Track Tweeking
Since I've started building my track some month ago,...I find myself coming home from a race having to fix issues with the track. Just little issues that only reveal themselves when you are racing different cars, other than your own. Transition issues, clearance problems, and making sure you can decide the winner of a really close race. (Electronic finish-line). Does anyone else here have these problems, or do you get everything right the first time? Also what seems to be the biggest issue in building your own track...this could be interesting?
Preacher
Discussion
Dude, I have to make constant adjustments to my track to keep it as fair and reliable as possible. Since I setup and take down my track a lot - weekly - and every time there's something I have to do to "calibrate" it. Either the transition, track joints or just general alignment. Frankly, it's a huge frustration because I really just want to setup-and-go but that never happens.
I have several cars that I consider my calibration cars that I run every time I setup the track. I know how they perform and compare so it's easy for me to know if something is off. I use several different styles of cars and trucks. Wide, narrow, heavy, light...a good spread so I can tell.
So you're not alone...and expect it to be an issue forever, unless you do make a permanent track of some sort.
On the note of "permanent tracks"...I was thinking about it and cleaning & maintanence on them is probably still very labor intensive. I will typically leave one of my road coarses set up for up to 2 weeks at time. Dust accumulation will noticably affect performance after about 4-5 days, so I'm constantly cleaning the track for that reason alone. And if I'm running a lot of 'graphited cars', the tell-tale grey stripes appear on the orange track and the Fat Track *glistens* with tiny graphite pieces.
I've often thought of a modular-permanent track, where the track is attached to a base but the full track is made up of several bases. You'd still need plastic connectors but (in theory) less and then the sections would be less subject to warping and damage.
I clean my track every time I set it up. With all my damn pets there's always hair and dust on it. I wipe down each piece with a cleaner wipe before I put it all together.
When I set up my road coarses, it usually only takes 1-2hrs to clean the track and set it up. But I find myself almost constantly "tuning" the track once its in place...curves & Fat Track must be re-aligned, angles & transitions must be re-supported, even my cardboard downhill ramp has to be adjusted now & then. The only permanent(aka: "a lay-out")...but since they occupy the limited space of my main living area, that simply isn't an option.