What I've learned so far...

[oldslotracer]

I've decided to rout a shallow recess for the wire. I'm using the same tools that I use for a regular slot track. The slot is 1/8" wide and as close to .7mm deep as I can get. Since the slot is so wide, there's room for the glue and there's room to double up on the wire at joints. The extra width makes it easier to get smooth curves and routing isn't as critical as for a slot car. Also there's almost no dust.

I actually read Wes' instructions on installing the switch plates and they work flawlessly.

A car will go around a 7" radius corner, but when I build the real track, 9" will be the minimum radius.

Once you glue the wire with E6000 you can run a car on it within 30 minutes or less.

The car will feel slow after running slot cars, but once there's a few cars on the track, I'm sure it will get exciting. The plastic tires are just right for the weight and power of the car. It's a great feeling to powerslide around a 20" radius 180 degree corner

Tomorrow I will paint the track and then run more test laps. I need some walls around the edge of the board, too.

I like walking around the track while driving

[Vintage 1/24]

I have seen your posts, visited your site, and admired your track building work for years - Thanks for all of that. I am glad to see you exploring this new way of racing.

I built a wood slot car track with braid (double routing) some years before, so my initial thought was to approach it the way you have, and the 1/8 inch width makes sense for double wire transitions, and "smoothing" things as the piano wire conforms into the space.

However after seeing the post here about that little Dremel cutoff saw attachment method on MDF - I tried it and I really think it works great. Give it a test if you have one of those Dremel cutoff attachment saws available.

Last night I had my short test track oval running well with all the lane changes working well and with multiple cars - very interesting - even on such a short track.

The one lane change which has given me the most difficulty is the "fastest" one - that is - it is at the very end of a straight and the car moves quickest over it. I actually ended up moving the plate ever so slightly toward the "default lane" side and It seems to work better. It may be a thing of poor workmanship on the initial positioning on my part.

Otherwise the system is really sort of remarkable as to how well it works.

[Keld]

I've learned:
when having a track without bridge, the outer lane will be the one used most, it is easier to go around the corners, and it's there the racing line is, cars coming to fast in a corner are mostly coming back on the track in the outer lane.
therefore I must have some other advances to the inner lane.

a short track as my 2 x 9 meter is too small for 8 cars, 4 - 5 cars was no problem, so I think about 2 meter for each car is minimum, so 32 meter is min. with 16 cars, but more is better.

Marshall spots where cars can be placed when they got help, so they can be driven back on to the track when there are space, so they not causing trouble for other cars.

[Nor Cal Mike]

I have learned: I don't care for the butt ends of the wire especially where they break for the lane changers. I found that by bending a small 90 degree angle in the wire and inserting that into a small hole drilled in the proper place creates a nice soft termination of the wire at each end of the plate. The terminations are more secure. If you lay out the holes beforehand the wire ends are automatically spaced taking one less task to do during the messy wire gluing phase of building your track.

[Vintage 1/24]

More I have learned: That the steering coils can get hot if you push the car fast and do *a lot* of *frequent* steering input - like on my short track oval test track...
Steering is the first thing to fade when the battery starts to loose energy.

I like what you are saying NorCal about wire ends - I was thinking there should be a standardized (resin cast?) "lane change switch assembly" - which fits and perfectly positions and registers the plate at the perfect depth and in relation to the three wire ends... Then the whole little (resin cast?) piece could be set into the track with a router or build up method - whatever it takes to make it flush with the racing surface. The wires would just be dropped into place perfectly positioned, consistent and precise - seems cheap and easy and would be a more consistent and quality way of preparing lane changes.

[Nor Cal Mike]

I like what you are saying NorCal about wire ends

I learned the hard way. When I was sanding the filler after laying the wire, one of the wire ends came up and stabbed me pretty deeply in the end of my thumb. Ouch! With both ends of all wires on any future tracks I build terminated down a hole in the track, that won't happen again. Another good result is that since the ends are the most vulnerable places for lifting, the wires will be more far more stable with the wires planted on the ends. Especially on a track that gets picked up and often times hastily moved around the shop. Being the owner of three fairly large slot car tracks currently, I won't have space for a permanently set up magsteer track until it wins its rightful place in the pecking order.

[oldslotracer]

I just ran an orbital sander around my test track, just enough to scuff the surface, not enough to get down to bare MDF, and traction is quite a bit better.

Also found that the battery in the controller doesn't make contact unless you cut a bit of the insulation off the negative end.

Happy with 2 cars on the test track, but looking forward to the real track. Sure glad I built a test track, though.