Nothing wrong with your plan. But a few comments...

One, you can use narrower copper tape -- 1/8 inch (3mm) works well and offers more track and less tape to your tires.

Two, in the photo the slot appears to be 1/8 inch (3mm) wide. That is a good choice. It allows you to run any scale slotcar on your track. You won't need to do anything to your HO cars to run in the wider slot. They'll work fine.

You will also have the option to fit your HO cars with Slide Guides. Actual guide shoes instead of pin-and-pickups.

If you make your lane width 1-3/4 inches (45mm) you'll be able to run 1/43rd cars as well as HO. And you'll be able to run 1/32nd cars on every other lane.

Copper tape has proven to be reliable and durable. And cheap and easy to replace if that is ever needed.

You do need a tool to apply tape, but you can make your own, or buy one. You also need to learn how to lay tape without wrinkles and tears. Expect to waste a roll or two of tape while you learn that skill.

Oh, and that's another reason why narrower tape is better. If the tape is too wide it becomes impossible to lay it flat around a tight corner. How much you can flex tape varies as the third power of the width. That means if you double the width of the tape you need EIGHT TIMES the radius to lay it flat, without wrinkles!

With 1/8 inch wide tape you can lay it flat around a radius of 4 inches (10cm).

I made my first routed HO track with copper tape back in the 1960's. I used wire strands out of lamp cord on my cars' pickups instead of braid. That track was the subject of a two-part article in Car Model magazine back in the day. I built another track with copper tape back in the 1990's.

After about a decade I replaced the copper tape with braid, not because there was anything wrong with the copper tape, but braid with a slight 'reveal' can work with any pickup system.

If you want to learn about HO and braid, get back to me.

Ed Bianchi

 

Copper tape does not like to go around sharp corners, it really doesn't like to go around corners at all. It does help to use thinner, narrow tape. If you are going to run higher performance cars there would be a voltage drop if the cars were too far away from where the power comes in. I have raced on a number of Ed Bianchi's (HO Race Pro) tracks, those are routed and use tinned copper braid. The tracks have 1/8th inch wide slots, so 1/43rd and 1/32nd scale cars can be run on them. Ed has built a few tracks with Magnabraid, but that is no longer being made. If you paint the track with something that contains iron filings your cars will only get a small fraction of the magnetic downforce that they would on a track with rails.
I have never run on an HO track with copper tape, cars with copper braid over the shoes would be the way to go. You might have a problem with T-Jet SS or Fray style cars that sit lower than stock T-Jets. With copper braid on the pickup shoes the front tires might not touch the track. Possibly you would need to use shoes without the step. I would think twice about having wider slots, that can cause problems with HO cars. When we race on one of Ed's banked ovals the cars can wiggle from side to side causing deslots on the straights. To avoid that problem some people put tubing over the car's guide pins to increase their diameter. Most people glue on their guide pins and the fat pins would have to be replaced with standard ones when we race on a conventional track. Changing glued in guide pins makes for extra work.
Getting back to the copper tape issue, we have found that if your pickup shoes are adjusted properly the cars run OK with stock pickup shoes. If the shoes do not run flat, or if there is not enough shoe spring tension the shoes will burn due to arcing and the cars will slow down. If you use braid you will need to route recesses in the track, but the braid will go around sharp corners with no problems. Usually, people use contact cement to stick down braid, but Ed has developed a better way using carpenter's glue. Here is a video:

 

Hello Ken, In the late 60's I had a part time job at Rigby's Hobbies/Raceway in Toronto,....and the owner built a 3 lane routed HO track using tape,......we used some stripped wire as"braid" on the pick up shoes..........the cars ran great, and we raced on that track for years.

Cheers
Chris Walker

 

Okay this has given me much food for thought.

If I drill out a small round plastic dowel that fits the 1/32 slot. I can glue it to the HO guide pins so they can run centered on the 1/32 track with braids. I should be able to run HO, 1/43, and 1/32 all on the same track. The track is already made.

Here comes the problem with that. All my 1/32 cars use urethane tires. All my HO cars have silicones. Everyone knows they don't mix. Super Tires only make 4-sizes of urethane tires for a 440X2 wheel. I have a dealership worth of cars to switch from silicone to urethane and they are not Tyco 440X2 wheels. Most are Dash wheels/tires that fit T-jet cars. Dash wheels are similar to Vincents. But the Dash tires are quite small.

Suggestions please?

Thanks a million in advance!
Ken

 

Ask Art to mold some up?

 

440 front tires will fit T-Dash rear wheels, I think. You could try the 440 tires on the other chassis you have, if the resulting OD works and the tires don't slip out then you have a possible solution. You will have to cut the tires as Tyco's are wider.

Or maybe you could switch the bigger scale cars to silicones?

 

Hi Glock,

Thank you for the suggestion. Do you mean original Tyco rubber front tires? Who makes urethane fronts for 440's?

I can't change my 1/32 tires due to the club rules. I must use urethanes or I can't race. That forces my hand.

I modified my 1/32 Hudy tire truer to do HO tires. I could always hack away at the larger tires. Urethane literally flies off the truer, and gets to size very fast. It's just a lot of work to do a lot of cars.

 

As I've never used or even looked for urethane tires I didn't know there were no front tires offered. As fronts and rears are available in silicone I assumed they would be in urethane too.

How about using Jel Claws? They are not urethane but are not silicone either and they pickup any debris on the track surface. Can these be used on the same track as urethanes?

 

Ken, I ran both and did not have any problems. I eventually switched to all silicones and cleaned the track when I made the switch. Hardly anything came up.

Of course, it could be expensive if my experience does not turn out to be your experience.

 

Hi Bob,

We run on routed tracks with no magnets.

Our club has allowed silicones to run on the routed tracks before. But the guy that goes into that lane with urethanes right after is all over the map with a very lose car. Silicones eventually got outlawed.

I'm sure the physics change quite a lot with traction magnets on a plastic track.

If I run HO silicone tires on my routed track, Then ran my 1/32 urethane club cars. I would be sure to lose races at the next club event. I might even get in trouble for greasing up the track.

Pete. I'm not sure I can afford to buy enough tires to make it worth Art's while. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

KISS it.

This is something I did when Dinosaurs roamed the earth. Use larger gauge wire, I've long forgotten what size. Ken. Nibble a chunk of insulation off with your strippers. Leave enough so you can purty up the ends mit der zacto kanife.

I ran my T-jets back on Carrera track in the '60's. You're looking for the slick stuff that wont snaggle and makes for easy pulling through conduit.

Ya might want to approach the AW "play dough" guide pins with less Magilla. I was using Aurora guide pins.

 

Thank you Glock and Bill,

Speaking of guide pins. Why not upgrade to metal guide pins? They would almost last forever if they had a plastic or UHMW/Delrin sleeve to increase the diameter for the 1/32 slot.

"Eye R a part time/back-yard machinist". I should be able to source thin UHMW rod. Self lubricatiing material, and very slippery.

Very interesting. I can feel my brain cells colliding now.

 

KRZ, looked it up, and as you perhaps know the Supertires Urethanes are .452, .456, .460, & .464. I think you will be okay.

I used to run .456 on the narrow chassis. You can easily run the .452 on the pan chassis.

 

Frank Yuroshoski sends greetings to the HO world (FrankTheRacer). He's processing an order for 40-pairs of .464 Super Tires. That means I can dedicate 40 HO cars to this track.

I chose the largest diameter because I modified a 1/32 Hudy tire truer to do HO tires. I can cut them down to anything I need.

I made 2-mandrels. One for AW, and the other for AFX size wheels. They lock onto a 3/32" axle built into the truer.

I know they make a tire truer for HO tires. But it's much cheaper to make a few mandrels at a machine shop. Hudy's are not cheap. I already had the 1/32 truer for the bigger cars. You work with what you got.

The main thing is the project is moving ahead.

 

Built to order urethane tires?

 

Hi Glock,

I really can't see that as a profitable business. Many racers prefer silicones which are hard to true, and often don't need truing.

 

Ken, do you know if the urethanes are the same (grip wise) inside as out?

(I don't)

ps--I did not realize you were into Tyco cars to that extent, but they suit me. They will be a handful with those .464s as cast!

 

Ken, do you know if the urethanes are the same (grip wise) inside as out?

(I don't)

ps--I did not realize you were into Tyco cars to that extent, but they suit me. They will be a handful with those .464s as cast!

I would imagine the inside of a urethane is the same as the outside. They are on my 1/32 cars.

I have a mixed bag of cars. Some tires will go straight onto a Tyco car. Many tires will be cut down to fit the rest of the different cars. I tossed all my small AW wheels and tires in a dusty storage drawer. Everything I have now fits a .250" diameter wheel. The tire diameter will be chopped down to suit the car be it an AW or AFX. The 440x2 tires are .280" wide. I will also need to cut the width down to fit the AFX,Tomy Turbo, and Dash wheels.

 

All that line boring and valve lapping and stuff, did you ever envision yourself milling itty bitty rubber tires?

 

Not even remotely. But I do remember my first slot car set was a 1/32 Strombecker. The wheels and tires were severely lacking. Took me nearly 50-years to get my way.

 

Very impressive, Ken!

My first slot car set was also a strombecker.

 

 

I have never seen a commercial truer for HO tires. I use a Cobra HO armature commutator truing machine for that purpose. Most of the cars that I race with slip-on tires use Super Tires silicones, those are round and usually come in incremental sizes, so I do not need to turn them down. The Cobra has a diamond cutter that works well with rubber and soft silicone compounds like Heister tires use. I have never tried to cut down HO Super Tires.

 

Whoops. Don't tell anyone I have the worlds first official HO urethane tire truer. Made by Hudy.

All my HO cars have silicones at the moment. All my 1/32 cars have glued and trued urethane tires. I can hardly wait for the HO urethane tires to arrive so I can try the HO cars on the 1/32 track.

Here's some advice from FrankTheRacer about running silicone and urethane tires.

It is best to run all cars racing with the same tire either silicone or urethane. If switching from one to the other clean the track so as to remove any residue left behind by the silicone or urethane tires. Doing this will give you the best performance for either style tire.

 

Good fer the nasal passages ("Get 'em DONE!").

 

The advice from Frank the Racer is very good. Here is my article on tires: Tires for Slot Racing V2.pdf
I was a tester for Super Tires, that sells both silicone and urethane tires. I have raced 1/32nd cars with both types of tires as well.

 

I had a nice surprise in the mail today. 40-pairs of urethane HO tires.

 

So many tires in so little space.

 

How is the HO on routed track working out? I am getting curious to build something that any scale car can run on.

 

Hi Steve,

I humbly apologize for my delayed response. I was away for 2-weeks. I'll make a full report on my experiences shortly. I was not aware anyone else was interested. Please give me a few days or so to settle in.

I've already run 1/25 scale cars on my 1/32 track and they are a little tight. However, they work fine with 3.5-inch lane spacing and 8.5mm slot depth. The HO cars also work fine with some modifications. I have several 1/43 cars I have not tried yet. It's all in the works.

Here's the 2-lane routed track in a small basement (11' x 5.5' footprint).

Ken