Going Underground
For a few years now I have wanted to develop my own racing track. I just needed a space. I had been away in the US and Austria for a few years and, on my return, rediscovered the unfinished basement under our house.
I guess this was originally meant to be a sauna. But I feel maybe I can use this dark, dank space for racing. I have spent the best part of a month dealing with the mould I found there. Obviously using a basement poses its own challenges:
- the floor and external walls have gotten damp in the past and threaten to do so more if the climate keeps warming the way it has to date.
- It is not an appealing space.... yet.
Still, on the plus side, it is big: 4m x 2.5m.
I am of course wary of how to proceed. I originally thought I could use the walls to place supports up high to start things off, but several articles on how much damage someone like me with a hammer drill can do has put me off that option.
So at the moment I am considering a series of large simple workbenches with supporting struts. To cope with a potentially wet ground I was thinking of raising everything up off the floor on locking wheels. Alternatively I may be able to find some kind of pipe and joint system that is waterproof. Or maybe I can find something to hang from the ceiling? This may be best for the initial straights, but I have no idea what exists in this way.
The decor would also need to be plastic. Still, I have to give it a go. I have a some track now from the very helpful Russ at Spoolheads V 2.0 and some old Hot Wheels track. I will try to keep a regular diary, though this could be slow going at first as I work out how to do this.
Have a nice day!
Mike
Discussion
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.
- I have tried to monitor the humidity levels for the last 3 months. They peaked at 70% in the early autumn and currently hover at 40-50%. I am not sure what to make of this, but assume that the cold winter air is dry. I had a basic dehumidifier on the case pretty early, It knocked 6-7 percentage points off the humidity levels of the day. — Mike_W
- I am not sure how to explain the floor. It looks like a mix of concrete and the stuff they lay on roads these days before the final tarmac ‘asphalt’ layer — Mike_W
- Oh yes. I know your track. I took a great deal if inspiration from it — Mike_W
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.
- Not gona lie, those hot wheels corners suck. I used those at first for my 180 crossovers but struggled to keep them straight and level. the holes in the track also caused some cars to get stuck or loose a ton of speed. Once I upgraded to the Spoolheads crossovers it was a night and day difference. — JBlotner42
- I use those as "slow 90's" on the jamestown bypass. they won't handle much speed, Interesting idea on the brick cars for testing weight placement — dr_dodge
I realize this post really belongs in track build journals. Sorry. Can someone move me?