Fast Pinewood Derby Designs-Need Help

So, I just realized that the Pinewood Derby is tomorrow. Anyone know of a quick design that will result in a fast car that my son can do? I really want him to be the one making the car, and I will help as necessary with power saws, etc. Tools wise, I have a mitre saw and hand saw. My neighbor has a table saw he would probably let me use. I also have a cordless power drill and an oribital sander.

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The design of the car has no effect on how fast it is. So you can let your son do whatever he wants to it. Just make sure he doesn't mess up the sides where the wheels touch the car. Make sure you give the the paint plenty of time to dry. Wet paint is slow, no paint is better than wet paint.



The things that matter are the axles, wheels, and weight placement. Place the weight as close to the rear wheels as possible. Decide if you are going to have four or three wheels contact the track. If you go with three wheels then place the weight on the opposite side of the car from the front wheel that is up. Make sure that the wheels are round and smooth. Sanding them on a drill is tricky, so take your time and use lots of water. You will need to purchase a hub to mount the wheels on to do this. Last, slightly bevel the edges of the hub of the wheel. This can be done after the wheels are mounted on the car.



Debur and polish the axles then if it is legal for your race, slightly bevel the head of each axle and make a small groove in the axle where the center of the wheel hub makes contact. Do all of these by mounting the axle in a drill. Make sure that the axles are true and aligned. Slightly canted down works well.



Use lots of graphite.



That is a lot to learn and do in one day. Good luck.

My last pine wood derby (adult competition) was fun... I opened the kit, nailed the wheels to the side and raced it.



Not exactly the fastest car, but it did come in first place in terms of the slowest car!

+1 Whut TWW said. The key is the axles, having true wheel alignment. No wobbly wheels, no rubbing wheels, aligned and dry powder graphite (no oil). Also, you want to get the weigh right to the limit. I went to the Post Office and used the scale in the lobby that the public can use. Very accurate. I superglued coins to the top of the car to get it right at the limit. My sons car came in 2nd overall following these guidelines.



Good luck! Success.

tww wrote:
The design of the car has no effect on how fast it is. So you can let your son do whatever he wants to it. Just make sure he doesn't mess up the sides where the wheels touch the car. Make sure you give the the paint plenty of time to dry. Wet paint is slow, no paint is better than wet paint.



The things that matter are the axles, wheels, and weight placement. Place the weight as close to the rear wheels as possible. Decide if you are going to have four or three wheels contact the track. If you go with three wheels then place the weight on the opposite side of the car from the front wheel that is up. Make sure that the wheels are round and smooth. Sanding them on a drill is tricky, so take your time and use lots of water. You will need to purchase a hub to mount the wheels on to do this. Last, slightly bevel the edges of the hub of the wheel. This can be done after the wheels are mounted on the car.



Debur and polish the axles then if it is legal for your race, slightly bevel the head of each axle and make a small groove in the axle where the center of the wheel hub makes contact. Do all of these by mounting the axle in a drill. Make sure that the axles are true and aligned. Slightly canted down works well.



Use lots of graphite.



That is a lot to learn and do in one day. Good luck.

Stinkin internet has taken all of my pinewood knowlege and made it public! Everything TWW said is what I'd say especially sanding the axle's and wheels to debur anything. The graphite is a must and if you have access to a drill press move the wheels forward and backward so they are just short of the front and back bumper. I'd also have your kid spend the night/morning after your done putting graphite on the axle's over and over and to just keep spinning the wheels by hand. I'm not sure if I'll try and do the raised front wheel when my kids are old enough. I think it works but I've also seen it be a dissaster where the car pulls really hard to one side. I guess thats where TWW's offset weight comes in. Good luck and make sure to paint a Y on the car! (That speeds it up :P )

The only thing that I can add is plan on spending a half hour or more making sure that the car rolls straight. Get a straight line on a smooth flat surface and keep fideling with the car to make sure that it is not veering left or right

ABYUFAN wrote:
The only thing that I can add is plan on spending a half hour or more making sure that the car rolls straight. Get a straight line on a smooth flat surface and keep fideling with the car to make sure that it is not veering left or right

I must confess that I have spent way too many hours rolling pinewood derby cars down a glass table. Also, my sons and I often build multiple cars, just like the big boys on the oval track, because sometimes for reasons unknown one car can be a dud and another really fast.



Yeah, I am one of those crazy pine wood derby Dads. When I went through my divorce it became a kind of therapy and a make up for time lost. But it is fun too. I use it as an example with my sons to teach them if you want the rewards of being the best it takes a lot of work but nothing can really stop you as long as you are willing to work harder than the other guy.

The key for me was NOT to have the fastest car, but the fourth fastest. The top three always go on to more and more rounds of competition and who wants that? BUT who wants to be the slowest. Hence, fourth place was my mantra!

Thanks for all the advice. I think that besides making a few basic cuts, I'll let my boy mess with the body, and I will be working on the wheels and axles. I will try to do your advice justice.

tww wrote:
I must confess that I have spent way too many hours rolling pinewood derby cars down a glass table..

Do I need to confess that my last pinewood derby would have been 20 years ago and my oldest boy won't be in one for 5 more years but I still think about this about every 6 months? No time is too much time TWW ;) (I'm worried about being the dirtbag that shows up with a car that he doesn't allow the kid to touch! :D :D )

We expect a report after the race.

https://bay173.mail.live.com/att/GetAttachment.aspx?tnail=0&messageId=cd75c78f-a9d3-11e2-a595-001e0bcc8910&Aux=54|0|8D00BF7B4C4E470||0|0|0|0||&cid=475e8c9d509a1c68&maxwidth=220&maxheight=160&size=Att&blob=MHxwaG90by5KUEd8aW1hZ2UvanBlZw_3d_3d" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">



So, I sanded down the burrs on the axles, used graphite, and loaded a bunch of lead weights over the rear axle. We weighed in at 4.95 ounces and had a center of gravity of 1.5 inches. I need to get the center of gravity down even further next year. Without a drill press, the axles weren't perfectly straight, which was one of the downfalls. But, he was happy to get a trophy.



As you can tell from my son's paint job, my efforts taking him to the Las Vegas Bowl, Ole Miss game, and Georgia Tech game have not persuaded him to change his favorite team. He does say he will go to BYU for undergrad and the University of Alabama for Law School. What nine year old kid wants to be a lawyer? I guess I should take it as a compliment.



Thanks for all the help. Next year should be even better now that I have a better idea what to do.

Stirfry wrote:

I must confess that I have spent way too many hours rolling pinewood derby cars down a glass table..

Do I need to confess that my last pinewood derby would have been 20 years ago and my oldest boy won't be in one for 5 more years but I still think about this about every 6 months? No time is too much time TWW ;) (I'm worried about being the dirtbag that shows up with a car that he doesn't allow the kid to touch! :D :D )

I've got two girls so far and I still think about building pinewood derby cars regularly. Maybe in 9-10 years or so I'll get my chance to redeem myself from the car that never finished the race when I was a boy. My dad still tells me he feels like a failure for letting that happen.

Cougarfan87 wrote:
https://bay173.mail.live.com/att/GetAttachment.aspx?tnail=0&messageId=cd75c78f-a9d3-11e2-a595-001e0bcc8910&Aux=54|0|8D00BF7B4C4E470||0|0|0|0||&cid=475e8c9d509a1c68&maxwidth=220&maxheight=160&size=Att&blob=MHxwaG90by5KUEd8aW1hZ2UvanBlZw_3d_3d" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">



So, I sanded down the burrs on the axles, used graphite, and loaded a bunch of lead weights over the rear axle. We weighed in at 4.95 ounces and had a center of gravity of 1.5 inches. I need to get the center of gravity down even further next year. Without a drill press, the axles weren't perfectly straight, which was one of the downfalls. But, he was happy to get a trophy.



As you can tell from my son's paint job, my efforts taking him to the Las Vegas Bowl, Ole Miss game, and Georgia Tech game have not persuaded him to change his favorite team. He does say he will go to BYU for undergrad and the University of Alabama for Law School. What nine year old kid wants to be a lawyer? I guess I should take it as a compliment.



Thanks for all the help. Next year should be even better now that I have a better idea what to do.

Thx for the report. Obviously you have impressed your son for all the right reasons, and in all the right ways. Your son likes you, respects you, and wants to emulate you. That is huge. Few men achieve that. Good job.

jvquarterback wrote:

tww wrote:
I must confess that I have spent way too many hours rolling pinewood derby cars down a glass table..

Do I need to confess that my last pinewood derby would have been 20 years ago and my oldest boy won't be in one for 5 more years but I still think about this about every 6 months? No time is too much time TWW ;) (I'm worried about being the dirtbag that shows up with a car that he doesn't allow the kid to touch! :D :D )

I've got two girls so far and I still think about building pinewood derby cars regularly. Maybe in 9-10 years or so I'll get my chance to redeem myself from the car that never finished the race when I was a boy. My dad still tells me he feels like a failure for letting that happen.

This is one of those cases where I genuinely feel bad for the younger version of you that had to live with the embarassment of the car not even being able to roll all the way down the track. Its funny now, in a tragic, dark comedy sort of way, but I am sure it was not funny at the time. It means a lot to those little boys. I know my boy appeared more relieved than excited that he got third place. Knowing that it was probably very hurtful, I still couldn't help but bust out laughing at the thought of a car stopping half way down the track (I'm sure it wasn't that bad). Of course, I am certainly a very flawed individual. My only consolation is that my good wife laughed out loud too when I showed her your post--in a tragic comedy kind of way.

Ddawg wrote:

https://bay173.mail.live.com/att/GetAttachment.aspx?tnail=0&messageId=cd75c78f-a9d3-11e2-a595-001e0bcc8910&Aux=54|0|8D00BF7B4C4E470||0|0|0|0||&cid=475e8c9d509a1c68&maxwidth=220&maxheight=160&size=Att&blob=MHxwaG90by5KUEd8aW1hZ2UvanBlZw_3d_3d" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">



So, I sanded down the burrs on the axles, used graphite, and loaded a bunch of lead weights over the rear axle. We weighed in at 4.95 ounces and had a center of gravity of 1.5 inches. I need to get the center of gravity down even further next year. Without a drill press, the axles weren't perfectly straight, which was one of the downfalls. But, he was happy to get a trophy.



As you can tell from my son's paint job, my efforts taking him to the Las Vegas Bowl, Ole Miss game, and Georgia Tech game have not persuaded him to change his favorite team. He does say he will go to BYU for undergrad and the University of Alabama for Law School. What nine year old kid wants to be a lawyer? I guess I should take it as a compliment.



Thanks for all the help. Next year should be even better now that I have a better idea what to do.

Thx for the report. Obviously you have impressed your son for all the right reasons, and in all the right ways. Your son likes you, respects you, and wants to emulate you. That is huge. Few men achieve that. Good job.

Thanks for the compliment. I hope to live worthy of it.