Big mistake??

[asatxj]

I spent year researching tracks and ended up with a Supertrack and timer. The cost was at least $200 less than anything else comparable(Note, my Pastor still thinks what we paid was too much) The problem is everyone who races on it at our regional competition dislikes it because it's edge guidedand I've been told that it isn't welcome this year. The race manager (who happens to be my brother) would rather use one of those "build it as cheaply as possible" tracks from the awana catalog than the smoothest and fastest track in in the area. So what do I do? Keep it, and have my club make cars that are really fast on our track and do well on the bumpy nasty "nice " (ha ha) tracks at regionals or do I get an aluminum one like a Bestrack so we can contribute to the Regional competitions?

Footnote, there are two excellent tracks that he's built. He's quite skilled. But we need 5 to 6 tracks at each competition.

[Humvderby]

asatxj,

As the happy owner of a Best Track it is a aptly named. Get a Best Track, everyone will love it. In my opinion it is the "Best Track" on the market.

[gpraceman]

asatxj,

As the happy owner of a Best Track it is a aptly named. Get a Best Track, everyone will love it. In my opinion it is the "Best Track" on the market.

I've run races on the BestTrack and the new Piatedosi Oars aluminum track and I would have to give the edge to the Piantedosi track. Both are very good tracks, so don't get me wrong, but the Piantedosi track will store more compactly and has a more natural curve to it once it is setup, which were things that were important criteria for our pack. The one thing that I think both of these aluminum track manufacturers need to work on is the dressing of the edges where the track sections join. On both of these tracks, there needed to be some sanding of the edges for a smoother transition. Personally, it would be nice if they tapered the front edges of the lane guides for each track section.

[WarpSpeedINC]

I have recently had the opportunity to set up and run both the Best track and the Piantedosi. Both are six lane, the Best track 42ft, the Piantedosi 40ft.
Both are nice tracks, when properly set up. But the complicated extrusions used on the Best Track proved tough to work with in the six lane config. The tollerances on the extrusions seemed to stack up over six lanes, making it difficult to line up the sections. Due to this, the track is only a true six lane through the transition, then it splits into two three lane sections. A two or three lane version may be easier to work with, but the six lane version is a bear. Set up is a three or four person job, with the track being assembled up side down, then fliped over, no fun, and the track sections need heavy deburing on all corners (be careful, very sharp!). The sections are lined up with dowel pins and held together by spring type paper binders from Staples. The stop section is by far the best.
The Piantedosi is just about the opposite. Very easy to set-up and move. The lanes lined up nicely through six lanes, but because of the thinner extrusions, you give up some support for the ease of set up. The track needs to be supported in between the joint plates (they provide boards) and if you're going to use a Newbold timer, or one with simular stop sensors, you will need to elevate the track slightly. We used pre-cut 1x2x24" from Lowe's for a buck a peice. Not only did this raise the track enough to clear the sensors, but it made it the perfect height to use the Best Track stop section!
The Piantedosi stop section could use some work to say the least. They are bent sheet aluminum ramps that stradle the ends of the guid rails. They have a no slip type rubber surface and a little tang sticking up on the end with padding on it for the final stop. On a 35ft track, a fast WIRL modified can all but bend the tab flat at the end, sending the car flying. On the 40ft version, they loose a little more velocity, but still impact the end pretty hard. The worst part, is that they straddle the guide section. At best, they will put marks on the inside edges of the wheels when they contact it. Worst case, we had a kid in our pack that had built a pretty aggressive design, very thin up front. His car contacted the starting edge of the stop section so hard, it broke the right front of the car off! After going to the Best Track stop section, the track was a dream. Lanes very consistant, set-up and tear down a breaze.
Both tracks have there own needs and problems. In a six lane version, the Piantedosi seemed to have less.

Good Luck and Happy racing!

Warp Speed Inc.

[Trackman]

As of December 2005, BestTrack has changed the way their 6-lane track goes together. The lanes on the ground use to be 2 sets of 3-lanes side by side and held together with clips. BestTrack now uses 6-lane connector angles for the whole track. We have found that you don't have to build the track upside down (after the initial build) and then flip it over. The easiest way to put the track together is to line up the lanes and use 2 plyers (this is a 2 man job) and pull the lanes together.

[Gary Piantedosi]

Jay,

Thanks for the kind comments you made regarding our Freedom Series track. I listened to your advice and suggestions regarding our braking system and now have a redesigned section that I am sure will meet your approval. You can see photos and descriptions on our site: http://www.pinewoodderbytrack.com/brakes.html.

As a retrofit this unit will also bolt on to all of our existing tracks. I will be sending a unit out to you tomorrow for testing and feedback.

Thanks for the push.

Take care,

[gpraceman]

Thanks for the kind comments you made regarding our Freedom Series track. I listened to your advice and suggestions regarding our braking system and now have a redesigned section that I am sure will meet your approval. You can see photos and descriptions on our site: http://www.pinewoodderbytrack.com/brakes.html

As a retrofit this unit will also bolt on to all of our existing tracks. I will be sending a unit out to you tomorrow for testing and feedback.

Gary,

The new stop section looks great.

What is the cost for the stop section alone? Our pack bought a Freedom series track last year and it would be great to get the new stop section and retrofit it.

Thanks,

Randy

[Da Graphite Kid]

I also would like to know the cost of the new stop section after we find out that it works better! We have a Piantedosi Freedom track and have had to add an additional 8 foot section after the timer and elevate the end of this section 8 inches to get the boys cars to stop without damaging them.

Da Graphite Kid

[michael4262]

I too would be interested in that new stopping piece .... We just received our new track a couple of weeks ago ... oh well.. ... And thanks for the help retrofitting the track for the Microwizard timer too Gary!

[gpraceman]

I also would like to know the cost of the new stop section after we find out that it works better!

I talked to Gary today and he said he hasn't yet figured out the cost of just the new stop section for retrofit purposes. He'll let us know once he does. He's letting some track owners try out the new section to give him some feedback on it. From the looks of it, it will likely do as good a job as the Best Track stop section, but be more securely attached to the rest of the track.

[WarpSpeedINC]

VERY NICE Gary,
Can't wait to try it!!
That is the only thing this track needed!!
Thanks for listening!!
Happy New Year!!
Warp Speed

[rich b]

Gary, I just placed an order online for our Freedom track yesterday, do you think the new braking section will be ready to ship and include by the time our track is??

[BestTrack]

I'm happy to see all of the discussion regarding stop sections. We at BestTrack knew that we had a winning design several years ago when we created our "Patent Pending" stop section and have received nothing but great comments about the design. It's great to hear how well it works. You can find out more about our original design at:

http://www.besttrack.com/stop_section.htm

Steve

[gpraceman]

So what do I do? Keep it, and have my club make cars that are really fast on our track and do well on the bumpy nasty "nice " (ha ha) tracks at regionals or do I get an aluminum one like a Bestrack so we can contribute to the Regional competitions?

It looks like we all have hijacked this thread.

Back to your original question. If you still have the track, I would see if you could sell the track to some other club or organization that is in need of a track. You could also try selling it on eBay. I would then get one of the new aluminum tracks, the Piantedosi Freedom track or the Best Track depending on your preference. However, if the other tracks being used at your regionals are wood, I would think they would not want an aluminum track thrown in there. Cars do run differently on aluminum than on wood.

[asatxj]

I have modified the track and it how has a slope that matches the "good" wood ones that others have. Times are faster on ours but the small brains that think different is wrong are happier now. I think I'll keep it as I have it pretty well dialed in now. Someday I will make the ramp out of different pipe. It's not that it's flimsy just the whole thing is so light that it's hard to keep it from moving. (I resort to the handyman's secret weapon!)