Essential Pinewood Derby Guide for Beginners by Pinewood Pro

Discover expert tips from Pinewood Pro to build your best Pinewood Derby car ever. Get started now!

Joe Gargiulo

April 28, 2018

Pinewood Derby Car Design for Beginners

winning pinewood derby secrets book image

We've helped thousands of beginners for over 15 years!

Beginner's book

free how to guide

car kit

completely built cars

Use this Quick Start Chart to match your needs to our solutions.

Your Needs	How we can help	What it will do for you
Where do I start?	Beginner's book: Pinewood Derby in Six Easy Steps. You can instantly download this book to your PC!	Step-by-step instructions - how to design and build your car. Includes 3 simple car design templates.
What car design should I choose?	Free Guide: Car Design Ideas Pick a car from our Car Designer	Includes over 100 car design ideas See 30 car designs and even see your car rotating 360 degrees!
I have little skills and no tools! How can I build a car?	Quick build Car Kits includes weights and decals. Pre-cut pinewood derby cars Pre-cut and pre-weighted cars	Requires no, tools. Simple, clear instructions. Pick a pre-cut car, then select the wheels and axles you want to build your own car without tools.
I have no time, no skills and no tools... But I want to race!!	Fully built, painted and ready to race cars! ...and they're super fast too!!	Completely built and painted cars gets you in the race.
How do I make my car fast? Can a beginner win?	Free Guide - How to Build a Fast Pinewood Derby Car Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets	Speed basics to make a competitive car All the secrets you need to win. Yes, many beginners have won!

Pinewood Derby In six easy steps...book for beginners

Buckle Up! We're Building a Car.

Having Fun is Number One

Safety in the Fast Lane

Play by the Rules

STEP 1: Dad, I've got an Idea!

STEP 2: One Slice or Two?

STEP 3: Smooth as a Baby's...

STEP 4: Be a Heavy Weight

STEP 5: Shine like a Star

STEP 6: Let's Roll 'Em

Speed Hints, Tricks and Traps

Axles

Graphite

Weight Placement

Wheel Spacing

The Aerodynamic Mix

Straight On

APPENDIX A: Includes 3 free simple pinewood derby template patterns

APPENDIX B: Handy list of tools

Instant Download direct to your computer
ORDER NOW $5.95

Design your pinewood derby car with our "Cool Car Designer"

Pinewood Derby Car Designer

Point and click to pick a car design, then see your car's speed increase when changeing axles, wheels, lubes and weights.

Select from 30 car designs.

See how each product affects your car's performance as it slides toward the checkered flag.

Quick, easy and fun!

Test drive

...Or use a Quick Build Car Kit

Car Kits

Pinewood Derby Car kits, like this dragster have everything you need to build a car.

Car kits includes:

The pre-cut pinewood derby car
Decorative parts
BSA wheels
BSA axles
sticker sheets
Fully illustrated instruction sheet
120 grit and 220 grit sandpaper
2.0 oz of stick-on weights
Race day log book, along with tips & tricks

This car just needs a light sanding and painting.
Add the included weights, wheels, and axles
and you're off to the races!

Speed tip: Put PRO Graphite on your axles to make your car fast.

To make your car competitive, choose a set of our BSA Polished Axles or Graphite Coated Axles because the axles in this kit are not polished or deburred.

Car Kits Are Only $13.95

...Or select a pre-weighted or fully built car, ready to race

Pre-weighted Grey Ghost car body

Fully Built Cars

Pre-weighted car body includes:

BSA car block cut to aerodynamic style
Pre-weighted to equal 4.9 oz when wheels and axles added
Center of gravity in perfect position for maximum speed
pre-drilled small weight holes under car if you want to add tungsten putty
Car body is primed with 2 coats of grey primer. Race as is or paint over the primer

Fully Built Cars includes:

BSA highly polished (or graphite-coated) axles
BSA precision lathed (or graphite-coated) wheels
Pre-weighted with perfect center of gravity for maximum speed.
Pre-drilled axle holes so your car rolls straight.
Track tested for speed.
Proven FAST with many District winners and State winners!

Only $45.95 and $89.95

Basic Speed Hints for Beginners

If this is your first race, you need to know a few basic speed tips to have a competitive car.

Prep your Axles

First, the axles that come in the BSA Cub Scout kit are not axles; they are nails, and crude ones at that! Run your fingers along the shaft of the nail to feel the crimp marks and burrs. These must be removed or they will grind up the plastic in your wheels, severely slowing your car.

You can modify the axles yourself with our axle file and axle polishing kit or get our polished axles, if you don't want to do it yourself.

Lube your axles

The single most important thing you can do to increase your car speed is to lubricate your axles with PRO Graphite. It comes in a tube and is simply squirted on each axle. You can never have too much graphite on your wheels and axles!

Weight Your Car

Your car moves down the track from the force of gravity. Be sure your car is fully to reach maximum velocity. Pinewood derby weights come in all sizes. You can stick them on, screw them on, or embed them into the car so they are hidden.