Curiousity has gotten the best of me.......how many of you actually own, or have readily available, a test track to use at your leisure?
If you don't have one, how do you go about testing/comparing speed and/or performance?
To track or not to track
To track or not to track
"Every day I beat my own personal record of the number of consecutive days I have been alive."
Re: To track or not to track
Dan,Dan wrote:Curiousity has gotten the best of me.......how many of you actually own, or have readily available, a test track to use at your leisure?
If you don't have one, how do you go about testing/comparing speed and/or performance?
I have a homemade 2 lane track with timer. Many here, particularly the WIRL guys, also have tracks. Some aluminium.
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Stan Pope
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Re: To track or not to track
No track yet ... If I haven't gotten one after 20 yrs of racing, I may never be able to get one. 
LBW-Alignment (dead-on) on my kitchen table.
LBW-Alignment (dead-on) on my kitchen table.
Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
Re: To track or not to track
What Stan did not tell us is his kitchen table is 28' long and raised 4' on one end!
In all seriousness, not many here have the skill, experience and knowledge as Stan. He has probably forgot more about pinewood than I will ever know. (Although I continue to be a good student.) How many can say they HEAR when a car is in perfect alignment? Not me! My hat will forever be off to you!
In all seriousness, not many here have the skill, experience and knowledge as Stan. He has probably forgot more about pinewood than I will ever know. (Although I continue to be a good student.) How many can say they HEAR when a car is in perfect alignment? Not me! My hat will forever be off to you!
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ExtremePWD
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Re: To track or not to track
We have a two lane, homemade wooden track with a homemade timer arrangement. We used it heavily in the early years to develop our processes. Now that our processes are fairly well optimized, my son only makes a handful of runs before heading off to the races. Fastest in the pack this year. Off to districts this weekend. (See you there, Stan)
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Stan Pope
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Re: To track or not to track
I'd wish you luck, but you guys seem to "make your own luck" by careful attention to ALL the details!ExtremePWD wrote:Off to districts this weekend. (See you there, Stan)
Next year, back to Eastside (I hope!)Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
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Stan Pope
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Re: To track or not to track
Would you believe 32"?doct1010 wrote:What Stan did not tell us is his kitchen table is 28' long and raised 4' on one end!
As for the rest... I just sent maw after a higher top pair of boots!
Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
Re: To track or not to track
I laughed until my side hurt at the concept of the Down and Derby dads building there own tracks...
until this year...
the bug is biting hard, may start thinking of building something...
hmmmmm...
good summer project ?
-Terry
until this year...
the bug is biting hard, may start thinking of building something...
hmmmmm...
good summer project ?
-Terry
"I dunno..." - Uncle Eddie, Christmas Vacation
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Pinewood Daddy
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Re: To track or not to track
A good spring project unless you have an air conditioned workshop. The high humidity in your area might cause problems with polyurethane drying. I had a similar problem. I built my track (3 lanes from 1 sheet of plywood) in October/November 2004 (search around, I've posted pics elsewhere). I was polyurethaning in upper 40's temperatures!! I also built my own timer (bought board & built aluminum tube & sheet metal frame)and added a solenoid start release last summer. I'm testing a new drop-off type stop section this weekend (was a 2" sq. block of foam).Teeeman wrote:I laughed until my side hurt at the concept of the Down and Derby dads building there own tracks...
until this year...
the bug is biting hard, may start thinking of building something...
good summer project ?
She's a beauty!!!
You're an engineer!! There are a few designs on the 'net. I took the best of them and made my own improvements.
Come on!! You know you want it!!
Re: To track or not to track
Stan,
You stated that you do "dead-on" alignment. Does this mean that you don't subscribe to the "rail hugger" theory?
You stated that you do "dead-on" alignment. Does this mean that you don't subscribe to the "rail hugger" theory?
"Every day I beat my own personal record of the number of consecutive days I have been alive."
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Stan Pope
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Re: To track or not to track
First you get "dead-on" ... it is the best "starting point" for whereever you choose to go.
Riding the rail without the rest being dead-on is less than the best.
FWIW, theory says that the penalty for "riding the rail" goes down as the CM is moved farther back in the car ... until the front gets so light that it won't say down! Where is the "break-even" point? Where is the "break" point?
Riding the rail without the rest being dead-on is less than the best.
FWIW, theory says that the penalty for "riding the rail" goes down as the CM is moved farther back in the car ... until the front gets so light that it won't say down! Where is the "break-even" point? Where is the "break" point?
Stan
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
"If it's not for the boys, it's for the birds!"
Re: To track or not to track
OK.......
Having a full-sized "test" track of the same type that the Pack uses might be the best option.
However - I can see being at a disadvantage if I don't have an electronic timer to keep track of times for comparison (I don't think I can do it justice by simply starting and stopping a stopwatch when we are talking about potential differences of thousandths of a second!).
I can also see where it might be difficult to find a full 32' or so of "spare" space to put a full sized track.
Therefore I will put this question out for comment and opinion; would there be an "acceptable" alternative design that would produce relatively accurate results? My thinking is that if the initial downward slope were shorter and/or at a lower angle, it would create a slower run that might be easier to time with a stopwatch (would a longer/slower run magnify the difference between a faster and slower car?). Of course, this track would need to somewhate emulate the behavior of the official Pack track (which happens to be a standard Piantedosi 32' wood track).
Would the scaled-down version size need to be directly proportional to the original track? If so, might this still create run times close to the full-sized track?
Is there an acceptable alternative?
Am I putting WAY too much thought into this?
Having a full-sized "test" track of the same type that the Pack uses might be the best option.
However - I can see being at a disadvantage if I don't have an electronic timer to keep track of times for comparison (I don't think I can do it justice by simply starting and stopping a stopwatch when we are talking about potential differences of thousandths of a second!).
I can also see where it might be difficult to find a full 32' or so of "spare" space to put a full sized track.
Therefore I will put this question out for comment and opinion; would there be an "acceptable" alternative design that would produce relatively accurate results? My thinking is that if the initial downward slope were shorter and/or at a lower angle, it would create a slower run that might be easier to time with a stopwatch (would a longer/slower run magnify the difference between a faster and slower car?). Of course, this track would need to somewhate emulate the behavior of the official Pack track (which happens to be a standard Piantedosi 32' wood track).
Would the scaled-down version size need to be directly proportional to the original track? If so, might this still create run times close to the full-sized track?
Is there an acceptable alternative?
Am I putting WAY too much thought into this?
"Every day I beat my own personal record of the number of consecutive days I have been alive."
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Pinewood Daddy
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Re: To track or not to track
My 32' track fits from the hallway to within 3ft of the livingroom wall. I'm adding a new stop section to fill that space. My wife loves having to climb over the track to get to the bedrooms or bathroom for a few days!!!Dan wrote:I can also see where it might be difficult to find a full 32' or so of "spare" space to put a full sized track.
Re: To track or not to track
I'm actually thinking that we don't really need to use the front door to enter/exit the house....I mean heck, the windows are just sitting there doing nothing.Pinewood Daddy wrote:My 32' track fits from the hallway to within 3ft of the livingroom wall. I'm adding a new stop section to fill that space. My wife loves having to climb over the track to get to the bedrooms or bathroom for a few days!!!Dan wrote:I can also see where it might be difficult to find a full 32' or so of "spare" space to put a full sized track.
"Every day I beat my own personal record of the number of consecutive days I have been alive."
Re: To track or not to track
Dan,
A timer is nice for reasons you mention, however not essential. (mine is a homemade job from a kit) You can run your cars against a benchmark car from previous year. Try to beat car by a given margin, say 1/2 to 1 car length. Timing by hand will work in a pinch, however introduces another variable best left out.
A timer is nice for reasons you mention, however not essential. (mine is a homemade job from a kit) You can run your cars against a benchmark car from previous year. Try to beat car by a given margin, say 1/2 to 1 car length. Timing by hand will work in a pinch, however introduces another variable best left out.
