Do chicanes hurt or help?
How do Die cast cars handle chicanes? do they interrupt the race too much? cause too many turnovers? I'm using coroplast as my track bed, but i'm considering treating the surface (sanding, some sort of spray) to increase friction and reduce slippery-ness.
Thanks! Just trying to see how I can add more interest to my straights!
-RDR
Discussion
Observations only, when it comes to chicanes I feel it's a matter of speed management to get the performance you desire. 3D printed ones can be tricky if the cars are coming in hot and a casting's CG isn't low. We saw a bit of that on the second chicane at Funkhouser placed just after a hard 180 degree turn. Conversely, the prior chicane had smoother action usually (man I need to revisit some vids to be sure on that)
Now, here's something different I found fascinating. The host ends his track layout with a subdued but interesting lazy-S kind of chicane, made his finish cam footage better, I think!
- There are definitely 3d printed turns that you tweak so they work great, but like I said in my above post, custom making one is tough! — ManiacMotorsports
The skyway had some excellent action with a divided laned layout...I don't think it was hindering he cars in the slightest...I really think if used correctly and tuned perfectly, the chicane can add a lot of value to the race
- Hey.. I think that your Lambo beating my Lambo! Ouch. Painful reminder of my lacking building skills at the point in time. But a fun track. — ChaseFamilyRacing
- When the genius of two greats mesh together. Sonny with his vision and Russ with his SR2 track that gave castings like Steve's Essenza SCV 12 its best opportunity possible — Chris_Hood
- With lanes, it makes perfect sense. That track is pretty slick too! — RadDadRob
- I miss that track. One more of the greats, faded into obscurity ...... — SpyDude
Cichcanes slow down and seperate the oppoents, so far only two cars have crashed out up there on top of the Mountain. High Stability is the cause I do believe. Similar to a Flat 180* turn as opposed to a drop from the entrance into the turn to the exit thus maintaining speed.
I've used quite a bit of coroplast on my track, and if you paint it it gains quite a bit of friction. I've also found that it's somewhat challenging to make a smooth-running chicane for multiple cars running at once.