9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (2024)

Pinewood derby is a must experience for every Boy Scouts member. Thispinewood derby cars templates refers to a racing event for unmanned mini cars with no machine. Although unpowered, the cars could move because of the gravitation law. And since this derby become popular, many organizations aside from Boy Scouts held similar events with more proper arrangement.

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Tips on Building Powerful Pinewood Derby Car

As mentioned before, the pinewood derby car 100% depend on the gravitation to move. That’s why, to get a super and powerful car, it lies on how the design could escalate the gravity effect. For that reason, here some tips you could do to build a supercar for the derby:

1. Avoid Pointed Nose Design

The first step is designing your pinewood car. To do that, you could look for some pinewood derby printable designs on the internet. Then, you can start to draw your blueprint design by combining from what you printed. One thing you have to remember, that you should avoid the pointed nose design for your car. Because pointed nose couldn’t rest well on the pin at the start line, and it could make the car bumped around at the starting of the race.

2. Wedges Design, not Rectangular

Aside from avoiding the pointed nose design, you also should avoid the rectangular ones. The reason is that rectangular is not an aerodynamic design. Thus, by using rectangular shaped would make the wind block your car move. Remember, pinewood car could run because of the gravity force by utilizing the weight and height.

3. Dry Wood

To make your super car, you have to bake the pinewood for at least, two hours. That way, all the moisture would get removed. The result of this process would make your car become lighter. Thus, you can place more weight on the rear of your car, since getting more weight on the rear would add speed.

4. Maximum Weight as Possible

In the most cast, pinewood car shouldn’t weigh more than 5 ounces. For this matter, you should maximize this allowed weight. And if your finished car weight less than that, you can add other detailed accessories that allowed to get more weight. Also, you have to make sure the rare part weight more.

5. Installing the Wheels and Axles

You have to ensure that you get the alignment straight, this to make your car run smoothly. Also, glue the axles perfectly on their holes, and be careful not to get any glue on the wheels. And there’s some expert know-how to increase your car speed performance. Try to build a three-wheeled car, by making one of the wheels slightly smaller than others. The purpose is to make it run faster by reducing friction.

And also, put the front and rear wheels as far as (allowed) possible. Don’t forget to put dry lubrication to avoid friction between the wheels and the body. That way, the wheels would rotate smoothly with minimum friction as possible.

6. Distinct Design of the Front and the Rear

In this kind of event, you don’t put your car but an official. For that reason, you have to make sure others could tell which one the front part and which one is the rear. Because in several cases, the official personal failed to notice which one is the front part and put the car backward.

Let Loose on the Design by Utilizing These Pinewood Derby Car Templates

Although it’s a pinewood car, you shouldn’t limit your creativity. Put the best design for your car to make it as cool as possible. Also, you have to create a smooth surface by sandpapering to lessen the friction. Don’t forget to put paint your supercar to make it more impressive. There are many car designs at the Pinewood Derby Cars Templates PDF files below to get some inspirations.

The pinewood derby started as a Cub Scouts activity but become popular in out of Scouts community as well. The reason is that the event is fun. Not to mention, the challenge for the imagination in building and designing for mini cars is also thrilling.

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9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (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.

What is the best Pinewood Derby shape for speed? ›

No need to get crazy here, but simply having a wedge-shaped Pinewood Derby car instead of the standard block out of the box will equal a 1.4-car advantage at the finish line.

What is the physics of Pinewood Derby cars? ›

A pinewood derby car converts gravitational potential energy to translational kinetic energy (and resulting velocity), rotational kinetic energy in the spinning wheels, and heat from friction.

Is acrylic paint good for Pinewood Derby car? ›

We tested over 100 different paints and selected the ones that gave the best results on Pinewood Derby cars. These high gloss acrylic paints work best if no primer or wood sealer is used - Just sand and paint. All of our paints are water based. They are non-toxic and water wash-up.

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.

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.

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.

What is the fastest derby car design? ›

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 pinewood derby cars be heavy or light? ›

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.

Do aerodynamics matter in Pinewood Derby? ›

There are two goals regarding aerodynamics: Eliminate (or at least minimize) the surfaces that create drag. Efficiently direct the air around the surfaces that can't be eliminated.

What are the 3 forces acting upon a Pinewood Derby car? ›

These forces include gravitational force (weight), normal force, drag force, and frictional force exerted on the wheel as a moment. These forces contribute to changes in the car's energy and thus affect the motion of the car.

Do heavier Pinewood Derby cars go faster? ›

Much has been written about the physics of pinewood derby cars, and this is one rare case in racing where heavy = fast. Aerodynamics have little effect in such a short race, but weight does and putting the weight at the back of the car will make your car faster on the flat of the track.

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.

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. Plus, the angle makes the wheels migrate outward on the axle, rubbing against the axle head rather than the higher friction-prone body.

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