Pinewood Wheel Wobble Stand

Testing pinewood wheel wobble prior to any derby wheel modifications is a must for a premium fast racer.  Every racer must pay attention to every detail of the derby car.  Pinewood derby wheels are no exception.  Derby Dust Tech’s designed a Pinewood Wheel Wobble Stand for testing such flaws.  0.094″ over sized pin ensures that you can eliminate the tolerance difference that can be associated with wobble testing on regular sized axles. Using this wheel wobble test stand ensures that your inner bore is spinning in the same alignment as the outer tread.

Be sure to only use the best pinewood wheels that you can use.  All derby wheels might be manufactured equal but are not produced equal. The current wheel mold has been used over 10 years to date. Out of round and flawed wheel bores are quite common these days. Mass production with truly little quality control measurements can be seen if you take the time to look for it.

An out of center pinewood wheel can be corrected with machining / shaving.  However a pinewood wheel that is not aligned true to its bore (wobble), can not be fixed and must be discarded if possible.  It literally takes 15 seconds to determine if your wheel is race worthy or is it slated for the younger sibling.

Instructions for Wheel Wobble Stand

1. Gather 3-4x the amount of wheels than needed.  12-16 wheels for one car is optimal number for the fastest set of wheels
2. Visually inspect each wheel for manufacturing flaws.  Be sure to inspect inside the bore for flaws
3. Ensure that the mounting pin has sufficient lubrication to avoid friction causing false wobble
4. Place wheel on pin, spin wheel at low rpm.  Observe for side to side rotation while spinning.  Discard these wheels if possible.
5. Repeat for remaining wheels

Learn more about wheel inspection here:  

Learn more about wheels here: