[Jango]

Hello all,

I've always said my dream is to make my own routed track, but always thought I didn't have the space. I've been giving this a lot of thought lately and think I've found a way around this. A storage location has become apparent in my house, so I could actually have a routed track if it can be taken down and stored in two sections.

Here's the design I've been playing with:

This rather roughly drawn plan is kind of to scale and, if built, would be 4 metres long and 1 metre wide, widening to a bit over 1.5 metres towards the left end of the track. I've designed this with three lanes in mind.

The wish list for this build is as follows:

1. Three lanes
2. Analogue
3. Working pit lane
4. Some scenery
5. Street circuit, loosely inspired by Monte Carlo.

The track would run clockwise, starting on the main straight at the bottom, through a sweeping turn, under the bridge towards a hairpin where the lanes would narrow to follow a more natural racing line. This would continue up a steady climb to a tighter hairpin, which I'd like to vaguely resemble the Mirabeau/Lowes section of the Monte Carlo track (see below, except my track will be climbing up rather than plunging down):

After the hairpin, the track would continue to climb up to a 90 degree right-hand turn before the bridge. Again, this series of bends will follow natural racing lines before widening to a more traditional scalextric style lane spacing over the bridge. This would continue through the fast turn after the bridge, along a short straight before again tightening to a racing line through a plunging, swooping section which I'd like to be something of a cross between Spa's Eau Rouge and the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. The lane spacing will then, once more, widen, and lead in to the long final turn before the start/finish straight.

The track would need to split into two-metre long sections for storage. My main concern here would be that the pit building (which I will attempt to scratch build from foam board) would have to sit on the split between the two sections of the track and would therefore have to be two separate structures.

Has anyone else out there built a three-lane track of a similar size?
Should I instead be considering a two-lane track given the amount of space I have?
Any other feedback?

This is going to be a bit of a slow-burner, this one. I have a lot of tools and materials to buy before I can even think about starting work, and a rather limited budget. If I can get the plan nailed first, it would at least be a start!

Any feedback welcome!

Cheers
Steve

 

[john's slotracing]

I'd say draw it to scale and make sure it all fits - all too easy for kind of to scale drawings to be misleading.

2 lanes or 3????
How often are you going to have more than 2 drivers? If you are going to have 3 drivers a lot, it can be well worth the extra build time and cost of 3 lanes?
Are you going to have to compromise the lane spacing and spin out area on the outside of turns if you fit in a third lane? There's a lot to be said for two good lanes rather that 1 good one and two disappointing ones.

Designing pretty much anything is about compromise, make sure you get the features YOU think are most important.

 

[JamieG]

I would say go for three lanes so maybe in the future you could run 1/24 cars as well!
At least this is what i would like to do with mine if I ever find the kick to start with routing.
Cheers,
JamieG

 

[hankscorpio]

I like the tracks with three lanes especially those where they are pinched to give one lane a clear overtake opprtunity while the other two are bunched together... makes a circuit more tactical...

 

[Bam]

Thats very similar in layout to what I'm building at the moment (apart from my crossover is the other way around, and my main straight is the opposite one to yours), you seem to have a bit more width available though. I just steered away from 3 lanes in favour of more scenic room. You should easily be able to fit 3 lanes on with that design.

 

[diegu]

Steve,

concerning your decision abaout a three-laner, I would suggest to consider the following:

I assume the right part corresponds to a depth of 1 m. So taking the measures from your drawing we get: 70 mm (measured from my screen) correspond to 1 m depth

The track on the screen is 15 mm wide, which corresponds to a real track width of about 220 mm.

This is really narrow, already for a two laner. My Ninco track (90 mm of track spacing) is 180 mm wide + 50 mm Skidpads on each side, which makes for a track width of 280 mm. Assuming a three-laner you would need at least 370 mm.

You could argue that track width of Scalex (78 mm) is OK. In this case you might end up with 156 mm + 50 mm Skidpads on each side, resulting in 256 mm.
In this case, the tree-laner would need 334 mm.

You my want to add the skidpads only to one side, reducing the width to 206 mm / 284 mm.

So: Imho, a three-laner is cool, but it needs a lot more space. Another cool thing is being able to do three-lane racing in 1:32 and two-lane-racing in 1:24 as JamieG said.
However, if you want to do that, you need even wider Skidpads. In fact Carrera skidpads are 100 mm in width - and you need them, when racing 1:24!

Going routed, you're free to add squeeze sections, saving space, but be careful using them...

I would suggest: define the standard widths you need - track width and skidpads - then do a scale drawing and make your decision based on the facts.

All the best
Diegu

 

[keysandslots]

I decided to go two lane because I'm usually on my own, wanted 4" lane spacing so I could race 1:24 (even that's a bit tight) and 5" outer skid aprons, 3" inner.

Randy

 

[300SLR]

Hi Jango
Outer skid aprons of 50 mm is OK if you like the car's tail hitting the crash barrier before the car gets far sideways. If not you need double that, ideally a bit more as keysandslots suggests. Your track, your choice.
Inner skid aprons of 50 mm - no problem although tight for 1/24

Opinions on squeeze sections for home tracks? Some love them, some avoid them at all cost. Your track, your choice.
(Squeeze sections for club tracks? Essential for slotstox ovals, not allowed for most faster racing.)

 

[dangermouse]

I built my 3 lane track in a space 1.2m wide at one end 6.4m long and 1.8m wide at the other end.
pic here

video here
http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj113/d...nt=DSCF0044.mp4

I mostly drive on my own now - testing cars I take racing or just for fun. I built 3 lanes for myself my son and any of his friends.
My son is a little older now and isn't into slot cars as much anymore - though when his mates come over they sometimes race on all 3 lanes.

I am thinking of changing my track and building a new one - which will be two lanes. My reasons -

*I worked out I can fit more track in the space. 3 lanes takes up more room than you think
* As I am usually the only driver I don't need 3 lanes - If my son + friends come over one of them can marshall while the others race.
* I have been collecting 1/24 scale cars - I plan on making the lane spacing a bit wider and take out the squeezes.
* I should be able to make both a larger sweeper and some tighter corners with only two lanes. (I need to practice tight cornering)
* I will have more space for scenery

Came across these tracks on the web and they look fantastic
http://slotmods.com/

I love watching those videos - so I want a track with good scenery on it.

cheers
DM

 

[Jango]

Hello all,

Many thanks for all the feedback.

John's Slotracing: You raise a key point here, and something I'd not given a lot of thought to previously. I suppose I've always wanted three lanes because my head has been turned by some of the amazing tracks I've seen on this forum in the past. These tracks have been my inspiration to move from plastic track rug racing to a routed track with scenery. But, If I'm going to be honest, most of the time the track will be used by 1-2 people.

Diegu: Again, you've raised a point I'd overlooked in my original diagram - the need for skid-aprons/run-off areas!

I have therefore had another go at drawing out the plan, paying a little more attention to scale (if my rudimentary grasp of mathematics is to be relied upon!

)

This plan is based on the same dimensions as the original plan, but I've gone down to two lanes (lane width based on the width of standard Scalextric track: 156mm) and have allowed between 50 and 75mm for skid aprons. The larger empty space on the right side of the plan is where I intend to have a larger run-off area with tyre walls etc and low-relief buildings in the background.

Bam: Your track is the Formula One 1990 one, isn't it? Nice track! I agree with you that two lanes will free up space for more scenery and - given that my track is meant to be a street circuit - scenery will be key to creating this feel and look.

Dangermouse: Nice track, but I understand your desire to incorporate some scenery - particularly after seeing the tracks on that Slotmods site, some of those tracks are truly works of art!

With two lanes, I can still have a mixture of standard lane spacing and racing line style squeezes.

I must admit I'd never really considered 1/24 scale cars. To be honest, it's hard enough keeping up with all the 1/32 scale cars I want without adding a load more to my 'To Buy' list!

I'm no doubt a long way from doing any scenic work, but it is inevitably something I've started thinking about. One thing I'm thinking about is the use of low-relief buildings against the background. I've been looking online for any 1/32 scale kits, but there's not a lot out there. All I've really found are some 1/35 kits of shops, houses and cafes produced by companies such as Verlinden and Mini Art. These are generally used by WW2 enthusiasts for dioramas, but would be ideal for the European feel I'd like to create in this track.

Has anyone used similar models on any of their tracks in the past? Would 1/35 scale models look significantly out of scale on a 1/32 scale track?

As ever, any feedback welcome!

Cheers
Steve

 

[350z]

Jango,
Thanks for starting this thread because a lot of the issues raised and covered have been messing with my head for a while. I too want to build a routed track and I've been struggling with design and concept now for well over 18 months (work has actually made it difficult to get started but that will soon end).
Initially I thought 3 lanes was the way to go. I would mostly be racing 1/32 but I do have the odd 1/24 that I'd run around the track. I thought the best way to do this would be to run it around the middle lane. However, thanks to all of the comments here my thinking is changing to a 2 lane track. Also, I'd probably only be running cars around by myself or with 1 other person. Thanks Dangermouse for that web site with some great track ideas on it.
I know there's a gazzilion web sites and books that talk about lane spacing. But I'd like to throw it out there to the general forum community. What do people think is a good minimum lane and skid pan spacing for a 2 lane track that could run 1/24 scale cars, but mostly run 1/32 cars?
Thanks

 

[hankscorpio]

Thats a good question... it depends entirely on the radius of curve...

Best way to get a feel for how much is to get a piece of track and put a piece of thin card on it.... just push the car around the curved track with the rear of the car angled to maximum to the slot with a pen/pencil stuck to a blob of blue tac on the outside corner... then do the same for the inside corner... Something like an R1 curve with an 1/32 will normally go 7cm outside of the track edge... (or 15cm from the slot) but it depends on the type of car... a mini compared to an MC12 gives very different shapes!... best bit is you soon find you need very little curb on entry and loads on the exit which saves loads of space when planning the circuit... unless you also intend to run the circuit in reverse from time to time....

 

[Slots-O-Fun]

If you run alone, you might consider a single lane hill climb with reversing loops. I had a 30ft. Scaley track but my kids aren't interested. I am now building a single lane hill climb that will be nearly 50 ft. long in a smaller space. I also run back down the hill resulting in nearly 100ft. of track per "lap"!

 

[300SLR]

QUOTE (350z @ 29 Apr 2011, 00:08) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What do people think is a good minimum lane and skid pan spacing for a 2 lane track that could run 1/24 scale cars, but mostly run 1/32 cars?
International rules give a minimum of 105mm lane spacing and 150mm spin out for tracks used for both 1/24 and 1/32.
Most of the tracks used for this sort of competition have a bit more than the minimum
For home use you can get away with a little less.