magnets work' but it's not. It takes two to tango, and in this case, for Tower of Terror to launch, it takes the magnets AND the cart to do it. I agree with a little bit from everyone. I believe it does look softer than the other one. But I also believe, it looks better and more modern. Only thing is that I don't think it really has the same basis as the last cart. It's got smaller rubber wheels, full harnesses, new seating layout for the back (well front) 2 seats, etc. Oh well... as I said, everyone gets their opinion.

[Scott.]

You do relise Im talking about the chassis of the car here? you ever seen a bare chassis? its like 6 beams welded together with some gusseting. Im not talking about the electronic or hydraulic side of this because all the weight saving will mostly come from the metalwork side.