CARRERA SLOT CAR TRACK
This might sound crazy but I've totally revamped my track. It wasn't a bad layout before but it did have some issues that kept it from being as much fun as I wanted.
The analog 'dirt track oval' that I constructed in the infield never really got used once the digital road course was functioning around it. For the most part it was just wasted space.
Over the Christmas holiday Teresa's grandkids were here and it was frustrating seeing the cars constantly flying off the track (and having to place them back on). Power distribution was uneven because the track pieces don't always have perfect conductivity between them. There was a tendency for the cars to run slower when they were furthest away from the power terminals. Even though I could adjust the maximum speed for each car with this digital setup it was difficult to get it dialed in with that uneven voltage going on across the course. I added a bunch of wire taps from the power terminals to various locations to even out the voltage. That helped a bunch. Then I masked off the rails and fogged on some black gutter spray sealant to aid with track adhesion. Now the cars are able to take the corners at higher speeds without flying off.
I removed the dirt track from the infield and changed the digital layout to take advantage of that space. It's much longer now and a lot more fun to drive. Here are a bunch of photos of the new layout:
This might sound crazy but I've totally revamped my track. It wasn't a bad layout before but it did have some issues that kept it from being as much fun as I wanted.
The analog 'dirt track oval' that I constructed in the infield never really got used once the digital road course was functioning around it. For the most part it was just wasted space.
Over the Christmas holiday Teresa's grandkids were here and it was frustrating seeing the cars constantly flying off the track (and having to place them back on). Power distribution was uneven because the track pieces don't always have perfect conductivity between them. There was a tendency for the cars to run slower when they were furthest away from the power terminals. Even though I could adjust the maximum speed for each car with this digital setup it was difficult to get it dialed in with that uneven voltage going on across the course. I added a bunch of wire taps from the power terminals to various locations to even out the voltage. That helped a bunch. Then I masked off the rails and fogged on some black gutter spray sealant to aid with track adhesion. Now the cars are able to take the corners at higher speeds without flying off.
I removed the dirt track from the infield and changed the digital layout to take advantage of that space. It's much longer now and a lot more fun to drive. Here are a bunch of photos of the new layout: