Hobbies And Interests
Design
Scouts often gravitate toward cool car designs, but derby veterans suggest that speed always outweighs flashiness. Avoid designs with pointed noses, which cause problems at the starting gate if the nose rests on a pin, according to Boys' Life. The car might get bumped around when the pin drops, resulting in loss of time. Ensure that the front of your car is easily distinguished from the rear. Race officials often place all the wooden models on the tracks themselves, and a leader might accidentally set your car backward.
Weight
Bake the uncut block of wood in the oven at 250 degrees for two hours to remove moisture that adds unwanted weight, according to Boys' Life. During construction of your car, buy lead weights at a hobby shop and add to the rear of the vehicle to enhance speed on race day. As a precaution, keep your car under the 5-oz. weight limit to accommodate any paint or stickers that could increase the overall heaviness, says the Fast Pinewood Derby Tips website.
Axles
A crooked axle hinders a race car's speed. While an axle might appear to be straight, a pin with a slight bend makes all the difference when a toy car careens down the track. An easy trick is to clamp a drill to a vice and then insert the pointed end of each axle into the secured drill, according to Boys' Life. With adult supervision, turn on the drill and check whether the axle wobbles. Avoid using any axle that demonstrates uneven spins.
Wheels
Turn your car into a three-wheeler by raising one wheel about 1/16 of an inch so it never touches the race surface. Reducing friction increases speed, according to Boys' Life. In addition, insert a drill bit into each wheel where an axle is supposed to fit. This clears any roughness that prevents wheels from freely spinning, says PinewoodDerby.org. Push your car along a flat surface such as a floor and see if it rides in a straight line for about five to 10 feet.