Graphite Pads for Pinewood Derby Cars
During a race, every time that a wheel touches
the car body it is like putting on the brakes.
 |
Wheel wear marks on car body after several races.
The wheel actually digs into the wood. |
Our Graphite Pads dramatically reduce this friction. In
fact,
our tests have shown a typical gain
of 7 inches at the finish line!
These pads have a self adhesive backing and come
as a set of 5 (one extra) .
Installation Instructions
1.Most Pinewood Derby wheels have a ridge around the wheel hub.
If your race
rules allow, this ridge should be removed for greater speed.
You can cone the hubs with our Pro-Hub Tool to remove this
ridge. Better
yet, use our lathed and matched wheels. They already have the
hubs coned. |
2. Your car should be clean and dry before applying the pads.
If your car has holes for the axles, skip to step 4. If you
car has slots as shown above, you will need to determine the
placement of your axle in the slot before attaching the graphite
pads. |
3.
Mount all four wheels and axles on your car. Adjust for proper
position and alignment. You will not be able to adjust
your axles after you attach the graphite pads so make sure
that the axles are where you want them to stay. |
4. Remove the wheels and axles. It is important that the graphite
pad is centered on the axle hole so use a sharp pencil and
straight edge to mark the horizontal and vertical position
of each axle. |
5.
Carefully peel a pad from the strip and center it over each
axle hole using the pencil marks as a guide. Firmly press the
pad on the car body with your finger. It is ok if
part of the pad extends past the bottom of the car. |
6. Use a sharp pin to carefully make a hole in the center
of the pad directly on the axle hole. |
7. Enlarge the hole in the graphite pad by carefully inserting
an axle into the hole while twisting it like a drill. If the
outer edges of the pad start to raise, remove the axle and
press the pad firmly with a finger. Continue until the hole
in the pad is the size of the axle shaft. Remove the
axle. Press your finger on the pad again to make sure that
it is secure. |
8. After all 4 pads have been attached to
the car body and holes have been made in the pads, mount the
wheels and axles. If you see that a pad is loose after mounting
the wheels, press the wheel against the pad to re-attach it.
The adhesive on the pad will dry after a few hours keeping
the pad securely on the car.
The graphite on these pads will last for many races. You will
know when a pad is starting to wear out if you can see red
start to show on the pad. |
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