Winning the Race Before It Started

Most of the hotshot fathers shaped their cars to look like formula one racers, low slung, aerodynamic. When the fork tangs were pivoted forward and down by the Starter, the low slung cars stood still until the tangs were nearly rotated 90 degrees.

My car was shaped like a landing barge, a funny sight to see:  A landing barge beating the formula one racers.

Back ....................................................Front .................Back.......................................Front

The landing barge shape meant that when the tang of the starting fork had moved 10 degrees my car was already moving and ahead of the low slung car, next to it. At 45 degrees my car was already .75 inches ahead of the opponent. Some of the heats were only won by .75 inches. The other guy must have done a good job with his wheels and angular momentum. Still, he lost because the beast will beat the beauty ... if the physics is right.

If you use this design or improve upon it, please email me.  Tell me how you did.

Sites: http://www.pinewoodcup.com/ http://pinewoodextreme.com/

Using Superglue on the Axles

Ted Johansen wrote:

My son and I came up with an ugly little car that won all the heats for first place.  I stuck to the rules and didn't help my son build his car.  I gave him some suggestions that seemed unimportant to him.  I had done a little research and decided that rolling resistance was the most important function.  I chucked the axles in a drill and polished them with emery cloth.  I also removed any burrs from the tread part of the wheels and sanded them making for very narrow tread-track contact.  I left the wheels off the car in order to let my son paint and finish the car before final assembly.  Final assembly was performed a few minutes before the race.  The den leader built a fixture to hold the axle perpendicular to the body during installation (pounding with a hammer).  No weight was added to the car and it was very light.

After the races, my son and I were playing with the car on the floor, pushing back and forth across a 10 foot length.  I noticed that the car went very straight.  I concluded that polishing the axles and sanding the wheels helped, but not as much as having very straight wheel alignment.  The car never lost much time rubbing against the side or middle rails. The last few heats were very close.  I'm sure the dad's that built sleek cars for their sons didn't like the drubbing they got from a very plain looking car.

1. 1.       Your weight should be very dense and as far back on the car as possible.   The further back it is, at a 45 degree angle, equates to lifting the weight higher and therefore the weight has more potential energy.  More PE = more speed.
2. 2.       I like your V shapes on the axels as it does reduce the resistance
3. 3.       Place your nails in a bag of graphite for a week prior to the race.  Graphite will “fix” itself to the nail and help stay available for future heats.  We can only use graphite on our races.
4. 4.       (If legal) Get a measurement prior to the race of the height of the starting pin and create the front to look like this:
   

On our track you gain a half an inch on every other car.  Just be careful of the fragile front!

1. 5.       We cannot modify the wheels at all except to remove the birr on the inside that touches the track middle.  It is best to shape the inside edges (inner by hub and outer edge) so the smallest possible bit will touch.  If possible, shape away the wood so the outer edge cannot touch.  Prep the wood near the nail to be as smooth as possible and coat with graphite.
2. 6.       A cool design concept is to make the front into the pinchers and the rear weights (molded lead or tungsten) into the tail of a scorpion!

Good luck next year!

Hi Cliff. Here is a quick variation on a recommendation I read several places 
on your site. You, and others, mention polishing and/or lubricating the car 
itself where the inner hub of the wheels may make contact. 
I agree. My tip is to apply an old piano repair persons tip to this 
application. Mix a little bit of graphite with isopropyl alcohol. 
Using a cotton swab, apply just a drop of this mixture to the side of the car 
where each wheel would rub. The key is to do this after lightly sanding, 
but before painting the car. Also, cover these spots so they do not get painted. 
(They should be hidden by the wheels.) The alcohol will wick into the pores 
of the wood (capillary action) pulling graphite in with it. 
In one minute or less the alcohol evaporates and you have a 
wooden surface which is graphite impregnated, and stays slippery for a long time. 
This is not a liquid lubricant - the alcohol is merely a mechanism 
used to help apply dry graphite, and it does not remain on or in the car.  
I haven't tried this with wheels yet. The plastic is certainly not as porous as wood, 
but like everything else, it is somewhat porous. 
The alcohol may eat away at the plastic and do more harm than good. 
If you try, please let us know!    JimC. 

Brian Kronberg, MCSE: Messaging
Microsoft Consultant

I just wanted to let you know about the Pinewood Cup, The Official  Pinewood World Championship.  
Please visit our site at  www.pinewoodcup.com. 

Oil Reservoirs

Thanks for your insight.   I'm not sure I follow how you replace the ridges on the nails w/ parallel V-shaped ridges (WWWWW).  I can eliminate the existing ridges, but how do you add the V-shaped ridges, and why is this an improvement from a completely smooth axle?  Also, we are not permitted to oil the wheels before each race.  What's your recommendation on a lubricant presuming we can't add anything once the racing begins?  Thanks.

Webb Campbell

4/8/03

Here's my response: