What is the ideal track width ?, If you was going to do a fully routed SSD Track Options

[Michael363672]

Hi all,

I am thinking about routing a modular track for indoors

I am getting fed up with having to put up and take down a Scalextric Digital track each time me and the kids fancy a play

I have loads of plastic track but crimping all the track each time is sooooooo time consuming there must be an easier way


So I thought what if I route some larger sections

Automatic built in borders

Still configerable like plastic track (to a degree)

Easy to store and move

Not damaged by kids stepping on it

I don't have the space for a permament track so I think this would be the next best thing


I would look to route everything into the track, so all the lane changers start finish line sensors, pit pro, basically the full lot

I would like to have mainly 3 lane sections in an ideal world, with a nice pit lane Start / Finish straight section as the main feature

So with this in mind what lane spacing would you go for ?

Would you stick with standard Scalextric spacing or go to something like ninco spacing ?


Looking forward to your thoughts

Michael

[MrFlippant]

Unless you're going to split the lane changers up to widen the sensors and flippers, I'd just go with SSD lane spacing. Otherwise you're taking up extra room with little to no real benefit, 'cus you can't realistically run 1/24 cars on it anyway.
Likewise, if you are going to expand those things, then going with 1/24 lane spacing would be cool, 'cus there are a lot of great 1/24 cars out there that would be fun to run digitally.

[Michael363672]

No interest in 1/24 Mr F

Will all be 1/32nd cars

I was just thinking I will be running all NON Magnet so would scalextric be a little tight ?


Looking at the sensor boards for the Lane changers it looks likes it is only a case of extending 2 wires to the sensor

Not so sure about the Start / Finish Sensors though

[MrFlippant]

Heck no. The only time wider lane spacing helps is in the corners, and with magless the cars will be drifting wide when you go fast. Unless you plan on some kind of crazy wide spacing to eliminate that, it will always require proper driving to avoid (or intentionally) nerfing other people in the turns. If you're not thinking about running bigger cars, then just stick with Scalextric lane spacing. It will make installing the lane changers that much easier.

DRAWW runs primarily non-magnet on standard sport track with outside borders. You have to drive clean in the turns, but that's just how it is in any scale, digital or analog.

[Michael363672]

But how much harder will the lane changers be ?

If i am routering in all of it anyway, all the plastic will be gone only using the inners

[MrFlippant]

Using slotfan1966's guide on installing lane changers into a routed track, it looks like you just need two wires to extend the sensor for the other flipper. The lap counting thing would work essentially the same way, or you can cut the PCB in the middle and bridge the wires across the two pieces. Depending on where you cut, you'll need to bridge 2 or 3 wires.

The main advantage to routing it, that I see, is that you can determine the shape of the lane changers. Make a real racing line out-to-in lane changers, and if it's an XLC at that location, make the in-to-out go wide, or at least FLOW better. Seems silly to go through the trouble of routing in the LC but not use routing to its best advantage, which is free form slots.

[300SLR]

I was just thinking I will be running all NON Magnet so would scalextric be a little tight ?

You'll get conflicting opinions on that.
I'd say scalex lane centres are way too tight for non mag 1/32. Routed tracks round here have lane spacing at least 3 1/2" - 90mm lane spacing, and that feels a bit tight for non mag 1/32 than the more common spacing of around 4" - 100mm.

[injectorman]

2 lane is better than 3 for digital.
90 mm

[Camber]

My old track was 100mm and I thought it was nice for 1/32, personally I wouldn't go less than 90mm. If you are using SSD straight LC's, you can always have standard Scaly spacing on the straights to make fitting the LC's easy and open it up on the corners. This is the beauty of wood tracks, anything goes.

- Cam

[Michael363672]

The one thing I would say that hopefully this is going to be like a plastic track in the sensce that the pieces fit together

So I would keep the same spacing all the way round this way the pieces should be interchangeable

If the PCB boards are only a couple of wires then that should not be a problem or too time consuming either

Also again not massively bothered about a racing line or best line as I find that this can make it quiet hard to over take in digital

Would though like to do some different angle changers, I remember seeing somewhere how a LCD had been installed in a bend and to catch a sliding car they had paralled the sensors so that it would catch a sliding car ? Or am I going mad ?

@ Injectorman. Our club track is mainly 3 lanes and I find this to be quite nice as it allows for more chance to avoid traffic
I would think if we only had 2 it would be a bt more of a crash fest ?
Or maybe there are not enough lane changers ?

If you have a 2 lane track how often are your changers situated ?


Thanks so far Guys

[Mr Modifier]

Hi Michael,

Take a look at THIS THREAD the grid is 400mm. It's a routed modular design. Lane spacing standard Scaley - 3 lanes including 3 lane start/finish.

Richard

[MrFlippant]

If you can drive clean in 100mm spacing, then you can drive clean in 88mm spacing (or whatever Scalextric Sport is). If you can't, then you can't. It's up to the drivers to keep the cars in the slot, not the track. As long as 1/32 cars can pass each other when NOT sliding around, then it's good. As such, I recommend against squeeze lanes unless you make a section that is specifically a full squeeze. I hate the "sort of" squeeze of the Sport hairpin/squeeze track. I race magless on Scalextric track all the time, both digital and analog, classic and sport. It's NOT a problem.

As for number of lanes, I prefer 2 as well, but that can change depending on the length of the track. For the Falcon oval, I think 3 lanes is great, especially as there's the 2 lane "squeeze" at the S/F line, plus the forced crossover in turn 1/2. You re-used the pieces for the GT track, which meant keeping 3 lanes, but I bet that the cars get a LOT more spread out as a result, eh? It's not only a much longer track, but longer AND 3 lanes most of the way. Rick's track is a quite long 2 lane Scalextric Sport Digital (with Scorpius electronics) track. I've seen 6 car racing videos of his track, and it looks like a lot of fun, but the cars do get spread out a bit. The longer the track, the better it is to stick with 2 lanes. Add a third in a special location where it makes sense, such as a strategic advantage of some kind, but otherwise leave it at 2 lanes unless it's a bullring oval.

I REALLY like Richard's plans for the expandable, reconfigurable, modular club track. The trick will be actually building the pieces.

[Michael363672]

Mr M They look good, how is the build going on I remember seeing the tacks on another thread

I an hoping for something similar but the pieces would be much smaller
I was hoping for something more like 4 pieces of scalextric track with borders fitted size ?
So quiet manageable but not too small.


Mr F I don't like squeezes either

I know what ever spacing if the cars pass it is ok even on Ninco spacing you can still nerf of people

On your 2 lanes how often do you have changers

[GregK]

The track spacing on Scalextric track was originally designed for much narrower cars than what you might use today. If they made it wider it would escalate production and material costs. So maybe it might make some sense to make the spacing just a little bit wider ..... but then you are going to run digital and that is a much more intimate and rombustuous ....

How about just creating some "test pieces" so see which is the width that suites you best?

[Mr Modifier]

The build has stalled as the club member who was about to buy a large bed CNC router for his business has disappeared due to a change in personal circumstances.

However - I have recently found a guy with a large bed CNC router a few miles up the road from us so there's a good chance the track will be made and raced in 2013. It will take some time to get the CAD files drawn up properly - the tricky bit will be the sections of embedded track (I'm going embedded track pieces with their tabs and protruding metal parts cut off - so spares can be easily dropped in at very short notice).

Of course if it is CNC routered - it could be reproduced any number of times!

Michael - the track is too big for your requirements but the principle of using the square blocks to map out track pieces is what I was driving at for you. You could easily use 250mm or 300mm blocks if you go 2 lane.

I was going to use the same edging principle that Lee did on the Thorndike Oval - so the pieces could be made to stack safely for storage or transport.