Running on a Routed Track, Good or bad? Options

[alan1302]

I'm planning on building a routed 1/43 scale track in the future and today I tried running a couple of my Carrera cars (Mini Cooper and a Ford Mustang) on the track without a magnet and found them awful to control - the Mini was worst and could barely get round the corners anywhere.

Is this just because the track surface is not suited to a non-magnet car or do the tyres just not grip well and the magnet is doing all the work? Would have a variable voltage power supply help? Or using a better controller rather than the standard Carrera Go ones?

Cheers for any advice you can throw on this as I'd be disappointed if they are poor to run and make me think about my plans a bit!

[pfuetze]

Hi Alan,

running 1/43rd cars on a routed track means that you have to put some work into those cars.

an adjustable power supply really helps, too, run the carreras @ 12V
better controllers help again - i really like Parma Economy controllers with 90 ohms for this task (60ohms are okay, too, you can use Carrera Evolution controllers if you´re a thumb controller type.

the cars:
you need to remove the excessive play in the rear axle. i do this with superglue (CA glue, crazy glue). Add a small drop near the axle, wait to dry, brake free by hand until it moves easily again. if there´s still play left, start again.

tires: i glue the tires to the rims with small drops of CA on a tooth pic.
tires need to be trued until they are really round
tire choice: what track surface do you have? on my routed track i got flat latex paint and polyurethan tires work best here - K&D tires or Ortmann tires.

Guide: the stock carrera guide pin is not much fun. Even after making the oval pin round with the dremel, the car will stop after entering a turn too fast. a turnable guide really helps here - i prefer SlideGuides from www.horacepro.com

i got 4 Carrera Go! Minis and after this treatment they run quite good.

cheers,
Peter

p.s. here a pics of the Minis with SlideGuides:

[alan1302]

Thanks Peter for all of the info - certainly a lot to think about there.

[Lloyd.L]

It may seem a lot Alan, but start off by cleaning the gluing the rear tyres on with a tiny amount of superglue in 2 places, then hold the car on the track with some sandpaper flat on the track under the back wheels. Holding the car so that the rear tyres are just contacting the sandpaper, run the motor until the tyres have an even colour accross the tread. This should give the car much more traction on it's own, and each of the other things Peter suggested should show further improvement.

On my routed track, that is out in the shed, I find that I need to give it a wipe with a damp cloth from time to time.

Good luck with your no magnet racing.

Regards, Lloyd

[Tsooko]

Since you haven't yet built your track, may I suggest using Caulkboard paint for your surface. It is a latex and has a little bit of grit in it. I have built a couple of tracks with this paint on it and found that cars, no matter what the tire compound is, get good traction. All the other things that Peter and Lloyd have said make the cars run better.


Ted

[alan1302]

Been thinking about this through the day and I've decided to keep the 1/43 cars but instead of a two lane track I'm going to build it to the same design but as a single lane - 99% of the time it's just me racing anyway. This way I will be able to keep my 1/43 cars but also race 1/32 scale - best of both worlds!

[injectorman]

Magnabraid.

[Slotracing Al]

Magnabraid.

Quite right!
Routed doesn't necessarily equal no magnet attraction.
If you want magnet attraction just use magnabraid instead of copper

[Black3sr]

[quote name='pfuetze' date='16 Mar 2012, 13:00' post='695813']
Hi Alan,

the cars:
you need to remove the excessive play in the rear axle. i do this with superglue (CA glue, crazy glue). Add a small drop near the axle, wait to dry, brake free by hand until it moves easily again. if there´s still play left, start again.

tires: i glue the tires to the rims with small drops of CA on a tooth pic.
tires need to be trued until they are really round
tire choice: what track surface do you have? on my routed track i got flat latex paint and polyurethan tires work best here - K&D tires or Ortmann tires.

cheers,
Peter

Just a comment on removing slop from axles. I use a similar method. First oil the bearings as you would usually do. Then apply the Super Glue to axle/bearing joint. Then run car slowly on a power supply until the glue sets. No need to break away using this method.

Gluing tires. UsingCA is more or less permanent. I use automotive silicone. Tires can be removed and the sealant removed.

Cpuld we see a picture of the bottom of the car with braid in place? Looks like a neat modification. Well done

[alan1302]

I had looked at Magnabraid but I don't really like the stuck down feeling that the magnets can give.

I have seen that someone on here used magnetic paint that gives some magnetic pull but not as much as normal...think I may take that route with my track.

[100% dundee]

Been thinking about this through the day and I've decided to keep the 1/43 cars but instead of a two lane track I'm going to build it to the same design but as a single lane - 99% of the time it's just me racing anyway. This way I will be able to keep my 1/43 cars but also race 1/32 scale - best of both worlds!

or 3 lane for the 1/43 and use the middle to run 1/32! Thats one of my ideas for the next track.

[alan1302]

or 3 lane for the 1/43 and use the middle to run 1/32! Thats one of my ideas for the next track.

Nice idea - I've pnly got 6 x 4 to play with though so that would be a bit too tight for me.

[masmojo]

or 3 lane for the 1/43 and use the middle to run 1/32! Thats one of my ideas for the next track.

That's what I do on my 3 lane!

Nice idea - I've pnly got 6 x 4 to play with though so that would be a bit too tight for me.

One Idea; Lay it out as 2 lanes, but have it cross over itself at some point thereby doubling your lane length and giving you two lines to drive. I second the textured paint idea, I have mine painted with a textured spray paint, but many in the UK use Ralph Lauren River Rock (if they still make it). Baring that what you can do is just tint the paint to a color you like and add silca dust or some people add fine metal shavings. Good luck!

[Cjent1]

Great advice all over this thread!

[Tsooko]

My track is 2.5' x 3.5' and routed into an old coffee table. It is a single lane, as I run by myself a lot. On the surface I put 4 coats of magnetic paint and then two coats of chaulkboard paint. The magnetic downforce is very sutile with the cars still able to slide out around the corners. They also don't break free violently like they do with metal rails. This prevents a lot of damage to the cars
I am toltally pleased with the effect.
My lane crosses over it's self to double the lane lenght. The crossovers mean the cars with pins for guides sometimes get hung up in the crossovers. Car with flags have no problem and there are ways to convert the pins to guides. Here's a vid of the track. You can do a lot with a small space. And yes 1/32 cars will run on the track which you can see on other vids on my you-tube channel.
You have double the size and with some creative thinking can come up with a great design.
Hope this helps and have fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU9CCONp...p;v=nH31PmzGrVY

Ted