Track Bulding Resources Online?
 

I'm going to be building a top notch (i hope) 1/8th gas track in the next couple weeks, I have a good layout drawn up in cad. Ive got 4'' draintile and stakes,

I'm not looking for organized racing or anything, I have a x1cr & x1crt and have a few friends with buggies,

Bascially i'm looking for what to do / not to do....feedbackfrom those who have done this already


And how do you determine good jump spacing / design... is it a trial and error type thing?


Thanks,
Alan

Ive got a track designer working on a couple of drawings for my track,he includes distance between jumps and elevaton changes. Ill pm you some picks so you can see distance ranges,and jump degrees. This should be a learing challange for both of us.

That would be great, THanks!!!

Alan

Once you get everything built and ready, turn on the water!! Turn the sprinklers on and pretty much drown the track. This will help settle the dirt and also alert you of any possible areas where the track will wash out or water will stand after a heavy rain.

If the dirt is soft, and doesn't have a high clay content, then get yourself a roller. They can usually be found in the garden dept. of your local Home Depot. They look like about a 45-50 gallon drum that rolls on it's side with a handle. You fill it with water for weight(around 200+ pounds when full). We usually rake out the pattern, removing as much debris as possible, then roll it smooth. Then we wet it down and let is settle even further. This makes a great, smooth racing surface, and holds up well against the riggors of 8th scale off raod racing action!

i made offroad track's and oval track's .. it take's LOT'S of work... and a club to do it..( not by your self...) do you have a drawing? if you do post it... and yea get a roller... they work really good...

Im taking over the track director position at Crcrc, if you need any pointers, shoot me a PM ill try to help ya out as much as possible.
What i will say is, that a Rake will be your best friend, the smoother you rake out all the debris,rocks,large clumps, the better the track will pack and last.

i agree a rake is going to be the # 1 thing you are going to use....

You have pm fowler, thanks

Thanks for the feedback..!

Whats a good lane width?

Next week i have a moderate sized case backhoe / loader and a smaller johndeere bucket tractor coming... along with some manual labor help :)

Thanks, i will post some pics as construction starts
Alan

8-12ft depending on how much room you have. This makes it a little easier to pass when you have several truggies, or buggies on the track at once.

Room isnt an issue as i am working with a 40 acre parcel, Right now the rough layout (stakes) Is 50ft x 90ft overall, and 12 was my estimate on lane width so it looks like i guessed good..!! I want it to be user friendly.

Thanks!
Alan

Go with 10ft lanes on your first build. Save the 12ft lanes till you get the hang of making the jump/landings even the entire width of the track.
Another option is 10ft lanes with a 12ft straight/first turn, more room to cram up in the first corner:D

50x90 ft. is a bit small. Especially with 10-12 foot lanes. Our track is indoors and almost exactly that size. I tend to keep about 9 foot lanes. This is a little narrow for 1/8th vehicles. You are outside with 40 acres (lucky) so go for it. I have come to the conclusion that about 110x60 ft. would be perfect. The smaller size will limit your options on layout and the size of jumps for the nitro crowd. To give you an idea of how quickly a nitro buggy can get around a track this size, take a look at our layout (http://www.planetrcraceway.com/default.asp). With the banking on turn 1 leading into a 30 foot triple the 1/8 buggy front runners are turning 15 sec. laps.

If you have that much space, trust me bigger is better. Cost a little more to build, but so much worth it in the end. Every track I've raced on except one, wish they had more space so they could make it bigger. If I was building a track on that much land it would be 200' x 150' (Approx)

Here is a 240' x.150' track. Its a blast to race on, and you can finally open up the motor(s) to there full potential.

BIG + FLOWING + FAST = FUN..... :nod:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKhx0xARYHw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVJ47K6GWVc

That is a nice lay out. I just don't think that bigger is always better. If you plan on running weekly club races keep it manageable, and keep the monster lay outs for big races. Not only does it save you maintenance time and money, but it's more fun for the newbies. It also will make better drivers to run on a tighter track regularly.
Additionally if you plan on having 1/10 electric and insist on a sprawling track, then think of designing it to be shortened for the little (and quiet) ones.