Track Construction Question
 

I have been watching a number of videos online and I see many road courses with a combination of wooden and plastic track walls. The wood bits are pretty self explanitory but what are they using for the plastic? It looks bendy but not too soft that it will break and move a lot. What is this material?

There is CRC's Clik-Trak barrier system which some of the large events use.

http://www.teamcrc.com/crc/modules.p...howpage&pid=12

My club uses square vinyl downspout connected with 3m Industrial Velcro & central vac PVC with varies degree connectors for the corners. Velcro holds well if you use enough of it.

We use 2 inch square downspout for our track with wood blocks to hold it all together. Works very well.

I know the plastic you are talking about. I track I raced at used it. As you said the wooden pieces are self explanatory(2x4s) the plastic is a white color about 4" tall and around 1/4" thick. I have been wondering the same thing. It makes for soft barriers at the apexes of corners.

Here is an example.

+ YouTube Video

Ditto here Very nice on the cars

Are the middle section of the boards is something like Styrofoam to absorb impact and reduce breakage. Looks like a great setup.

On the track construction theme

What asphalt sealer gives the best traction.

Good day!

Our club uses plastic 1/4" sheets that they use for the inside walls of a hockey arina. we cut them to 4" strips and drill holes for the fasteners. We use 3/8" plywood for the rest of the walls. You can see some track picturers from our last trophy race we had. This is set up an taken down in the same day for our club races.



http://s738.photobucket.com/albums/x...20Week%202011/

The plastic is called "UHMW" (probably 1/4" thick) and is very durable. However, the white version does NOT like being left in the sunlight and will become brittle eventually (ours started breaking after a couple years). They have a UV stabilized version, but it only comes in black, which isn't the best color for visability.

Why aren't you guys using berms in the corners, just like jacksonrc ????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bja9ZNJs_g

That track looks great. Where do you get those berms, they look expensive but probably cheaper in the long run instead of wood barriers everywhere. I'm building an asphalt track next summer and it would be great to have a track like that. MUCH easier on cars than wood barriers. I want.

The plastic is called "UHMW" (probably 1/4" thick) and is very durable.
http://www.primeaffiliate.com/track/...0.creation.jpg

Ultra High Molecular Weight plastic sheets are extremely expensive. For example, a little poking around on the Web finds 1/2 inch thick 4'x8' sheets for a little over $400 each. But, it is the most durable and best material for "flappers" on the turns. It is almost indestructible, and is very forgiving when cars hit them. We tried exterior vinyl trim boards from Home Depot, but they don't like tight radius turns and the material breaks and tears easily.

We ripped the 4x8 sheet on a table saw into 4 inch x 8 foot strips to use for flappers. Use the thinnest blade you can find so you have the least amount of waste.

Very nice track in Jackson, lots of options to work with, our track uses ...grass for separations and cement apexes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQubHzso9yM

the best, if you do not want to break cars is not to hit anything:p

That track is HUGE. Do you strap binoculars to your head to see your car? Sprinters as marshalls:lol: Very envious.

Yes on the video it does look massive, but it is not that bad, the straight is quite long thought, 90km reached with 10.5t motors.
It is just a visual effect, don't know who recorded this actually.

But for the building of a track I much prefer to have the straight on front of me rather than away from rostrum.