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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    Lubes(0)(scroll down for selections)
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    PRO Tools(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.

What is the best shape for the fastest Pinewood Derby car? ›

Create a Pinewood Derby car that is reasonably aerodynamic

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.

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 best angle for a Pinewood Derby car? ›

Three areas on a Pinewood Derby® car must be aligned; failure to do so leaves speed on the track! 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 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.

Where is the best place to put weight on a Pinewood Derby car? ›

PUT MOST OF THE WEIGHT IN THE BACK

Science says the heaviest part of your car should be about 1 inch in front of the rear axle. The idea is that the farther back the weight is, the more potential energy you have because your center of mass is higher up on the track.

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? ›

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.

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 use sandpaper on my Pinewood Derby nails? ›

Use a small file to remove the nail head crimp marks Starting with about 300 grit sandpaper sand the nails. Work up to as fine of grit as you can find. Chuck the pointed end into a drill or dremel.

Is it legal to sand Pinewood Derby wheels? ›

You may not significantly change the wheel dimensions. Wheels may be sanded/lathed/filed to smooth out molding imperfections in the tread area. The contact surface of the wheel must be flat as it sits on the track.

How far to push in Pinewood Derby axles? ›

Push until the wheel touches the car body. The base is designed to leave the proper gap between the wheel and body. 5. The axle will need to be glued if it slips easily into the car body.

Why bend Pinewood Derby axles? ›

Bent axles can be used to: Reduce friction. Align the car to run straight. Adjust the car to use the rail riding technique.

How far apart should the axles be on a Pinewood Derby car? ›

Axle Location: All cars must use slot in original block of wood for axle placement. No changes in axle distance or drilling of axle holes in the side of the car with a drill press will be allowed. Axle distance is 4 3/8 inches from the center of the front axle to the center of the back axle.

How to design a winning Pinewood Derby car? ›

Add Weights to the Pinewood Derby Car

The ideal placement for the center of gravity is 7/8-in. in front of the rear axle. Too far forward and you'll lose potential energy. Too far back and your car will pop a wheelie, ruining any chance for a win.

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.

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