Pinewood Pro Explains Pinewood Derby Axles Everything You Need to Know If there’s anything we’ve learned over multiple decades of winning Pinewood Derby races, it’s that all axles are not created equally. And that’s especially true of the axles included in the official BSA kit! The axles you’ll find in the official BSA kit often have bumps, burrs, and other imperfections. Those irregularities can cause friction and ultimately slow down your derby car. The pros at Pinewood Pro turned to years of racing knowledge and experience to bring you two distinct axle types: BSA Enhanced Axles with perfection-focused modifications made to official BSA kit axles, and PRO Machined Axles we’ve engineered in-house, from scratch, that start perfectly and finish flawlessly. As always, we highly recommend checking your race rules to ensure that your choice of axles is compliant. Results are guaranteed: we have the speed tests to prove it! Explore All Axles What are the main differences between Pinewood Pro’s Pinewood Derby Axles? Our Pinewood Derby axles fall into two main types: BSA Enhanced Axles and PRO Machined Axles. BSA Enhanced Axles begin as axles from the official BSA kit. We then modify them to remove imperfections through our expert lathing process, and we enhance their overall performance through a series of additional track-tested upgrades, which are explained in the detailed graphic below. PRO Machined Axles are modified to remove imperfections through our expert lathing process. They are additionally designed with ultra-smooth nickel plating, plus a slightly oversized shaft and a strategic groove in the shaft to reduce wheel wobble. Those details are just the beginning; keep scrolling to the explainer graphic below for all the info! What’s the deal with bent axles? Pinewood Pro offers 1.5° bent axles and 2.5° bent axles. These axles are recommended for slightly more experienced racers. A 1.5° bent axle is to improve or adjust steering. Use it to help a car run straight, or to assist in building a rail rider-type car. 2.5° bent axles reduce friction by orienting the wheels toward the axle head in a process known as “canting.” They can also be used for rail riding. Our bent axles come in both BSA enhanced versions and PRO machined versions. Always check your race rules to be clear on compliance! Which axles are right for my race? Here’s everything you need to know about each of Pinewood Pro’s different types of axles, starting with: BSA Enhanced Axles Polished BSA Pinewood Derby Axles (4) | Official BSA Axles The base model for BSA Enhanced Axles. Lathed shaft to eliminate imperfections Polished shaft to reduce friction Beveled axle head to reduce friction Only $10.95 Order Now Polished BSA Pinewood Derby Axles (4) | Grooved & Graphite Coated Includes all the features of the base model, plus Exclusive graphite coating for lubrication + additional speed Only $10.95 Order Now Mustang Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car Can be used for our Lightning McQueen Design! Add some horsepower with this classic American muscle car. The Mustang is pre-drilled with two 3/8" weight holes in the rear. Just insert tungsten cylinder or zinc round weights and seal the hole with wood putty. Only $8.95 Order Now Camaro Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car Another classic American muscle car. The Camaro is pre-drilled with two 3/8" weight holes in the rear.Just insert tungsten cylinder or zinc round weights and seal the hole with wood putty. Only $8.95 Order Now Firebird Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car My Silver '68 Firebird with a 350hp 3sp on the floor was an awesome car. The Firebird is still in production and you can make a cool 7" version of this beauty. Pre-drilled with two 3/8" weight holes in the rear.Just insert tungsten cylinder or zinc round weights and seal the hole with wood putty. or zinc round weights and seal the hole with wood putty. Only $8.95 Order Now Lotus Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car A classic, hot European sports car. The Lotus is pre-drilled with two 3/8" weight holes in the rear.Just insert tungsten cylinder or zinc round weights and seal the hole with wood putty. Only $8.95 Order Now Stock Car Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car Perfect for our Green Hornet Car Design! Add some muscle to your car. The Stock Car is pre-drilled with two 3/8" weight holes in the rear that you can use for tungsten or zinc round weights. Just slide them in and seal the hole with wood putty. Only $7.95 Order Now Humvee Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car Crush the competition with the Humvee Car. The Humvee is pre-drilled with two 3/8" weight holes in the rear. Just insert tungsten cylinder or zinc round weights and seal the hole with wood putty. Only $8.95 Order Now The Cheetah PRO Racer Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car The fastest land animal is now the fastest Pinewood Derby PRO race car! Only $5.95 Order Now The Sport Coupe PRO Racer Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car Perfect for our Spiderman Car Design! Sleek aerodynamic design with a tapered front end. Only $5.95 Order Now The Street Car PRO Racer Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car Nobody beats the Street Car... nobody! Only $5.95 Order Now Bullet Racer Pre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car Shoot to the finish with this speedy car! Sleek wheel struts in the rear make this pre-cut car body a real stand-out. Only $5.95 Order Now NASCAR Pinewood Derby Car Have the hottest car on the track with your NASCAR-style derby car! The NASCAR body is pre-drilled with two 3/8" weight holes in the rear. Just insert tungsten cylinder or zinc round weights and seal the hole with wood putty. Only $14.95 Order Now Pinewood Derby Car BlockPrecision drilled with 2 speed options! Designed with precision-drilled axle holes for quickly and easily inserting your axles with the push of a finger. Plus, your car rolls straight. Includes extra axle holes, an extended wheelbase for stability, and a raised wheel option to reduce friction further. Only $8.95 Order Now The Wedge Axe Blade RacerPrecision drilled with two speed options! Designed with precision-drilled axle holes so your car rolls straight. Includes extra axle holes to extend the wheelbase for stability and raised wheel options to reduce friction further! Only $6.95 Order Now The Wedge WingPre-Cut Pinewood Derby Car with Pre-Drilled Weight Holes The Wedge Wing uses a standard BSA block with axle slots. We then drill the axle slots so they are straight, and we also drill optional holes for a raised wheel. Lastly, this block is pre-drilled with four 3/8" weight holes so you can simply insert zinc round or tungsten weights. Only $7.95 Order Now Pre-Weighted and Primed Pinewood Derby Cars The Grey GhostPre-Weighted and Primed Pinewood Derby Car Body The competition will only see the Grey Ghost when it crosses the finish line... ahead of the pack! Only $45.95 Order Now The LazerPre-Weighted and Primed Pinewood Derby Car Body The Lazer is a lower-profile car than the Grey Ghost with a slightly lighter car body. Only $45.95 Order Now Fully Built Cars - Ready To Race Camo Car The Camouflage Car is a fully-built Pinewood Derby car.It is precision tuned and track tested. Car includes lightly-lathed BSA Speed Wheels, BSA Polished Axles, and a BSA block with drilled axle slots.The weight, balance, and adjustments are precision tuned for the highest performance. It is slightly underweighted so you can add stickers like our Military Firepower decals. Only $99.95 Order Now Hot Flames Car The Hot Flames Car is a fully-built Pinewood Derby car. It is precision tuned and track tested. Car includes lightly-lathed BSA Speed Wheels, BSA Polished Axles, and a BSA block with drilled axle slots. The weight, balance, and adjustments are precision tuned for the highest performance.It is slightly underweighted so you can add decals. Only $99.95 Order Now Green Flames Car The Green Flames Car is a fully-built Pinewood Derby car. It is precision tuned and track tested. Car includes lightly lathed BSA Speed Wheels, BSA Polished Axles, and a BSA block with drilled axle slots. The weight, balance, and adjustments are precision tuned for the highest performance. It is slightly underweighted so you can add decals. Only $99.95 Order Now Tie-Dye Car The Tie-Dye Car is a fully-built Pinewood Derby car. It is precision tuned and track tested. Car includes lightly lathed BSA Speed Wheels, BSA Polished Axles, and a BSA block with drilled axle slots. The weight, balance, and adjustments are precision tuned for highest performance. It is slightly underweighted so you can add decals. Only $99.95 Order Now Blazing Yellow Car The Blazing Yellow Car is a fully-built Pinewood Derby car. It is precision tuned and track tested. Car includes lightly lathed BSA Speed Wheels, BSA Polished axles, and a BSA block with drilled axle slots. The weight, balance, and adjustments are precision tuned for the highest performance. It is slightly underweighted so you can add decals. Only $99.95 Order Now Black Lightning If you cannot build your own car, consider one of our completely built cars, like the Black Lightning. Uses lightly-lathed BSA Speed Wheels and BSA Polished Axles, which are precision tuned for the highest performance. Only $99.95 Order Now Red Thunderbolt Same as the Black Lightning above; a completely pre-built car, track tested for speed, with BSA Speed Wheels and BSA Polished Axles. Only $99.95 Order Now Blue Flash Same as the Black Lightning above; a completely pre-built car, track tested for speed, with BSA Speed Wheels and BSA Polished Axles. Only $99.95 Order Now PRO Car PRO CarPre-built BSA car pushes speed limits! Complete pre-built car for those that are out of time and want a super fast car. The PRO Car features a PRO 1.5º Steering Axle and our PRO Super Speed axles, both with our exclusive graphite coating, along with our PRO BSA Ultra-Lite wheels with a graphite coating on the wheel tread and hub. Raised front wheel "Rail rider" ability Optimal center of gravity Perfect 5.0 oz weight Drilled axle holes for perfect alignment 12 coats of paint with high gloss sealer Car is track tested and precision tuned for the highest performance. Only $114.95 Order Now END OF CARS Pinewood Pro Winner's Circle We went undefeated in every race! Seeing his eyes pop out of his head when his car kept winning was priceless! Thank you for making this a fantastic experience for us. - Kyle and Wayne, CA The Awana graphite wheels & machined axles assisted my daughter's Grand Prix car to win 1st in class for Speed. Her car also won 2nd in class for Best Design and Paint. - Brian, FL Your PRO Super Speed Axles and Precision Lathed Speed Wheels were amazing! The look on my son’s face says it all. Thank you! - Stephen, MI PreviousNext PINEWOOD PRO Winning Tips and Hints Pinewood Derby Tips & Hints The best part of Pinewood Derby is designing a unique, cool car that you can call your own. Don't worry about aerodynamics because it is almost insignificant. We identify dozens of other speed tips in Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets that rank far above aerodynamics. Pinewood Derby Wheels Tip A lathed wheel means the wheel was turned at a high speed and "sanded" with a cutting tool. Lathed wheels are perfectly tuned around the axis of rotation, giving you the highest performance. Pinewood Derby Winning Hint Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets contains all the tips you need to win your race. Updated annually with the latest tips and speed products, our book has proven results with 1000s of winners... but don't take our word for it! Read over 100 customer reviews and check out our Winners Gallery!
