Track Thoughts

[WesR]

Somewhere on the forums I have seen a couple of questions
I might be able to help with. One concerns the possibility of
a Targa Florio type track. I see no problems with gradients.
The main problem I would suggest is that Targa type roads
were very narrow with little run off space in the event of
a mistake. From a racing point of view, the availability
of reverse would now be a great help in getting back on the
road but I think a marshal would still be needed occasionally.
This is as opposed to a more modern open track which can
be designed to completely eliminate the need for marshals.
I am personally a great fan of the race and, pre Magracing,
built what I claimed to be the first scratch built Digital
slot track (photos attached hopefully!) This featured in
Model Car Racing in 2006 and can still be seen in Slot
Car Illust. Forum Tracks. Of course, if racing is not top
priority, a Targa would look fantastic and I look forward to
seeing one.
Re Paul's (I think) comment on steering wobble on straights,
this can be reduced/eliminated by attention to certain points.
Firstly, the wire must be straight (this is why we recommend
piano wire), the wire joints must line up perfectly (any
miss-alignment will cause a wobble) and the wire must be flush
with the surface of the track (if it is low, the magnet will
loose grip) And of course the magnet must be set to run
as close to the wire as possible. This again is dependent
on how consistent the track wire/surface is.
Front wheel/tyres also play a part in this. We did use
rubber tyres in the early days and I cannot say that this would
cause a problem, except that varying grip certainly has an effect
on steering and lane changing.
Keep up the good work!
Regards to all, Wes

[WesR]

Hopefully here is a reduced Targa photo

dec 22 152 (640x480).jpg (226.46 KiB) Viewed 16307 times

[Double Naught]

That's a cool slot car track you made Wes, I remember it well. As for the wobble, I thought it was inherent to a trailing axle. But yes I have been straightening the mig wire from a spool and I am sure that doesn't help at all. I was just happy to hear that the reverse modifications might help reduce it. That reminds me to ask what is the theory behind the two magnets in the chassis?

Paul

[WesR]

The magnets have been fitted to the chassis to enable the car to
be steered in reverse. Whereas the steering castor helped to
straighten the wheels when free running forward i.e. off the
wire, in reverse the castor tends to push the front wheels to
full lock. Unfortunately full lock positions the two track rod
magnets just over centre on the coil. This has always been
an occasional problem when running forward when, if a car span
out on full left lock say, it was necessary to drive forward
initially on left lock until the castor kicked in and it was then
possible to apply right lock.
The magnets do also improve free running steering response
going forward. As will be seen, the magnets have to be
fitted with like poles facing the steering arm magnet so as
to give a slight spring loading away from full lock.
In theory this could reduce the cornering grip from the
steering arm but in practice we certainly havn't noticed
any difference.

[PDX Bryan]

Wes,
Thanks so much for your thoughts on track design.
It's really helpful to get this kind of feed-back to save money and, especially, time. I think there are a lot of us out here who really want to get into the hobby and have some but certainly not unlimited amounts of either to put into it. This feedback enables us to get on with creating and racing. Not getting frustrated throwing $ away or recreating the wheel.
Regarding the Targa style track not being a "racing" track it seems like there's a lot of room for compromise between a track like your digital Targa and the modern, level track. That along with some of the traction improvements and reverse it seems like you could have some nice old-school character AND close racing... right?
Like I said -any input from the knowledgeable is really helpful to us beginners. I've also really appreciated the level of friendliness and lack of arrogance at this forum. A very nice bunch of folks from both sides of the Pond. It's also looking like we're well represented here in the Pacific North West ( U.S. and Canada). I really look forward to getting together live.
Looks like lunch break is over- I gotta go - Thanks again,
Bryan

[WesR]

Thanks Bryan, RE. Targa tracks, I just remembered the old
airbrushed pics of my Targa digital track which I had lost
but found on another site. These show how a Magracing
Targa track could look

[PDX Bryan]

Those are excellent pictures Wes. What a beautiful track.
Since you've got the most experience racing magcars and you've built a Targa slot track, could you give some design suggestions for marrying the two? A hybrid having interesting character and elevation AND good "raceability"?
Thanks,
Bryan

[WesR]

Thanks Bryan, The various Targa road circuits were famous, as most
people know, for hills, hairpin corners, narrow village streets, etc., not
to mention the chickens, goats

jan13 040 (640x480).jpg (204.1 KiB) Viewed 16155 times

and donkeys! From a serious model
racing standpoint, these features mean plenty of accidents. Even with
reverse I feel you would need the services of a track marshal on
occasion. However I think I would research some old race pics and
try to feature stretches of road, hairpins etc. with no ditches and wider
verges to facilitate driving back onto the road. Undoubtedly the use
of crash barriers around the outside of turns helps to keep cars on the track.
The photo attached of the village shows a very narrow single track road,
probably this was partly because of space restriction. Narrow roads do
of course have the advantage of not taking up much space. I was able
to cram quite a lot of track into what was around 15ft x 6ft I think.
Not sure what the tightest radius hairpin turn would be for the Mag cars,
I think I would try around 8" (21cms) for the inside lane. To get a
realistic tight hairpin you might have to swing the inside lane out close
to the outer/racing line.
Certainly the Targa, and the equally impressive Mille Mille offer maximum
scope for scenic effects, although a scale Mille miglia would present
some problem!
I certainly enjoyed building the Targa digital track. A pity it had to go
to make way for Magracing but I have enjoyed this even more.

[PDX Bryan]

Thanks again Wes,
You and Luf have really got my brain going overtime ( like now when I really should be going to bed). I've got a new 25x30 shop so I'm imagining Targa hairpins climbing the wall then winding down to a kind of fast Spa-like section on the cement slab. Total footprint about 24ft x12ft. Simple landscape with walls and guardrails and Modular, of course, so I can get it out of the way quickly like Luf's track.
Too ambitious? I can dream can't I ?
Speaking of dreaming, I've got to go to sleep now.
Bryan
P.S. Wes, do you think you could post some more pictures of your Targa that show the whole track? I tried to find them on SCI but with no luck.

[WesR]

Unfortunately I seem to have lost many of my Targa track photos.
Attached is the only one I havn't posted I think.
I'm not suggesting such a track would be unsuitable for Magracing,
it would still be better than slot racing, but just that it would not
perhaps be the best type of track for a serious race club. As a
model making project it's great fun. Just one tip for Sicilian
house modellers; corrugated cardboard with one face stripped
off makes a passable pan tiled roof!