Racing The Pine Car - Pinewood Derby Speed Tips
The building process has put your car through a lot of stress. It has been
designed, sawed, carved, sanded, weighted, sealed, and painted. And your
not through with it yet! The next step is to add the wheels. The kit will
have either two axles or four nails. A one piece axle is carefully tapped
into place into the axle groove on the bottom of the car with a small
hammer. Be sure to put a soft cloth between the pinewood derby car and the work surface
to avoid ruining the fantastic paint and decal job you did on the car. If
you have nails, the job is a little different. The nails must be driven
carefully into the pilot holes on the side of the car so they are
perfectly straight. If the axles are not straight, the car will not roll
straight, and it will rub on the track guide, slowing it down. You must
also use a spacer between the tire and car so the tire doesn't rub on
the side of the car. If it rubs, the resulting friction will slow the
car down. This is a very important tip on getting the maximum speed from your pine car
Now weigh the car one more time, adjusting as necessary. Make sure
the car weighs slightly more than the specifications for your group. The
scale you are using may weigh differently than the official scale at the
race site. Remember, you can usually remove weight from the car, but not
add any on race day.
Lubricating the axles of your pinewood derby race car is a very important tip, as
this reduces the friction between the wheel and axle. A properly installed and
lubricated wheel spins freely, allowing the car to develop its full speed.
To lubricate, use powdered dry graphite. This is packaged in a plastic
tube, and is "squirted" into the axle hole in the wheel after
the wheel is installed. Apply as needed, but don't overapply. Dry graphite
is probably the only 'legal' lubricant allowed by the race officials.
There are many tricks you can do to give your car the edge over
other cars. Check out the rules first to make sure the modifications you
want to make comply with the race rules. One tip is to build two cars,
and race them against each other, striving to always make the slower car
faster. On race day, race the fastest car.
Once the race is over, you may want to show off your pinewood derby car. A proper
display stand and "show" wheels can be used to mount the car.
Show wheels are larger and fancier than race wheels, enhancing the looks
of your car. These wheels are for display only. They cannot be used in the
race.
Pine car racing is fun and educational. A lot of skills are involved
in building one.
Things like planning, organization, carving, and painting are just some of
the skills the racer learns while building and racing the car. Any kid's
group can benefit from pine car building. Church groups, home school
groups, daycare, and many others can do it. The track is easy to build
and racing is a lot of fun, creating a great parent/child project.
For help building and racing your car, read The Pine Car How To Book
by Woodland Scenics. This is an indispensable guide to building and
racing the Pine Car.
Visit our large selection of Pinewood Derby Car Kits and Accessories
