Speed increase possible?

This question is probably going to sound stupid, but I know you guys can help me: Is it possible due to weather or weight of passengers on a train that can cause it to go faster than other times or is max speed max speed period?

There have been a lot of times on the Raptor, mostly at evening and night when I would swear that baby is really cookin compared to rides earlier in the day. Am I nuts? and if ;) I'm not, what causes rides to go faster than normal?

I always thought that once the lift chain let you go, you were on God's good graces after that.

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Cedar Point is closed for the season. Reason? Freezin!

Hot weather can make the train go slightly faster. As the wheels heat up, and the track gest slicker from the oil, it can increase speed.

I know Raptor has had problems in the past from going too fast and tripping sensors.

I'm not a physics expert though, so I'm sure someone else can explain it better.

I'm sure that wind could make the train go faster or slower, depending on which way it's going.

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2005: Ride Operator
2006: General Manager
My track record

I think another possiblity is that the warm weather causes the wheels and the track to compress allowing for less friction between the wheels and the track.

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Hey.... Whatever
http://coasterplace.web1000.com

Here a reason that trains go faster in the hot weather. During the hot weather the air molecules are moving faster and cause less fricition.

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Finally an annoucment.

When my wife & I went last year it rained a little bit, while we were waiting to ride MF. When we finally got to the train & got on, another very brief shower came. The people who made sure we were secure told us that, the ride will probably hit 100 mph due to the rain & the track being wet.. It sure felt like it was going faster. So, when the track gets wet, it goes faster too. Why? I don't know, but, it does.

Wouldn't that increase the G's?

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2005: Ride Operator
2006: General Manager
My track record

John, the people who said that had no clue what they were talking about. The terminal velocity of MF is only like 97 MPH or so. There is no way, outside of a perfect vacume with no friction, that a roller coaster can hit its terminal velocity. Can it get close? Sure, but there will still be friction of some sort to slow it down.

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AKA...Somewhatchewy, Joseph the White.
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

InclInE LoOpEr said:
John, the people who said that had no clue what they were talking about. The terminal velocity of MF is only like 97 MPH or so. There is no way, outside of a perfect vacume with no friction, that a roller coaster can hit its terminal velocity. Can it get close? Sure, but there will still be friction of some sort to slow it down.
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AKA...Somewhatchewy, Joseph the White.
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

Thanks for that info. Sorry I was wrong then. I do know it did seem to go faster than normal though that day. We were sitting about mid coaster & felt the G's. We hadn't felt them before, when sitting that far back. We only felt them 1 other time & that's when we got front seat of MF (AWESOME).

At the bottom of the lift, Millennium Force reaches a consistant 92-93 MPH. The weather isn't much of a factor since it just drops down a hill. On the other hand, the speed going through the last OBT can vary 15, 20 or more MPH. The difference of the conditions like temputure and wind over the entire course plays a huge role in the speed reduction. On a good day, you'll fly through the end of the ride. On not so good days, you can visually see the trains moving a lot slower. If you watch how fast the trains go through the brake runs, you'll notice that they slow to a rolling stop in the first brake run on cold days; however, if you watch them on a warm day, they enter the second brake run still moving a good 10 MPH or so.

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Millennium Force 03'

I remember the first Friday Fright Night of the 2002 season there was a big rain. We got on Millennium Force in the last seat right after they reopened it and both me and my girlfriend noticed it seemed faster, especially when we got whipped over the first hill. It was the most memorable ride we had on it because it was misty out and that mixed with the fog from the fright zone. So when we went down the first hill we could not see the ground and then we dove through the mist and could not see anything. There is a possibility that the increased speed was in our heads, but the fog effect was awesome.

That's pretty cool.

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2005: Ride Operator
2006: General Manager
My track record
My Cedar Point page

Yeah, at HalloWeekends I got one of the most forceful rides on MF. I was actually thrust down into my seat, which was the first time that's ever happened to me. Definitely an awesome ride!

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What is most anticipated event of 2003? the debut of Dragster, the release of Metallica's new album, the release of Terminator 3, or the release of Matrix:Reloaded...tough call.

Not to be nitpicky, InclineLooper, but Terminal Velocity is because of friction. In a perfect vacuum with no friction, there is no terminal velocity. Terminal velocity is when the weight of the object equals the drag caused by the air (or any fluid) it's moving through. Check this site out for a great explanation. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/termv.html

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--Seth