Some of the fondest memories that I have of the Cub Scout and Webelos program are about getting ready for the Pinewood Derby race and, of course, about the race itself. I remember getting the Pinewood Derby car kit and taking it home and sharing it with my mom. Mom told me that she couldn’t help me, that I would have to wait for my father to get home and that he would help me. My father worked the afternoon and evening shift at one of the local cereal factories, and sure enough, when he got some time on the next weekend, he knew exactly what needed to be done to the car because Dad said that as a boy he also had made Pinewood Derby cars. In this article, we hope to share with you some pictures of great cars, and how they were made. My car took first place, the very first Pinewood Derby that I ever raced in! Here are some great ideas from around the web to help you build your own fast car!
An article in Boy’s Life, a BSA magazine and blog, called “Use Science to Build the Fastest Pinewood Derby Car,” gives excellent guidelines for creating a car that uses physics to its advantage. Here, Mark Rober gives his seven steps to building a fast pinewood derby car:
1. Max out your Pinewood Derby car’s weight at 5 ounces
2. Use lightweight wheels
3. Use bent polished axles
4. Railride
5. Create a Pinewood Derby car that is reasonably aerodynamic
6. Ride on three wheels by raising one wheel off the track
7. Use lots of graphite (on the axles to reduce friction)
Read his article to learn more about each of these techniques!
This design, featured in the image below, as long as you follow the seven principles outlined in Boy’s Life, will not lose! These pictures are from https://voiceofscouting.org/fastest-pinewood-derby-car-designs. They’ve got some great ideas on getting the most speed out of your car.
According to STL Motherhood’s website https://stlmotherhood.com/pinewood-derby-science-winner/ When it comes to making a super-fast Pinewood Derby car for Cub Scouts, there’s a ton of noise and bad advice. You don’t have to leave it to luck, though a little certainly helps. Here’s some excellent information–using real science–to make a winning Pinewood Derby car. Here is a picture of the car she helped her Scout build.
Here's another idea based on getting your car out in front of the rest, by being able to leave the starting position first. It looks like this…
Here is a site with a whole bunch of useful tips for first time Pinewood Derby car builders. https://www.abc-pinewood-derby.com/basic-guide.php. These are some designs that they had on their web page.
This site had 39 awesome car designs for you to download and make all by yourself. http://templatelab.com/pinewood-derby/
These last four designs are from https://boyslife.org/hobbies-projects/pinewood-derby/157310/cool-pinewood-derby-cars-of-2018/#jp-carousel-157324. They had a whole bunch of neat designs for you to pick from and copy.
Harry Potter’s Nimbus 200
Thor’s Hammer
The Robinhood
The Screaming eagle
Let us know how your car did by sending us a comment in the section below, and we look forward to hearing from you!