Vehicross pinewood derby car

[Mile High VX]

Do one to compete with and one that makes kids and parents drool!

Back when I was doing this we had a "competition" with the rules and a "show" to let kids and dads show off their creativeness.

It was awesome!

[Marlin]

There are some rules, as far as the weights, they always go in the back, that means they have further to "fall" and thereby transfer more energy to the car and all that = more speed
There are dimensions on the width and height off of the ground, other than that, its a free for all on size. I am thinking of using the plastic shell form the toy collection I bought months ago. There are some that are about the correct size as a template. Should be fun! I will post up picks.
They are also doing a parents race, to let the dads do what they want!

[Ldub]

Should be fun! I will post up picks.
They are also doing a parents race, to let the dads do what they want!

NOW we're getting somewhere...

I'm talk'n bottle rocket (or larger) propulsion here.....

[Marlin]

LOL, I should have guessed. It still has to be gravity propelled, but we can add bushings/bearings if we want. No supersonic derby cars allowed....yet. Next year I will sit the board and see what I can do. I will keep you posted.

[Ldub]

Just did some volunteer work on a FLYING WEDGE last night...dad didn't have the tools, etc that the plans require.

If I had looked at the plans before committing, I might have said:...ummmmm, good luck wit dat...

I had no idea how the "Dads" had gotten into the engineering of these things.

With measurements to the 32'nd...no kid ever came up with this design...

The R/F axle assembly is 1/32" higher than the other 3, reducing frictional drag by nearly 25%...HOLY CRAP...

I still like my bottle rocket idea better...

[Marlin]

Yep, I am actually building another one today based on the other cars I have seen. I am going to do the bullet style, makes the car a hair over 1/4" thick. I did the same thing with the one wheel off and I also cambered them so only the edge of the wheel touches. My 7 year old can't do that, but he can at least tell you why all these things are important. He understands friction, drag, and so on. Of course, this is the same child that read up on the Domain Theory of Magnetism on his own and came to me with questions. Good thing he got into the gifted program here, otherwise, he would be a handful at school.
I will post up pics of the two cars we have. He originally wanted a hotrod bus. Not very aerodynamic.

[Marlin]

My son took 3rd place with a "Bus of Fury" design. He wanted a school bus, he got it. Next year, perhaps something a bit more aerodynamic