Wood Track Construction - Questions/Discussion

[woodman]

I agree forget the compass.....

[rsoward]

Thank you for the input guys. Do you have visual examples for the turns not being consistent?

Using the same layout how would you adjust the turns?

I don't want to get to tight with turns based on my 2, 3, and 7 year old will be racing on the track. Want to make sure I am not running around the track fixing cars because of a turn squeeze and crashes.

How close can the slots get on a squeeze without automatic crashes?

Thanks,

Ryan

[Dangermouse]

Ryan

Your 3 small turns are all 180 degree turns, in this thread you will see some examples from other tracks I looked at when designing my track
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1443&hilit=blue+ridge&start=15

I don't like the squeezes either you could still do the turns with out squeezes.

[dreinecke]

Ah, my favorite type of track building questions! As long as you have a good adjustable power supply, kids can drive almost anything. I've had my 4 year old nephew on my track with no issues one the power is adjusted to his ablilities.

Turns - varied corners make a track truly fun to drive IMHO. It isn't necessary, but I like the way they drive and look from a scenic perspective. This is how different each corner on my track is:



You can also see that I'm addicted to squeezes in the above picture. Mine are setup so the two outer lanes can always pass. The inner lane functions as the blocker/blockee in this case.

With kids on the track and the power down, I simply either get ahead or behind them in those areas.

As Bibbster says above - elevations can make some cool changes. I have over a foot of change from one end to the other. No two turns are on the same elevation. Check - that - actually at this exact moment they are ;)

[rsoward]

Thank you for the feedback.

I will not be routing the track. There are cabinet makers in the area with CNC machines and can use my CAD file.

I am taking in all suggestions for my final layout design.

Question: How does the multiple slot routes, per lane, work on an analog track? How does the car pick which direction the car travels?

Is it based on the direction of travel? If you see on the example above, there are lanes for the pit. Either direction still works with using either direction in each lane.

Thanks,

Ryan

[rsoward]

Ok... changed up the layout. There isn't one standard or constant radius on the layout.

All turns are drawn by hand with modifications to each lane.

This design should look familiar as it is based on this layout.




Criticism welcome...

Thanks,

Ryan

[Nor Cal Mike]

I don't mind overpasses if they are not causing a blind curve. But Bibbster's edit points to something else not in your track design. What Bibbster created was a long sweeper which are really fun to race on. All of your turns are similar, constant radius, 180's (+/ -) that will drive pretty much the same. Since you have a blank canvas, it is better to mix it up a little more with broad radius, tight radius, compound radius, and straights that aren't necessarily straight. I would rather sacrifice a little footage of total lap length if the extra space would allow me to create more variety in the driving. Just my $0.02.

[rsoward]

Ok... Worked up the proposed modificaiton to the track layout. I placed the lane distance to the right. These are in inches. When converted to feet, the lanes range from 43' to 38'.

If you look at the bridge layout above, there isn't this major difference in lane distance.

So, I guess I need to know what people think about bridges. Can I make the bridge tall enough and have the underpass wide enough to limit crashes. How else can you limit the crashes with a bridge?



Thank you all for the help,

Ryan

[SLOTTING SINCE 1963]

I like a bridge it lends itself to scenery. Learn to live with the additionall marshal B ups.

Cheers Richard.

[TuscoTodd]

Another way you could modify it is to straighten out the lead into / out of the bridge area - maybe something like this:



My crude sketch also shows a couple different curve radii (although no increasing / decreasing variable radii) and to help the marshaling - you could explore making the curves on the outside sections of the track slightly banked, which would also add some interesting variety... :)

Oh and in regard to corner types - here are a couple examples of varying radii corners and layouts that use them:
http://dsm.fidke.com/articles/racing-line.aspx

http://virtualrealityfyp.blogspot.com/2 ... chive.html

http://harnoishobby.com/images/tracks/mainroute.jpg

[woodman]

[HomeRacingWorld]

I still think keeping it simple is key. You stated that it was for your kids to have fun on. All these various radius/squeezes, etc is not going to make it a better track for them to enjoy. A simple design for them to learn on and to grow with is the best advice I can give.

Constantly deslotting isn't what most kids like to do. It isn't what most adults like to do either. A track design choice from seasoned veterans who have advanced skills is a great thing and it sure looks and sounds good in a forum. And for them the more of a challenge the better. But the application of it can be very different. Seen many a track builder try to make it "perfect" and there is rarely such a thing. The little ones could care less how realistic the racing line is or how scale realistic they appear. At least the all the ones I have raced with over the years didn't.

[rsoward]

Thank you Harry

I am of the same view point. Going to look at something completely different. Going to start designing a routed track with an outer raceway and a rally track in the middle. Then we could race two separate tracks and styles. I also plan on keeping my digital track that could be placed on top of the routed track.

More to come.

Thanks,

Ryan

[Dangermouse]

That is a good idea - a rally track adds some variety

This is worth a look along the lines of what you are thinking- outside road track inside rally track
http://www.auslot.com/forums/index.php? ... msearch__1