What Makes The Fastest Pinewood Derby Car?

The fastest Pinewood Derby car was founded in 1953 by Don Murphy. A page explaining the story of the Pinewood Derby on pinewoodpro.com is linked in the title above. Already in 1953, the scouts made boxcar races. Don Murphy wanted his son to attend, but he was still a scout and it was too dangerous for his son. So, Don Murphy built little wooden cars and built a circuit with some other guides that were an electric finishing line, and the Pinewood Derby was born. Murphy brought the idea to BSA, which implemented the activity.

Five steps to the fastest Pinewood Derby car

1. Maximize the weight of your Pinewood Derby car to 5 ounces and make sure the heaviest part is about 1 inch ahead of the rear axle. This is the most important step. Science shows that if you do it right, you'll beat a Pinewood Derby car that's built exactly the same - with the exception of the forward weight - by 4.6 vehicle lengths. That works because the further back the weight is, the more potential energy you have because your center of gravity is higher on the track. (Do not put it too far back, otherwise, your Pinewood Derby car will become unstable and make a wheelie.)

2. Use light wheels. This is illegal in some races, but if it is not in your race, this is a compulsory step that gives you an advantage at the finish line of 2.1 cars over a normal-wheel car. It works because heavy wheels take away the kinetic energy (the energy that has something due to its movement), which makes the Pinewood Derby car slower.

3. Use curved polished axles. When you bend the axles of your Pinewood Derby car with a bending tool, the wheels drive against the nailhead, which causes less friction than when the wheel jumps around and rubs against the wooden pinewood derby bodywork. See the video above for details.

4. Train ride. Rail riding means steering your Pinewood derby car just enough into the middle guide rail that it does not jump around. This reduces friction and saves energy for speed. See video for details.

5. Build a Pinewood derby car that is reasonably aerodynamic, which means its design reduces drag. You do not have to go crazy here, but a wedge-shaped Pinewood Derby car instead of the standard block-out-of-the-box car brings a 1.4 lead to the finish line.

Conclusion

The main advantage of the Pinewood Derby car is its quick start function. A Pinewood Derby circuit starts every car at the same time. The starter pulls a lever that drops the pins towards the slots you see in the picture below. Notice how each of the cars in this picture rests on the pens in the same way. But this fast car design has a forked front end with a wire running over it at a higher level.