Pinewood Derby at the $2012 Challenge?

Is potential energy not considered energy anymore?

As a former scout leader who had to beat back many, many parents who wanted their kid to have the Unfair Advantage, I'd really suggest you stick to ~The Official Rules~.......at least for the first year. Once you see how it works, you may want to get creative.

Otherwise, you'll have chaos and mayhem (OK, I realize some of you Want that.)

Mouse trap cars (below) are a good choice if you want "propulsion"

Wouldn't it have been easier if the parents were allowed to go to town? Think Can-Am, not Spec Miata. I want to see the creativity, not who can polish a nail better.

aeronca65t wrote: Otherwise, you'll have chaos and mayhem (OK, I realize some of you Want that.)

I'm a huge fan of chaos and mayhem. Especially if this Pinewood Derby is a drinking event.

Looks like a few classes are needed:

Stock: Kit parts must be used, BSA block, unmodified axles and wheels

Prepared: Anything goes as long as basic dimensions, track width etc. are retained and gravity powered.

Modified: prepared but, propulsion enhancing devices allowed (within safety restrictions)

Just my wooden nickel...

I still remember what we did for PWD when I was a kid. I miss it and want to do it again at some point.

Just gonna leave a few things here

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns15165.html

http://www.derbytalk.com/

http://derbymonster.com/

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s13e06-pinewood-derby

AngryCorvair wrote:

Tom Suddard wrote: I think it would be simpler to just say "cars cannot have any energy storage devices onboard."

Tom (or can I still call you Tommy since i met you in 2002?) -- a PWD car *is* an energy storage device. ;-)

I know, I know, I know, I thought about that but didn't think you guys were nerdy enough to call me on it, so I left it out. I couldn't think of a better way to word the rule.

amiller34 wrote: Looks like a few classes are needed: Stock: Kit parts must be used, BSA block, unmodified axles and wheels Prepared: Anything goes as long as basic dimensions, track width etc. are retained and gravity powered. Modified: prepared but, propulsion enhancing devices allowed (within safety restrictions) Just my wooden nickel...

Sounds good.

Tom Suddard wrote: I thought about that but didn't think you guys were nerdy enough to call me on it, so I left it out.

Oh yes we are.

Tom Suddard wrote:

AngryCorvair wrote:

Tom Suddard wrote: I think it would be simpler to just say "cars cannot have any energy storage devices onboard."

Tom (or can I still call you Tommy since i met you in 2002?) -- a PWD car *is* an energy storage device. ;-)

I know, I know, I know, I thought about that but didn't think you guys were nerdy enough to call me on it, so I left it out. I couldn't think of a better way to word the rule.

We have 200+ posts dedicated to the pinewood derby in the last...week? Yeah. We nerdy.

Testing thursday night in the parking lot

+1 on no propulsion. that seems like it could get out of hand or dangerous pretty quickly, especially if using chemical agents (model rocket motors) but i like the class idea. then there's something for everyone.

Couldn't the rules simply state that cars must be powered solely by gravity?

Tom Suddard wrote:

Keith wrote: We need to define "propulsion". Let's see - the car should be incapable of moving itself on a level surface with no ambient air movement. A hovercar would not have a source of propulsion in this case. Neither would a DDWFTTW car - and I'll never forget that acronym now, thanks John. We should probably also state that the car has to stay within the required dimensions at all times. No Ben Hur hubs for skewering the competition.

I'll just make a battery powered car that is switched on by a tilt sensor. I think it would be simpler to just say "cars cannot have any energy storage devices onboard."

Then a sail and an air tank with blowgun are OK?

arvoss wrote: +1 on no propulsion. that seems like it could get out of hand or dangerous pretty quickly, especially if using chemical agents (model rocket motors) but i like the class idea. then there's something for everyone.

I've built a couple CO2 cars, those are fun. Only rules we had were... CO2 cartridge goes in the back of the car above the rear axle,it must have atleast 3 wheels and two eyelets for the fishing line we used as a guide under the car.

I've heard the CO2 cars are fun. I was thinking that propulsion cars would be on the short PWD sloped track, I didn't connect the dots between level track and propulsion.

vwcorvette wrote: Couldn't the rules simply state that cars must be powered solely by gravity?

fine with me, i've got a car that uses gravity to spool up a flywheel that drives the rear wheels.

In reply to AngryCorvair:

Really? Please show!

Gravity's what keeps a flywheel spinning in the first place, right?

aeronca65t wrote: As a former scout leader who had to beat back many, many parents who wanted their kid to have the Unfair Advantage, I'd really suggest you stick to ~The Official Rules~.......at least for the first year. Once you see how it works, you may want to get creative.

There are some troops who now have an unlimited class for the dad's. The dad gets to go all out and the son still has his own car with dad's assistance. They both get to work on them together. I don't know the specifics of these but a buddy at work has done one.

>Scott

Scott_H wrote:

aeronca65t wrote: As a former scout leader who had to beat back many, many parents who wanted their kid to have the Unfair Advantage, I'd really suggest you stick to ~The Official Rules~.......at least for the first year. Once you see how it works, you may want to get creative.

There are some troops who now have an unlimited class for the dad's. The dad gets to go all out and the son still has his own car with dad's assistance. They both get to work on them together. I don't know the specifics of these but a buddy at work has done one. >Scott

I like that! Otherwise, you have some "stage-mother Dad" who builds the entire car and won't let his kids touch the thing. Meanwhile, other kids ~really~ build their own car and, because it's "kid built", it's much slower. Once in a while you'd see some kid-built car that (by some luck of physics) would beat all the shiney, perfect "Dad-built" cars. That was always great but it didn't happen enough.

This. Is. Going. To. Be. AWWWWSOME! :)

Best part, no one else will have an easier time making it look like their Challenge car! Jeep = Brick! FTW! YAY!

miatame wrote: Best part, no one else will have an easier time making it look like their Challenge car! Jeep = Brick! FTW! YAY!

I don't know I think a Yugo will be pretty easy.

Have you SEEN a 1g mx6? It's two squares and a rectangle. I feel REALLY sorry for Andy....

mndsm wrote: Have you SEEN a 1g mx6? It's two squares and a rectangle. I feel REALLY sorry for Andy....

It gets even easier with an Erebuni front bumper, since that squares out the "overbite" pretty nicely.