Comments on: How to Build a 1st Place Pinewood Derby Car

By: bingbag

bingbag — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:35:22 +0000

cheese:)

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:56:51 +0000

Wow, this article could have been written by my dad 20 years ago. This is exactly what we did and I won 1st place twice. If you’re not first, you’re last.

By: James

James — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 04:28:27 +0000

Our district race is very lax… extended wheelbase is allowed. Even those razor thin wheels. Clearly they need better control. Our pack rules are better, but when we got to district, we couldn’t compete with other cars that didn’t have to follow the rules we did. They should mandate a universal set of clear rules, especially regarding wheels, axel position, etc. Too much crap being sold on the internet that is not official stuff from the kit.

By: spock

spock — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:36:45 +0000

For those who are arguing about the physics of the race, you are each sort-of right. It is true that if you were to drop two cars of different weights (in a vacuum), the speed at which they fall would be identical. The same would be true if the sloping car track had no friction. The thing is – the car going down a slope is not frictionless, and is slowed by the friction of the wheels/axles. So…max weight gives the max inertia = good, and make the wheels/axles as slippery and straight as possible.

By: mick donahue

mick donahue — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:59:30 +0000

My son who is 8 and i our in our first derby race
thanks for all your insite and tips

i was wondering if any know where to get this “molybdenum” lubricant does it go by another name?

i car was built from a kit thru our church group, we have wood screws for axles and all of what i read and see is with nails, does this make any difference, is removing the wheels and axles and re-polishing and lube between races ever done?

we have enjoyed our building together and have a good looking car, no idea if its fast or not
i we are just under 5 oz.

thanks for you tips

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:15:38 +0000

Case in point. I had a boy show up on race day with a “hand carved and painted with magic markers” car. He didn’t have a dad at home. He did all this work. He was 7 years old.

*** 15 minutes before racing, I put his wheels on straight for him, added graphite. Got his car up to 5oz, mainly by putting a giant fishing weight on the back of his car with hot glue. HE FINISHED 4th OVERALL !!!! I was very proud of him. I wish he had a dad to help him more, but the lesson was simple. Let your son design and do whatever he wants to his car. All dad has to do is get the weight to 5 oz, get the weight in the right spot and put the wheels on straight with some graphite. PLEASE don’t overdesign YOUR SON”S derby car. Let him run the show.

By: DoesItMatter

DoesItMatter — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:24:40 +0000

KT…. This is a website about how to build a pinewood derby car, not a political debate. If you want to start an organization for boys that encourages the homosexual lifestyle, do it, but don’t shove your crap down other people’s throats. The boyscouts is the best organization out there to teach boys to become strong, responsible leaders while at the same time teaching them valuable skills and having fun.

All that aside, my experience has been that the design of the car has nothing to do with its speed. Axle/Wheel polishing & truing, weight placement (slightly forward of the rear axle) and graphite are the keys to winning. To far back could cause your car to shimmy if the weight isn’t perfectly centered.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:33:43 +0000

I was torn about the division of labor, and how much time and effort we should invest in regard to building our first car. So I sat with my son and we worked on building a car. It was our first Pinewood Derby race. We came in last, and needless to say my son was sad. To boot there were two families in my town that always placed 1st and 2nd. Well… not for long. I did a little research about inertia, mass, and some of the other topics discussed above… and viola… the next year there was a new sheriff in town. I did the cutting, my son did the sanding and painting, and I placed the wheels on and balanced the car. We placed first.
The gauntlet had been thrown down.
Every now and again when I see this other father around town he’s always crowing about the next pinewood derby.
It would be funny if it was’nt so sad.
I think the day before a race the kids should get two hours to build a car, and it should be in a pack setting with some limited guidance from a parent. That way they could learn about physics, and design. That would save them from having an overbearing father steal away the creative joy, and scientific curiosity they would otherwise develop.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 02:46:36 +0000

For many, Jan and Feb are pinewood derby months. Does anyone have any other hints to share?

By: deaton

deaton — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:40:04 +0000

all good advice here, and a great article. one thing that does need to be mentioned, if it has not been covered yet, is that the whole elongated wheel base strategy is not actually allowed for the district events and up (at least not when I competed 10 or so years ago.) this might have been just where and when I competed, but all the same, make sure that whatever you do is still allowed within the rules.