width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum track

Commercial tracks.
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pack529holycross
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width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum track

Post by pack529holycross »

does anyone know the ACTUAL width of the guide section of a BESTRACK aluminum track? the go/nogo gauge that is sold on popular websites has a strip that is wider than 1 3/4", and i had thought that the width was 1 3/4 " -- i cant get at our track till tomorrow and am working to slightly narrow the distance between wheels, but im running into conflicting data between the strip in the go/no go gauge and what i THOUGHT was the correct width of the center guide section.

ty in advance for your assistance

Nicholas
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by FatSebastian »

pack529holycross wrote:does anyone know the ACTUAL width of the guide section of a BESTRACK aluminum track?
I don't have this track but it is reportedly 1-5/8" wide. See FAQ #9 here. I hope this helps.
Last edited by FatSebastian on Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by Stan Pope »

The guide rail on most tracks is 1 5/8" wide and 1/4" high. The usual rule for minimum distance between wheels is 1 3/4".
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by pwrd by tungsten »

Best track matches these measurements as well...
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by ah8tk »

Here is a drawing of the BestTrack with dimensions.
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by pack529holycross »

interesting.. and amazing that we have not been called out on this previously. If anyone has the Go NOGO gauge sold by maximum velocity, take a tape measure to the center test strip in the box - its 1 7/8" wide. I think I need to modify it down to 1 3/4" as a car that is correct for the TRACK should be correct for the testing gauge, don't you think? :) This is not a swipe at Randy Davis or his company, I am really just surprised that someone who narrowed their car closer to 1 3/4" hasn't pointed out the discrepancy between our test gauge and the actual track lol

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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by FatSebastian »

pack529holycross wrote:I am really just surprised that someone who narrowed their car closer to 1 3/4" hasn't pointed out the discrepancy between our test gauge and the actual track lol
MaxV's gauge advertises to be 1-3/4" wide, which would be consistent with the width specified in the BSA rules-in-the-box. dfscott reportedly has a gauge too - maybe he can provide a measurement of his?
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by pack529holycross »

false alarm -- my eyeballs must be coming out of their head in their old age... actually looking at my orange TSQUARE i see that it's actually 1 3/4" exactly... but i am glad that I have the actual width of the track at 1.625 - - I am considering bringing the center strip down to within 1/16" of that measurement to allow racers to narrow their cars. If anyone can direct me to information on narrowed wheel widths and performance gains, i would greatly appreciate it.
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by Stan Pope »

pack529holycross wrote:false alarm -- my eyeballs must be coming out of their head in their old age... actually looking at my orange TSQUARE i see that it's actually 1 3/4" exactly... but i am glad that I have the actual width of the track at 1.625 - - I am considering bringing the center strip down to within 1/16" of that measurement to allow racers to narrow their cars. If anyone can direct me to information on narrowed wheel widths and performance gains, i would greatly appreciate it.
This is a change that should be undertaken only after careful analysis with the pwd committee. Considerations include:
1. conformance with district or council rules,
2. does body narrower than 1 3/4 become a silver bullet?
(i.e. if you don't narrow the body, are you probably "out of the running" for a trophy or a spot on the team going to district/council races?)
3...
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by pack529holycross »

It is just curious about the variance because I would not have imagined that the "test strip" would not be testing the actual width of the actual track. Did PWD tracks originally have a 1 3/4" center guide, and then have been narrowed over time? Just trying to get a handle on the background of the variance of the test strip and the actual track dimensions.
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by psycaz »

Stan Pope wrote:
pack529holycross wrote:false alarm -- my eyeballs must be coming out of their head in their old age... actually looking at my orange TSQUARE i see that it's actually 1 3/4" exactly... but i am glad that I have the actual width of the track at 1.625 - - I am considering bringing the center strip down to within 1/16" of that measurement to allow racers to narrow their cars. If anyone can direct me to information on narrowed wheel widths and performance gains, i would greatly appreciate it.
This is a change that should be undertaken only after careful analysis with the pwd committee. Considerations include:
1. conformance with district or council rules,
2. does body narrower than 1 3/4 become a silver bullet?
(i.e. if you don't narrow the body, are you probably "out of the running" for a trophy or a spot on the team going to district/council races?)
3...

Stan,

So as to not derail this thread, do you want to start another on your questions?

I have a couple thoughts on it, but don't wish to hijack this thread.
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by Stan Pope »

pack529holycross wrote:It is just curious about the variance because I would not have imagined that the "test strip" would not be testing the actual width of the actual track. Did PWD tracks originally have a 1 3/4" center guide, and then have been narrowed over time? Just trying to get a handle on the background of the variance of the test strip and the actual track dimensions.
I would expect that car specs and track specs would differ by some modest amount (e.g. 1/8"?) just to avoid problems on race day from track variances. If the car spec is 1 5/8" and the test strip is 1 5/8" then the tolerance for the track (which the pack might see for the first time when it arrives from some friendly neighborhood pack on the morning of the races) is way too tight! In the days of homemade tracks, how well could you trust the craftsmanship of the pack fathers? Holding even 1/16" tolerances for many of them is service above and beyond the call of duty!

I do not recall seeing any tracks with wider rails at least back through 1985, and I don't recall seeing any HowTo Book info from prior dates with wider rail specs.
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Re: width of center "guide" portion of a BESTRACK aluminum t

Post by Stan Pope »

psycaz wrote:Stan,

So as to not derail this thread, do you want to start another on your questions?

I have a couple thoughts on it, but don't wish to hijack this thread.
I did it. You could have done it, too ... quote the message just as you did but copy the edit area containing the quote and back out of the response page, and take the copy of the quote over to a different area of the forum and use it to start a new thread.

I reallly asked the questions as examples of what the pwd committee should be asking when they consider such a fundamental rule change.
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