Derby Talk

Ok. Just watches a youtube video that scared me. The man in the video explains rail runner cars are faster as long as whoever installed the track knew what they were doing. And he said most local boy scout and girl scout troops do not take the time to aline the track perfectly. He said any part of ...

Ah, thanks. I get it now.

Yeah, he was one of the memorable kids. He was quite a handful that first year. But the last time I saw him, he'd grown into a fine young man.

But I digress...

Are "They" the same ones who showed him how to apply graphite and install wheels? No. I was the one who showed him how to apply graphite and install wheels. Someone else was working the weigh-in table. After the race, I noticed that he had pennies taped to the bottom of the car. The weigh-in crew p...

Be careful of those Sweet Young Ladies they call Girl Scouts. They build FAST cars and they know what it takes to make them go FAST. And sometimes, kids just get lucky. One year, one of the age-group winners in our derby spent about 30 minutes total working on his car. And most of that time was usi...

Sleestak wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:15 am

We just need to beat some 5 year okld girls and their dads who arw not putting the work or money in to it I am.

Why?

And have you considered what the conversations (between you and the other dads, between your daughter and her friends) are going to be like after you've won?

I ended up not winning a prize for that car(cause it wasn't creative enough :( ) Yeah, we've created separate design awards for "Automobile" and "Unusual" designs, because when we just have one design category, the only cars that win are the unusual designs. Creating an "Automobile" design category...

Question....also this guy in the video drilled many holes in the bottom of his car to make lighter. Who recomends this? It will make it lighter but will also be ugly and add more air drag? I haven't seen anyone hollow out the wooden block by drilling holes like that video shows, but I have seen peo...

Still don't understand how to make the car ride the rail by angling a tire but I have time and alot of youtube videos to watch. Here's one that I like, because it does a good job of explaining the science behind everything: EASY Pinewood Derby Car WINS using Science!!! The rail riding explanation s...

Wow, that's a brutal stop section.

It was cool to see some unusual designs though. And it was good to see you and your son Tim.

My question is.......should I use oil at a derby most every other car is full of graphite? I hear mixing the 2 is a big no no. I except the track to have some dust on it. Thinking outside the box, what would happen if you provided Krytox (or some other derby-appropriate oil) at your group's worksho...

1. Rules state oil is allowed. My question is should I use oil on a track where most of the other cars will be using graphite? If the car makes several runs I dont want graphite dust getting in my oil tires. Should I just use graphite? My experience is that most cars use whatever is provided at the...

With all the talk and effort to remove friction I'm stumped why one would want the cars tires to grind against the rail the whole way down to reduce wobble. Well, for one thing, the goal of rail riding is not to have the wheels "grind against the rail the whole way down". The goal of rail riding is...

Happy new year to you too. My wife and I are looking forward to 2019 being a year of new beginnings.

Vitamin K wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:31 pm

Speedster wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:22 pm

Darin, what does CSB stand for?

Christian Service Brigade?

Exactly.

Since these are two very separate races where one has nothing to do with the other, what would be any rule to even suggest two separate cars be built? This isn't always a stated rule, but it's always seemed to me that there's an unstated understanding that for Scout derbies, you build a car for a s...