Yes....I've been bitten by the Pinewood bug and I'm not sure there's a cure, and honestly if there is a cure I'm not sure I want it !
I was a Cub Scout many moons ago and can still remember my Pinewood Derby events.This was back when they made the transition from the thinner knobby type wheels, to the smooth fatter version still used today, my guess is it was around 1972 or so. I can vividly remember having one car with thin knobby wheels, and the next years car with the fatter style wheels, funny how things like that stick with you. I remember my chief job was to sand and polish the axles, my dad continually stating to me how important it was, memories of those cars and that time will be with me forever. I was very fortunate winning my Den and Pack both years I entered the derby.....it had to be the polished axles. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
Fast forward to 2016... I had a chance this year to build a car with my Tiger Cub Grandson. I always strive to be the best I can in anything I do, which brought me to this site. I've been lurking on this site since my Grandson received his Pinewood derby kit around Christmas. All of my free time has been spent reading page after page, thread after thread, post after post, in an attempt to gain as much knowledge and insight as I possibly could.....I was astonished by how things have changed since I was a boy !!!
I can say I have purchased different parts from John here at DD, Randy from MV, and Steve from DE, all of which have been very helpful and professional. Kudos to them for offering such fine and innovative products. /images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif
With our Den and Pack race scheduled for early February, the learning curve had to be fast. We ended up building a 3 wheel RR with 2.5* bent axles in the rear, and a 1.5* bend in the front, with 3" of steer over 4'. As per pack rules I went with the standard 4-3/8" wheel base. The rear axles proved to be a bit tricky, but when tuned just right worked quite well. We ended up winning our Den and Pack, while also setting a track record.
March roared in with our Council race, I would have thought Districts would have been next, but our Council was scheduled first. Council rules permitted extended wheelbases, but also required a 4 wheel touch. After learning more from this site, and with a different set of rules we decided to build a new car. With the new car we had drilled 3* rears, a FDW with 5*, and NDFW with a 2.5*...it's a 4 on the floor so I had the FDW doing most of the 4" of steer, with the NDW just touching the track and providing only a faint amount of steer. Upon arriving at the event I noticing many of the cars there were not 4 on the floor, but rather 3 on the tree, I thought we were in serious trouble. I believe most were not intentionally riding on 3 wheels, but I suspect there were a couple that were. The Council event has not been run in some time, and their first year back was not very smooth, but I'm certain they will work out the bugs and have a much nicer event next year. We were again fortunate and ended up winning the Council, while also setting the track record.
April showers poured in our District race. By this time I have learned even more from this site and its members, many of whom are simply a wealth of knowledge. I knew we could build a faster car for Districts ,so the build began. We built the car to all the usual specs, but added fenders and air glides this time....it was our fastest car yet. Once again the Pinewood Gods smiled on us and we won our District race, while also setting a new track record. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
I learned a lot these past few months, I attribute the vast majority of our success this year to the knowledge I gained from this site. You are an awesome group of guys !!
Big thanks go out to the forum and it's many helpful members. /images/boards/smilies/wave.gif
Momentum-
I was a Cub Scout many moons ago and can still remember my Pinewood Derby events.This was back when they made the transition from the thinner knobby type wheels, to the smooth fatter version still used today, my guess is it was around 1972 or so. I can vividly remember having one car with thin knobby wheels, and the next years car with the fatter style wheels, funny how things like that stick with you. I remember my chief job was to sand and polish the axles, my dad continually stating to me how important it was, memories of those cars and that time will be with me forever. I was very fortunate winning my Den and Pack both years I entered the derby.....it had to be the polished axles. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
Fast forward to 2016... I had a chance this year to build a car with my Tiger Cub Grandson. I always strive to be the best I can in anything I do, which brought me to this site. I've been lurking on this site since my Grandson received his Pinewood derby kit around Christmas. All of my free time has been spent reading page after page, thread after thread, post after post, in an attempt to gain as much knowledge and insight as I possibly could.....I was astonished by how things have changed since I was a boy !!!
I can say I have purchased different parts from John here at DD, Randy from MV, and Steve from DE, all of which have been very helpful and professional. Kudos to them for offering such fine and innovative products. /images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif
With our Den and Pack race scheduled for early February, the learning curve had to be fast. We ended up building a 3 wheel RR with 2.5* bent axles in the rear, and a 1.5* bend in the front, with 3" of steer over 4'. As per pack rules I went with the standard 4-3/8" wheel base. The rear axles proved to be a bit tricky, but when tuned just right worked quite well. We ended up winning our Den and Pack, while also setting a track record.
March roared in with our Council race, I would have thought Districts would have been next, but our Council was scheduled first. Council rules permitted extended wheelbases, but also required a 4 wheel touch. After learning more from this site, and with a different set of rules we decided to build a new car. With the new car we had drilled 3* rears, a FDW with 5*, and NDFW with a 2.5*...it's a 4 on the floor so I had the FDW doing most of the 4" of steer, with the NDW just touching the track and providing only a faint amount of steer. Upon arriving at the event I noticing many of the cars there were not 4 on the floor, but rather 3 on the tree, I thought we were in serious trouble. I believe most were not intentionally riding on 3 wheels, but I suspect there were a couple that were. The Council event has not been run in some time, and their first year back was not very smooth, but I'm certain they will work out the bugs and have a much nicer event next year. We were again fortunate and ended up winning the Council, while also setting the track record.
April showers poured in our District race. By this time I have learned even more from this site and its members, many of whom are simply a wealth of knowledge. I knew we could build a faster car for Districts ,so the build began. We built the car to all the usual specs, but added fenders and air glides this time....it was our fastest car yet. Once again the Pinewood Gods smiled on us and we won our District race, while also setting a new track record. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
I learned a lot these past few months, I attribute the vast majority of our success this year to the knowledge I gained from this site. You are an awesome group of guys !!
Big thanks go out to the forum and it's many helpful members. /images/boards/smilies/wave.gif
Momentum-
