When designing your Pinewood Derby car, make friction your enemy. But while it’s one thing to know that friction is your car’s enemy, it’s quite another thing to combat it effectively. Here are some tips that will help to reduce the friction of your car, and thus help you to cross the finish line faster:

1. Make the wheels and axles as smooth as possible

When trying to accomplish this goal, it’s crucial to start with a fairly coarse material, and then gradually use less coarse materials. When using sandpaper, never reduce the “grit” of the paper faster than two grits at a time. The process of smoothing out the axles and wheels can be somewhat tedious and time-consuming. That’s OK! This is definitely one of the most effective ways to reduce your car’s friction, so the time and effort needed will be worthwhile if it helps your car to cross the finish line faster. Besides smoothing the axles, you should also polish them so they’ll be as smooth as possible.

2. Verify that the wheels and axles are aligned

Having aligned axles and wheels is just as important for fast Pinewood Derby cars, as it is for full-size cars. Test the car on a flat surface to determine whether or not it rolls straight. If it doesn’t, then you’ll need to make some minor adjustments before the race. More specifically, you’ll need to adjust one or more of the car’s axles. Simply re-drill the holes in the car for the axles, and then re-insert the axles.

3. Add lubricant to the wheels

You can find such lubricants at a local hobby shop. Which one should you use? It really depends on the type that’s most effective on your car. So do some experimentation to determine which lubricant is right for your car. Graphite powder is one of the most popular choices since it’s effective and doesn’t create a greasy deposit. Besides this option, you could use materials such as household oil.

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4. Use an aerodynamic body shape

While technically this won’t reduce “friction,” it will reduce the amount of air resistance that your car experiences while rolling along. What steps should you take? Keep the car low to the ground. Meanwhile, each of the car’s edges should be both tapered and sanded. And by all means, you should avoid adding items such as flags, which will significantly decrease how aerodynamic your car is.

5. Add weights to the car

Add weights until your car is as close to five ounces as possible-without exceeding it. Lead weights are one of the best options, and you can find them at local hobby shops. When adding weights to the car, consider the fact that you’ll still need to add primer and paint. So it’s crucial that the weights you add make the car’s total weight slightly less than five ounces.

While friction should be your arch rival when designing a Pinewood Derby car, winning the war against it is another story. These above tips will help you to be victorious against friction, air-resistance-and thus help you to be victorious in the race itself!

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