Going Underground

I realize this post really belongs in track build journals. Sorry. Can someone move me?

Good evening Mike,

To start, I'd get a de-humidifier eating. (a big one)

All mold is solved by dry.  You have similar challenges to my shop track.

I have an interesting "free standing support structure concept" that I plan on using.

I'll start a new thread in a day or so on it.  For now, I'd suggest just getting it dry,

and you are correct, don't drill holes in foundation or basement walls,

unless you want real problems.  just dry it out. 

heat, air movements, and dehumidifyin' is where I'd start

masonary holds alot of water.  If you can find a brick layer for advice, (free estimates)

see what they have to say, too

and welcome to the greatest community ever!

and thats a great space to take over!

dr

I agree with the good Dr. Get a de-humidifier or 2.
Looks like you have space to put up some 2x4 framing and add some drywall. I can't tell if thats a dirt floor or not but something simple like 2x4 frame with 3/4in plywood on top and your good to go.

Check out my build I did in my garage.

30-50% humidity is good. Keeping it below 60% prevents mold growth. My track is free standing for the most part. Using 2x4s and other scrap wood I save up from work.

Okay so I finally have some movement to report. After a little rooting about I think I have found the sources of the damp in the basement and have - hopefully - sealed that off for now.

I finally got some time to test some track out. The first question I wanted to answer was whether using hotwheels track upfront was a good mix with the Spoolheads track later on. It seems with some minor work this will be just fine. 

As the photo shows the only issue is that the sidewall on the hotwheels track is higher than the Spoolheads track (it is perfect in terms of width, with a tiny bump when the cars go over the connection). During my test runs it caused a problem with just one car, which had lots of extras attached to it (more on this later). I figure that shaving down the edges so they match the height of the printed track will do the trick. 

This is great news if so. It means I suddenly get two more turns and a tonne of track to play with, meaning the track could be about 16m long with 5 turns.

Still, on the flip side, is that what I want? I mean I got all this lovely new track as I wanted to experience the wilder side of racing with no lanes. So my first question to you guys is: what's your experience suggest?

The hotwheels corners are slooooooow. So the opening of the race will need to be very controlled. Also one lane of the corner track will need to raised up to permit the other to fit under it (the problems of fitting two separate roads of the same size side by side - it also seems to preclude a 90 degree turn, after which the natural lie of the track is on top of one another).

This maximalist track would roughly be:

• 3 metres (10ft) of H/W > H/W corner 180 (slow angle)  
• 3 metres of H/W > H/W corner 180 (slow angle)
• 3 metres of H/W to Spoolheads (S/H) laned track > S/H corner 90 - (faster angle)
• 2 metres (6.5ft) of S/H laned leading to S/H open track > S/H Open Corner 180 (faster angle)
• 2 metres of S/H open track > S/H Open Corner > S/H Open 90 (faster angle)
• 3 metres of S/H open track > Finish (faster angle)

41cms per turn drop... 16.14 inches per turn... 1.35ft. If the first two are slow turns, I should just be okay with this. Where possible I want to have some shallow bumps in the track to keep managing the speed.

I get the feeling that I may end up returning to 4 turns and using much less of the H/W track. I am not a confident DIYer, so I may end up just simplifying everything. I plan on building a frame and then lifting supports off that. Some feet on the base protecting the frame were there to be a repeat incident with damp.

Oh and one last thing. Are these H/W cars permitted to race in general if modded? I.e. putting heavier, adjustable weights on them..? Like making a car heavier and lighter during a race, or between races? The lego-like surface looks like you can shift the position of the weight too.

Molds a very bad thing. Friend of mine lost his house, but What about those solar lights to kill the mold? And then those air filters to keep out the allergens. But I can see your vision, good luck and can't wait to see it.

I have unfinished basement living in the midwest it is damp.. I have a pretty good size dehumidifier it stays 40 - 50 %.. Im still building the drag strip and made it free standing and have it on floor for painting but bought 2x2 sub floor plates that allow air underneath to breath incase it floods  so it is out  water.

I also have an area im clearing next to this to build a test track for a road corse its about a 12-16 foot area free standing. I got my idea from 3Dbotmaker behind the scene if you join his patreon group. well worth the monthly fee for his group to see the ideas they have.

Right in front of my work bench I have paced a 4x8 sheet of plywood for the Monster truck track as Im getting ready for the adults at our Church to get involved with their kids at my Home racing and on their schedule. it is stiing on saw horses so anyhting goes with a trck build as long as it is sturdy, safe and I can access any area. 

I get a lot of info off here and off youtube seeing other tracks and a little inspiration can go along way... JBlotner has a really cool set up in his garage and a few others that work in tight spaces.. Keep up the great start to something that is super fun!!

Looks great. Very nicely done. I hope to relearn some woodworking skills as I build this too. One question: you use thise blocks at the side of the track to keep it all in position and held in place?

Mold is a problem in my house if the humidity is not controlled constantly

I know you didn't get into it much but I'm curious about the floor

there is an old trick, with homes on piers to keep it dryer under them

you'd spread dry portland concrete/lime on the ground, (not redi-mix cement)

It absorbs the moisture, and slowly hardens.

something like that may help dry/stabilize your moisture

when I renovated our house (a stryofoam geodome) and I removed the carpets,

it took 2-3 months to get the humidity under 50-60%

then one day it started dropping, and I can now keep it 35-40%

that difference between 40 and 60 is huge, mold wise

get a mister sprayer, and run 10% bleach/water, and anytime you see mold, spray it.

good luck!

dr

It had been a while since I posted an update, reflecting the time taken to work through a few important decisions. First up was a more realistic determination on the size of the frame upon which the track will be built. In the end I opted for a 310cm x 200cm frame, with a height of 235cm.

This will keep the track away from the walls, while some wheels keeps the frame from touching the ground - both important considerations considering the mould issues I dealt with at the outset (update: no problems for several weeks now).

Now the frame is complete, I have started with the track layout. Through a series of tests, I determined how deep the starting slope should be, worked out an angle and put together a supporting frame for the starting gate and straight. 

I decided against using the Hotwheels orange track. The track from Spoolheads helped provide a better start, especially when using the two-land 90 degree corner.  Also, I had a fortunate run in with a friend who had discovered some Crash Racers track and bought me 2 sets as a gift. This meant perhaps extending the fat track portion of the track.

I enclose a few photos of the work done, with commments on what seemed to work best sat each step.

This was the frame minus an extension I built subsequently. You can see the first part of the supporting beams for the track up top.

Just as an idea of scale. This is about 200cms long. On top of this supporting beam, I attached some long sections of coroplast. For whatever reason the coroplast I am using 'sticks' a little to the Spoolheads track. It feels a little like static. 

The grip between the coroplast and Spoolheads track I hope means that I can I use a temporary adhesive, like blue tack to hold it in place while I do test runs. For the final build, I have purchased some tacks to attach the coroplast to the wooden beams. If more adhesive is needed between the track and the coroplast shelf, I have some velcro strips I hope will do the trick.

Over here, the sheets of coroplast are about 200cm x 1m30 (guessing the width) for EUR 10. I determined the stuff seems strong enough to use a shelf (as long as it is supported by the the beams,

This week I aim to lay down the starting straight, the first corner and the conversion of th track from 2 lanes to open track. This is all Spoolheads track, so I hope to get a solid start, with the Fat Track beneath it for a less predictable finish.

All the best,

Mike 

Okay, I spent most of yesterday in the basement.....  But the results were worth it.

I just want to take a moment to thank Russ at Spoolheads again. His advice meant that many of the adapters and rises and falls in the track would have been missed by me were, in fact there, in just the right number. 

Another reason I am doing this is because, to date, with my test cars, I have had just one fatality (RIP) out of close to 30 runs. This includes the least stable car I have and a kind of regular car that I chose for its stability. I get the feeling this is mainly down to the quality of the track, as opposed to my calculations - I looked at countless tracks and looked for clues to success. I was ready to test, test, test... and it just worked first go.

I hope soon to do runs of 4 cars down the track. But I want to start connecting track to something stable before I do that. At the moment, the stickiness between the spoolheads track and the coroplast keeps everything in place, though the track is very solid in itself.

Soon though I will run out of spoolheads track and will try to finish with the crash racers track my friend donated. I am in mind to have two tracks anyhow. A shorter sprint version made of the spoolheads track and the extended full track. Over time, with luck I would hope to fill it all out with the same make. But I have a large box of crash racers track to use... somehow =)

Photos below for those following that.

Okay, so the first layout is complete. Testing with 1 and 2 cars went well, but 4 cars has proven a little chaotic, often 1 or 2 cars getting to the finish, with another two stuck on a bend after a collision sidelined them. 

I am thinking the best way of helping more cars to finish is to maintain a sharper angle of descent, so have managed to increase the slope running into turn 4. My questions:

1. I have kept my turns flat, i.e. the track is sloped to the curve, which sits on a 'shelf'. Is it ever a good idea to make the exit sit at a lower height than the entrance? Would this not make the cars more likely to clear the turns? Or does it create too much instability. 
2. Does the stability of the track matter? As I am testing, I wish to avoid attaching the track to the shelf for the moment. But I cannot help conclude that the better performance of the Spool Heads curves to those of the crash racers set reflects their stability. 

Thanks for any feedback. I hope to have some videos of testing ready once my lighting situation resolves itself =)