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Oval Track Do'S And Don'Ts


BMR

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Have you built or raced on an oval style track before or in fact seen some good layouts and ideas ?

 

Any dos and don'ts you can offer will be appreciated so I can avoid any pit falls before the router , jigsaw etc comes out of their boxes and before any building materials have been purchased . I have 100 metres of braid and a variable 0-15v 40 amp power supply already so its just the 4 lane track design layout to think about now .

I will race both 1/32 and 1/24th on the track so if any squeezes are to be put into the layout it must work with both scales .

I have considered both scales and figured 50mm between the two squeezed lane slots should allow both scales to run with their tyres on the track - not on the braid as they go along the straights - yes at some point they may ride a bit of braid somewhere out of a corner or into the straight but thats slots huh . The idea to me is the squeezes will make a driver think a bit as hes racing around rather than just circling around without much of a challenge when it comes to over taking a competitor .

 

I have found a few photos of some oval layouts already on the web , tracks with squeezed lanes , tracks with lanes that cross over , high banked corners , lower banked corners ? lots of options .

 

If anyone has raced on an oval layout or built one was there anything you would change after it was done ? Did it become boring after a while ? Did the novelty of an oval wear off ?

 

Any South City people reading here please comment as you will be racing on it at some point in the near future I hope

 

This crossover layout I found on the net is someones smaller version of what they were going to build in a larger scale - looks like hard work and does it really race well ?

I tried to contact them but no link unfortunately , click the pic to enlarge

th_IMG_0185.jpg

 

My 1st design effort so far below with some squeeze lanes - the two outer lanes squeeze at one end then the inner lanes squeeze at the other end . click this as well

th_ovaltracklayoutwithtwolanesqueezesateachend.jpg

th_3Dnascartracklayout.png

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I have messed around a bit with drawing up ideas and the tri oval would look better but if I go with a tri oval I will need to reduce the corner radius a bit , I would prefer to use as large a radius as possible so the 1/24 cars can swing through a bit easier - there not as nimble as the 1/32 cars . I may be able to stretch the table width to 2.7m at one end which may allow for a curve along one straight ( tri oval style ) Cheers for the link to Mopars oval Phil , I'll go have a look at that now

 

edit had a look , nice workmanship by Moparman - again - does he ever do a bad job ? All food for thought there .

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I still maintain that a good size 4 lane oval withscorpius would be the go.

 

You could do nascar with a large field on a relatively easy to drive track so it should be relatively clean.

 

I couldnt see a analogue oval working as well though regardless of squeezes etc - it might be a little too boring

 

Dave

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Scorpios = money

BMR = no money

BMR's wife = all the money

 

Naa seriously the idea of digital on a oval track is good but getting all the local 1/32 & 1/24 players to go digital is asking too much.

 

re a bit boring ,maybe ,but passing any of locals isn't boring , it usually ends up with a good laugh at the pile up .

 

One thing I may need to consider is a 1 metre high retaining fence around the track if we end up racing indycar open wheelers around on an oval layout .

 

Im waiting to see the locals ideas for racing on an oval - it would offer something different every now and then and a bit of a challenge to set up a car for left turns only

 

edit - I dont want to build a white elephant either so its worth asking . My other option was a larger Rally track ? two laner though if that was to happen

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I can't wait to finnish curent track as I too am planning/thinking of oval for first rout. As for squeezes,I would thnk they would ruin a serius meet especialy when lap times are going to be down around 5sec. or less, not much opertunity to time gain 2 car lenghths for a clean pass, And certainly wouldn't want cars drifting/wheelspinning on braid, for the sake of the braid,tyres & handling. but door handle to door handle,yes. & unlike plastic track, design venue and rout grooves as if cars are taking the perfect line, ie. design track for 6-7 cars wide but goove for 4 so the lanes can flow as smooth as posible.

so much to imagine & think of, litle time to write. Be sure to send me an invite to your debut 1000lapper ;)

 

I couldnt see a analogue oval working as well though regardless of squeezes etc - it might be a little too boring

Dave

when racing, nothings boring. B)

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I've got to be with Dave, without the digital bits allowing lane change and RMS for fuel requirements I really can't see an oval being much excitement.

 

OldSlotRacer's Bullring surely goes the closest to an interesting analogue oval.

 

But, different strokes for different folks.

 

Embs

Computers. They'll never catch on.

 

_AM_sig_zps00cdfd1a.jpg

 

Tiny Tyers Targa - The build saga continues - Aging wood - A recipe for staining wood - Don't take a fence - Step by step paling fence - An old shed for my new cars - Wooden garage under construction

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We have a NASCAR series where we race solely on ovals, there are currently 4 operating,ranging from 6m lap length flat 'bullring' to 20m lap length superspeedways that take up just about a complete single car garage. Mine is in the Forum 'Tracks' section ACT 'Tuggerdega', approx. 11 metre lap length and lap times are around 2.8 seconds for NASCAR's and around 3 seconds for the Carrera/Revell Classics so things happen really quickly :o and believe me oval race nights are never boring but unbelievable fun.

Only tips to give are don't go crazy on the degree of banking, the fun factor decreases the higher the banking, always leave room on the outter lane to slide otherwise that guy will just hook up and ride the fence flat out :lol: and always have at least 3 lanes or it's a bit like watching bicycle racing on a velodrome.

If our experience is anything to go by I'd build it, you'll have an absolute ball.

Cheers,

Chris.

Late Model

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Hi Mate. Think the oval thing is jut something until you do it we won't really know if its great boring or in between. Perhaps asking the Dudes on SCI or home racing world will give you a more detailed answer because that type of racing is more popular there. I think even Nascars look more interesting on Tri ovals than just a roundy roundy circuit but maybe slots are different? Like i say ask the guys who do it. I like the Nascars they are a bit of fun standard scx tyres and a good drift in the bend sounds like fun.

4x national champion 6x national runner up. I come second most often but my girlfriends happy.

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Wow I go out to water the lawn and theres a heap of replies .

 

First , Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions . Neil sorry I cant afford a plane ticket mate :lol: .

 

The design I have started on so far allows 125mm outside of the most outer lane , I may allow more as the 1/24 NASCARS are quite large and as said above by Slot car tragic , I dont really want wall riders running on flat throttle all the way around either . On the inside I would also allow for some run off so cars can drift inside if they deslot and hopefully remain out of the way until they get a hand back onto their lane .

 

Ember ; yep digital would probably make it more interesting with the ability to swap lanes at will but not necassarily more flowing as a race unless the digital system was one that stops cars swapping if they were heading into trouble ,,, eg two cars trying for the same turf at the same time - " holla for a marshal "

 

re analog its all I have . Cars running with no room to pass could still allow for some nose to tail pushing and may even make the racing closer in the end via slowing up that super fast driver ?

 

The pit lane is good and I did have one on my main track once a few years ago , before it had its last make over . A manual flipper did the trick to guide the car in but only on one lane ( everyone got a turn thoughout the race on that lane so it worked ) It would have been better with some kind of random timer to stall the pitted car for a while without power but that sort of electrical gizmo is beyond me and as it turned out not many seemed to like the idea anyway .

 

Slot car tragic ; cheers for the tip on the banked angles - thats the kind of info Im after , I figured too much will only be too fast but too little may end up as a slide fest - bring on those Scalextric drift cars with the 360 degree flags huh ( kids would love it ) I dont want a grippy banked wall where the better cars can have a elastic band set on the trigger while the driver makes a coffee . its gotta have some slide and trigger movement through the corner , maybe enough to allow a bit of extra powerover slide to block a passing competitor :lol: NASCARS would be the car Im aiming at running on it .

 

Eagleby flyer ; another track infield is a good idea but I have the main track and a rally track tucked away already so one more isnt really needed plus it would be a long stretch into the middle if it ends up somewhere around 2.4 - 2.7m wide and it will sit on top of themain track so its up fairly high where only the bigger kids like me can reach it :D

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We have a NASCAR series where we race solely on ovals, there are currently 4 operating,ranging from 6m lap length flat 'bullring' to 20m lap length superspeedways that take up just about a complete single car garage. Mine is in the Forum 'Tracks' section ACT 'Tuggerdega', approx. 11 metre lap length and lap times are around 2.8 seconds for NASCAR's and around 3 seconds for the Carrera/Revell Classics so things happen really quickly :o and believe me oval race nights are never boring but unbelievable fun.

Only tips to give are don't go crazy on the degree of banking, the fun factor decreases the higher the banking, always leave room on the outter lane to slide otherwise that guy will just hook up and ride the fence flat out :lol: and always have at least 3 lanes or it's a bit like watching bicycle racing on a velodrome.

If our experience is anything to go by I'd build it, you'll have an absolute ball.

Cheers,

Chris.

I have seen the pics of your track Chris ( thats where I pilfered the top photo - first post ) , nice job and well thought out , do you have any pics of the 20m track layout

Just watched those two videos of the Bullring , no offense but it would be an interesting race after a few beers , I reckon I would spin out and fall over after anything more than a 20 laps :P

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Hi Steve

Oval track, now ya talking. I really enjoy oval racing & the cars. I couldnt live without my oval track, it surely is alot of fun. My experiances from my track.

 

* 150mm minimum for the outside gutter forthe the outside lane. Some of the longer 1/24s like a 64' Plymouth Belvedere & a 69 dodge charger if pushed hard enough out of the corners the back of the car can swing out & clip the barrier even with 150mm on my track. At 150mm the cars dont ride the barrier all the way around like you were worried about. You actually slow down & brush off speed if you tap the barrier.

 

* Banking, The higher the banks on the corners the less you have to slow down for the corners. I like next to no banking so you really have to drive through the corners, slow down etc. If banked to high for me that would be boring, just running flat stick all the way around. On my track, one side of the track is slightly banked(sorry I dont know the degress but its not much) & the other end is flat(no banking at all). I quite like this as it adds a bit of variety to the track. Even with a slight bit of banking you have to drive it differently to the flat side. Cars mainly come off on the flat side.

 

* Length, dont go to long. From reading alot of different comments in the past about oval tracks alot of people comment that if you go to long it ruins the track. Shorter tracks are more fun as the racing is closer together. Alot of people in the US say that 16feet is a great length. 16 feet whats that , about 4.8m. Width thats up to you & your space, Alot work on 4feet(1.2m) as thats the size of the boards. I would prefer wider though if space permits.

 

* Shape, thats up to you but I like D-shaped ovals. Like my track that Phil linked to. Its a cross between a tri type oval & normal oval. What I would change on my track is make the D shape wider, so make a wider arc. I just used my available space. Even with mine with the right car you can be sideways all around the arc if you are not careful. I also like it being wider in the centre so marshalling is easier on the ends.

 

* Lane spaceing, I think the ideal is for close door to door racing for an oval. Go to wide on the lane spacing & it would take away from what oval racing is about, & thats close racing. My track varies from 90mm to 100mm. I have to admit 90 does get tight for the 1/24s. I like 100mm. You could go wider, just depends on how you want to race. Open wheelers do get interesting on tighter tracks.

 

* I have 18k H&R Hawk motors in all my 1/24 oval cars at 12v. Alot of guys in the US use these motors as well. It makes for some nice close racing. My track is short though.

 

* Squeezes, no idea. Thats up to you. Lovem or hatem. Im on the fence personally.

 

* Is it boring? Each to there own. Love it or hate it. I think oval racing comes into its own when you race with someone else. Racing solo on an oval can get boring but having a full field is where its at. Some of the best close racing we have had here is on the oval.

 

* Head over to Homeracingworld. That is the home of oval slotracing. They have a dedicated oval section. Have a look at this post here - http://homeracingworld.yuku.com/topic/10432/Show-Me-The-Ovals-Post-Your-Track theres 15 pages of peoples oval track. While there check out the other posts in the oval section.

 

Hope that helps steve. All that is just my opinion so dont blast me for anything. Ill be rebuilding my oval soon making it longer & wider. When I built that track I was 1/32 only. Ill be rebuilding it to make it a bit more 1/24 friendly.

 

Keep us posted

 

*

Edited by MOPARDEVIL

Thanks

Greg

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Cheers Greg , I will check out those links and thanks for your comments , I know many here in Austrayliya have mixed thoughts about oval tracks where as in the good old USA even God watches NASCAR on his cable TV so they love it and race all sorts of scale versions of NASCARS / Sprintcars on ovals .

 

Comments carry more weight as well when they come from someone that has an oval set up and running , those that have a track all say its great fun . I gotta admit the idea of getting dizzy racing around does worry me but have you ever watched wing cars ? The neck can get a workout watching them fang around a big King track as well so its all reletive to the speed that they are lapping to me .

 

Variable volts should tame the speed issue and help find a pace that works well I hope . I found one track on a Youtube video that had open lanes on one straight and both ends but squeezed at the kink on the other straight , on the vid you can hear a few laughs at people slamming the brakes on as they get near the squeeze . The track on You tube had over 4 lanes so plenty of cars to watch out for as you lap around to the squeeze .

 

Its good to have some imput from someone running 1/24 sized cars around , some 1/24 Plymouth Roadrunners may see use on the track at my place so I will measure one up and allow plenty of room for swinging rear ends - I need to allow for Rick 1776 , he has a Roadrunner and a heavy trigger on corner exits so maybe 500mm outside of the outer lane will be needed :lol:

 

I will have another look for the youtube track and post a link to it - found it -

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Heres Harrys latest track he built - http://www.homeracingworld.com/ozarkspeedway.htm

Good link there Greg , the track he has is neat and simple but as he says at the bottom " never underestimate the fun factor on an oval track "

 

Had a bit better measure up today and I can go larger as a table size up to 7 metres by 2.7 metres could be sat over the main track

 

Something like this may fit the bill but Im not sure ? Longer straights would favour the Parma 16d motors and 15v would siut the SCX cars to speed them up along the straights I suppose .

 

 

7mx27moval.jpg

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Heres a early 1/32 Chevelle - RMS resin body on a laser cut chassis . Its an oval track beast I have had built for a while but it has nowhere to race as it doesn't fit into any local club class rules . I freckon it will be right at home on an oval track

 

P20-02-09_08581.jpg

widetyres.jpg

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