Taye is participating in his school's science fair and needs your help.
He is doing an experiment to determine if the placement of extra weight on a pine wood derby car affects the speed of the car.
We need your help with a preliminary survey... do you think the car will go faster with
1. extra weights in the back
2. extra weights in the front
3. extra weights in the middle
4. no extra weight at all
Ask your husband, ask your kids and then post a comment sometime before March 1. Your help is appreciated!
Noah says the middle of the car and I say the back. Good luck, Taye!
ReplyDeleteI say the back. Maggie thinks middle.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is that I won 2nd place once in one of these, but my Dad was really the expert car maker! I do know is that more weight isn't always better (and not just because there are weight limits in these competitions).
John is coming back tonight and he won the whole pine wood derby in Nova ... according to him ... I am sure he will have an opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think the front.
ReplyDeleteI say no extra weight at all.
ReplyDeleteTaye... this is uncle john. I didn't actually win all of Nova Scotia. But, I did win for our local county (2nd year of experimentation).
ReplyDeleteHere are some tips:
1) You want the car to be the max weight possible allowed. Heavier weight = more speed on the downhill run.
2) The wheels should be as smooth as possible. Sand any rough spots off the wheels. Make sure they are smooth and round.
3) You want the wheels / axles (nails) as lubricated as possible. WD-40 is a good choice. Soak in WD-40 and soak again.
4) an aerodynamic shape is best. think low wind resistance.
5) Any weight you add should be evenly distributed between the 2 axles. You don't want the weight over the front or rear only. It will cause vibration which will slow your car. Think BMW 50/50 weight distribution.
6) Don't list to Emily Cleverly... she don't know what she's talkin' about.
Taye.... last but not least... make sure your car rides high enough. You don't want the bottom of the car dragging on steering guides of the track (I learned this the hard way year 1).
ReplyDeleteI say put as much wight as you can in the middle. I helped Jaxon with one of his cars just after we were married (okay, so I styled his car) and that's the way he did it, and it cruised down that track!
ReplyDeleteI say the middle.
ReplyDeleteThis is from John - who fancies himself a master pinewood derby car maker.... Max has taken 1st or 2nd place in every derby!
ReplyDelete"The weight should be mostly in the rear. Some weight should be in the middle to prevent wobbling when the car is on the straight portion of the track. No weight should be in the front. The speed comes from gravity pulling on the weight rear of the center of gravity for the vehicle"
Your Uncle John is clearly one smart dude. I agree with what he says. However, with the weight, you want to be sure the axels and ball joint can stand the weight. If the car is too heavy for the capacity of the wheels, then the car could struggle to roll. To figure all that out takes a scientist. And if the incline is not much, then you could run into trouble with too much weight I would think ( but don't know for sure). I think a good shove would also help :)
ReplyDelete