Pinewood derby

rmk4ever

New member
Just got the package for the derby. Anyone have some good "MODS" for this thing? Want to be fair but fast, is it possible? Share with me your secrets. lol
 

Skidooski

New member
Make sure you polish the axels. If you are adding weight, I would try to get it center between the wheels as close as possible. Try to keep the weight balance to all four wheels.
 

big_motor_guy

New member
polisth the axels and soak them in graphite for a day or two. I agree with centering the weight on the bottom side of the car and don't worry about aero, not enough of an advantage to do anything worth while, When I was 10 the winner MN state derby was a car that looked like a bathtub. My "days of thunder" mellow yellow nascar got 4th.
 

maddogg

Member
make sure there are no burs on the plastic wheels also. I don't know if you can or not anymore but I've seen where you can melt the lead and place inside the car.
 

yamahauler

Active member
what are the rules on modifying?

What parts can't you change the shape of?

For less friction between wheel and track, you could round the top surface of the wheel slightly
 

brakecheck

New member
Make sure all burs are removed from nails. Start with small file in drill, next with emery paper, next with polishing powder and a cotton wheel on a bench grinder. Lastly, shhhh, don't tell anyone, polish with strips of leather. We just got done with our local race and took 1st place overall in the pack.

Good luck.
 

rmk4ever

New member
Leather huh? never heard of that one. Thanks guy's & gals & keep em coming. It's been a long, long, long time since I've messed with any of this.
 

arcticgeorge

New member
Just set a new record for track speed!

I have won several 1st place Pinewood Derby races with my boy and my girls...For the most part friction is your worst enemy...I also make then aerodynamic, probably dosent help much but i do........So as others have said making the axles as smooth as possible, fully coated with the Legal Ultra graphite and to make sure your wheels are straight. I have raced both the peg axle style and the pin style the straight thing plays more in the wooden peg style axles. The weight is best towards the back of the car and as deep or high up in the car you can get it. Playing around we flipped the car backwards and lost 3 miles per hour because the weight was now forward and the back fishtailed.. I set a new track record this last weekend. A fully automatic with digital sensors/readout track... In scale my car went 227mph the 1st run and kept getting faster as we raced. Took first every time she raced. Upset one other Dad that said he researched it online for 4 hours...I have pics,will edit later..
 

ezra

Well-known member
how about letting the kid build the best car he can ON HIS OWN so when he places he knows he did it on his own and it is his victory or loss
 

jr37

Well-known member
My son and I are building his first Pinewood car now. I am doing the major things like carving the shape he wanted and placing the weight, but putting on wheels, polishing axles, painting, etc is going to be his job. They are suppose to be learning something from this, and that won't happen if dad builds it by himself. As years go on he will have to do it entirely be himself, and win or lose, HE will know he did his best, not that dad did his best.
 

polarisrider1

New member
how about letting the kid build the best car he can ON HIS OWN so when he places he knows he did it on his own and it is his victory or loss

Agree, but it is suppose to be a Father/child event. In the 3 years my kids did it, it was almost always Dad against Dad. Google pinewood derby and you can get "cheat sheets" on line. We deburred axles and wheels and spun them with a cordless drill and grafite powder until the axles shined. Heavier cars were not always the fastest. Axle alignment is critical. Weight 2/3rds back and one front wheel not touching the track got my son a 1st at regionals.
 

yamahauler

Active member
They should have one for the dads and one for the kids, that would be funny to watch all the dads lined up there. Maybe if my 2 girls join girl scouts I can persuade them to have a pine wood derby, lol.
 

arcticgeorge

New member
how about letting the kid build the best car he can ON HIS OWN so when he places he knows he did it on his own and it is his victory or loss

We did it together, I cut the basic shape and then everything after that was done together. I asked her "you wanna go for show or do you wanna win the races?" she said win the race! But we also made it nice looking too.
 
weight limit

The weight limit is 5oz.

Show up early and add weights right before the races. Get it right at 5 oz.
Bring cordless drill to adjust if a hair over.

The digital scale the Pack used was -.35 oz. than the one I own.

Good luck.

PS. Lego pieces add some cool character for the best in show award and use "dry graphite lubricant with molybdenum" sold at any hobby store.
 

rmk4ever

New member
how about letting the kid build the best car he can ON HIS OWN so when he places he knows he did it on his own and it is his victory or loss

Yea she will do most of it , but she's only 7. So I think I'll handle the sawing, sanding, & drilling. Of course she wants it pink, with some bling on the wheels.:D
 

chicagosledder

New member
I just finished one of these last weekend and there were 2 brothers who were killling everybody. I asked the parent how come the cars were so fast she said she didn't know but her husband bought a spare set of axles from the hobby shop. So I looked into the axles and that obviously made the difference, they are 100% straight and true, free of burrs and smooth as a babies bottom. I can tell you 1 thing next year i'm buying those axles it made the difference.
 

rsvectordude

New member
I had 2 trophy winning cars myself back in the day. As mentioned a wedge design is best and graphite the heck out of the axles. Another trick we did was to shim the axles so they had camber and only ran on the edges of the wheels. This was done with small wire inserted into the axle holes before installing the axle. It might be considered a "gray" area because they didn't come with the kit but they are only noticeable if you remove the axles!!
 

Snowdee

New member
I totally agree with ezra....How do you fathers sleep at night knowing you built the cars for your kids to "win"??? Back in the day I took 1st place and my brother took 2nd place with cars WE built. That being said, if there were more than 2 in our pack and my dad wasn't the pack leader...............
 

arcticgeorge

New member
Again ill recap.........I cut the car shape, EVERYTHING else was done together! Again I asked the little one "do you want a car that looks neat for the show placing?" Or do you want to win? SHE said "I WANT TO WIN!" And thats just what we did! They couldn't be happier...
 
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