We are not cub scout leaders. Josh is not in cub scouts. Did that stop us from building a car and racing in the Pinewood derby? Nope. We (Mike) built a car to challange all the 8-10 yr olds. we actually didn't compete in the heats, but after the races we gave everyone a chance to come beat our car. No one could. We now have two undefeated cars-- the last one was against the Elders Qourum a few years ago. I posted a few pictures of that one as well. This years car was a snake. We went a lot more extensive on the wood working part (all by hand since we do not own a band saw). The design allowed to incorporate a 'quick start' feature. The paper clip and mouse on the front allow the car to start fractions ahead of the other cars because of the way the starting pole falls. In addition we cut the wheels again. This time we went with an H shape to give a little more stability and alignment but still redusing wheel weight and friction. The axles were polished and beveled like before. This time we put all the weight in the car instead of on top. It is all encased in the head part of the car. For some reason we didn't think to race the old car against the new one. The snake's best time was 2.73 seconds-- not sure what the last one was. I think the first car would have beat the snake because the wheel weight is so much less, but I'm not sure. The quick start may have made things very close. Anyway, can't wait until next year-- Josh will be 7 and one year closer to building his own car.
12 comments:
Shaving the wheels is against the rules that they use for the scouts derby's (here anyway). At the elders derby they had here one person shaved their wheels, it was the closest one to catching Tony's.
They look cool.
The offical BSA Rules do not say anything about wheel modifications-- other than using springs or mechanized propulsion. But, every troop has thier own 'local rules'. There were several cars that the boys had done at our derby with modified wheels.
Just in case anyone else was wondering. Here are the BSA rules:
"The Race Committee should decide on rules and race procedures, then have them printed and distributed to all participants at least two weeks before the race." (these are where additional local rules may apply-- but they need to let you know two weeks in advance. Otherwise, I would go by the Standard BSA rules listed below.)
Car Specifications: "Width- 2 3/4" Length- 7" Weight- Not over 5 oz Width between wheels- 1 3/4" Bottom clearance between car and track- 3/8""
BSA standard rules:
"Wheel bearings, washers and bushings are prohibited. The car shall not ride on springs. Only official Cub Scout Grand Prix Pinewood Derby wheels and axles are permitted. Only dry lubricant is permitted. Details, such as steering wheel and driver are permissible as long as these details do not exceed the maximum length, width and weight specifications. The car must be free-wheeling, with no starting devices. Each car must pass inspection by the official inspection Committee before it may compete. If, at registration, a car does not pass inspection, the owner will be informed of the reason for failure, and will be given time within the official weigh-in time period to make the adjustments. After final approval, cars will not be reinspected unless the car is damaged in handling or in a race."
Unless your local rules desiginate you cannot modify wheels, nothing in the standard rules says you can't-- as long as you use the 'Official BSA wheels and axles' as stated above.
Bottom line, check your local rules two weeks prior to the race, otherwise go by the rules listed in your car kit.
Cool cars! The one with the "quick start feature" reminds of the car I built for our Elders Quorum "no rules" derby except that mine was about 2 feet in front of the starting line before the gate even dropped LOL!..maybe I already showed you the car..I can't recall. I thought about making the car even longer so it only had a few feet to reach the finish line, but I wanted to leave a little room for actual racing. Congratulations on your wins..it seems like you guys are real experts! It sure is a fun activity.
..by the way, that's a really cool idea with the mouse. So, the entire car is behind the start line to stay within the rules?
You're right. Insane. You should see the ones Jason and I made . . . or maybe you can visulize, the basic block painted shiny orange-you get the picture. We named it The Block. It was pretty slow.
The 'quick start'feature keeps the length of the car at 7". To keep it legal I can't have the paper clip extend beyond the original wood block. The reason it works is because the car contacts the starting pole higher up-- the car is actually no closer to the starting line than all the others (like your two foot long car was), it just starts moving sooner. This car starts to move as soon as the starting pole starts to drop, the other cars must wait until the pole falls all the way down-- hopefully that makes sense. The mouse is put on to help the electronic sensor read the car. The paper clip is not quite enough material to trigger the timer at the end of the race.
Yea, that makes sense. At first I thought the car would extend out past the start gate, but when I looked closer I could tell that it didn't..pretty cool!
I think I am a little offended. This has nothing to do with your cars by the way or the derby, but my blogspot is not under your friends category..... Hm.....
Very cool car!!! I feel so pleased that both you and Tony enjoy making pine wood derby cars. I'm glad neither one of you got ruined with bad experiences (seldom winning) when you were young. Michael did win once and was even going to the region one or whatever at the fair grounds. He couldn't go because he got metal in his eye and was very uncomfortable. Oh well, he won the ward one and that was good.
Cool car.
WOW! I remember all those Pinewood Derby Days! I just have to say I am glad I have girls (Rob probably wishes the girls could race. It looks cool and it is even better that it is a winner!
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