Race Line and running Line!

[Lasp]

There are several tips on a Racing Line för MagRacing, thats allright, its racing we all want to do!
But för newcombers, there maybe schould be a safe an easy way!
No Steering, No Lane Change, just one easy way to go around.
And of course more ease for experient drivers to owertake.

Is it right thinking?

[Keld]

I think that you will always have the opportunity to go around without steering, this will not be the easy way since they sometimes will have the sharp inside lane. There are no need for making a special line for 'NON DRIVERS'

[oldslotracer]

Last night we ran our track with 6 cars for the first time. I figured it would be chaotic, and it was.
I told everyone to just do some laps without steering, and then start experimenting with lane changing.
After 45 minutes the driving was much better, but it's a steep learning curve for most.

What I learned...
Lane change markers need to be big and easy to read, at least for the first couple of weeks.
We only had 6 guys and 6 cars, what we needed was 2 or 3 marshals.
Being slot car guys, everyone was only thinking speed.
I found there's a bunch of things about the track that need changing or tuning.
After 45 minutes of running, there was no sign of weak batteries.
The track can handle probably 10 cars, but not until everyone has had more track time.
The cars can take a lot of abuse.

At the end, almost everyone said they enjoyed it and can see the potential. I think after another 3 or 4 nights of testing, we're going to have some amazing racing. I don't think I'll do any video until then.

[Double Naught]

Glad everyone had fun. Thanks for the input. How about the lap timing? The Canadian Trackmate system is well proven in the slot car world, any information?

To answer Lasp, I think you are talking about Wes's recommendation to use two parallel wires and then add a racing line. The idea is that if you do nothing with the steering it is a slot car and stays on that lane. Just like Luf suggested to the novice drivers.

Paul

[WesR]

All our tracks have always had two lanes as slot racing with sufficient width for
cars to pass. This way it is always possible to overtake anywhere on the track.
The first thing I say to novice drivers is ' Do some laps in one
lane to get used to the speed control and then think about steering'.
Initially you do need several marshals, but when eventually everyone has learned
to drive, racing will become clean and close. We still have only two drivers, my son
Scott and myself, who can consistently drive the racing line. This is because we
have had the most practice. Other drivers don't yet have their own tracks and
cannot practice enough.
Scott and I have great races, nose to tail, lap after lap!
Our latest modifications, extending the default outer line way out on the grass,
is looking the way to go and we are busy modifying all other possible turns in
the same manner. Our new tyre finish (masking tape) has also proved a hit
and we will be changing our web reccomendations to this soon.
Six drivers would be the most we would race on our 20 mtr. tracks and four
would probably be better from a clean racing point of view. Drivers would need
to be graded into heats for any serious racing as novices mixed with experts
is a recipe for disaster!

,

[oldslotracer]

The TrackMate timing is working just fine, but it may also be why everyone was trying to drive too fast...gotta get that hot lap!
I ran all 6 cars for a while, masking tape on 5 cars and electrical tape on the fastest car and their best lap times were within .05 seconds (5/100). Amazing.

The guys that win consistently on the slot car track are the fastest adapters on the MagTrack (damn them) and they want even more cars on the track. The rest of us need more time.
We're going to try 2 man teams, one slow guy and one fast guy, 5 minute heats, most laps wins. That will even things up a bit, there'll be fewer cars on the track and we'll have marshals

I'm experimenting with different edging around the track to cut down on the amount of marshaling.
Also, cutting the holes for the timing sensors so I can switch them for the other direction. I have a feeling the track may be a bit easier to run counterclockwise.

[Lasp]

Thanks a lot for very good answers.
I guess most will be very clear when we are racing more.
Just now I make a module track.
Maybe pictures comes tomorrow

[oldslotracer]

I think I've just reduced marshaling by about 75%. Sintra strips around the outside of troublesome corners.
The wayward car slides along the fence and the curl at the end ensures that you still have to steer to pick up the wire again. It's a slower way around the corner, but it does make it easier to recover. I may end up removing them once our skill level improves.

[Keld]

I have the same observations:

The guys there are fast on the slot track also being fast here
Christian and Andreas are also young about 20 y.o. so the rules from now are they has to build the new track, while the rest of us practice

The border around the corner OSR, I think that could give so bad effect, the other day our junior member was going slow, I was behind him and took the racing line in the last corner before the straight, overtaking him inside and push him out from the wire to the grass when we meet at the exit of the corner, going in the grass he didn't got any wire to slow him down and he overtaking 2 of us on the straight before he slow down at the end and found a wire again, this was fun but not fair.
The same thing can happen in your corners, we need to find something to slow them down, a double wire near the Sintra strips maybe?

Marshaling: new rules has to be made, from slot we always pck up all cars going of the slot, but here their are no need for doing that, if a car is on the grass, let the driver try to bring it back, only pick up cars with out any hope doing so.
And don't put the car on the race track, put it at the right direction next to the road and let it go back bye own force.

Laptimer: it should be possible to do a Parallel connection on a extra set of IR sensors so there is no need changing anything when changing the direction. just need to place the next to each other and not in each end of a straight

Rookies and Experience drivers on the track at the same time, it can only improve the skills for both, the rookies can learn and the god drivers must learn to be patient, and only overtake where it is safe, that's a bad habit from slot track just to overtake all over the track, IRL that's impossible. In MAGracing that should be impossible too.

I think we will have bigger problems with heat only with rookies

[Lasp]

OK We all now that a race Line is for drivers that take action.
Then we mayby need a collecting track or a safe track. Take ME out of the gravelbeed!.
As long as we test the MagRacing we learn.
This will be fun at the end says Lasp.

Today I make a Porche GT3 out of a WesR car! Nice