Anyone here do Boy Scouts Pine wood Derby?

[markinnaples]

We just had my son's first BS Pinewood Derby race this weekend, and we got 2nd out of 9 in our age group/class. Ours was the only one that really looked like a car vs. all the others looking like rails. I guess next year we have to up our game and do the simple wedge or land speed racer-esque look to win.

[RPOLS3]

Originally Posted by markinnaples

I guess next year we have to up our game and do the simple wedge or land speed racer-esque look to win.

We had the most success with the wedge over the years. If you haven't yet, invest in a digital scale so that you can dial in the weight right at 5.0 oz. After that all of the speed is in the wheels/axles.

Most importantly - have the kid do the work so he learns something and have fun!

[markinnaples]

Yeah, the wife has a Weight Watchers scale so we used that. My boy picked out the shape of the car and design, and watched while we cut the block and sanded it. As he gets older, he's going to do more. I think next year we're going to do maybe 3 or 4 cars. One for his official entry, one for me and mom in the Outlaw class, and one by mom for popular voting in the outlaw class.

My brother killed it this year with 2nd place out of the entire pack of 60 cars, and they're moving on to the next higher races.

[Spooky]

I remember those! Pics!!!!!! I want to see some!

Scott

[SmallHurst]

Polish the axles and nail heads, Polish the wheels, inside the axle area and sand the "tread" area. You may want to crown the wheels just a little. Get an alignment ruler and make sure that all four are painted in the same direction. Have one of the wheels barely making contact with the track. If you can get by and they won't tech for it, you can have one of the wheels up in the air. Use the very fine graphite and run the wheels in it for several runs. I even went so far as purchasing a practice track. Contact me if you have any questions. My cell is 816-654-3400.

[PxTx]

I can honestly say PWD was my first taste of car racing that got me excited. The 1st car I built with my Dad was awesome! While building it, my level of enthusiasm varied. Once I saw what racing was all about, I was hooked. Thankfully, my Dad made sure the car was fast. This trend would repeat for the rest of my life and I love it!

Last month was my son's 1st PWD race and he built a "TNT" themed car. I like to think I've developed a skill for interpreting the advantages hidden in the "rules" which are revised every year. Honestly, this year had some real advantages hidden in the rules. The end result was a fast car that is racing in the District Race on March 19th.

I can tell you, for only being 6 years old, he has learned some key elements of car design and really takes ownership in his contributions to building this car. Winning 1st out of a 45 car race does boost the ego!





Here is one race in regular time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxo9kFqzQc4


Another in slomotion


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMlgzhU67DI

I'd love to talk PWD guys!

Here is my with my last PWD cars form a long time ago.


My last car was the fastest, and also a similar Teal color as my 65 Malibu I got in high school.

[PxTx]

Second try on the videos

[Big Block Bill]

Originally Posted by RPOLS3

We had the most success with the wedge over the years. If you haven't yet, invest in a digital scale so that you can dial in the weight right at 5.0 oz. After that all of the speed is in the wheels/axles.

Most importantly - have the kid do the work so he learns something and have fun!

X-2 on that. Once you get it to 5.0 oz. weight and wheels are the key. Take the nails you need to use for axles in a drill and polish them with emery cloth. Sand the flashing off all the tires by chucking the wheels in a drill and sand them with a sanding block to a point if you can, Powdered lock smith graphite is key. DO NOT USE any WD-40 or oil on the axles (nails) / wheels. The less contact you have the faster the car. Being a Auto mechanic, I was accused of cheating when both my 2 sons won in 2 different years, so we raced all challengers an additional time with the car backwards down the track. We finished # 11 out of 225 cars in a 4 state tournament. We used plumbers lead on the bottom of the cars to get to 5.0 oz. Good Luck, Bill

[PxTx]

My cars wouldn't be nearly as fast racing backwards. I'll try to explain what I like to do and it should make sense why it wouldn't be nearly as fast in reverse.

1. Alignment. Rear wheels are canted upwards so the wheels migrate away form the body. Front wheels, when allowed only have 1 touching, and steering wheel set to rail ride- look up if you need to know what this is.

2. I polish the axles, but don't get into making cuts or reshaping with grooves. Depending on the rules, I may bend 1 axle.

3. Wheel base should be as wide as possible. If you have to use a stock wheel base, then build an extended front end, meaning have the rear wheel as high up on the track as possible and keep the car as long as allowed. If you can re-position the axles and maintain stock wheel base, great. If not, cut off the back of the block and transfer to the front f the car.

4. Weight, not only do you want the 5.0 weight, you should also try to position the weight as high on the hill as possible. Think of it as a pendulum, so the higher the weight is, the longer the fall and so the bigger the boost on the transition. If it is too far back, you risk unloading the fornt end too much and the car bounces back and forth on the center rail, scubbing speed. You want the center of gravity so that about 1" in front of the rear tire the car will balance on a edge (like a ruler). The weight on the back end of the car coupled wiht the rear wheel as high as possible can be a huge advantage.

5. Do a search on the wheels. Certain mold numbers are better. Try to get 3 or 4 of the better ones. The modern wheels are pretty round. I usually just polish the wheel bores like crazy. I also polish the wheel hubs where the head of the axle touches them, as well as where they can contact the body.

The inexpensive, popular weight is either zinc, or random washers and screws form your workshop. The lead is much more dense, as long as you handle it properly, no real risk. I do like the tungsten cubes, as it is more dense than lead and safer around the kids.

[markinnaples]

Here's my son and the car we built for this year before I found out about all of the tricks allowed. For a full-bodied car, it ran pretty well and we beat everyone in our class except for an experienced father-son duo.