Hey everyone! I wanted to share an update on my Pinewood Derby journey and get some tips for final preparations before next week’s race.
Graphite Power 🚀
In December, I received a box set from our Cub Scout group for my son’s first Pinewood Derby. The first car I made was “Graphite Power” due to its simple design. As I experimented with different techniques, my son saw what I was doing and ended up liking the style. However, he eventually switched cars and continued designing the Lobo car instead. We even slapped on a Fortnite llama on the Graphite Power car for the kids to make it more fun! For weight, I used lead weights drilled into the back of the car.
Scout Car (Lobo) 🐺🇵🇭
Seeing my son’s enthusiasm, I had him continue designing the Scout Car, which we named “Lobo”, meaning “wolf” in Filipino, as a tribute to his Filipino heritage. This car became a joint project and allowed him to explore his creativity. It was a great bonding experience for us. For weight, we used a 3oz fishing sand weight. I had some problems with the paint drying, as I was a bit impatient. I still need to repaint the spoiler.
Pine Snake 🐍
Last week, my nephew needed help with his car, so I assisted him in cutting it. I used the scraps to make my third car. By this point, I was obsessed with Pinewood Derby cars and couldn’t stop thinking about them. So, I made this third car, named “Pine Snake”, to keep myself from constantly tweaking the other two. The “Pine Snake” is also a celebration of the Chinese New Year, marking the Year of the Wood Snake, symbolizing growth and new beginnings. For weight, I used a gate latch lock.
Upgrades and Enhancements 🔧
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Axle Alignment: Initially, I tried using Mark Rober’s advice about tilting the wheels, but I wasn’t confident about the holes I drilled. I tested them on a short homemade track but wasn’t convinced they were perfect. So, I bought an axle jig to re-drill the holes and ensure the cars went straight. I did most of the testing with the Graphite Power and the Scout Car to check if they were veering to the left. The axle jig helped make sure they were perfectly aligned.
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Extended Wheelbases: I found out from some Cub Scout parents that it was okay to extend the wheelbases, so I went ahead and extended the wheelbases on my cars for better performance.
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Three-Wheel Design: All three cars are designed to run on three wheels to reduce friction and increase speed.
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Polished Axles: To further enhance performance, I polished the axles, especially under the heads of the nails, as best as I could to reduce friction.
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Center of Gravity: All the cars have a center of gravity (COG) about an inch in front of the rear axle to maintain optimal stability and speed.
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Tungsten Weights: I didn’t use tungsten weights this year because I was a bit too cheap, but maybe I’ll try them next year depending on this year’s results.
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Wheel Preparation: The wheels have been polished with furniture polish inside the wheel and hub, then again with graphite. I added more graphite to the nails and wheels and attached the wheels to the newly drilled axle holes.
Final Preparations 🏁
I’m finishing the cars today and hopefully, I can stop myself from messing with them. I plan to graphite all the wheels plenty this week and conduct test runs. The race is next week, and I want to make sure everything is perfect.
Any Tips?
Should I bend the front axles to 1 degree? Does anyone have additional tips or suggestions for the final week of preparations? I’m looking for any advice on how to ensure the cars perform their best on race day. Thanks in advance!
Best of luck to everyone with their Pinewood Derby cars! 🏎️🌟