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How to win the Pinewood Derby

The shape of the car does not matter so much as the care and placement of the wheels and axles as well as the distribution of the weight. So let your son be imaginative with the body of the car. My son wanted the shape of a Humvee with turrets on top one year and it still beat the aerodynamic ones. The wedge shape is very popular among some top racer's though. It's simply cutting the block in half diagonally and putting the large heavy end at the back. Which reminds me if your son makes a design that looks the same front and back make sure if designated adults launch the car they know which way is forward every time the car is launched because the weight will be in the back of the car.

Top things to keep in mind and do:

1) Super smooth axles. Remove any burs on the supplied axles/small nails that come with the kit. You will find burs along the inner side of the nail head. Remember any friction is a problem. Me and my son's used to take my hand drill and gently mount it upwards in my vice since I did not have access to a drill press. Mount the nail into the drill as you would a bit leaving a good portion of the axle exposed. Turn drill head slowly and remove burs with small mill/fine metal file it won't take much. Next you will have to polish each axle. It takes a very fine 400 grit wet sand paper. Move the wet strip of sand paper about the axle as the drill spins. This is followed by polish which is a very fine white powder/abrasive place it on a damp piece of cloth and move it about the same way on the axle while spinning it in the drill almost like belt sanding. I would imagine the powder can be any good automotive compound although I am not sure of the #polish or abrasiveness as I always bought a race kit which basically included the 400 grit paper and polishing compound this can usually be purchased from a good hobby shop. The kit also includes dry graphite lubricant, a wheel spinner for the drill (it looks like a Dremel tool type cutting attachment that you mount the wheels on for smoothing the wheels out which I'll get into later. The kit also comes with an alignment tool which essentially is a small plastic builders square I'll cover that later as well. Any way the bottom line with the polishing compound is the end result of the axles will be a mirror like finish on each axle.

2) Smoothing Wheels. I like other people helped my sons smooth the edges off the side walls of the tires thus reducing friction even more when the wheels make contact with the sides of the track. ( Take note: some clubs or districts do not allow alteration of the wheels). This is done using the Dremel like cutting attachment which is placed into the drill like a bit and the wheel is mounted onto the attachment by fastening it through the spindle with a small screw. Rotate the wheel very slowly and use the wet 400 grit paper to smooth it out. (Note: Spin the wheel slowly because to much friction against the sand paper will melt the plastic on the wheel so proceed by spinning slowly till you get the hang of it) By removing the edges we did not grossly overdue it. I have read were some people make the tread of the tire a V-point obviously that should not be allowed. I would lightly wet sand and hand polish the wheel hubs both inner and outer making sure the wheel spindle stays absolutely clear as the final product. Once again we are reducing any friction between the nail and the wheel.

3) Mounting the wheels to the body. By using a small builders square or alignment tool supplied with racing kit make sure the supplied grooves in the wood block are square you want to make sure the wheels and axles will be straight to reduce friction. If need be make an adjustment to the groove for proper axle alignment. Usually this is never a problem. I also mount the axles with crazy glue because some children will loose axles do to the design of the track and how the car stops at the bottom. The wheel should also allow at least 1/8" clearance between wheel and body to once again reduce friction. Once done all wheels should likely sit on a flat surface when placing the vehicle right side up. (Note: Although some people purposefully design the car to have one wheel off the ground so as the car literally coasts on three wheels thus reducing drag.) If you must mount the wheels using epoxy or such and if it is not transparent be sure to only use it around the axles and it should be flush with the base of the car or your car bottom will drag on the base of the track. In addition and this really applies in districts, the judge must be able to see that you have not substituted solid axles for the nails/axles supplied.

4) Next weight use and placement. Try and get as close to the 5 oz. Limit as possible and try to get the weight at the very back of the car. Keep a few things in mind here. Car length can not change judges typically place the car in a shallow box quickly to determine if the car exceeds the original length. Avoid this by drilling holes into the body to accommodate the weight. Also avoid placing weights that extend below the original surface of the body as this to will drag on the track slowing the car down. If you must place weights such as flat weights on the base router or hollow out the area where they will be applied and it must be flush with the base of body. ( The race kit also contains a sheet of flat lead weights with break offs of different sizes to adjust weight. )The weight placement has to do with the physical laws of gravity and the type of track. It is said that a long straight away track may require the weight to be slightly towards the center. We always went for weight in the back. In fact the last car my son and I made we drilled the weight holes in the car and literally took general purpose solder and melted it into the hole for a professional/custom weight job. This car literally pulled slight wheel stands when taking off the top of the track. Although to much wheel stand could hinder your chances of winning. After applying the weight take it to your local Post Office where they are usually more than happy to weigh it on their precision scales so you know how much your off by. In addition on race night I always took a helping of electricians putty in case the judges scales varied slightly I could add small portions of weight by applying minute pieces of putty to achieve the 5 oz. Limit. In addition have a sharp pocketknife handy in case you have to trim some body off to slightly reduce the weight.

5) Wheel lubricant. Use a dry graphite lubricant which can usually be purchased at any good hardware store although it comes in the race kit. USE IT LIBERALLY. I usually apply it to the axles before even applying the wheels. Also rub some along the side of the body to prevent the tires from rubbing the body. Also apply it to the wheel hubs before applying axles. Lastly shoot some on the axles and spin the wheels freely trying to get lubricant into the wheel spindles. Apply sparingly again before entering the race facility. (Note: Remember wet lubricants are forbidden!) 6) The most important thing is to HAVE FUN and lighten up. It took my son's and I a couple of years to refine this technique. Don't be hard on yourselves if you don't win the first year. We finally beat the two families who were the traditional winners for many years since they were really into it and had several sons in the scouts giving them longer to refine their techniques. You can get fancy with the body to. There will be some really professional paint jobs which Dad knows takes lots of sanding, polishing, and several coats of paint. We didn't go for the show and shine though. Remember Dad it's your son's race car so let him be creative even if it isn't aerodynamic or not exactly the way you pictured it.

7) Take the time to work together two recommendations Dad be patient even though it's not easy. Kid's try to be focused I know you would rather be playing computer games or something. But this hands on tool stuff is a skill they will carry with them a lifetime. My son's wood shop teacher on his first day of wood shop in middle school tried to stump the class by holding up a coping saw and asking what it was. My son proudly piped up a coping saw. That's what he used to cut the body out with before he moved up to jigsaw and Dremel tool.

8) Please do your own research as well. Nobody's answer is the final trick in the book. The Internet and surfing the web is a wonderful resource of free information. Avoid buying any of the proclaimed win every race books.

Good Luck! And may the best car win.