Pinewood Derby Anyone?

[PeteLeathersac]

Good fun!
So they go faster w/ more of the total weight at the rear of the vehicle?
Are the wheels a spec item and can you modify them?
If yes can you achieve the max weight by loading wheels and lightening the body?
Do they roll any better/worse with 1 or 2 o-rings added to the outside of the wheels?
Think like Smokey, if it's not illegal it must be legal!
[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]
~ Pete

[PxTx]

I've thought it is strange that the BSA store sells items which are in contrast to their rules. Here are 3 examples but there are several.

http://www.scoutstuff.org/pro-wheel-...-xt-2-new.html

http://www.scoutstuff.org/lubricant-pwd-krytox.html

http://www.scoutstuff.org/pro-rail-rider.html

So not going political on the Scouts, but just want to caution you to research your own pack rules. I've found rules, enforcement and competition vary.

[RPOLS3]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: pxtx</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I've found rules, enforcement and competition vary. </div></div>

True enough - everyone does it a little differently and some much more technical than others.

Jake

[77Z28]

This subject brings back a lot good memories od scouting! My Dad being a car guy loved this activity each year when my brother and I were in scouts. Both my pine wood derby car and my brother's, different years, won best design. Our cars were never very fast, but we always went over the top on the design.

I see that BSA sells a wide body kit now, Dad helped me build a wide body car using 2 car kits 20 plus years ago. One of our favorite tricks was to add decals from plastic car models to our cars to decorate them. One year we even added a clear plastic windshield from a model kit to our pine wood derby car to make it more realistic looking.

Have fun Dads with your sons on this memory maker!

Todd

[njsteve]

You know, this would be a great addition to the MCACN show. Have an &quot;Adult&quot; Pinewood Derby contest.

Maybe we could get Linda Vaughn to be the official starter.

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif[/img]

[SmallHurst]

Working with my sone on his last derby car. Wheels/ axles, weight, and alignment. Get the plastic ruler that shows square axle placement, proper space between body.

I bought 8 ft of track and elevation to practice the car on. Run the car and make sure that you get the graphite worked in.

[PxTx]

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/KzuBmLPM7Ro"></param> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param> <embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/KzuBmLPM7Ro" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"> </embed></object>

STREET ROD class is for cars that closely resemble actual cars. Kinda neat!

[PxTx]

I went on a test/tune this afternoon and had a blast! The white car had super light wheels to get out of the gate fast, but one hub broke from the sudden stop. It was probably a good idea that car went away quickly. That one run had the Batman car covered by 2 lenghts!

Batman, other than the stainless axles is within the rules of most packs. If I used 4 stock axles for ballast I would consider it 100% legal. Other than the one loss to the White car, Batman rulled the races today. We started to get comments about having the car checked out. I plan on pulling a Smokey Yunick and running Batman at another track, but it was fun to make these guys nervious.

The Robin car lost only to Batman. This car has a proper wheel alignment with axle cant. I took a file and ground down the axle so that just the area near the nail head was actually touching the wheel bore. Minimizes surface area for friction. After a basic polish of the axles up to only 1500 sand paper and a light wheel bore prep, that was all it took for this car to be competitive.

By the time I got to the Blue car with getting it properly weighted, I only got 1 run it, so not much to say there. The kids enjoyed putting the weight on the cars. My son called it putting and engine on. We used Tungsten cubes on the two cars, but the ones with visual weights had a cool factor like a Tunnel Ram!

How's the car shaping up Marlin?

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

We just got the car kit an hour ago, along with the rules sheet - will post that tomorrow to see what you guys think [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/eek.gif[/img] Danny just wants to have fun, that will change if he has a slow car!! So, we need to build this thing to win, I have a full-on car prep kit coming from a fellow member.

Danny's best comment: &quot;Dad, can we make it look like my Camaro?&quot; Love it! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Rules to abide by:



Where's my flexibility?