Newbie

[Roger Osborne]

Hello everyone, first time posting and excited I have found this forum . I have some knowledge in pinewood derby but not on a pro level. My experience comes from three boys being in scouts. My youngest son has one more year in cub scouts and would love to bring home a trophy! I have read alot of information on this forum and have a question about com and tuning. My boys and I have always used the 1 inch com but would like to get a more aggressive like 3 quarters of an inch. In order to get that com to you have to have a certain degree of inches on a tuning board? We have a brand new 35ft aluminum track, which I know is important when answering questions. Thanks for any help, Roger.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Hello everyone, first time posting and excited I have found this forum . I have some knowledge in pinewood derby but not on a pro level. My experience comes from three boys being in scouts. My youngest son has one more year in cub scouts and would love to bring home a trophy! I have read alot of information on this forum and have a question about com and tuning. My boys and I have always used the 1 inch com but would like to get a more aggressive like 3 quarters of an inch. In order to get that com to you have to have a certain degree of inches on a tuning board? We have a brand new 35ft aluminum track, which I know is important when answering questions. Thanks for any help, Roger.

My opinion about the COM is, don't sweat it. There are things that make more difference than that.

IMO there is more to be gained in prep and tuning than cramming more weight in the rear. If you get to the point that it does matter, then you will be pretty darn fast, but its' not necessary to win at the Scout level. Wheel/axle prep and alignment are king. Then aero if you are allowed to use it. This is assuming you already build a super-thin, light-bodied car with 2 rows of weights behind the rear axle.

If you want to know where you are with your prep, build a couple of BASX cars (or whatever they're called in the various leagues) and send them to a race. Mimic the bodies and weight placements you see of the top cars, build that way. Then see how you do. It'll tell you real quick where you are with your prep.