Pinewood Derby Q&A

pinewood derby cars?

we need some quick advice, we just had a practice race and my sons car is very fast but about 10 feet from the end it starts to shimmy in the front. i did check, and the front tire that touches is about a 1 deg tilted up not sure if that would be it or not. the other thing i was thinking is he put 3.5 o of weight in the back ind 1 in the front, could it be that there is not enough in the front?? please help us if you can

Public Comments

1. Check out this website: http://www.three-peaks.net/pinecar.htm Yikes! Time for me to get going on my Leader car, and help the boys with theirs! Can I have a "Drem" roll please! OH, and don't forget to put graphite on your wheels at the race!
2. Yeah, fix the wheels, the less wobble you have the farther it would go. Dont put weight in the front until you fixed the wheel. It will only add more weight to the wheel and cause it to wobble more. If you decide to add weight, add an equal amount front and back, you already said it was fast, dont want to slow it down with unballance. I say fix the wheel, leave the weight off, then try it with the weight, see what is faster.
3. put more weight and make the car thiner. make the car front pointed not flat that way it will not shimmey as much
4. I'm a little embarassed to say how long ago, but I did win 3 times... You want the car to balance at the midpoint between the wheels so they share the friction. I think the limit was 6 ounces. You may want to spin the wheels on a drill and lightly sand off any irregularities. Align the wheels with a square while the glue is wet and be sure all 4 wheels touch the floor at the same time. Most of all, it has to roll in a straight line. Good luck and have fun.