New Wheels

There are so many different wheels and combinations it's amazing. There appear to be 3 different types of wheels now used on Millennium Force and some new ones I haven't seen before. They still all have the metal base but the coatings vary from gray to almost a cream color and one has concave shape to it. Perhaps they are a nylon with a just covering instead of the whole wheel being made out of it.

Whatever they are they are working and the ride is almost at top speed. It seems faster, smoother, and a bit louder than before. Great Job Monty and the crew! :)

That's good news! Maybe the cream colored wheels have tires made out of the same material as last year's wheels, just over a metal wheel?

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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.

After visiting the park, I can see why people thought that MF was traveling slower this year (and maybe is was for a little bit). The new wheels create a new, more quiet sound, which gives an illusion of less speed since we are all used to the normal roar of the old wheels.

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*- CP Fan -*
Welcome to...Millennium Force...

That's what I was thinking Pete, those ones though only appear on a few cars on yellow train, not sure why. Maybe they are rotating them in..

CP Fan... Whatever they have on there now makes the ride seem louder than just a few weeks ago. Could be my imagination though. The ride has picked up 3 or 4 seconds too.

They could put pink wheels on for all I care, it's running good again. :)

The temperature has also returned to somewhat normal levels. I think that was a big reason to MF's sub-par performance in May.

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Scott W. Short, Rail Junkie
mailto:scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

Sweet...I'm going tomorrow, and hopefully I'll see the new wheels in action. I want my Millie back!

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Snoopy Rocks! On Ice starts June 22--Do you think they'll let me drive the Zamboni machine?

I want to drive the Zamboni!

Wow, then it must have been REALLY quiet then in early May...I made my first trip up on Saturday May 25 and thought MF was way more quiet than it was last year (which it still is).

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*- CP Fan -*
Welcome to...Millennium Force...

Yeah, no deafining sound going up the ramp anymore. I don't know if that's good or bad, just something I noticed.

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Paul
Welcome to Iron Dragon! We'll take you upside down not once, not twice, not at all!

I would say (and I would think others would agree) that the roar MF made was a good thing and will be missed.

Then again, all good things...

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*- CP Fan -*
Welcome to...Millennium Force...

It's not gone! It is back! No need to miss it! :)

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Break the scream barrier NOW!
Wicked twists: 4
Danger: Hgih Voltage!

I did notice today that some of the wheels were a little different, but they still look nothing like last year's setup. And yes, yellow had the new setup for sure, and I think red had something new, but it wasn't the same as yellow. Blue still sucked. Red and yellow were a little louder and faster going into the final turn then they have been, but I still don't think they're where they used to be. Also, today I finally paid attention and noticed the "sloppyness" in some of the turns is definately still there.

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-Chris Woodard
To the people in front of me: "No, those towers aren't supposed to sway like that. I think you should leave the line right now."
VertiGo: now known as Verti-Picnic Tables.

I'd definately think by next season, all of the wheels will be of one type. There could be conflicts with the mix that they're using, this summer. Has anybody felt an addition of slight bumpness or anything else with the mix of different wheel types?

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Adam Black | adam@mouseinfo.com
www.americacoasters.com | www.mouseinfo.com
*** This post was edited by xShorty 6/3/2002 1:24:24 AM ***

Last year they had the perfect set of wheels on the trains, and they still had a combo.

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Snoopy Rocks! On Ice starts June 22--Do you think they'll let me drive the Zamboni machine?

I want to drive the Zamboni!

Rode in yellow today, very good but not quite there yet. It's still missing a little "umph" over the island camelbacks you get when it's running at top speed. Blue is still the slowest, coming in 2 or 3 seconds behind red.