Get Pinewood Derby Cheers

PUT MOST OF THE WEIGHT IN THE BACK Science says the heaviest part of your car should be about 1 inch in front of the rear axle. The idea is that the farther back the weight is, the more potential energy you have because your center of mass is higher up on the track.

In the official Pinewood Derby kit, the axle grooves closest to the edge are usually put at the rear of the car. However, you are allowed to orient your car in whichever direction works best for your design.

Best Location to Weight Your Pinewood Derby Car When deciding on where to weight your car, you should try to reach a final balance point of the car 1 inch or less in front of the rear axle. To achieve this, place 2/5 of the added weight behind the rear axle, and the remaining 3/5 in front of the rear axle.

Lift One of the Front Wheels, so it Doesn't Touch the Track - If your competition allows it, raising one wheel is an easy way to reduce friction. Decide which wheel to lift by sending your car down a straight line and seeing which side of the line it drifts toward. If it drifts left, raise the left front wheel.

Which end is the front of a pinewood derby car? Either end can be the front of the car but the end of the block farthest from an axle slot gives you an advantage if it is the front of the car. The reason for this is that you can put weight farther back on the car if the rear slot is close to the end of the block.

Did You Know? A fast Pinewood Derby® car can reach a speed of nearly 20 miles per hour. Pretty good for a little block of wood! If a Pinewood Derby® car racing down the track was enlarged to the size of a real automobile, it would be speeding at more than 200 miles an hour.

Bake the Wood Block Per the Pinewood Derby rules, the car's weight shouldn't exceed 5 ounces. One way to ensure your car doesn't exceed the weight limit is to bake the block! Naturally, wood holds water, and water adds weight. You'll want to help your Scout by baking the block in an oven at 250 degrees for one hour.

The pinewood derby is the wood car racing event of Scouts BSA. Pinewood derbies are often run by packs of the Cub Scouts program. With the help of adults, Scouts build their own unpowered, unmanned miniature cars from wood, usually from kits containing a block of pine wood, plastic wheels, and metal axles.