Trans Am racing - wood or plastic?

[slothead]

I've been putting together a field of Trans Am cars for a racing series originally intended to run on a routed road course I designed to get a variety of features (reasonably long straightaway, essess, corkscrew, changing radius turns, elevation changes, etc.) onto a 6' by 14' table.

But, after reading about a racer who used plastic track to continually change his circuits to mimic real F1 tracks for his series, I'm wondering if that should be something to consider. I have several boxes of Scalextric track so cost isn't a factor.

Pros & cons: Wood - permanent, can add realistic scenery, few design constraints, non-magnet, but might get boring always running same cars on same track. Plastic - can easily create new tracks, have Scalextric timer/lap counter and lane change tracks, but find magnet racing boring and have over 30 cars I'd have to pull magnets from, plus only limited scenery due to frequent design changes (4 - 5 times a year), and high expense of track borders. I know many racers don't have room or time for scenery, but it makes a big difference to me since I prefer realism to speed.

Thoughts? Consistent realism of a detailed wood track, or variety of being able to race on multiple plastic tracks during a season?

Slothead

[SRQSloter]

Personally I wood build the wood layout. If you are wanting to make esses elevation changes and all that with scenery you probably won't get to board with it. There is no reason you can't leave the magnets in either. And if you have all that Scaley track and got the room setup both. Both worlds then. I would bet you'll like the routed layout more though. :)

:handgestures-thumbup:

[dreinecke]

Trans-Am racing? I've never gotten bored with my layout and love the scenic opportunities!

[HomeRacingWorld]

[slothead]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't think I'll be able to match Dave's track, but a couple of his Javelin's, a Firebird, and a Camaro will be in the field. When you see scenery like that it does suggest a custom wood track is the way to go.

I think I will stick with my original plan for a wood road course in the barn to go with my wood oval. And, this made me realize I would have plenty of room for a plastic track in the attic if I just built a table. So if I did want another challenge in the future...

Slothead

[VenturaAlfa]

I've had both wood and plastic. My answer is plastic. I get bored very quickly with any given track and can change the design in 30 minutes or less to something else with the plastic. A commercial raceway near me has my old 4 lane wood track and they really like it; I got bored about 6 weeks after it was done.

If scenery is what you like there is no reason you can't have scenery and a changeable track. On mine it is the center section of a 72 foot Revell track that I usually change. I could easily do quite a bit of scenic stuff and still be able to change the track pieces. Right now I have a set of esses with multiple crossovers in a eight foot section of track. I can take out the crossovers and get a different feel and I can take out the esses and put in a straightaway. Doing that helps keep things fresh. I could easily scenic the corners and straights if I wasn't so lazy. In addition I have both magnet and non-magnet cars. There is no reason you can't run both on a plastic track.

Ventura Alfa

[Florida_Slotter]

[RichD]

All of the Shoreline Model Raceways tracks are wood, several of them are pushing ten years old and we have not gotten tired of them. For people that still want to run with magnets Magnabraid is an option. Two of our tracks are modular and have extra sections so they can be reconfigured. If you always run by yourself I can see where you would be more likely to get tired of your track. When you are racing the track itself is only part of the equation. A wood track can be designed so that it would be easy to replace at least one section to get a little variety. Another thing to consider is having a variable power supply. If a car is too difficult to drive you can always drop the voltage a little, if it is too stuck down you can crank up the voltage to make driving more challenging.

[VenturaAlfa]

Hey Florida Slotter,

I live on the beach in an area that the song was written about and even know one of the guys in America. They still play at the Canyon Club in Agoura from time to time and live in the Malibu area just south of me.

As I said I have had both wood and plastic. For me its plastic. The noise doesn't bother me in the least; my track sits on carpet insulation which absorbs a lot of the sound. In addition, I get bored with tracks after about a month to six weeks. I've raced on some great wood tracks with and without scenery. I know "Cruisin Bob" who is one of the most well known wood track builders here in the west and have raced on a variety of his tracks at different events. Everything from basic track with no scenery to a great layout designed to look like the cars movie. Still, bored quickly. I run on my track almost every night for at least a few laps. If it were somewhere I couldn't get to it quite so easily and I only ran once a week or so then a wood track would probably be fine.

To each their own. I'm not knocking wood I just don't understand the attraction. As I mentioned above, there is a commercial raceway owned by another friend of mine 10 minutes or less from my house. You can Google PCH Raceway and find him. He has two wood tracks; a smaller more technical track and a large high speed track. About 3 times a year I actually get out my 1/24 and 1/32 brass chassis cars and go run. Definitely a different feel, but one that's not any better or worse than running on the plastic.

I designed my current track with sections that in my mind look like the old Riverside 1:1 (banked turn at 9, short straight and run up the esses into turn 6) in one small part and like the corkscrew at Laguna Seca (now Infineon) in another part. Those sections swap out in about 15 minutes or less for long straights that make a very high speed track. I couldn't do that with wood.

It's all up to the individual. To put it in HRW terms; some people like vinegar based barbecue sauces and some like tomato based. I like both depending on the day. Now I'm hungry for a pulled pork sandwich or one of Harry's POW fattys. We need a barbecue emoticon showing the little guy at the grill.

Ventura Alfa (still in the sunshine and looking for sister golden hair) "I've been one poor correspondent and I've been to to hard to find but it doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind"

[Nor Cal Mike]

My only beef with plastic track are the constant cookie cutter radius turns. Wood allows an infinite number of radius options, decreasing radius (my favorite) increasing radius, squeezes that squeeze but at the same time are wide enough to allow the cars to get through them and straights that are not actually straight. The options are limited only by your imagination. That reason alone is enough for me to give my vote to wood.

[SpeedyNH]

my two cents-
two things that I originally liked least about plastic were first, being restricted to the fixed turn increments, e.g. 30° was too much for the plan I wanted. then came the lack of flexibility in chicanes, such as corners and getting all four lanes to all come together, at least in the type I had.
what broke it for me were the track joints, as in how I could hear every one of 'em when the car went down the straight.
but it's all in what one is trying to achieve (and put up with), of course.
speedy

[bkrownd]

[Dundee Denny]

My "ADD" mandates a plastic track!!

I change the 125 feet up several times a year, and start all over again timing all the cars.

Goal is to have the lane times identical and see how a longer straight, more curves, less curves affect the different cars.

I can rotate all the cars over a six month period.

The scenery is all modular and the lights stay along the edges so that makes the changes that much easier.

Don't think there is a right or wrong way, just the right way for your individual personality, mine constant change!!!

Dundee Denny

[dreinecke]

Denny - you are right - there is no right or wrong way, just as long as we are having fun.