How to Get Started Designing Your Pinewood Derby Car|Boy Scouts of America (2024)

November 7, 2022 3424 view(s)

How to Get Started Designing Your Pinewood Derby Car

How to Get Started Designing Your Pinewood Derby Car

We encourage our Cub Scouts to do their best, to be helpful, and to be kind to others. With Pinewood Derby season right around the corner, these words could not ring truer. The Pinewood Derby is the perfect time to teach Cub Scouts the value of sportsmanship, how to win with humility, and to accept loss with grace. The derby inspires Scouts to think outside the box, and with each Pinewood Derby, we're left speechless witnessing the innovative, charming, and exciting cars all of the Scouts design. To help Scouts bring their visions to life, we've compiled some of our favorite accessories available at the Scout Shop.

5 Fun Ideas to Enhance Your Pinewood Derby Car

  1. Let your car's design shine with a light kit
  2. Opt for glow-in-the-dark wheels
  3. Include fun and easy-to-use peel-and-stick decals
  4. Transform your car into a firetruck, police car, or ice cream truck
  5. Preserve your car with a display box
How to Get Started Designing Your Pinewood Derby Car|Boy Scouts of America (1)How to Get Started Designing Your Pinewood Derby Car|Boy Scouts of America (2)

Let Your Scout's Design Shine

Not only do under-glow lights enhance the car's appearance, but they also give out lighting that everyone can enjoy looking at. The undermount light kit contains light strips that glow blue and have different lighting options. The accessory piece is an official product of the BSA and includes a battery pack and two strips of lighting that can be applied to the undermount of the vehicle. Although we prefer the constant glow setting, your Scout will also have the option of fast-blinking and slow-blinking lighting that's easy to adjust. And if you're concerned about exceeding the weight limit of 5 ounces, not to worry—the Pinewood Derby Under Light Kit weighs just half an ounce!

Tricked Out Wheels

All eyes will be on your Scout's car at the next Pinewood Derby. From electric blue to bright green, eye-popping pink, purple and white, these colorful wheel and axle replacement kits make your Scout's design come to life. Bonus: the wheels even glow in the dark! Imagine a sleek black derby car with eye-popping pink wheels or hot pink combined with the spark of electric blue! The colorful wheels put the finishing touch on a car and help your Scout practice decision-making on a micro-level.

Fun Peel-and-Stick Decals

Whether it's blue flames or unicorn rainbows, decal stickers help your Scout express whatever theme they choose to go with this year. The peel-and-stick decals are easy to use and put the finishing touches on a car after a hard day's work. Each decal accessory kit comes with a main decal sheet and an accessory sheet, and there's no cutting necessary! The Police decals go perfectly with the Police sound kit. There's even an Ice Cream Truck decal set too! Nevertheless, we hate being the bearers of bad news: ICE CREAM NOT INCLUDED.

HearYour Scout's Vision Come to Life

At ScoutShop.org, you can find the Pinewood Derby Ice Cream Truck, Fire Truck, Police, and Race Car. The Fire and Police sound kits even come with flashing light accessories. The accessories must be installed with a round drill, and sounds are activated only when the tiny silver button in the corner of the speaker box is pushed. So, there's no need to worry about motion-activated sensors. Plus, the car doubles as a fantastic toy after the race is over.

Put the Champ on Display

Every year, your Scout will get the opportunity to design a new car for the Pinewood Derby. Whether it's your Scout's first car or just a design too cool to be stored in a box, keep the smiles, and cherish the good memories with a Pinewood Derby Display Case. Too often, great-looking cars are lost or left to sit in hot attics or damp basem*nts, environments that can diminish the paint or rot the wood because of moisture. Your Scout's Pinewood Derby car is a precious object that took hours of hard work to complete. Compact enough to go on a bookshelf, mantle, or office desktop, the display case protects the car from moisture, dust, light, fingerprints, or heavy objects falling on top of the car and breaking it in storage. The display case is the perfect tool to preserve the memories you forge with your Scout no matter the threat.

Haven't Purchased Your Pinewood Derby Car Kit Yet?

With Christmas just weeks away and winter break quickly approaching, make sure you order your official Pinewood Derby Car Kit before it's too late! At the Scout Shop, you can load your virtual cart and check out easily. With just a few clicks, the Scout Shop delivers all the materials you need for the Pinewood Derby season. Keep your Scout's mind engaged during winter break and generate memories that will last a lifetime!

How to Get Started Designing Your Pinewood Derby Car|Boy Scouts of America (2024)

FAQs

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

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? ›

You'll want to help your Scout by baking the block in an oven at 250 degrees for one hour. Let the block cool overnight. Then, weigh the block quickly and accurately with a Pinewood Derby scale. Evaporating the water inside the wood allows you to distribute the weight differently, ideally toward the car's rear.

Can Pinewood Derby car be shorter than 7? ›

Can a pinewood derby car be shorter than 7 inches? 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.

Do heavier Pinewood Derby cars go faster? ›

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. Tungsten weights, in most cases, are best because of their high density. Lube the car at the body/wheel friction point.

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.

What is the best tool to shape a Pinewood Derby car? ›

After you cut your car with a saw, use a Wood Rasp to smooth the cut and give your car more shape. Use a metal file to smooth out the grooves created by the rasp.

Can you put too much graphite on a Pinewood Derby car? ›

Applying too much lubricant will slow your car down. How to use: Put one drop of lubricant on an axle. Tip the axle so down and let the lube flow to the end of the axle.

Can I spray paint Pinewood Derby car? ›

Step 3: Choose a color for your Pinewood Derby car. Then apply two to three coats of enamel paint to the car's body. Spraying the model with paint from an aerosol can is easier than using a brush. If you use a brush, dip only the lower third of the brush into the paint.

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.

Can I put stickers on my Pinewood Derby car? ›

Decals are an easy way to make your Pinewood Derby car look good. Most new decals are of the dry transfer type. They are very easy to use, just cut them out, peel them off then stick them on the car.

Is it legal to sand Pinewood Derby wheels? ›

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. Beveling, tapering, significant rounding, pointing, shaving, concave, wafering, etc. of the wheel contact area is prohibited.

What is the fastest shape for a 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.

How to speed up a Pinewood Derby car? ›

The most important thing for a fast pinewood derby car is true, straight wheels and axles. Next, the wheels and axles need to be as smooth (frictionless) as possible. (You often get burrs on the plastic wheels that should be sanded down.)

What is the fastest speed for a Pinewood Derby car? ›

The Speed of Pinewood Derby Cars

The distribution plot below shows a range of speeds from 177 mph to 229 mph, with most cars exceeding 200 mph.

What is the most aerodynamic design for a Pinewood Derby car? ›

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. Download a Pinewood Derby car template PDF to help you create your design.

What factors might affect the speed of a Pinewood Derby car? ›

The following parameters made pinewood derby cars faster: using graphite on the axles and wheels, using lightweight wheels and polished axles, lifting the left front wheel and bending rear axles also raised speed.

References

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