"NEW" Pinewood Derby(R) Kits For 1999 !
Don De Young (baden@VALUE.NET)
Sun, 10 Jan 1999 10:48:07 +0000
Hello Derby Enthusiasts
The introduction of a new "Grand Prix Pinewood Derby Kit" in 1999 has
generated a lot of discussion regarding the differences between the o=
ld
and new kits, and what issues of "fairness" might arise if Scouts use
both kits in a single Pinewood Derby race.
In December of 1998, there were several reports of "different" Pinewo=
od
Derby kits being sold by the BSA Kit resellers were also noticing t=
hat
some kits they were receiving were packaged differently and contained
different contents than others.
Seeing the 'possible' differences between these kits as a having a
potential impact on the relative "fairness" in races where two or mor=
e
of the kits are used to build the competing cars, an ad-hoc Team of
Pinewood Derby enthusiasts joined forces to perform evaluations and t=
est
race heats of the kits in question. This Team consists of Stan Pope
(standcmr@aol.com), Hugh Hodges (hthodges@ix.netcom.com), Dr. Cory Yo=
ung
(cyoung@dcn.att.com), and Don De Young (baden@value.net) The followi=
ng
information summarizes the findings of this Team:
SUMMARY
=95 There are two different kits, containing *two* different axles, a=
nd
*three* different wheel designs. The new axles are smaller in diamete=
r
than last years. New wheels include the traditional wheel with a "sun=
ken
hub," a new wheel with a "raised hub," and a new with a "raised" hub =
and
"raised PINEWOOD DERBY - USA letters."
=95 The traditional kits have 'black' box ends, where the new kits ha=
ve
'orange/gold' box ends.
=95 Pay close attention to axle slot squareness on your wood block wh=
en
using the new kits.
=95 The wheels with the "raised letters" seemed to have consistently
smooth treads, without the 'saddle-like' deformations seen on the oth=
er
two wheels.
=95 Commercially available 'wheel-turning-mandrels' do not fit either=
of
the new wheels.
=95 For the foreseeable future, when the "Replacement Wheel Sets" (BS=
A No.
W17007) are purchased from the BSA, they will contain the original
wheels.
=95 The new wheel without the "raised letters" will disappear after t=
his
year. If you are inclined to collect such things, you better find so=
me
NOW!
=95 Both kit suppliers will continue to produce Pinewood Derby kits.
=95 None of the three "kit / wheel / axle" combinations offer a 'dist=
inct'
or 'marked' advantage or disadvantage.
See the following URL's for more details:
1) Summary of the Project at:
http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/pwd-newkit.html
2) Race Results page at:
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7146/bcvhc.html
3) Specifications on Kit Differences pages at:
http://www.winderby.com/h-whax.html
YiPWD:
The Team!
