For the past couple of years we have entered my son's scout car in the Indiana Sate Museum's pinewood derby race. It's a two story 125 ft track, and those cars really get moving. This year I am putting together a car just for that race and was wondering if any of you guys have done it and what tips yo might have to offer. As much as I hate to I think I'll need to drill a relief hole to my axles and glue them in once I get everything tuned right. I've seen too many cars lose their wheels. I was also thinking about moving the CoG a bit forward to add a bit of stability.
Has anyone run the big track at the Indiana State Museum?
- Thread starter Dan Hodge
- Start date
Wow, a 2 story track! That is very interesting.
The COM being in the back will not help nearly as much on this track since the increase in potential energy would now be a much, much, smaller fraction of the total energy of the car. More stability would be more important, and aerodynamics would play a larger role as well since air drag is proportional to velocity squared. Your idea sounds like a good one.
The COM being in the back will not help nearly as much on this track since the increase in potential energy would now be a much, much, smaller fraction of the total energy of the car. More stability would be more important, and aerodynamics would play a larger role as well since air drag is proportional to velocity squared. Your idea sounds like a good one.
I won that race back in 2015. You will need a lot of steer towards the rail and move some weight slightly forward to add stability. A longer wheelbase and 93 axles for strength. Protect your wheels with fenders as other cars can fly off the track and into your lane. Build a strong car for durability.
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