Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

[WillyBWright]

My son is about to make his third and last Pinewood Derby car. He's done pretty well in the past, placing easily in the top ten. But it would be nice to get him into the top three to compete regionally. I'm shamelessy solititing advice from any of you with past (or present) experience. How can we get the best speed? <br /><br />Update: He won 3rd. Details below...

 

[Twidget]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

Wish I could tell you. When I was a Scout, my car was the one that made your son's look so fast. <br /><br />Good luck, I hope he can pull it off.

 

[BrianFD]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

 

[pjc]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

cheat.....everybody else seems to..thinks it OK 'cause "Me First"<br /><br /><br />seriously, follow the book, optimize all components you can (as your kid directs you btw...not your car is it?)....and feel the joy!!

 

[Laddies]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

Willy, make sure the axles are exactly 90 degrees from centerline of the car, a small anti friction spot of epoxy or some other hard substance on the body at each wheel, only dry lube as oil will pick up dirt, weight in the back gives better speed at the end of the track use a extra car for expermencts, as you can see I have done this before 4 sons and 2 grandsons Oh I forgot don't ever let the kid touch the car he is gone to race, Good luck let us know how he does---Bob Forget about sportsmanship this is all about winning if you have never done it before you won't believe it, like any racing push the rules or the child could be imbararresed

 

[Mark42]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

Being a prior 1st place winner, I can attest that the thing that make the car work is to have my Dad build it. <br /><br />Seriously, be sure you have the rules handy. Weight the car to the legal limit. We put lead in the front to make it track better and lets gravity pull it down hill faster. Be careful if you use a precision scale when adding weight, because it will probably get dropped on a common household spring scale that may be off and show over the limit in weight.<br /><br />Make the shape as aerodynamic as possable. A piece of plastic over the cockpit will help reduce drag. Polish the nails that are used as axles where the wheels ride. Use some lube on the axle, we used 3in1. Can't hurt to polish the inside bearing surface of the wheels too. Sand the wooden part of the axle to be aero too.

 

[Laddies]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

Willy I just remembered it helped us one year, that they thought the car was to heavy then we had a wieght slip from the post office--Bob

 

[one more cast]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

My stepson did really well by having good 'ol stepdad polish the axles and lube with a pencil. I scraped the pencil lead (graphite) with my jacknife to make a powder.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

Graphite is the best lube, liquid lube can cause the wheels to swell.<br /><br />Most important is get all the wheels going exactly straight. If it tracks straignt it wont rub on the track, and thus go faster.<br /><br />Ken

 

[Barlow]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

ditto the graphite..

 

[jimalsk]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

Try to get as much weight forward as you can,legally.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

If you have a wheel that is sticking and won't roll take an awl to it. Many times the outer edge of the hole will have mold flashing in it that you can't see. A small awl or pick will clean it out just fine. I'm on about the 10th car I have built for my daughter and friends. Don't try to put weight front or rear. Both have an advantage over the other, plus both have drawbacks. A front heavy car will accellerate faster. A rear heavy car will accellerate slightly slower but will continue to pick up speed longer. A nuetral balanced car will handle best, and provide the best overall speed. <br /><br />To make a PDC look like a truck cut out the section from the bottom leaving about 1/2 inch acroos the axle area and about 1/2-3/4 deep. Do it on paper and you can see what i am talking about.<br /><br />I never built a true PDC or scout car, I build them to AWANA. AWANA is a church based kid study group. The rules are basicly the same, although AWANA is srticter with the tires. The body kits are the same.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

beat up all the other little runts the night before

 

[OLDSPUD]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

I have won the derby about eight times, in fact everytime I enter I win, go to hodges hobby house on the web, he has a booklet on how to make your car win. Works every time. You buy his car bodies and wheels, they are official cub cars and wheels, this is not cheating. I can beat anyone. You need to balance your car and he has a bunch of other tips.<br />If you can't find it, email me and I will send you all the info. bruce@bartlett-title.com.<br /><br />spud

 

[jsfinn]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

I won 2nd when I was a scout. My old man helped me build 'em. I rember drilling out the underside of the front for weight - we used lead fishing weights glued in and lots of graphite on the wheels. <br /><br />In these modern days, you might want to use thimble as an exhaust pipe and put a HUGE whale tail wing on the back!

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

Also, check the axels (on the nail head), as there may be some flashing left over and they can rub on the wheels.<br /><br />Ken

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

Most excellent suggestions, gentlemen. Muchas Gracias!

 

[Stratosfied]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

build it like the Hummer the kid built on the commercial, then just run over the other kids

 

[KRS]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

The wheel studs need to be inserted long enough to keep the wheels on, but not so deep as to prevent a free spinning of the wheel, some side-to-side play is needed.<br /><br />I used sheets of lead with double sided tape on the bottom of my cars, that way I could "pinch" off some if the track scale was different that the one at home. This requires shaving the bottom of the car to make room, you don't want it scraping on the track.<br /><br />Ditto to the graphite lube.<br /><br />Good luck!

 

[deputydawg]

Re: Pinewood Derby. Any secrets? ***Update***

As a former scout and recently as a scout leader make certain the wheels are at a 90 degree angle and use graphite lube in the wheels. The thing I saw as scout leader, we should have had a class for fathers. If not that we should have kicked them out. Remember it is for FUN! For the BOYS FUN!<br />The best way to win this contest is this, make sure that the child knows that if he does his best and has a good time, HE is a winner. <br />I have seen kids upset to the point of tears when their car doesn't win, and I have seen fathers encourage this action. This is not what this race is all about. It is always cool to win, but who's win is it? <br />Proper weight and low friction is the key. Keep weight within specs, but also find where the best place for weight is for your car design. Some cars roll better weighted front, some weighted rear depending on the car. Let Him play with it until he finds one that rolls the grade the best. <br />Also remember the wheels. Make sure there are no nicks on them from the casting of the wheel. Lightly sane these off. If the wheels are too tight against the car they run slow. If they are too loose they wobble a bit and slow it down. Play with it and let HIM have fun.<br />Building it as a TEAM is most of the fun. <br />The lead weights are a good idea to get back up to weight. Some are better in front, some in back. Play with it and see.<br />This race was designed with father and son interaction in mind. In theory it was supposed to be equal cars of equal weight rolling an equal track. The idea was for father and son to spend time sanding and painting the car. Of course nobody can ever see something as pure as that, so it became a competition between fathers to WIN WIN WIN. <br />Or at least the troop I led was that way. Hope yours is not.