9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (2024)

Pinewood derby is a must experience for every Boy Scouts member. Thispinewood derby cars templates refers to a racing event for unmanned mini cars with no machine. Although unpowered, the cars could move because of the gravitation law. And since this derby become popular, many organizations aside from Boy Scouts held similar events with more proper arrangement.

Contents show

Tips on Building Powerful Pinewood Derby Car

As mentioned before, the pinewood derby car 100% depend on the gravitation to move. That’s why, to get a super and powerful car, it lies on how the design could escalate the gravity effect. For that reason, here some tips you could do to build a supercar for the derby:

1. Avoid Pointed Nose Design

The first step is designing your pinewood car. To do that, you could look for some pinewood derby printable designs on the internet. Then, you can start to draw your blueprint design by combining from what you printed. One thing you have to remember, that you should avoid the pointed nose design for your car. Because pointed nose couldn’t rest well on the pin at the start line, and it could make the car bumped around at the starting of the race.

2. Wedges Design, not Rectangular

Aside from avoiding the pointed nose design, you also should avoid the rectangular ones. The reason is that rectangular is not an aerodynamic design. Thus, by using rectangular shaped would make the wind block your car move. Remember, pinewood car could run because of the gravity force by utilizing the weight and height.

3. Dry Wood

To make your super car, you have to bake the pinewood for at least, two hours. That way, all the moisture would get removed. The result of this process would make your car become lighter. Thus, you can place more weight on the rear of your car, since getting more weight on the rear would add speed.

4. Maximum Weight as Possible

In the most cast, pinewood car shouldn’t weigh more than 5 ounces. For this matter, you should maximize this allowed weight. And if your finished car weight less than that, you can add other detailed accessories that allowed to get more weight. Also, you have to make sure the rare part weight more.

5. Installing the Wheels and Axles

You have to ensure that you get the alignment straight, this to make your car run smoothly. Also, glue the axles perfectly on their holes, and be careful not to get any glue on the wheels. And there’s some expert know-how to increase your car speed performance. Try to build a three-wheeled car, by making one of the wheels slightly smaller than others. The purpose is to make it run faster by reducing friction.

And also, put the front and rear wheels as far as (allowed) possible. Don’t forget to put dry lubrication to avoid friction between the wheels and the body. That way, the wheels would rotate smoothly with minimum friction as possible.

6. Distinct Design of the Front and the Rear

In this kind of event, you don’t put your car but an official. For that reason, you have to make sure others could tell which one the front part and which one is the rear. Because in several cases, the official personal failed to notice which one is the front part and put the car backward.

Let Loose on the Design by Utilizing These Pinewood Derby Car Templates

Although it’s a pinewood car, you shouldn’t limit your creativity. Put the best design for your car to make it as cool as possible. Also, you have to create a smooth surface by sandpapering to lessen the friction. Don’t forget to put paint your supercar to make it more impressive. There are many car designs at the Pinewood Derby Cars Templates PDF files below to get some inspirations.

The pinewood derby started as a Cub Scouts activity but become popular in out of Scouts community as well. The reason is that the event is fun. Not to mention, the challenge for the imagination in building and designing for mini cars is also thrilling.

Pinewood Derby

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (1)

Pinewood Derby Templates

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (2)

Pinewood derby templates 01

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (3)

Pinewood derby templates 02

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (4)

Pinewood derby templates 03

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (5)

Pinewood derby templates 04

Pinewood Derby Cars Templates

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (6)

Pinewood Derby Car Templates

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (7)

Pinewood Derby Car Templates 01

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (8)

Pinewood Derby Car Templates 02

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (9)

Pinewood Derby Car Templates 03

Pinewood Derby Cars Designs

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (10)

TemplateHQ

You May Also Like

10+ Baby Weight Chart Templates and Understand Your Baby Growth

Who’s not going to love seeing a baby is smiling and laughing? As the baby grows, we must keep wondering…

7 Best Templates for Making Thank You Letter for Donation

It’s different if you already have a permanent donor in making events. Thank you letter for donation, you don’t need…

20 Outstanding Templates of 2020 Calendar To Make You Stay Alert

It’s been 2019, but not wrong if you have a calendar for the next year. Below this, we’ll show you…

9 Powerful Pinewood Derby Car Designs Templates - Template Hq (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.

What is the best Pinewood Derby body shape? ›

Pinewood Derby Car Shape: The Wedge

The wedge is a classic and probably the easiest shape (besides keeping a block) to build your Pinewood Derby car. The Wedge is the foundation of many cool car designs, and it is designed to be aerodynamic and is a one-cut wonder.

How to make the most aerodynamic Pinewood Derby car? ›

Crafting the Design: Outline your Pinewood Derby car on paper, cut it out, and affix it to the wood block. 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.

What is the best wheelbase for a Pinewood Derby car? ›

For example, on a smooth aluminum track, a wheelbase of 4.75” offers a good balance between speed and stability. For a rougher track where instability could be a concern, the Race Team might consider going with a 5.0” to 5.25” wheelbase. New axle holes must be made to move or extend the car's wheelbase.

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 you bend Pinewood Derby axles? ›

We recommend installing axles with a 1.5° bend for the front of the car and 2.5° bend for the rear. The axles heads are marked in the direction of the bend.

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.

Where is the best place to put weights on a Pinewood Derby car? ›

PUT MOST OF THE WEIGHT IN THE BACK

Science says the heaviest part of your car should be about 1 inch in front of the rear axle. The idea is that the farther back the weight is, the more potential energy you have because your center of mass is higher up on the track.

What is the world record Pinewood Derby car time? ›

Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Nebraska, USA on 15 October 2016. The successful Pinewood Derby car was provided by Glenn Jewkes of Jewkes Engineering. It completed the run in 1 min 16.7 sec, and weighed 137 g (4.83 oz).

How do you reduce friction in Pinewood Derby? ›

Lubricants help minimize friction between the wheels and axles, resulting in a significant increase in speed. However, race rules can vary on the type of Pinewood Derby® car lubrication that is allowed, so you'll want to consult yours to ensure what options are allowed.

What is the best weight for a Pinewood Derby car? ›

In most races, the maximum allowable weight of a pinewood derby car is five ounces. By meeting this maximum limit – while also strategically placing your weights at the rear of your vehicle – you will improve your momentum and increase the distance your car travels towards the finish line.

Should Pinewood Derby weights be high or low? ›

The Pinewood Derby rules limit the weight of each car to 5 ounces. So where should you place weights to make the car heavier (faster)? Most PWD experts believe a car is faster when the weight is predominately placed towards the rear of the car.

Should weights go on top or bottom of Pinewood Derby car? ›

Thus, the best position for the additional mass is very low down (even below the line of the axles if possible), at the back. Having been in the derby and lost as a kid, and as parent, it is true that the angle tapers back, so you could gain a small amount of potential energy by placing it back as far as possible.

How far to push in Pinewood Derby axles? ›

Push until the wheel touches the car body. The base is designed to leave the proper gap between the wheel and body.

What is the world record pinewood derby car time? ›

Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Nebraska, USA on 15 October 2016. The successful Pinewood Derby car was provided by Glenn Jewkes of Jewkes Engineering. It completed the run in 1 min 16.7 sec, and weighed 137 g (4.83 oz).

Is a lighter pinewood derby car faster? ›

Assuming all other factors are equal, a heavier car will be faster than a lighter car. The Pinewood Derby rules limit the weight of each car to 5 ounces.

Is it better to have a heavy or light pinewood derby car? ›

In most races, the maximum allowable weight of a pinewood derby car is five ounces. By meeting this maximum limit – while also strategically placing your weights at the rear of your vehicle – you will improve your momentum and increase the distance your car travels towards the finish line.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Trent Wehner

Last Updated:

Views: 5936

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (76 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Trent Wehner

Birthday: 1993-03-14

Address: 872 Kevin Squares, New Codyville, AK 01785-0416

Phone: +18698800304764

Job: Senior Farming Developer

Hobby: Paintball, Calligraphy, Hunting, Flying disc, Lapidary, Rafting, Inline skating

Introduction: My name is Trent Wehner, I am a talented, brainy, zealous, light, funny, gleaming, attractive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.