JamesRobot | 6,184 Events Team · Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 It's racin' season! The boy and I just finished our third Pinewood Derby car and the pack race is next Saturday. This year we made a Bendy and the Ink Machine car. It's considerably thinner than last year's ghost car with a greater weight concentration near the rear axle. Here's all of our cars so far. Anyone racing this year? Any past cars to show off? 6 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner | 2,963 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Here is my son's pinewood derby car. This was his first year at the Derby and my first time in over 30 years. He finished second in his age group and the car that beat us ended up winning the entire thing. We qualified for the District races which are in March. I wanted to go with a little more competitive design, but it was my son's choice and he wanted to go with something that looked more like a real car. After he saw which cars were winning everything he said that next year he wants to go with that kind of design (something like a wedge). So I'm looking forward to next year trying to make a car that can run for the top spot. Overall we had fun which is what counts and it was fun watching him get excited about it. 7 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44244 Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 My daughter's Daisy troop are doing pinewood derby with the cubscouts this year, so we need to get a car built next weekend. Looking forward to it. 1 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44316 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,184 Events Team · Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 13 hours ago, arch_8ngel said: My daughter's Daisy troop are doing pinewood derby with the cubscouts this year, so we need to get a car built next weekend. Looking forward to it. Better get on that. Especially if you're having her do some of the work. It took us three weekends. (Barely any time during the week with work and all the extra curriculars.) 22 hours ago, TDIRunner said: Here is my son's pinewood derby car. This was his first year at the Derby and my first time in over 30 years. He finished second in his age group and the car that beat us ended up winning the entire thing. We qualified for the District races which are in March. I wanted to go with a little more competitive design, but it was my son's choice and he wanted to go with something that looked more like a real car. After he saw which cars were winning everything he said that next year he wants to go with that kind of design (something like a wedge). So I'm looking forward to next year trying to make a car that can run for the top spot. Overall we had fun which is what counts and it was fun watching him get excited about it. Nice! The District race is a good time. We had the same experience last year. Our car placed second in the pack. His buddy's car took first and went on to win the District championship. Our car ended up around 10th or so in the district. Really hoping for a better showing this year but there's some pretty competitive dads in the area. 2 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44518 Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 (edited) 28 minutes ago, JamesRobot said: Better get on that. Especially if you're having her do some of the work. It took us three weekends. (Barely any time during the week with work and all the extra curriculars.) We have a couple of weeks to go, and I know what I am getting into in terms of the build. I haven't participated in a derby in quite awhile, though, so I am mainly hoping that it isn't a situation where some dads with a misplaced competitive spirit suck the fun out of the activity for the kids. Main focus this week is getting my daughter to cook up a design. Edited January 21, 2020 by arch_8ngel 1 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44526 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriGuy82 | 808 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Man, this was his first year. We got the car weight to 4.9 ounces, polished the axles, used the graphite. He came in 2nd three times and 3rd once. They emailed us all the stats with his cumulative time and average scale mph and what not. He had so much fun it was great. The den leader had been practicing with a track in his basement, he was a total freak. I think he got his car up to 207 scale mph. 1 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44534 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriGuy82 | 808 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 3 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44631 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriGuy82 | 808 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 On 1/19/2020 at 9:59 PM, JamesRobot said: It's racin' season! The boy and I just finished our third Pinewood Derby car and the pack race is next Saturday. This year we made a Bendy and the Ink Machine car. It's considerably thinner than last year's ghost car with a greater weight concentration near the rear axle. Here's all of our cars so far. Anyone racing this year? Any past cars to show off? Did they let you race with the back wheels cambered like that? They made a big deal about no cambering and all four wheels having to touch the track. Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44842 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mae247 | 207 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Best advise I can give that helped me win each year. Use powdered graphite on each axel nail. Will add plenty of speed. 1 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44860 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,184 Events Team · Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 2 hours ago, BriGuy82 said: Did they let you race with the back wheels cambered like that? They made a big deal about no cambering and all four wheels having to touch the track. Yeah our district doesn't throw in any extra rules. We rock the 3 wheel rail rider. Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44905 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner | 2,963 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 I'm sure it's different all around the country. I hadn't race in almost 3 decades, so I went over the rule list for my district pretty closely. If I didn't use the pine block that came in the kit I wasn't racing. If I didn't use the wheels that came with the kit, I wasn't racing. If I didn't use the nails/axles that came with the kit, I wasn't racing. If I didn't use the pre-cut groves in the wood block for the axles, I wasn't racing. If 3 out of the 4 wheels weren't completely flat to the track I wasn't racing. If the car rides the rail down the entire track you are disqualified. Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-44913 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriGuy82 | 808 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 10 hours ago, JamesRobot said: Yeah our district doesn't throw in any extra rules. We rock the 3 wheel rail rider. Lol, they inspected and impounded our car 48 hours before the race. The guy tested it, measured it, broke out his flashlight... it was serious business. Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-45011 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,184 Events Team · Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 1 hour ago, BriGuy82 said: Lol, they inspected and impounded our car 48 hours before the race. The guy tested it, measured it, broke out his flashlight... it was serious business. Impounded? That's ridiculous. If our cars are out of spec, they just give em back so you have a chance to fix it. Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-45039 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner | 2,963 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 16 minutes ago, JamesRobot said: Impounded? That's ridiculous. If our cars are out of spec, they just give em back so you have a chance to fix it. I think he is referring to check in. Once our cars are checked in, we cannot touch them until after racing is over. I'm just surprised that they check them in 48 hours in advance. We just check in an hour before the races start. Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-45043 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,184 Events Team · Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 Oh gotcha. I was thinking it was impounded for being out of spec. Yeah, our cars are "quarantined" as well the night before. Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-45045 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriGuy82 | 808 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 19 minutes ago, TDIRunner said: I think he is referring to check in. Once our cars are checked in, we cannot touch them until after racing is over. I'm just surprised that they check them in 48 hours in advance. We just check in an hour before the races start. Lol, no seriously they impounded the car. 3 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-45053 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner | 2,963 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 (edited) 13 minutes ago, BriGuy82 said: Lol, no seriously they impounded the car. Yes, I know. That's what I was saying. James thought you meant they impounded the car if it DIDN'T meet specs. Checking the car in without the ability to handle it again is the same as impounding the car. James just got mixed up because using the word impounded makes it sound like something bad happened. Edited January 22, 2020 by TDIRunner 2 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-45059 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 5,325 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 This is insane. I use to race these as a kid and I took it "seriously" for back then before the internet. My uncle was always a physics nerd so he had a ton of ideas, but since he was in charge of the troop... he shared that info. We knew about many of the tricks used today, but we never considered the "3-wheel" trick. Anyway, the last I looked into pine car derby racing was probably 5 years or so ago. With the advent of the internet and videos on YouTube, I think these tourneys have realized there are a lot of techniques which may now seem like "cheating". Personally, I think anything should go so long as you're using stock wheels and your car's the right size and weight. But, personally, I was more interested in what my car looked like anyway. There needs to always be two categories of competition. Fastest car and Best Looking. 1 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-45067 Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Daughter just finished her first set of races and won her age group, second over all. Average scale speed of 181.9, overall winner was only 182.1, so neck and neck. We didn't do anything fancy with the wheels, any could have squeezed another 0.05 ounces on if we wanted. Might do that for when she races the cub scouts next month. 4 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-50281 Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Just won her troop championship, scale speed up above 185, now that the track is broken in. 3 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-50286 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KokiriChild | 1,677 Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Hell yeah! Love me some pinewood derby! I remember one year when I was a webelo one kid literally didn't cut his pine block at all and wrapped it in wrapping paper to make a "christmas present on wheels." The mad lad was a genius, because he won all the best in show awards with such minimal effort. 2 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-50461 Share on other sites More sharing options...
acromite53 | 338 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) Aww yeah. I was so into Pinewood Derby racing. Here are my cars. The first 2 years we modeled them after Herbie the Love Bug. I loved those movies. 3rd year was my favorite car. The beautiful gold one. This was slick! I won a lot of races with it. I was 3rd place champion. Edited February 10, 2020 by acromite53 2 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-50698 Share on other sites More sharing options...
acromite53 | 338 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 We followed up next year with the super slim green car. This killed everyone! I got 1st Place Champion with it! Final year was the cow which didnt do well at all. Haha. Get rekt noobs. 3 1 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-50700 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriGuy82 | 808 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 @JamesRobot @arch_8ngel Tis today, outdoor racing action! 3 1 2 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-161368 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriGuy82 | 808 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 The guy running it this year is a detective. He stamped the bottom of the wood blocks and he said he would be checking them with a forensic camera to make sure they weren't switched out. 2 Link to comment https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/2299-pinewood-derby-racing/#findComment-161369 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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