Most blocks that come in pinewood kits don’t have straight holes cut for the axles. They’re all manner of crooked, so you’ll need to make your own holes using a miter saw or a drill press. You can also use a carpenter’s square and a hand saw to square up the holes, but it’s a lot more work and the results aren’t as good. When you put the axle holes in, make sure they’re a perfect 90-degree angle to the car’s body.
To install the wheels, use a steady pressure making sure you don’t bend the axle one way or another. The straightest holes in the world won’t help if your axles are bent.
The easiest way to test if your wheels are straight is to raise one end of your kitchen table slightly. Put a book under the legs of one end and you’ll have a little slope. Then place a ruler or other straight edge at the edge of the table and line up the car’s left wheels against the ruler. Let your car roll and see if it moves closer to the edge of the table or more toward the middle. Make sure you don’t let the car fall to the ground!
If your car pulls to one side, you need to check your alignment. Hold your car on its side with the two wheels hanging free. Take a ruler and gently lay it on the inside hub of the wheels. If one end of your wheel has a gap between the wheel and the ruler, you need to straighten that wheel.
To straighten the wheel, push on the wheel gently. You don’t need to push very hard. Make lots of small adjustments instead of a few big ones.
Retest and recheck the alignment after every adjustment.
Comments
5 comments so far ↓
Reed C // Mar 29, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Aren’t you afraid of breaking the axles? Or damaging the wheel bore?
norm // Sep 1, 2009 at 9:12 pm
What is the best car design?
Also, you said put the weight in the rear end rather than the front?
norm
Anthony Russell // Oct 25, 2009 at 9:36 am
Whe I step on the brakes about 35 miles per hour, the 1995 (4×4) yukon’s left fron tire(I think) starts to shake real bad. I feel some pulsating. But this morning it appears that when one of the wheel/ tire is set straight forward, the other appears to be slightly outward. What do you think could be the problem? I already changed the rotor, the brakes and the upper ball joint. The four wheel works good, I don’t hear the bearings grinding or anything like that. Your suggestion, if you will!
Michael Blue // Jan 28, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Research “rail riding”. 2.5* negative camber in back, 1.5* negative camber in front, and adjust the caster on your dominant front wheel so it tracks slightly to the non-dominant side (4-6″ per 6′). There’s an awesome video on YouTube that explains perfectly. There are specifically-made tools for this procedure as well, not too expensive, and worth it, if you’re after a trophy and plan to run more than one year.
New2Pinewood // Feb 19, 2010 at 8:28 am
Love the guy asking for alignment advice about his 4×4 Yukon. That tickled me.
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