Rattle on a coaster, can it be fixed?

[FaithPlus1]

How do you fix a rattle on a coaster. Most rides are born smooth. Then they grow up and inherit this rattle. Isn't there something that can do to the trains to remedy this?

Edited September 5, 2015 by larrygator

[Superbatboy]

This is something I've wondered for a long time too, particularly on the B&M coasters. Hopefully someone has the answer lol

[KBrylczyk]

Depends on what is causing the rattle. General material fatigue almost certainly plays a factor and there are parks willing to replace parts to remove a rattle (Disney) and parks that aren't willing to replace parts until they're no longer safe to use (Six Flags).

 

Edit - To add, just replacing one part won't help. It'll be nice for a short time but since the rest of the materials in use are of varying degrees of use they won't work perfectly soundly together, hence why you see rattles return faster than you'd like.

[rcoaster10]

I've always wondered about the terrible rattle on Banshee. It's been there since day 1 and hasn't let up since. I guess that's just bad engineering.

[thrillrider]

Just about every B&M coaster I have been on seems to develop the rattle over time. All park chains(not just six flags) seem to have the same problem.

[DrachenfireOP]

Honest question: does this negatively impact yalls rides? I hear constant complaining on here about it, and never even noticed it until I read all the complaints and started to "look" for what people were talking about. I can't ever feel it, only hear it, and honestly don't care. I'm genuinely curious if other people can not only feel something, but dislike the rides as a result? I mean, take Banshee, which I thought was TOO smooth and tame, but people say it has a rattle and that it's a bad thing...

[gerstlaueringvar]

Only B&Ms I've been on that don't have rattle are Great White, Diavlo and X-Flight.

 

I think it has something to do with nylon wheels damaging the track.

[CP Maverick]

I can't imagine the nylon wheels damaging the steel track. However, B&M does have suspension on it's wheel carriages. Based on the speed of the ride and the quality of fabrication, I could see noise (rattle) coming from the carriages vibrating over less than 100% smooth steel track. This would also explain why it is heard and not felt.

[Geauga Dog]

The only place I've felt rattle on Banshee is in the back. The middle is pretty smooth. As for Diamondback the only part that bothers me is after coming out of the hammerhead turnaround the train gets a bad vibrating rattle as it begins to climb the hill before the mid-course. It doesn't affect how I feel about the ride, I love Diamondback, but that particular section is one I don't look forward to with each ride.

[FaithPlus1]

Honest question: does this negatively impact yalls rides? I hear constant complaining on here about it, and never even noticed it until I read all the complaints and started to "look" for what people were talking about. I can't ever feel it, only hear it, and honestly don't care. I'm genuinely curious if other people can not only feel something, but dislike the rides as a result? I mean, take Banshee, which I thought was TOO smooth and tame, but people say it has a rattle and that it's a bad thing...

 

I agree with you here. It doesn't ruin the ride for me at all, but I do notice it and it seems to really bother a lot of people. Just seems like something that can be fixed during winter/maintenance. Then again I think KB explained it rather well.

[BabyDinosaur]

Only B&Ms I've been on that don't have rattle are Great White, Diavlo and X-Flight.

 

I think it has something to do with nylon wheels damaging the track.

 

 

Last time I went to SFGAM I went on X-Flight twice, I felt a rattle both times.

[Coastin Eric]

MF had quite a rattle, you didn't really FEEL it, but you could HEAR it. And they replaced the bodies of the trains with fiberglass instead of metal which makes the trains sound a lot better. So in terms of that, yes. Hopefully the B&M rattle can be fixed...

[DrachenfireOP]

^ but I think the question I'm getting at is, from a business perspective, is there any reason to bother? Thats why I was asking if other people could actually feel something, since ride forces are subjective. Unless people really are feeling it and getting hurt (I can't feel it personally ) why would the park spend money to "fix" something that might not even be broken in the eyes of the manufacturer? The whole point of vibrations in construction is to prevent damage. As the old saying goes, "if it can't shake, it will break." It's entirely possible the minor vibrations on coaster trains are a design feature to reduce stress on the vehicles.

 

If a train rattle is causing wear and tear on the rides, or is causing people pain and discomfort, it's an issue worth addressing. If a dynamite ride has long lines and high attendance, but a fringe minority of enthusiasts don't like the way a ride sounds, well...

[AirMBTB]

Anton got it right! Hinges at every track-support connection. And ball & sockets for Mind Bender and Shock Wave. B&Ms have an occasional ball & socket, but not enough to eliminate all that rattle.

[Coaster Hero]

Speaking of shaking, from Zumanjaro you can see the track of Kingda Ka sway a lot after a train passes, for like 2 minutes. It's really interesting to watch.

[rcoaster10]

Anton got it right! Hinges at every track-support connection. And ball & sockets for Mind Bender and Shock Wave. B&Ms have an occasional ball & socket, but not enough to eliminate all that rattle.

 

It is interesting that so many years ago these coasters could be made perfectly smooth and still are to this day, yet brand new $25+ million B&M's rattle.

[coasterkid124]

Speaking of shaking, from Zumanjaro you can see the track of Kingda Ka sway a lot after a train passes, for like 2 minutes. It's really interesting to watch.

 

Yep, it's designed that way because if the steel doesn't sway it will break. TTD and Wicked Twister also do this. A little bit different of a concept, but similar.

[Coaster Hero]

^Yeah, I'm aware of that . I was just saying it shakes so much more than your average coaster because of it's much higher speed that it makes the time waiting in line go a bit faster. I noticed this topic was also brought up in the "wooden coaster worries" thread as well.

[Jaykethekid]

Wildfire at Silver Dollar City has quite the rattle. Though, the rattle feels weird. It isn't a bunch of jolts like Vekoma rides do, it is like a bouncy, spring-y like rattle. That is about the best I could describe it. I'm sure rattles can be fixed specifically in the trains, but if it is deformation of the track, it would be pretty hard to fix.