Roller coasters speed up throughout the day, why?

Your experience of the same roller coaster will most likely be slightly different each time you ride it. Even though theme parks market their rides with a specific top speed, and the physics of the earth are constant around the globe, the speed of a roller coaster's train can change from moment to moment. There are a huge number of other minor factors that can affect how the train will perform through the circuit. So, why do roller coasters generally speed up throughout the day?

PATREONS:
D. Newman, Simon Stirrat, Philippe-Minh, Tyler Bennet, Inverted Studios, Simon Ward, Racc Hudson and Urso Brando

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coaster studios

VIDEO STRUCTURE:
00:00 Introduction
00:36 Temperature
03:34 Passenger Numbers
04:17 Weather
05:16 Wheel Types
06:43 Track Paint
07:06 Too Fast?
08:40 Too Slow?
09:58 Conclusion

[McPizzaPerson]

Lightning will reduce a coaster’s speed to a whopping 0km/h 😂😂😂

[DJBKoasteRs]

I rode Untamed at 10pm during a thunderstorm and oh boi was it speedy compared to morning rides I had

[DryEyeBuilds]

This was actually a topic I was very curious about, and this is the first video to explain it as well as this one has!

[TripleTSingt]

Taron has another way of warming up the trains: Boost mode.

This mode isn't safe for guests due to higher acceleration on the 2 launches, but is used in the morning to warm up the trains, especially if they were outside over night.

[MadMovieMakers]

So what you're saying is obesity is the key to fast rides

[coasterhockygamingboy]

In 2019, yukon striker got drastically faster every time I rode. Back in April/May you were on the zero g winder for 5-7 seconds and on the vertical loop was slow at the top and you got hangtime but by July and August there was barely any hangtime on the zero g winder around 1-2 seconds and you sped through the vertical loop and 2nd Immelmann.
Roller Coasters can also get faster during the year and I have evidence with that with Yukon Striker at Canada’s Wonderland, my home park.

Unfortunately I haven’t ridden it in 2020 because Doug Ford is a big poopie head and won’t open CW

[Stubwood_on_YT]

I tried explaining this to a gp friend the other day, now I'm going to send him the link of this video. When I first experienced Icon at BPB, I had a rly slow ride in the morning, didn't even crack my top ten. I went on a few other rides until mid-afternoon when I had a second ride and it was SO much better!

[MrPatrickbuit]

8:15 love the choice for footage of Goliath there. It’s a ride that’s known for speeding up insanely on hot days. From what I remember when I went this summer, it was doing laps that were almost 5 seconds faster than they were supposed to be. They actually had to close the ride temporarily cause they reached the minimum lap time.

[cedarflags]

"A roller coaster may valley" *shows smiler*

*Heavy Sweating*

[Handlepandle]

You should do a video on ‘what happens when a train valleys’ like how they deal with it, how they get the trains back to the station and such

[bramversluis]

Steel coasters go faster in the rain, but it slows down wooden coasters. Because wooden coasters have steel wheels on steel track the track itself needs to be lubricated quite often. On Troy it happens on average every other day, depending on the state of the track and the weather conditions of the track. In the rain the lubricant is washed off, wich slows the train down by about 2, 5 seconds

[jaconoorland]

As an engineering student I'm happy that someone has finally sum up all the points nicely, always wondered how many factors contributed to this affect as it is described by all coaster enthusiasts.

[downtowncoolsville.]

5:12 Never have i seen a rollercoaster go so fast!

[bocahdongo]

5:05

Literally what happen in my childhood dream about rollercoaster

[Ilandria.]

Temperature also affects air density. Cold air is more dense than hot air, meaning there's literally more stuff in the way causing drag against the trains on colder days.

[Thesecondruntdog]

Gerstlauer uses adjustable pressure springs on their euro fighter side guides which help to keep the vehicles running within spec by increasing the pressure on the track

[eddienhp]

Thanks for making this! By the way, I understand why they use breaks so that the ride can slow down!

[alkankondo]

Cool fact at 9:26! I actually JUST noticed those wheel-heaters when I rode Candymonium an hour ago today (a cold, drizzly day). I was hoping you'd mention that!

[vortexluigirosalina]

This is really cool! I can’t believe this is how roller coasters go fast or slow

[Paolo]

This is true for most coasters. Coaster at Playland has its speed adjusted by changing the friction in the wheels (They don't use the MCBR) by making them looser when its too fast or tighter when it's too slow. They're flange wheels that have locked pins in them. The ride ops time the ride and call a techie to unlock the pin and turn the middle of the wheel with a wrench; thereby giving it more friction or less friction as the situation requires. Having said that: Yes, on most days when it's open (hot days) left unchecked, even "Coaster" at Playland would run faster as the day progresses. Thanks for this fantastic video; it is information needed for fascinated people who don't know this yet, of which there are always plenty.