It’s more than winning at the Pinewood Derby.. It’s about the challenge of designing the car, the collaboration between a parent and son, and the thrill of competing with fellow Cub Scouts. But as two-time Super Bowl Vince Lombardi observed, “If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?” Here are some helpful tips to help your Cub Scout be victorious in the Pinewood Derby:
1. Minimize friction on the car.
Try to reduce friction as much as possible.. The Pinewood Derby isn’t a beauty contest. So it’s OK to sacrifice some of your car’s aesthetic value in order to build a faster car. You can make your car more aerodynamic by making cuts into the side of the car. The wheels are another important area where you can significantly reduce the car’s friction. That includes friction between the wheels and the (center) guide rail, the wheels and the car’s body, and the wheels and the axles.
2. Add multiple light coats of paint.
The bottom line is that your car’s paint should be 100% dry by the day of the Pinewood Derby race. Adding heavy coats of paint can prevent that from happening. This may cause the paint to take longer to dry.. Add light coats of paint to your derby car..
3. Decrease the car’s air resistance.
Designing a car that is close to the ground will help with this.. Decrease the air resistance will allow you to increase your car’s speed..
4. Put the weight at the end of your car..
This will help to increase the car’s acceleration at the beginning of the race. Lead is an ideal material to use, although basically any heavy metal could also be effective. Some options are to purchase lead from a hobby store, or use a torch to melt it.
5. Reshape the car’s wheels.
But before you take this step, learn if it’s permitted for the Pinewood Derby event. Using a mandrel gives you the option to turn your wheels with a hand drill.. This is a drastic way to make your car’s wheels significantly smoother. The key to shaping the wheels is to reduce their mass. This will reduce how much energy is needed to turn them. This will allow more energy to be used to move the car forward.. Another method is to reduce how much of the wheel’s surface area touches the track. If the wheel’s surface is angled, then a narrow portion of it will touch the track.
6. Get the weight right.
The key is to get your car’s weight as close to the maximum amount permitted without exceeding it. When choosing methods for adding weight to your car, choose ones that allow for easy adjustments on the day of the race.
There is no magic formula for winning the Pinewood Derby Race, but many things can help!? No, but these tips will give him the best chance at crossing the finish line first. The key is to take the right approach, and then make the right adjustments.
