Pinewood Derby Time

[FBPirate95]

Re: Pinewood Derby Time

The main point is make sure your son does most of the work and that he has fun doing it. If you'd like to help him get a little edge check this website:

http://www.pinewoodpro.com/

There's lots of cool stuff on it to make it look nice or make it go fast. Depending on the rules of your race you can use different boosters on your car. Remember to put as much weight as possible on it....right up to the limit. Then make sure you keep it as low as possible....right down to the minimum. Then do everything you can to reduce friction. There are different axles to do this as well as graphite coated tires. Probably the most critical thing is make sure all of the axles go in perfectly straight to the slots and that all the wheels are aligned. If they aren't it will make the car jerk around and slow it up. There are various tools you can buy to make sure everything is correct sizing and square.

My son was able to get 2nd place in the pack with his car using stuff from that website.

Good luck!!!

 

[CN Spots]

Re: Pinewood Derby Time

I've ran the "pit" at the Girl Scouts pine car derby for the last few years. I bring the Dremel, some fishing weights, extra parts and other assorted tools to help the girls out whose cars don't meet regulation requirements or just don't plain work. Every year one of them glues the wheels on or adds no weight or worse, too much weight glued deep into the car. I always hated cutting up their cars but I hated it worse when their car never qualified. Too many parents think that because they're girls that a car race doesn't mean that much to them and don't provide enough or any help but if you see their faces when their cars can't enter or it sticks half way down the track, you realize that it meant quite a bit.

Nearly all of the problems with these cars can be avoided by following the rules that should be provided by the troop leader or that comes with the kits and a little help from mom or dad.

 

[HVAC Cruiser]

Re: Pinewood Derby Time

Funny story- one of my customers called me Saturday morning, When I answered I figured he had a boiler problem, WRONG. I had been there the week before and we were jibber jabbering about the pinewood, he was calling because he was helping his nephew with a pinewood car .
I printed up this thread, and brought him my wheel polishing stuff, etc. and dropped it off Sunday morning.
Just figured I'd let you know, all of you have helped yet another scout

Tx61- What you described is what I was accustomed to, that's the way the Girl Scouts did it when my daughter was participating. He did have lots of fun at the races.

FB- Thank you, the race was last Friday, but I did bookmark the link for next time

12v- that pretty cool, Good Luck to your son this year

CN- I did bury the weight over the rear axle, and used my postal scale. We brought a cordless, to weigh-in, when their scale measured it as 5.1 I had Liam drill little holes underneath towards the front to bring it down till it came in exactly at 5.0 . Some of the cars did have problems with not making it down the track because the weights were glued under the cars without being routered out. I felt bad for the kids, the worst part is it could have been avoided, the weigh-in was on Tuesday with the race on Friday. I think they should have advised the parent or guardian to help fix it.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: Pinewood Derby Time

Yeah, that aftermarket weight NEVER works unless it's recessed into the car which is hard to do w/o the proper tools. It's probably the #1 mod I have to do prior to the race. The best thing is for them to set axles on the grooves and glue them there, not in the grooves. It gives the car a little more height.

One of the things I do for my girl's cars is to take the axles and chock them in the Dremel or drill and wet polish them w/2500 grit sandpaper. The axels we got in the kits last year were so poorly chromed they looked like they had been sandblasted. Not sure if that's legal for the Boy Scouts but we opted to overlook it due to the axle quality and that the Girl Scout races are just for fun and don't progress to a championship event like some of the boys races do.