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This page identifies four steps of Pinewood Derby car performance.
Every car begins its life below the first step as four nails, four wheels,
and a block of wood.
The statements which follow is information found on the Web. They
represent sound advice, but are meant to help guide you in constructing a
Pinewood Derby Car.
Tip 1 - Do or Die
Your first goal is to make sure your car can make it all the way down the
track.
- Build your car within the rules. If you can't pass
inspection, you can't race.
- Assure ground clearance. If you add weight to the underside
of your car, you should chisel or drill out areas in which to put the
weight, so that the weight is "inlaid". Failure to do this
usually results in the car underside scraping the center guide rail.
Tip 2 - Avoiding "Slow Car Syndrome"
It's sad. You often see a few cars that are at least a foot or two slower
than all of the other cars. These are the cars with the dreaded slow
car syndrome.
And what's even sadder is that slow car syndrome is easy to prevent, if
you just take the time to do a few simple things:
- Lubricate your car. Even if you put up huge signs that say
"LUBE HERE NOW!!", someone will neglect to lubricate. We
make it a point at registration to ask each participant if he has
lubed.
- Make your car weigh close to 5 ounces. There is often a Dad
(or two) who believes that, according to the underlying physics,
weight doesn't matter.
- Install axles and wheels reasonably well. Axles must be in kind
of
straight. Axles must be secure. Axles must not bind against the
wheels, that is, there should be enough room so that the wheels turn
freely. Axles and wheels should be free of glue, peanut butter and
jelly, chocolate, molasses, syrup, apple sauce, yogurt, and any other
foreign debris.
- Don't play with your car. Treat your car with care, at
least until after Race Day. The more you play with it, the more likely
you are to cause it to run more slowly.
Tip 3 - Keen Competitor
Oh, so not being slow isn't enough? You want to be fast? Fast enough to
maybe even to place?
- Put the weight in the back of the car.
- Put the rear wheels near the back of the car. Even if you
have to use the pre-cut grooves, you can do this. This makes a car
whose weight is in the back more stable. "Popping a wheelie"
during a race does add excitement, but it won't make your car run
faster.
- Car as long as rules allow. The longer your car, the
farther back you can put the center of gravity.
- Prepare your wheels. Sand away the mold projections left
behind from the wheel casting process. Do this on the wheel tread and
on the wheel hub. Be careful not to fundamentally alter the shape of
the wheel.
Failing to sand away the molding on the wheel tread can cause your
car not to roll straight, which means you'll spend the entire race
rubbing the center guide rail.
- Prepare your axles. Put each axle in a drill chuck so you
can spin it at high RPMs. Use a small file to remove the burrs on the
underside of the "nail head". Then use a strip of moistened fine grit sandpaper on the
cylindrical part of the nail, where it will contact the wheel.
Finally, put some toothpaste, chrome polish, or jeweler's rouge on a
small strip of cloth and polish the axle to a high gloss.
- Align your axles carefully. Your axles should be square to
the car body. If they are not, the wheels will spend too much time
rubbing against the axle heads and the car body. Additionally, your
car may not roll straight and will therefore spend too much time
rubbing against the center guide.
Don't trust the pre-cut grooves in the block. Sometimes they aren't
square. Drill out the grooves so your axles go in straight, or if your
rules allow, don't use the grooves at all. Do this drilling before you
cut out the car body. It's easier to drill a good hole into a square
block of wood than into a car-shaped block of wood.
- Make your car aerodynamic. This may make only a small
difference, but every little bit helps.
Tip 4 - Top Gun
Oh, so it's not enough to just be fast? You want to be really fast? Well,
basically you have to do everything above, and more, and you have to do it
exceedingly well.
However, knowing what to do and knowing how to do it or even why you
should do it are not the same things. |
