[Geor74]

Hello this is my first post here. as I was thinking to get into the slot cars with a digital 132 carrera set.
My space is very limited to 255x130 cm a little larger than the tradidional 8x4.
This is the plan I came into

, Total length of 11.78 m and with a pitlane.
I am interested in any opinions of the more experienced members here and if this plan will be enjoyable or a boring one.
Thanks!

 

[Slotspeed]

Hi, there are too many right hand turns, if you are implementing an overpass, may as well make it meet up in a manner in which to create equal lane lengths. I’ll see what I can find in my “database” I’m sure I have a suggestion or two for that space.

 

[Slotspeed]

Had a look, best I can find is either 1.5m wide by 2.5m (no borders) or 1.3m by about 2.7m. Either any good to you Geor72? When I get time I'll see if I can modify your idea for equal lane lengths. Looks not bad for the space.

 

[Slotspeed]

Do you like this one? Straight is slightly shorter than your longest but could sacrifice the R2 entry into turn 1 to make it 5 straights. Need to invest in a 6 pack of R2 for this one. It is advisable to put at least one 1/3 straight before any lane changers or pit entry so that the cars don't miss the sensor when cornering hard or slightly sideways.

 

[Geor74]

Hi , thanks for your suggestion. Any diiferent plans could be prove useful. I checked with my software again and my two lanes is 11..84 and 11.56 I think it is a liitle difference or not ? Any way with the digital technoloy where you can change lanes isnt that somehow negligible ?
Another question is about overpasses. Does this : https://www.carrera-toys.com/en/product/20085201-track-supports-set-standard wiil do the job to support the eleveted roads ?

 

[Slotspeed]

That is surprising, it is usually about 60cm difference between the lanes for a layout like yours, I will build it in my favorite software and see what it reports. If it was only 30cm or so then you would find out soon enough by timing laps in each lane to see how far out it is in practice. It is preferable for even racing (also considering driver ability, differences in the cars etc) to have evenish lap times between the lanes because if a faster car gets in the quicker lane, it becomes difficult to pass or keep up with them because you will lose a little bit of speed when you do a lane change. I don't do competitive racing so I don't know this from experience but this is what I have read and it seems to make sense.

For elevations its easy enough to cut up some say 13mm x45mm pine and assemble into upside down U shapes, which in this case would go over the complete front straight and pit lane and then sit the elevation on top. It would be offset in this case. Cut to different heights to progressively elevate at suitable intervals. A couple of circuits that come to mind with creative elevations are Frog's Hollow or Chicago River North, you could google them, there is a thread on Frog's Hollow on this forum. But start off as simple as possible, you need to first drive your layout to check that you like the way it flows before committing too much to scenery etc.

 

[Geor74]

This is the software I used : https://autorennbahnplaner.de/

 

[Slotspeed]

Softyroyal.de online planner is reporting a difference of 62cm between the lanes. I'll have a play with your idea and see if I can come up with alternatives that hopefully you might like. Do you have any R2 pieces or any other radii at all?

Here is an idea based on your design you posted. It requires 7 R2's, but could be redesigned to use what you have/can obtain.

Problem is the visibility of corner in top right.

Anyone for pretzels?

 

[Slotspeed]

Last post was actually two posts edited into one which is why it may not make so much sense First comment was referring to your design.

 

[Geor74]

Nice plans there but I think I will have to avoid multiple level of elevetad roads. I cant tell for the large lane differences between these two programs. The one I use is supposed to be supported officialy by carrera.
I dont have any piece of anything . No any experience before. This is my first time.
I am thinking to buy a intitial set like this :https://www.carrera-toys.com/de/product/20030197-80-flashback and then buy the aditional pieces ( like pitlanes ,app connect devices , etc)

 

[Slotspeed]

Yes, best to start with a set, a lot of the sets have a similar amount of track, some have wireless controllers which is a bonus if that is your preference. the BMW M1 is beautiful in that set. I have the analog version its very pretty!

If you look at my second design suggestion it really only has one additional layer at any one point, but can see that it does look a bit cluttered.

With adding to your set if you keep a keen eye out there are occasionally very good deals on used sets and track expansion options etc. I took the option of slowly upgrading when I could get good deals rather than spending a lot of cash up front.

 

[Steve1971]

I run this layout although larger at 10x4 it could be reduce in width. I generally run alone or with a pacer otherwise I wouldn't build a corner in corner layout, it flows well and is based on the 8x4 maximise type circuit.

 

[Slotspeed]

Another idea, length is a bit shorter at approximately 10m so you might not like that. Might be difficult finding two R3 curves depending on where you live (hard to find here in Australia unless you buy a 6 pack)

 

[GRUNZ]

You are really in a tight spot. Carrera is not ideal for such a small space.

Having said that I see that the last layout from slotspeed is really nice.

 

[Slotspeed]

Agree its not an easy track system for interesting layouts in tight spaces. I actually should have made the overpass with those green R3s as the elevation, not the other way around. Could improve the flow a it with more R2s but left R1s in there so you can use the curved LCs if you want to.

 

[Slotspeed]

There are also a couple of very small track ideas in this thread and while they aren't great layouts they might give you some idea of what else is possible in a small space.

 

[Geor74]

There are also a couple of very small track ideas in this thread and while they aren't great layouts they might give you some idea of what else is possible in a small space.

Hi there,
Nice tracks. One that i liked a lot is this one :

I changed the orientation to suit my needs as follows :

the dimensios remain the same and the length of both lanes is 12.23 m.
Could you suggest me a pitlane into this and some lane changes for the digital system without altering the dimensions?
Thanks a lot !

 

[Slotspeed]

Hi Geor,

I ran that layout for about 18 months, I did incorporate a pitlane, I also modified it for better visibility under the R2 loop. And I absolutely loved driving it in either direction. I incorporated some self made borders/shoulders the loop is quite fast and fun. I'll see if I can find photos and the alternate layout for better visibility. Only reason I pulled it down was due to two mischievous toddlers climbing up onto it and causing enough damage to make me build a flat layout that was less susceptible to damage. The esses are also a lot of fun, the elevation worked really well. Would you be able to deal with having a pitlane under that elevated curve?

Steve.

 

[Slotspeed]

Sorry I have drawn it back to front. Here is an idea if you can get hold of an R3 or substitute the R3 for and R2 and a 1/3 straight. Uses 14 (or 15) R2 track pieces. Some shops will sell R2 in singular quantities which helped me get the right number. Not many seem to want to break up R3 packs.

Have a few other ideas as well, just depends where you want to move the compromises to. If you can, its good to allow some room to add shoulders (even if DIY from foam board or MDF or other materials) for cars with less grip that slide a bit. The stock barriers tend to hold the cars in and create almost a cheat which detracts from the skill, as well as wearing out the rear quarter of the cars paintwork as its too tempting to slide on them to get a faster lap time.

Have a fiddle, happy to offer alternate suggestions. Might post some photos later, time permitting.

Noting its actually quite easy to cut standard straights down the centreline to create pitlane width straight sections, I use a sharp stanley knife, paying careful attention not to cut myself!

Edit: Just realised that the race direction is predicated by the position of the pitlane. Pitlane would need to move for racing in the other direction (since Carrera only make a RH pit entry, you can of course modify things but I like to keep it simple)

Same thing but without the R3 piece...

Maybe with less awkward pit entry/exit, depending on race direction (reposition the CU in your design depending on which direction you want it to go) (see edit above)

 

[Slotspeed]

A photo of another variant, the way I had it set up... to be honest, I didnt like the lack of visibility of the last corner before the start finish line... always wanted to rework it for better visibility, would have done so if I could have trusted the kid she not to climb on it. Note creative pitlane path using a slightly modified Carrera GO section. Some work but wasnt difficult. Was always a rough work in progress as you can see.