Pinewood Derby Car Designer (2024)

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    Car Designs(scroll down for selections)
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    Wheels(0)(scroll down for selections)
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    Weights(0)(scroll down for selections)
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Angry Bird$4.95

Car Design Plans and Pre-Cut Car Bodies

Start building your car by selecting either a Car Design Plan or a Pre-Cut Car Body.

Our Award Winning Car Design Plans include everything you need to cut that car out of your block. Each plan includes design templates and shows every cut with 3D images so you can't make a mistake. They also include weight placement and speed tips.

To save time building your car, you might want to select a pre-cut car body. Our pre-cut cars are make fronm Official BSA car blocks.

To save even more time, our Lazer and Grey Ghost car bodies are pre-weighted and primed. All you need to do is paint, and insert your axles and wheels!

BSA Polished Axles$9.95

Fast Axles Make the Fastest Car

To build the fastest car, you need to minimize friction. Friction between the axles and the wheels is the biggest factor in slowing down your cars. With this tool, you can customize axles and wheels to create your own car with as little friction as possible. Less friction = More speed, and speed is what wins races.

Axle Tips and Speed Hints

When your wheel rubs against the axle head it can cause the wheel to wobble because the corner of the axle head is not a perfect 90 degrees. Cutting a groove directly under the axle head removes this source of wheel wobble, but it is difficult to do by hand. Consider our Grooved Speed Axles that have a groove cut directly under the axle head.

The stock BSA "nails" that come in your kit are mass produced. These nails have burrs, crimp marks and can also be crooked, all of which severely limits your car speed. An Axle Polishing Kit and Axle File are essential to fix your axles and increase your car speed.

The axle slots that are cut into standard blocks are too tight for your .089" diameter axles. Small axle slots make it difficult to get your axles in straight. A #44 drill bit is .086", which I find too tight. Consider a #43 Drill Bit, which is a perfect match at .089" for a snug fit.

BSA Speed Wheels$16.95

Precision Tuned Wheels make the Fastest Car

Our wheels are precision lathed in 5 different areas to remove imperfections so they are lighter and trued up.

Lighter wheels turn require less energy to turn them, which translates into speed. We offer lightly lathed wheels and the faster Ultra-Lite wheels (check your rules!). To get even more speed, we offer both versions in a graphite-coated version, our fastest BSA wheels.

Tungsten Cube Weights$9.95

How Weights Make a Fast Car

Your car races down the track from the force of gravity and it races to the finish line due to inertia. To build the fastest car, you need to maximize weight and balance your weights to get the optimal center of gravity. Choose between Zinc, Tungsten and our new composit Flex Weights that can be cut with a scissors.

Weight Tips and Placement Hints

Tungsten weights are ideal for pinewood derby cars. Tungsten is about 1/3 smaller than zinc that has the same weight. Therefor, you can pack Tungsten weights in a smaller area to optimize your center of gravity to maximize inertia giving you greater speed at the finish gate.

Our non-hardening Tungsten Putty is ideal for getting your car up to the maximum 5.0 oz limit. Drill a hole in the bottom of your car and insert Tungsten Putty as the last step to bring your car to 5.0 oz. If the official scale weighs you in at 5.1 oz, simply remove a small amount of putty to bring it back to 5.0 oz.

Nyoil$9.95

Lubricating Reduces Friction

To make the fastest car, you need more than polished axles and lathed wheels. You need to a good lubricant! PRO Graphite or NyOil lubricants is the single most important thing you can do to make your car fast.

Lubrication Tips

Our PRO Graphite, with molybdenum disulfide, has helped people win races for over 15 years. Our Track Tests show an average speed increase of 17%.

Nyoil is a thin film lubricant that has the advantage of staying on your axles throughout the race, unlike powdered graphite that blows off every time your car goes down the track.

PRO Driller$19.95

Save time and make your car faster with Pinewood Pro's PRO Tools!

Our PRO tools will save you time building your car while helping make your car faster. The PRO Driller, featured here, is just one of our many PRO Tools.

The PRO Driller is a versatile tool that helps you drill perfectly straight axle holes, 2.5 degree angled holes and a raised wheel hole. The axle slot on your block has several problems. It is too small for your axle, making it very difficult to insert your axle, usually requiring a hammer to get them in. This process inevitably results in your axle going in crooked. Crooked axles make slow cars!

And because the slot is so narrow, sometimes the block can crack when you force the axle in.

Lastly, the axle slot itself might not be perfectly square to the block, so even if you insert it straight into the slot, if the slot is crooked, your car doesn't roll straight and it will hit the center rail as it goes down the track severely reducing speed.

The PRO Driller allows you to re-drill the axle slots, drill new axle holes, or drill axle holes to make an extended wheelbase.

Optionally, you can drill a raised wheel hole to make your car even faster. See our Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets book.

Aside from the PRO Driller, Pinewood Pro offers an exclusive line of Pinewood Derby PRO Tools, like our PRO Axle Inserter Guide, PRO Wheel Spacer, PRO Wheel Bore Polisher and PRO Axle Puller-Inerter that will both save you time and make your car faster.

So Go PRO and Go Blue with Pinewood Pro's PRO Tools!

Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets - Hard Copy$9.95

The Secret Speed Tips

Some of the building process is the parts that go into your car, but the rest of the speed lies in the actual building! Our Speed Secrets will help you build your car and give you that extra speed you need to leave your competition in the dust.

Winning Tips and Speed Secrets

Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets contains all the tips you need to win your race. Updated annually with the latest tips and speed products, our book has proven results with 1000's of winners but don't take our word for it! Read over 100 Customer Reviews and check out our Winners Gallery!

Using the Pinewood Derby Car Designer

Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets tells you how to build a fast, winning car...

  • Contains basic speed hints so you have a competitive car
  • Contains advanced speed hints to win your race
  • Proven results! Thousands of winners for over 20 years.
  • Reading Winning Pinewoood Derby Secrets is the single most important thing you can do to save time and build a winning car.
Pinewood Derby Car Designer (2024)

FAQs

What is the best design for a Pinewood Derby car? ›

The wedge is a classic and probably the easiest shape (besides keeping a block) to build your Pinewood Derby car. The Wedge is the foundation of many cool car designs, and it is designed to be aerodynamic and is a one-cut wonder.

Who invented the Pinewood Derby car? ›

Pinewood Derby was created by Cubmaster Donald Murphy in 1953.

What does the fastest Pinewood Derby car look like? ›

To go fast, it's all about aerodynamics, and the best shape is a simple wedge. Just like a spoiler on the rear of a sports car, the wedge shape allows as much air to flow over the top of the car without hinderance while keeping the car pinned to the track.

Should I bake my Pinewood Derby block? ›

Baking your Pinewood Derby wooden block helps to remove the moisture so that you have more wiggle room to add extra weight at the end. Remember, every little bit of weight in the right place makes a difference! Bake it in the oven at 250° for about 2 hours.

Should you sand Pinewood Derby wheels? ›

Sanding the wheels

Work up to as fine of grit as you can find. Only sand enough to remove imperfections and make the wheel round as possible.

What is the fastest Pinewood Derby car time? ›

“He set the track record in NYC with a 2.93 second run, which wasn't even approached by any other car up there.” JJ's car was apparently the only car at the event to average under 3 seconds. Brewster says 3 seconds is sort of the “holy grail” of the Pinewood Derby Racing Leagues.

Do heavier Pinewood Derby cars go faster? ›

Assuming all other factors are equal, a heavier car will be faster than a lighter car. The Pinewood Derby rules limit the weight of each car to 5 ounces.

Can you hollow out a Pinewood Derby car? ›

Pine wood is a very light material, so we wanted to remove as much of it as possible while still keeping the structure intact. The best way to do this was to hollow out the bottom and up through the middle, attempting to keep the weight about one inch infront of the rear axle (for the most part).

What did Randy put in the Pinewood Derby car? ›

Hollis, slips an object into the back of the car to give it an advantage. Stan learns from a news report that the object is a superconducting magnet, stolen from the Large Hadron Collider by Randy disguised as Princess Leia.

Is it better to have a heavy or light Pinewood Derby car? ›

In most races, the maximum allowable weight of a pinewood derby car is five ounces. By meeting this maximum limit – while also strategically placing your weights at the rear of your vehicle – you will improve your momentum and increase the distance your car travels towards the finish line.

Is it better to have a lighter or heavier Pinewood Derby car? ›

First, the basics: Your car should weigh as much as it's allowed. In most races, a Pinewood Derby car's weight is limited to 5 ounces. If your car weighs less than that, add coins or other weights.

Is a shorter Pinewood Derby car faster? ›

Yes, you can make your car shorter but it is not recommended. A shorter car will have a lower center of mass at the start so it will have less energy to convert into speed when going down the track.

Should I glue Pinewood Derby axles? ›

Slide the axles and wheels onto the car and glue into place. Use an epoxy or nonresin glue, and make sure you don't get any on the surface of the axle where the wheel rides.

Can you put Legos on a Pinewood Derby car? ›

Most pinewood derby rules limit the length of the car to 7" so don't add any LEGO pieces that extend past the front or back of the block. You can add LEGO pieces that make your car wider but the width should not exceed 2 3/4 inches. As a general rule, the height of your car should not be greater than 3 inches.

Are Bent axles legal in Pinewood Derby? ›

No loose materials of any kind (such as lead shot) are allowed in the car. No bent axels, and all 4 wheels need to be on the track. Once a car passes inspection and is entered into the race, only race committee members can touch it.

What are characteristics of successful Pinewood Derby car designs? ›

To build the fastest pinewood derby car at competition, you need to maximize your momentum while also minimizing friction.
  • Quality Lubrication. A major way to decrease friction is by properly lubricating your wheels and axles. ...
  • Properly Prepared Wheels and Axles. ...
  • Perfect Alignment. ...
  • Maximized Momentum. ...
  • Aerodynamic.

How to make the most aerodynamic Pinewood Derby car? ›

Crafting the Design: Outline your Pinewood Derby car on paper, cut it out, and affix it to the wood block. Remember, a rectangular car is not an aerodynamic design. The most basic aerodynamic design is a simple wedge. If you don't have time to design a complex car, a wedge will work just fine.

What is the best wheel angle for a Pinewood Derby car? ›

The rear wheels should be set at a 3-degree angle (camber). This angle reduces friction as only a tiny portion of the wheel makes contact with the track.

What is the best wheelbase for a Pinewood Derby car? ›

For example, on a smooth aluminum track, a wheelbase of 4.75” offers a good balance between speed and stability. For a rougher track where instability could be a concern, the Race Team might consider going with a 5.0” to 5.25” wheelbase. New axle holes must be made to move or extend the car's wheelbase.

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