Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Secrets, tips, tools, design considerations, materials, the "science" behind it all, and other topics related to building the cars and semi-trucks.
Sloroller
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Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Sloroller »

Hello all,

My son and I just built and raced our first pack and district event and it was eye opening and very fun. My son is a Tiger and I have never been a scout. I did like many others and watched YouTube and read a lot of information on the net. We went forward and helped built him and his younger brother cars for the pack race, just hoping to not look really bad. When we finished building them our COG was 1.25” forward of rear axel and weighed 4.99oz. I polished axels to 2k grit and set up to run on three stock location and axels not bent. We won our Pack races with times around 2.60 and a best of 2.589. The closest in our packs best time was 2.61. My youngest sons car came in third overall and his times were all around 2.61 but two hundredths slower than second. I was shocked and pleased with that. This was a 35fttrack.
Now onto districts. We walk in and get car inspected then watch the weblos and there were some fast cars. This was a 40ft track and I saw one go 3.01 at 208 mph. I prepped my son and told him there are some fast cars here so don’t expect to win like at your pack. Well we ran faster than all the Tigers with an average time of 3.04 at 204mph. During the finals we came in 7th overall which is respectable and noticed all the ones above him were pack leaders sons. Next year I would like to make the top5 if possible. Joining this forum which seems to have a great deal of knowledge we can leverage and share our struggles as we go back to the drawing board. Your insight will be greatly appreciated.
So now I ask what we can do (which I know you all get constantly) to speed up our car for next year? Below is what we did to the car

Thin 1/4 body
4.99oz
Cog 1.25” forwardrear axel
Polished axels 2000 grit wet
Trued wheels (with wheel shaver tool)
Graphite
Rail rider

How can I get to 3.0 or below?

Thanks in advance
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Vitamin K
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Vitamin K »

Hi Sloroller, welcome to Derby Talk!

It really sounds like you've done a lot of homework, prior to your son's first build! Congratulations on your wins!

I don't know that anyone could guarantee you a 3.0 or less, since tracks vary a lot. That said, I'm sure we could offer advice.

Maybe a good starting point would be looking at the rules for your district? Do you have a link to them?
Sloroller
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Sloroller »

https://www.ncacbsa.org/goose-creek/wp- ... s_2018.pdf
Link is above, appreciate the pointers.

Things they checked for were flat tires on ground, axel location (stock distance), weight, clearance, and squeezed wheels to see if thinned.
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Speedster »

That surely was a lot of words to say a few things. The only sad part was the scout can't stage his own car.
Might we see a picture of the cars ?
Sloroller
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Sloroller »

Yeah got a Little wordy.
Not sure how to post pic yet


[]http://i65.tinypic.com/118hlxw.jpg[/IMG]
Speedster
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Speedster »

Great Pictures. Beautiful cars and Beautiful shapes. Yep, I Love Speed.
Please check your email.
Cheers,
Speedster
Sloroller
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Sloroller »

No email received
Speedster
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Speedster »

Please try emailing me.
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whodathunkit
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Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by whodathunkit »

Sloroller wrote:Yeah got a Little wordy.
Not sure how to post pic yet


[]http://i65.tinypic.com/118hlxw.jpg[/IMG]
Hi Sloroller and welcome!
To post your photos from tinypic
In the link to it on the left hand side where the image codes are seen..Use the 2nd bar down..
IMG Code for Forums and Message Boards.


Just copy from that code bar then paste it to
your topic.
Your photos will show up from tinypic to
your topic.

Very nice looking cars by the way!
Whoda.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What type of automobile can be spelled the same forwards & backwards?
Sloroller
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Sloroller »

Image

Above is the track I just built. Cost me about 80$ in materials, and about three hours of time. Never built one and seems to work good. Just need to add starting gate and timer.

As you can see my basement is a war zone of kids toys.
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Vitamin K
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Vitamin K »

Sloroller wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:02 am Image

Above is the track I just built. Cost me about 80$ in materials, and about three hours of time. Never built one and seems to work good. Just need to add starting gate and timer.

As you can see my basement is a war zone of kids toys.
Pretty cool! I envy your basement!

What'd you use for materials for the track?
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Speedster »

That looks really nice. It might be an illusion but the lanes look like they are not on 3 1/2" centers which is very common. If you get a 3 lane timer from Microwizard they will tell you how to measure the track so they can build an accurate timer. If you put a timer on only one lane they probably want to know that also.
Best Wishes
Bill
Sloroller
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Sloroller »

Materials used
1/4” underlayment cut to 1’ 1/4” wide by 8’
1”5/8” width trim by 1/4” and 8ft long times 12
And 1/2 screws couple hundred purchased
2x2” used as props and support (2. 8 footers)
1 sheet of 3/4” plywood cut up in 5”x8” strips for support to keep track from bowing.

That’s pretty much it
Center to center track is 4 1/4” due to using 1 5/8” center rail I had to add more clearance.
Last edited by Sloroller on Fri Mar 23, 2018 2:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Vitamin K
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Vitamin K »

This is stuff you got at Lowes or Home Depot or similar? Finding 1/4" sheeting has been elusive for me.
Sloroller
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Re: Brand new to forum and pinewood derby

Post by Sloroller »

Home Depot
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