How do you build a fast derby car... Answer: To build a fast pine wood derby car, you need to reduce friction. Friction is the enemy of speed. Reducing friction, increases speed. Its as simple as that! This short tutorial guide gives you is a list of friction reducers that will help you make a fast, competitive pinewood derby car. It is by no means a comprehensive list of speed secrets. For more how-to information, there are several excellent sources of winning secrets listed at the bottom of this article. Since pine wood derby block dimensions are all the same, these speed tips apply to Cub Scouts, Awana Grand Prix, PineCar, Kub Car, Royal Rangers and Girl Scouts powderpuff pinewood derby cars. Friction DOWN, Speed UP Your pine wood derby car moves from the force of gravity and is slowed down from friction. Friction acts like brakes. Reduce friction and your car goes faster. Increase friction and your car slows down. Finding the sources of friction and finding ways to reduce it is the tricky part. Here are some ways to reduce friction and increase speed. Lubrication How to reduce friction? The easiest easy way to reduce friction in your pine car is to lubricate the two surfaces that are causing friction. Lubrication is an essential part of pine wood derby racing. Purchase a tube of dry powdered graphite and sprinkle a little on the axles and in the wheel bore. Spin the wheel so the graphite works in. You will immediately notice a significant improvement in the wheel speed and number of revolutions as you turn it. Another good lubricant, if your rules allow it, is Nyoil II. Nyoil is a highly refined thin-film oil. Only one or two small drops on your axles reduces friction throughout your race because Nyoil stays on your axles long after graphite has dropped off in the later heats. See more details on this new lube idea in Graphite and Lubes. Derby Axles Your wheels turn on Pinewood Derby Axles. One of the biggest sources of friction is where the axles and wheel surfaces meet. It is important to make your axles as smooth as possible. Be absolutely sure that the burr under the nail head is filed or sanded off. Once that is sanded off, polish the nail and underside of the head to a mirror like finish. Derby Wheels Imperfections in your Pinewood Derby Wheels cause friction in many areas. Sanding your wheels, however, can be tricky. If the wheels are not precision sanded, you can actually make matters worse. Turning your wheels on a lathe are the best way to remove imperfections and get a uniform, balanced and finely tuned pinewood derby wheel. The wheel is secured in the lathe and spun at a high speed, then it is sanded or shaved with a tool attachment. Wheel imperfections can also make your car veer left or right. Once again, lathed wheels will remove mold imperfections so each wheel rolls perfectly straight. More Weight, More Inertia, More Momentum Your car moves down the track from the force of gravity. If your car is too light, it will have less inertia in the flat part of the track. Be sure your car weighs as close to 5 oz as possible. Find someone with a scale, purchase an inexpensive scale or weigh your car at the Post Office. Add weights until the car block, along with the wheels and axles, is up to 5 oz. Dont wait until race night to get this right! When I managed our pinewood derby race, there was always a scramble just before the race to weigh cars and bring them up to 5 oz. Making your pine wood car go straight This can be tricky. Roll your car along the kitchen floor. If it veers to the right or left too much, the axles are crooked. Just like steering a car, you need to adjust the steering on your Derby Car. To do this, you must adjust one or more of the axles so the car rolls straight. You can do this by re-drilling the axle holes with the PRO Driller Tool and re-inserting the axles, or you can gently bend the axles, but this is extremely tedious and can easily damage your axle. - See more at: pinewoodpro/pinewood-derby-howto-speed.php#sthash.LqLs9yCE.dpuf
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 15:40:02 +0000
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