Best or Freedom?

[michael4262]

Awsome track! .... We built and set up the new track, timer and software and tested the complete package this weekend .... Had another dad stop by and we ran some test races with his and my sons old cars.... Once again ... Awsome track!

The directions that Piantedosi includes are right on ..... All of the parts were included (plus extra bolts - nice touch) .... No problems with damage or warping etc... The track arrived packaged as advertised ..... The spring-loaded starting gate is a significant improvement over the older manual-drop gate on the wooden track we were borrowing.... No deburring or filing on the edges of the aluminum was required ... The finish is excellent ... We'll need to polish it prior to the race though.

We also built the storage case that the directions are provided for on the Piantedosi site.... Once again, the directions are right on .... The 4-lane aluminum track plus storage case will require at least 4 of our dads to heave out of the basement! .... Tear down and storage was very fast and will only be faster with more helping hands.

So, we haven't run the race yet, but the Piantedosi Aluminum Freedom track is all that it is advertised to be! .... The natural curve provided by the (2) 10 lb. weights makes the transition from start to finish smooth and fast! .... And, even though the whole 2.5 months from order to delivery was a bit disappointing, I would still highly recommend this track.

Happy racing!

[dave4him]

NEW braking section for Piantedosi tracks.

http://www.pinewoodderbytrack.com/brakes.html

This new braking looks sweet! The prior braking ramps work fine, but this new section is move in the right direction.

Not sure if they are are selling them separately to update older tracks?

[Watch-out-for-that-frog]

A word about Piantedosi Aluminum Freedom track that started this thread.

In a word --> PERFECT! <-- Last outing ALL 6 lanes were so equal in speed it was statistacly perfection!

We have 6 more Pack derby outings with it this season. SO far we are thrilled.

I may just buy one for myself and start WHIRL racing out in California.

[gpraceman]

I finally was able to have the time to put the 4 lane 40ft Freedom anodized track together for our Awana missionary. It went together very easy. I was even able to do the assembly all by myself within a couple of hours.

With the Freedom track our pack purchased a year ago, the edges needed some dressing, especially on the uphill edges of the lane strips. This track had no burs at all and they even did some grinding of the uphill lane strip edges, so they seemed to have listened to their customer feedback. However, I was a bit suprised that they did the grinding after the aluminum was anodized, not before, so those small areas are bare aluminum.

Other nice changes compared to our pack's track is the new stop section and new start gate release design. Hopefully, with the new stop section, there won't be any issues of cars not stopping gently enough even though we went with the 40ft track instead of 48ft. The new start gate trip lever is less likely to trip accidentally & easier to hookup to a solenoid. The packaging seems to have improved as well. Our pack's track had some abraisons on the track surface, likely due to shipping. This track didn't have any that I noticed.

I do wish Piantedosi would provide some extra wood spacers. There is enough to setup the track, but not enough to put between each section for storage. Minor issue. I've got some plywood that I can cut up for that purpose.

Can't wait to put it to the test in a race. Now I have to build a crate to store it in.

[PineNut]

I have used a Best Track and a Piantedosi Oar track. Our old pack track was a 2-Lane wood Piantedosi Oar track. It goes together quickly and it provides a smooth ride. The track is about 5-6 years old and the braking section is not so good. I liked the Pianedosi design though first and foremost and liked how smooth it was.

I organized the district race last year. I was promised an aluminum track from council. After tracking down the track, I found it in 2 huge storage crates. The bottom larger crate weighed about 250 or so pounds. It required at least 2 people and was difficult to carry. The second crate was smaller, but equally awkward to carry. Setup was the night before and as soon as it came out of the crate, I knew it was a Best Track. One of the other local packs also had a 6 Lane Best Track. So we had 2 48 foot monsters set up side by side...a 5 lane and a 6 lane. From the desription of the pack who brought the Best Track 6 laner, they said it takes a team of 5 to 6 adults about 3-4 hours to set up and deburr section to section joints. This track was 3 to 4 years old and already had the initial burrs taken off. I was disappointed with the lane to lane variations with the Best Track. Seemed like there was no way to keep the lanes from moving up or down. Even the pack who owned the track said of the 6 lanes, there was one lane that they could not get properly aligned and the next year they would not use it.

Fast forward to this year and they still couldn't get the lane bugs worked out so they just didn't use on of the lanes. Besides, the pack who has the Best Track said they think nothing of pulling out dremels, sanding tools, etc to get the best section to section fit up. Seemed odd as I wouldn't want a machine tool within 30 feet of a new track.

In March of 2007 we got our 48 foot Piantedosi Oar track (Annodized Alum) and it was smooth sailing. The trick we found was to lay out all the sections (once bundled together), then use the binder plates to just barely start the screws. Then start from the start gate and work your way to the finish and you get a great ride. In the four lanes, Lane 1 fastest time (2.616) Lane 2 (2.615), Lane 3 (2.616) and Lane 4 (2.615) for 253 races (these are 32 foot times) our pack doesn't have room for full 48 but district does.

I read that Best Track modified how the track goes together on thier new track. So maybe its not fair to compare the Best Track that we used that was maybe 4 years old to our new Freedom track, but giving the issues the other pack had with the BT, I have to give the Freedom track the nod. Not to mention the precurved transition peice, it was a bear to put in the box. Also, the BT seems to be much heavier...to some this might be an advantage (rationale being it will last longer).

I am sure both track are good compared to most homemade tracks, but we LOVE our Piantedosi Oar track. Also, we have the new braking system, the cars didn't even make it halfway on the piece. Can't wait to show it off at districts in April.

[BigDozer66]

PineNut,
I agree about the tools!

I have a 40' Freedom in the UPS pipeline as we speak!

I need to get the storage box built ASAP!

Lynn

[gpraceman]

I need to get the storage box built ASAP!

If you do, I would add 1/4" to 1/2" to their recommended width of the box; otherwise, the sections fit in a bit too snug.

Then get a mover's dolly, since once you have the track inside the crate, it is quite heavy. Rolling it is easier than carrying it.

[BigDozer66]

Randy,
Thanks for the advice on it and I will add it to the dimensions.

A trip to Lowes is in order.

Lynn

[gpraceman]

Thanks for the advice on it and I will add it to the dimensions.

A trip to Lowes is in order.

Also, it is a good idea to have 4 handles, so you can have a handle on each side and one on each end. When you do need to carry the crate, they will come in handy.

[BestTrack]

I was disappointed with the lane to lane variations with the Best Track. Seemed like there was no way to keep the lanes from moving up or down. Even the pack who owned the track said of the 6 lanes, there was one lane that they could not get properly aligned and the next year they would not use it.

There should not be any lane to lane variations with a BestTrack Pinewood Derby Track. Maybe the track was initially assembled incorrectly, or maybe a piece needs to be replaced. BestTrack stands 100% behind our tracks and the lifetime warranty, and will always do what it takes to make sure our tracks are running perfectly. We can't fix something that we don't know about. As far as lanes moving up or down, we have never heard of that issue, so we are not sure what they are referring to. There again, all we need is a phone call or an e-mail.

Fast forward to this year and they still couldn't get the lane bugs worked out so they just didn't use on of the lanes. Besides, the pack who has the Best Track said they think nothing of pulling out dremels, sanding tools, etc to get the best section to section fit up. Seemed odd as I wouldn't want a machine tool within 30 feet of a new track.

Here also, we are not sure why all the extra work is necessary. We certainly welcome and encourage communication so we can take care of the situation.

[gpraceman]

With our district race coming up this weekend, I thought I'd do a precautionary measure of swapping out the start pins with some non-magnetic ones. I went through the trouble only to find out that the pins that came with the track were stainless and non-magnetic to begin with. Dummy me for not checking the existing pins with a magnet first.

Looking on the Piantedosi and BestTrack sites they do indicate that the pins they provide are stainless steel. Now if they would have made it a bit more obvious that the pins were non-magnetic...

The bottom line is that with the non-magnetic pins, there is one less thing to inspect for at check-in.

[Stan Pope]

The bottom line is that with the non-magnetic pins, there is one less thing to inspect for at check-in.

Is starting pin adhesion the only "gotcha" with imbedded magnets? (Think "low power DC circcuits" and "moving magnetic fields"!)

[SlartyBartFast]

(Think "low power DC circcuits" and "moving magnetic fields"!)

I'm thinking, but not jumpin gto any conclusions.
What are you thinking about?

There is ABSOLUTELY no way that you could generate any energy for positive use by the PWD car. Thinking along those lines would result in a slower car. Energy generated by moving magnets has to be subtracted from the thing moving first...

[Stan Pope]

Okay, think some more!

Relative motion between a wire and a magnetic field induces a voltage (and a current, if the wire is a complete circuit) in the wire. The field of a magnet extends well beyond the physical confines of the magnet itself.

Electronic finish lines have wires. Many are in the form of twisted pairs so as to be resistant to external fields, but not necessarily all.

Some finish lines rely on multiple pulses to register the actual break of the light beam, but not necessarily all.

Many are low impedance circuits which would make the use of a moving mag field less effective, but not necessarily all.

Lots of "if's" to try to check out!

Caution: Mount the magnet backward and you might not trigger the finish before reaching it, but, rather, suppress it from registering your actual pass.


Flashback! In the summer of 1960, I spent a couple weeks at an NSF program at a university a couple hundred miles down the road. Heady stuff for a kid just out of high school! We learned some math and some physics.

One of the interesting activities was measuring the strength of the earth's magnetic field using a spring-loaded coil that rotated 1/2 turn and a ballistic galvanometer to measure (I think) the current produced by the moving coil. From the various physical properties of the spring and coil, we were shown how to conclude the strength of the earth's magnetic field, at least how strong it was on that floor of Old Main in Carbondale.

Also got to write some computer programs to run on a shiney (at that time) new computer called "IBM 650". Neat box! About as fast as my typing and as much memory as 1/1000 of my video card! But I was (and still am) hooked!

Added 5/12: Argh!!! I omitted the most important (to me) result of those weeks ... I got my first glimpses of my bride-to-be! A little Southern Illinois Belle. We were both too shy to get acquainted then, though!