Opening an indoor track.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Damn you Bob! Wrong thread! I blame my kid!! Got some deleting to do!

[askbob]

[quote="tsan"]Are you talking on road or offroad? You only want ozite for onroad, definitely not for offroad.
For carpet offroad (my fav!), an indoor/outdoor type carpet works best.

FastCats. (no longer open )
[youtube]nGRnsK5PqzY[/youtube]



^^ What kind of carpet is on the track above and what flexible material is that under the carpet on the jumps? What are most running for tires on carpet when running 2wd buggies or trucks? Got a quick quote today on Ozite carpet at 84 cents per square foot which is a little high seeing I'll need 3000+ square feet. I want the flexibility of being able to run off-road/road course/oval races, so would Ozite be preferred to be the most flexible between the three, or something else? The best possible race surface is what needs to be first. I have the property manger on board and a price was negotiated that is way less than they normally get. 2 months free as well. What are the main classes that most tracks are running these days, and how exactly are any stock and modified classes divided if needed other than motors? It seems the Slash type of vehicles are popular right now.

[Seabass]

Bob, if you get the track open, I will drive up for a race.

Jake

[D Nozzle]

hook and loop carpet is also common as a road course-oval-carpet offroad ttrack surface and is just called commercial carpet and is less money then you were quoted. thin facing plywood masonite or fiber panel can be used as jumps and rythem sections too. the only trouble with the carpet is traction rolling but it is easier then dirt

[askbob]

Sounds good Jake. You know there will be a few old Rc10s there.


The track I quoted above has nice rolling transitions on the jumps. They have a nice curve instead of an abrupt angle. I'm thinking maybe a thin laminate such as what's used on countertops would work good.

[tim.sanderson]

Sorry, I just saw your questions now.
The brown carpet is just an indoor/outdoor carpet. The jumps are pretty complex. There's a box in the centre of each jump, with various layers of plywood and Masonite. The Masonite is what gives the jumps their smooth transitions. Best tires hands down are Schumacher mini pins and stagger ribs. Underneath that brown carpet was the Ozite used for the onroad rotations. We would switch between on and offroad every week or two. (A very big job, by the way!) This is what it looked like when it was setup for onroad:
[youtube]98-NOXJPkTc[/youtube]

[askbob]

Thanks Tim. So is the general consenus that ozite is NOT good for off-road type racing? I'm really wanting something that will fit the bill for both, so that a carpet change is not part of the layout change. Without comprimising much on either type of racing. I'm looking mainly into doing an off-road course one night per week, and do an oval another night. Two races per week, a different layout for each. I like the layout of this track. Thinking this may be the best barrier material for quick layout changes, durability, and decent impact give. How would this type of what looks to be standard indoor/outdoor carpet work for on-road or oval type cars?

[youtube]suUdE82tmtI&feature=related[/youtube]

[tim.sanderson]

it's not that it is not good for offroad, the problem is it will get too chewed up and fuzzy if you run offroad on it. After FastCats closed, but before they were out of the building, we set up an offroad track on the Ozite for us to use when we had some free time. It was pretty great to run offroad on, however, you could see some damage starting to happen at high friction areas. (braking zones, sweepers etc)
The track you showed in that video looks to be using astro turf. Great for offroad, especially outdoor, but probably bad for onroad cars. Traction may not work well with slicks. I can't say for sure though, having never run on astro turf.
The best bet for both on and off would probably be something with a very tight hook weave. (like the gray carpeted Speed World pic I posted above) The carpet they used does not fuzz up at all, and may make for decent onroad traction.

[Charlie don't surf]

While I have never raced carpet off road I have raced tons on carpet and oval. Ozite is great, but it is 2x the cost of commercial (grey or black carpet which is a very low coarse hook and loop). They both have there strong and weak points as a surface like commercial is harder on foams, but ozite builds rubber and traction almost to the point if too much at times. Either will work well but both require a different tire compound and setup. Also I have never seen rubber touring car run on commercial-

[askbob]

The building space already has some type of commercial carpet that is in fantastic shape. Only have tried running a set of totally wore out fuzzies, which was more like drifting. I'm going to try a few spike type tires to see how that might work with what is already there. Will also try an on-road car with foams to see as well. I'll post up a close-up pic of the carpet in a few days to see what you guys think. I already have a good transponder system, nice countertop cabinets for a pit area, and lots of free labor.

[Halgar]

what flexible material is that under the carpet on the jumps?

Most likely 1/4" masonite over plywood forms. For wavy patterns such as those, cut the pattern into 3/4" plywood, then you can form either masonite. Here's the thing though, 1/4" material can only bend so tight, you can test in the store to see if it will work for you. If you need something more flexible, you can get 1/8" luan and apply 2 or 3 layers for strength (for when the goons walk across your jumps ).

When you build your forms, you can either use multiple pieces across the width of the jump or you can use two pieces, one on either side, and then span the width with 1x4 or strips of plywood. As noted above, you'll definitely want to make sure that any built item can withstand being walked or jumped on by the users. Everyone knows, the shortest distance between two points is across the spot that is going to break!

[tamiyadan]

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[Seabass]

Listen to Halgar, he knows wood. Here is a photo from the last time I saw him picking up materials

[MOmo]

I too have been pondering the idea as well.


For me, I was looking at a couple of options. (There are a couple of tracks in the area, one is a local Offroad track that is indoor clay and also happens to be the home track for the Team manager of Kyosho.) There is also a large outdoor track that mainly runs electric offroad 1/10th scale. Here is the NW we tend to stay a bit wet most of the year, so the outdoor tracks tend to be seasonal. In addition, there aren't many 8th scale tracks around. We also have the largest Private indoor Carpet onroad track west of the Mississippi, ( http://timezoneracing.com) and the owner also helped to develop and build a euro-style road course in a friends back yard (again also private.


I was leaning toward a large indoor offroad track, but instead of dirt, looking to copy the Europeans and their use of AstroTurf. It looks like it could be alot of fun and perhaps less harsh on the cars. I'd like feedback from those who compete on said surface.

In addition, RC drifting is still alive and well here, and smooth concrete floors make for ideal slide surfaces. Building a drift course as well as a crawler course are also on my list.


I would also have a store and work to develop online sales as well.

I've worked for several LHS over the years (currently working for one now) but getting burned out with a boss who is very selfish and isn't willing to share his goals or prospects for the store. I keep inquiring about expansion and growth, and he doesn't seem interested.


I think I have a line on a space, I need to look into is more, but I think its do-able, the problem is like everything $$.

Anyone have thoughts on Tarmac/AstroTurf style track?



MOmo

[tamiyadan]

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