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New 1/24 Scale Drag Strip At Thunderbird Raceway


Guest jazzbell

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Guest jazzbell

Hi guys,

 

Like to let everyone know we have another track up and running at Thunderbirds,our new 1/24

scale quarter mile drag strip.

 

Track has come up beautiful with the new timing system,great start line with the tree and a catch box that stops those cars going through the wall at the end of your run .

 

Thanks to the people that put in the effort once again. Owners Chris and Kathy,Bill J,Gary/Sheppo,and Bruno.

 

Some pics.......

 

dragsattbird001.jpg

 

dragsattbird002.jpg

 

Looking from the start line to the end

dragsattbird009.jpg

 

dragsattbird010.jpg

 

Our catch box

dragsattbird004.jpg

 

The catch box opened

dragsattbird005.jpg

 

My 2 and 4 year old doing some run's.Hate to say it ,but my 4 year son Dylan was quicker than me on the strip.

dragsattbird008.jpg

 

It's been great now the strip is up and running. Just another thing to learn.

 

Thanks again Chris and Kathy.

 

regards shane a

 

team thunderbird

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Great looking track, well done.

 

Can i ask how long the shut down/breaking area is?

 

also if your insterested we used 1200 grit sand paper or one of those wet rub blocks you can get from supercheap auto to give the lanes a "groove". contrary to many peoples thoughts a high gloss finish is not idea for a fast track as the goo does not spread evenly, we basically just take the shine off about 2-3 inchs either side of the braids all the way down.

 

just means you will use less goo on setting up the faster cars.

 

Also we like to spray goo the track but a light spray (i used to use a bottle of medium in a 5L bottle of shellite in summer and a bottle of light during winter in a 5L bottle of shellite and give it a light spray after wiping the track down).

 

If your running non goo cars then you dont need it but when you run bar cars and faster cars its nice to jump on a track that has had a light spray.

 

Next time im in town i am definatly coming for a look

 

Plucka

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Plucka,

 

I heard it's better to use a sponge roller to paint a track with (I presume the best surface is Gary J's "paving" paint) rather than spray/super gloss as less spray glue or tire traction is needed, however from the cars that I have seen on this track, they look like they are getting good traction.

 

I have also heard that on normal non drag tracks that some people think it's better to use "thick" spray glue and less of it as the thin stuff just rolls out of the corners down the straights (where you don't want it). I suppose it just takes some experience to find the best solution, one things for certain is that when everyone uses sponge tires on a prepared track that everyone has the same traction and tires last several times longer than using hard tires on a Feredor track.

 

In the 8 hour Scaleauto enduro most teams could have got away with 1 pair of tires, on feredor, not only would the cars been quite slow with hard tires, but my guess is that each team would probably have needed at least 8 pairs.

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Paving paint is not high gloss and retains the glue (goo) unlike gloss enamels.

 

Experience has taught me that one critical factor is the length of time between painting and running on the track. The longer you leave the paint to harden, the longer it takes to run in. If left too long it will develop a hard skin which doesn't retain glue, even using paving paint. Then Plucka's solution is the correct one, ie rough it up a bit.

 

I think the thing I like best about paving paint is that you can sand it the day after you paint it which is a big help in getting a decent finish. Try doing that with any other oil based paint.

Cheers,

Garry J

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Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill

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Good advice Gary, your the expert.

 

I was following a thread on Slotblog or OWH about this epoxy paint and that epoxy paint or this water based paint or that brand that went on for pages until finally someone who sounded like they had tried everything said "paving paint, don't bother with anything else".

 

As I heard, has that surface been on the Mobile Raceway and Hornsby tracks for ages?

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Dennis,

 

The hillclimb track at Hornsby was refinished this year after about 18 years of constant use. The surface was still OK as far as wear goes but it had a lot of marks and chips.

 

The king at Mobile Raceways is only a little younger and is the oldest 1.4 second track by about 15 years.

Cheers,

Garry J

Slotworx_Logo_Small.jpg

Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill

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