Slow Pinewood Derby Cars Design Ideas

Car Body

• Faster cars are lower to the ground and sleeker, while a slower car is boxier and larger. The least aerodynamic shape you could come up with would be the chunk of wood which comes straight out of the box. As a car runs down the ramp, it is affected by wind resistance, in which the air blows back against the front of the vehicle. Fast cars are designed to cut through the air, so design yours to push back.

Weight

• The weight of a pinewood car also affects its speed. Faster cars are heavier, especially toward the front. If you can manage to lighten the car as much as your rules allow, you can get a much slower car. The faster cars are pulled downhill by gravity, so a heavier car is pulled faster than a lighter car.

Axles

• Your vehicle comes with four toy wheels and four axles. To make your car faster, you would sand off the burrs on the wheels and smooth the axles. To make the car slower, however, don't do any of that. If possible, try to make the vehicle's axles rougher. The increased friction will result in less speed.

Alignment

• There is another way to increase the friction, though it may not be immediately apparent. The track itself has walls along the edges, and your car can rub against them to slow down. Roll your car along the ground, and see if it rolls to the right or left. Out of the box, the axle channels may not be exactly parallel. Some websites recommend cutting your own parallel channels to make them straighter for increased speed.

Lubrication

• If you were trying to maximize the speed, lubricating the wheels would significantly decrease the friction and speed the car up drastically. For a slower car, skip this step. Lack of lubrication will increase the friction, resulting in lower speed.