What would you do?

[PushcartDerby]

So our first race is next month. We were handed the kit and told to have fun building. No additional rules were supplied other than the ones in the kit, which are...

• 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, 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 adjustment.
• After final approval, cars will not be re-inspected unless the car is damaged in handling or in a race.

So again, what would you do?

1) What wheels would you use?
2) What axles would you use?
3) What lubricant would you use?

 

[Chief]

So again, what would you do?

1) What wheels would you use? Cheetahs v3
2) What axles would you use? 92 Pro X with BSA point
3) What lubricant would you use? DD4H Oil

 

[PushcartDerby]

Thanks Chief, but why not the Nitros, LiteSpeed, or Intimid8r's?

 

[ngyoung]

+1 for cheetah v3 or just the Dynasty Rage. I don't think you'd want to delve into the sub 2g wheels right off the bat.

 

[Chief]

Thanks Chief, but why not the Nitros, LiteSpeed, or Intimid8r's?

For a scout race, that is really all you need. If you put the other wheels on that will bring a lot of attention to your car and so starts the whining and crying about how you cheated. Most parents do not put the time and effort into this sport/hobby and neither do their scouts, so when you show up with a car that not only looks WAY different and then is light years ahead of everyone else on the track...Then you MUST have cheated!!! We have all been there. Save your money and put it into a league car and let your son have a blast with his scout car. If you use the cheetahs, axles and oil on his car, and your alignment is done well you should not any problem taking home some hardware. have you read the keys to win by the king? It is under Building Tips...

 

[Guest]

So again, what would you do?

1) What wheels would you use? Cheetahs v3
2) What axles would you use? 92 Pro X with BSA point
3) What lubricant would you use? DD4H Oil

+1

You might want to check again with the coordinators on the rules.

Sometimes there is a set of rules in addition that don't get around to the folks in the race, and then there is scrambling near the deadline.

 

[HMH Racing]

So again, what would you do?

1) What wheels would you use? Cheetahs v3
2) What axles would you use? 92 Pro X with BSA point
3) What lubricant would you use? DD4H Oil

+1

You might want to check again with the coordinators on the rules.

Sometimes there is a set of rules in addition that don't get around to the folks in the race, and then there is scrambling near the deadline.

I agree with Laser double check for more local rules (restrictions). If not Cheetahs, 92 pro X and oil is the way to go. I would also recommend the Oil prep DVD, especially if your scout is just beginning.

 

[PushcartDerby]

Chief,
I want to do as much as needed to win with as little attention as possible, that's why I asked the question. I have read the keys to win by the king and many other posts. I have checked out 5kids site and there is a lot of great information. I really appreciate the info I have found. It didn't take me long to gravitate to the best forum. That is why I signed up as a member here and nowhere else.

Laserman,
good idea about checking again on the rules just to be certain.

 

[5KidsRacing]

For your first scout race I would just keep to the basics and you will do well.

If you are racing on a center guided track....

Buy a pre-drilled plug and play or EZ tune block, a set of wheels & axles mentioned above... get a axle polishing kit, wheel bore kit & some DD4H graphite.

Use the techniques included in the kits and the techniques found here for railrunning and you should be at the front of the pack.

Spring for some tungsten if you want to kick it up a notch...

 

[PushcartDerby]

5Kids,

I have the DD4H sugar pine block, silver bullet, polishing kits, tungsten, and graphite already.

We have drilled the weight pockets and installed the tungsten according to your method and drilled the holes with the silver bullet.

We are now at the shaping and painting phase.

I just questioned what wheels and axles to get and if I should go with oil (have the DVD).

Sounds like we are well on our way to a fast scout car.

 

[5KidsRacing]

gotcha.... If you have all of that then I would probably go with the Rage's and the 92X pro axles...

I think you will have enough speed there to be very competitive with graphite.

 

[LightninBoy]

Thanks Chief, but why not the Nitros, LiteSpeed, or Intimid8r's?

For a scout race, that is really all you need. If you put the other wheels on that will bring a lot of attention to your car and so starts the whining and crying about how you cheated. Most parents do not put the time and effort into this sport/hobby and neither do their scouts, so when you show up with a car that not only looks WAY different and then is light years ahead of everyone else on the track...Then you MUST have cheated!!!

Am I the only one that thinks this is ironic? You recommend oil (cheating) and aftermarket axles (cheating) but not super modified lightened BSA wheels (legal) because then he would be accused of cheating?

PushcartDerby, because I value following the rules and good sportsmanship and want to impart these values to my scout above winning at all costs, this is what I would do:

1) What wheels would you use? Get the lightest you can afford that still have the BSA letterings and can be run normally (not backwards). The lettering shows that the wheels are official BSA wheels that are required by rule. That should silence anyone complaining about cheating.
2) What axles would you use? By rule, use BSA axles. You might have to get dozens of them to find straight ones. Follow prep guidelines discussed in this forum.
3) What lubricant would you use? By rule, you can only use dry lubricant. Graphite is the best dry lubricant. Use DD4H graphite and follow the graphite prep advice discussed in this forum.

If you do the above and follow the prep advice in this forum you will mostly likely smoke everyone and still be 100%, unquestionably and undeniably within the rules.

BTW - there's nothing in these rules that says you have to have all 4 wheels attached. So I'd leave the 4th wheel off and bend the axle down to act as a pin guide.

And laserman has a great point about confirming that there isn't another set of rules floating around somewhere.

 

[Chief]

Thanks Chief, but why not the Nitros, LiteSpeed, or Intimid8r's?

For a scout race, that is really all you need. If you put the other wheels on that will bring a lot of attention to your car and so starts the whining and crying about how you cheated. Most parents do not put the time and effort into this sport/hobby and neither do their scouts, so when you show up with a car that not only looks WAY different and then is light years ahead of everyone else on the track...Then you MUST have cheated!!!

Am I the only one that thinks this is ironic? You recommend oil (cheating) and aftermarket axles (cheating) but not super modified lightened BSA wheels (legal) because then he would be accused of cheating?

PushcartDerby, because I value following the rules and good sportsmanship and want to impart these values to my scout above winning at all costs, this is what I would do:

1) What wheels would you use? Get the lightest you can afford that still have the BSA letterings and can be run normally (not backwards). The lettering shows that the wheels are official BSA wheels that are required by rule. That should silence anyone complaining about cheating.
2) What axles would you use? By rule, use BSA axles. You might have to get dozens of them to find straight ones. Follow prep guidelines discussed in this forum.
3) What lubricant would you use? By rule, you can only use dry lubricant. Graphite is the best dry lubricant. Use DD4H graphite and follow the graphite prep advice discussed in this forum.

If you do the above and follow the prep advice in this forum you will mostly likely smoke everyone and still be 100%, unquestionably and undeniably within the rules.

BTW - there's nothing in these rules that says you have to have all 4 wheels attached. So I'd leave the 4th wheel off and bend the axle down to act as a pin guide.

And laserman has a great point about confirming that there isn't another set of rules floating around somewhere.

I will have to agree with LightninBoy...

I scanned the rules and didn't read them thoroughly! MY BAD!!! I would hate for you to be DQed for any reason. Please disregard my previous advice!!!

 

[LightninBoy]

I will have to agree with LightninBoy...

I scanned the rules and didn't read them thoroughly! MY BAD!!! I would hate for you to be DQed for any reason. Please disregard my previous advice!!!

That's a relief!! I'm sorry - I probably came off like an ass- I was just thinking to myself "what the hell? am I the only one following the rules in these scout races?" and got a little PO'd. Again - sorry about that.

 

[Kinser Racing]

TBH, if it said "used" instead of "permitted". I would use stainless axles and "use" the others to hang up licence plates in my garage. /images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif

 

[Chief]

I will have to agree with LightninBoy...

I scanned the rules and didn't read them thoroughly! MY BAD!!! I would hate for you to be DQed for any reason. Please disregard my previous advice!!!

That's a relief!! I'm sorry - I probably came off like an ass- I was just thinking to myself "what the hell? am I the only one following the rules in these scout races?" and got a little PO'd. Again - sorry about that.

No apologies needed my friend, I goofed. Good catch!!/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif

 

[Kinser Racing]

In my kids first pwd race we used wheels similar to the "Lite Speed" wheels. Nobody even noticed but they did say we cheated, there's always some one who does.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

I used the rage and 92x for my sons car. Only 1 other car gave us competition

 

[Pacfanweb]

So our first race is next month. We were handed the kit and told to have fun building. No additional rules were supplied other than the ones in the kit, which are...

• 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, 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 adjustment.
• After final approval, cars will not be re-inspected unless the car is damaged in handling or in a race.

So again, what would you do?

1) What wheels would you use?
2) What axles would you use?
3) What lubricant would you use?

I would double check your pack's website if they have one, see if there is a PDF of the rules on there and if they are different.

Or check and get confirmation that the rules in the box are THE rules.

We got burned in my daughter's Powder Puff derby last year. Rules we were physically handed said nothing about 4 wheels touching. So we used a DD4H Plug and Play 3 wheel rail running block. Did our own stock axles and wheels.

Got there, and the nasty woman who ran the race (sure was that way by the time we got there) who had been getting hammered about this already for 2hrs, shows us the rules in her official book, that say 4 must touch. She had been getting blown out about this for like I said, for 2hrs already, and was sticking to it, even though people were showing her their copies of the rules that did not say 4 down.

So based on that experience, I'd just double-check to be sure.