[michaelfoster]

Hi all, I am trying to get started in this crazy hobby after not touching a slot car set since mid 1970's. I remember my parents getting a set for me and then accumulating track pieces via garage sales and friends. I have been on this journey of reading, studying and researching all the available formats and think I have landed on Carrera Digital 132 as my choice.

I have an amazing basement space to set up a track that measures approximately 15' by 20'. I don't think I will use the full space at first due to cost constraints of the layouts. I think I have a pretty good design that should fit nicely with plenty of room to grow in the future.

If this looks familiar, that is because I found this layout on these great forums. And again, these forums pointed me to the site I used to input the track pieces. The lap counters are just place holders for the check lane pieces. Picking a track plan was done on all the advice I have read on here.

My next task is to determine the least expensive way to purchase all the track pieces needed to build this track. I have settled on the Carrera Peak Performance #30027 as the starter. Then I will add the pit lane, two check lanes (for the timing feature), the blue tooth dongle and a race management app. As I experience the track, I will consider other accessories. Sometime down the road, I want to expand the track to fill my space without making it too crowded.

Now my list of track pieces is as follows, hopefully I didn't miss anything.
corner R1 - 7
corner R2 - 6
corner R3 - 6
corner R4 - 12
straight - 14
1/3 straight - 1
1/4 straight - 1
lane change right - 1
lane change left - 3
right corner out to in - 2
pit lane - 1
check lanes - 2
control unit - 1

Here is the list of product codes that I think will get me all the track I need without accumulating too many extra pieces.

30027
20509 - 2
20611 - 1
20612 - 1
30356 - 1
30371 - 2
30367 - 1
20572 - 1
20573 - 1
20578 - 1


Here is where I would love to get some input on all I have researched as of now. Is this the most cost-effective way to purchase track pieces? Any suggestions to what I can add or remove?

Thank you to all of the great people on this forum for all the help you have given me in my research and way too many rabbit holes I have followed. I look forward to reading more great advice from you in the future.

Michael
somewhere
in Iowa

 

[michaelfoster]

I just realized I didn't get a screen shot of the track in color so as to identify the pieces so here it is with color.

 

[GRUNZ]

Man, for the space this is a very good layout. There is plenty of opportunity to have also a long pitlane.
Cool stuff.

 

[LMP]

My advice is to contact a local or trusted retailer and just get a quote for the exact pieces you need. Don’t buy packs or bundles that have stuff youll never use. Be friendly, honest about your project, and see if they’ll do you a discount on a large order. Don’t forget to put in a good word for them and recommend them to the next person asking about track building.

Pendle Slot Racing have always been great at accommodating my track orders over the years.

 

[michaelfoster]

Man, for the space this is a very good layout. There is plenty of opportunity to have also a long pitlane.
Cool stuff.

My plan was for a longer pit lane but I was trying to cut some cost. If I keep this track I will extend the lane and make it a duel lane pit.

 

[michaelfoster]

My advice is to contact a local or trusted retailer and just get a quote for the exact pieces you need. Don’t buy packs or bundles that have stuff youll never use. Be friendly, honest about your project, and see if they’ll do you a discount on a large order. Don’t forget to put in a good word for them and recommend them to the next person asking about track building.

Pendle Slot Racing have always been great at accommodating my track orders over the years.

I don't have any shops near me so all will have to be ordered online. I am not sure if this is the final design, I considered a narrower but longer plan at first but the expense was too steep. So having a few extra pieces isn't a big deal. My intention is to purchase the starter pack and the extension pack and set up a simple track. Then buy the rest as I can.

 

[MrFlippant]

Definitely call and talk to an online shop. While a smaller one might not do a package deal, larger ones might, such as 132slotcar.us, or possibly electric dreams. It certainly can't hurt to ask.

 

[kalgani]

Why is there a lane changer away from the pits in front of the pits?

maybe with corners at start-finish swapped?

 

[michaelfoster]

Why is there a lane changer away from the pits in front of the pits?

Collision avoidance, so a driver can move to the outside lane if someone is coming out of the pits, that's my thought anyway. I think I might have to put a double lane change there.

 

[kalgani]

I would say the one coming from the pits has to come back safely to the race track

 

[MrFlippant]

A single LC diverting away from the pits is common when there is a secondary pit lane for the safety car, otherwise the safety car might enter the driver pits when recalled. That might have been picked up from a layout that was doing that.

 

[michaelfoster]

A single LC diverting away from the pits is common when there is a secondary pit lane for the safety car, otherwise the safety car might enter the driver pits when recalled. That might have been picked up from a layout that was doing that.

The original plan I had used for my inspiration had a long pit lane almost as long as the straight. It had a double lane change where I have a single. I changed the plan because of budget constraints. I hope to change it and make it into a duel lane pit stop if I like the plan overall. My concern about this plan is the ability to retrieve cars if deslotting happens. I plan on giving my tabletop access from all sides.

 

[MrFlippant]

While you might be able to reach the center-ish from all sides, you'll probably still get tired of walking around to pick up the car whenever it's out of reach of your current position. Fortunately, decent grabbers are usually budget friendly. This is the kind I would pick up from Target's "As Seen On TV" section. Just be sure, whatever you get, that the grabbing part has soft/grippy rubber, 'cus I've seen some with "suction cups" that are hard plastic, and entirely useless for this. I keep a couple of these around my layout, even though I can almost reach across it. ;-)

Ontel Gopher 2 Pick-Up and Reaching Tool, New & Improved Ergonomic Design

Buy Ontel Gopher 2 Pick-Up and Reaching Tool, New & Improved Ergonomic Design at Amazon. Customer reviews and photos may be available to help you make the right purchase decision!

www.amazon.com

 

[kalgani]

Unger Nifty Nabber

A bit more expensive, but very high quality and with a soft touch.
But do not know if they are avaible in the US

 

[Slotspeed]

The thing that I'm not sure about on this one is that the size of the layout will take a bit of walking around retrieving cars if you are racing/testing alone a lot. There are a few designs from post #67 on this page that use mostly basic set parts plus a pack of R2 and R3 plus two R4's that might be easier to get around. But I do like that layout idea you are working on

Also don't forget its quite easy to slice standard straights down the centre line to create single width straights for pitlane use. I use a Stanley knife and a 600mm steel ruler but be careful not to cut towards yourself, as it does require a bit of force and a sharp blade is the easiest way.

Do you have a 3D printer?

 

[michaelfoster]

Update:

Thinking I had nailed the track design and was ready to order all the pieces, I came to a sad conclusion, my original space isn't as large as I thought. I forgot to consider the location of the furnace. I tried to make a track that I could cut a portion of the left front corner off the table to get around it only to not like the flow of that left side. It made the corners of track at that end look awkward and the flow just didn't seem right. My next attempt was to just shorten my original design and after a few hours on softyroyal.de I think I have it! It keeps the general flow of the original that I really liked there, but most important, it clears the furnace! The plus side to this design is the cost is going to be less.

My design may not be final, as I am not in love with the whole right-side corner coming back onto the main straight. it was a necessary change to reduce the total length of the table to under 14 ft. I didn't want to have to buy additional track just to fix a corner. my new adjusted floor plan needs to be 8 ft. by 14 ft. If anyone has a plan that they think would work better in that size, please post pictures so I can take a look.

I need to acknowledge the original designer of the track, Slotspeed, as his design is what I had found in an older post. Thank you very much for the inspiration.

Michael

 

[michaelfoster]

well its getting real, I just ordered the starter set 30023 race to victory. next I am going to order the digital track pack with the 3 lane change pieces and the blue tooth dongle. I am hoping i can get some sort of fun track setup to learn how to use the race app. anyway thanks all for the advice here and in other threads!

Michael

 

[michaelfoster]

Here is the track I was able to cobble together with the base and extension pack. Anyone have any improvement ideas I am all ears and eyes. What you see in the pic is what I have for pieces as of now. I plan on buying a pack of R2, R3, and R4 corners and the couple pieces I need to make my final design. From there we will see what happens........

 

[MrFlippant]

That's pretty much the kind of track you're going to have, however much you try to mix it up, until you get those other radius turns to include.

 

[michaelfoster]

That's pretty much the kind of track you're going to have, however much you try to mix it up, until you get those other radius turns to include.

Question on race management software, is the free Carrera race software decent or will the paid stuff really get you that many more bells and whistles?