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About to install a new track and wanting advice on a routed track or large scale plastic for out of the box 1/32 cars. I have located a nice 135 ft. routed but want to be able to have races at some point. Will staying with plastic "Carrera" be a better option. Money for track isn't the issue, we are trying to keep it very competitive for the kids to have a place to come in and drop their car down on without the expense of a 1/24 scale car.

If young kids are involved, you'll need the magnets. There is magnetic braid for routed
tracks, but the effect is not as good. For more competitive racing for the grown-ups, you
can remove the magnets from the cars.

I think you are asking several questions at once. Let me parse it my way, and then you can get opinions from folks to argue one way or another for each.
#1 The routed track will ultimately be what you want. I don't know why, but everybody goes through the same phases... plastic track with heavy magnetic attraction (Scalextric, SCX, etc) then plastic track with low magnetic attraction, then routed track with no attraction at all, which more closely imitates real life racing. And it seems like that is where we all wind up, with the exception of established plastic track outfits that are not in position to change their setup.
#2 135 feet is a big track. You're lucky to find it intact, and I say, go for it. Invest whatever you have to as you set it up. It will last long enough by far to pay you back. How many lanes? It matters.
#3 About the kids... I started when I was only 11 years old in 1962. No magnets. Kids are better at this than you ever imagined. Make yourself comfortable, and they will still beat you to the finish line from time to time. I have a 150 foot 8 lane Imperial (grandfather of the King track), and I have every reason to believe that whomever gets it from me someday will have kids going nuts on it, just like I did back in those days...

I would go with the routed track AND a variable power supply. Start the voltages low and gradually increase them as the kids learn. I've run a whole generation of neighborhood kids through the learning curve on my wood track that way. The same is true for tuning. Start slow and work your voltages up as you learn to tune your cars. And really, at moderate voltages, most OTB cars these days don't run that badly without the magnets. I have a lot of totally stock cars that I use with much satisfaction. It is when you get into competition with other racers when the tuning requirements go up.

If you have the space and money's not an issue,go wood. I had plastic track,but the first time I tried running on a wood track-- that was it. Kids pick it up real quick usually,my 11 year old daughter smoked the neighbors the other night. Rtr cars usually come with rubber tires,so stay with rubber or urethane tires

We run on both in our group. I personally prefer wood mostly because it is much quieter than plastic. That said I believe some of the newer plastic tracks are quieter, mine happens to be an old Strombecker track which transfers a lot of noise. As for Magnatraction you can get magnetic paint for your wooden track, it has I believe ground metal in it. One of our tracks has that and when the kids or new folks race, the magnets work great.

Having an adjustable power supply is the key if you are running without magnets. My club, Shoreline Model Raceways, runs at 10 volts most of the time and even on a big track the cars are plenty fast enough. Most cars will run well enough at 10 volts with just a tire change, you can always turn down the voltage for kids.

There is nothing wrong with plastic track. You can be a fully engaged enthusiast and use plastic track. I know that some (on this site and others) look down their noses at plastic track and the people who race on them, but who cares? As has been mentioned, it is easier to take a car out of the box and have decent results on a plastic track. Also, if you ever want to change the configuration of the track it should be obvious that plastic is a better choice. If you go plastic I would recommend Carrera track. But, whatever you decide on, a variable power supply is pretty necessary if you are going to have kids racing. Wood tracks are very nice and offer a different driving experience but if kids racing is a primary focus I think you will be quite happy with plastic.

We have a 4 lane wood track at our store and have kids and adults running on it and we have no problems with them running on it. We have Scalextric Audi R8 as our rental cars and they work great. When we have new kid trying it out we will lower the voltage. We normally run at about 11.3 volts and turn it down to about 9 volts. We are building a Carrera track right now only because I do not have the time to build another wood track . When we have the time and money I will build another wood track for the store.
Mike

I've had a Plastic track for a few years and I really enjoyed that I could change the layout on a whim. But then a couple of years ago I made a 3-lane wooden track so that I could run the cars with my two grandkids. That was when I got tired of picking up their cars to place on the track and then redo the same process at the next turn. My fix was a simple order placed to Amazon for a digital voltage meter and a DC motor voltage regulator for each lane. I installed one for each lane so that I could still run full voltage while turning their lanes down to their ability. Funny part even though I 'm running full voltage, it is difficult to keep up with their partial voltage but they don't mind for they are beating Grandpa at his game. Only problem now is my daughters added more grandkids and I am back in the same boat, being on the sideline, I should have made more than three lanes.

Just want to thank everyone for the help. Great advice and answers, I will be posting more in the near future.

I used it at a friend's huge track once, and loved it there, because it had just a little downforce, not much at all, and that was nice. I'd say the pull was 1/4 of what some plastic tracks have. I tried it myself, and after a while I really didn't like it, mostly because the iron bits scarred paint on my cars (usually the roof, right?). I lightly sanded the surface to get rid of the rough surface, and discovered a lot more traction and almost no magnetic pull at all. I ran the track that way for years and years.