I was going to post a reply to the question on the Tomy 9" curves but this seems like it might be a better spot to just introduce you all to my track. My original reply was that it's my experience that noise and deslotting are more of an issue in the curves so wouldn't it make more sense to screw down the curves and adjust for slop on the long straights?

Then again, I really enjoy having a multi-level track so fastening the whole thing down isn't even a consideration. I've got about 63 feet per lane for four lanes and according to my TK Solver program, there's supposed to be only about 5/8" of slop in both the X and Y directions. Everything fits well. I had a couple of pieces where the tabs were slightly raised so I sanded them down and stuck them in the "tunnels" wherever possible. I'm going to try to include the TK Plot of the track here as an attachment. The vertical straight in elevated as is the U at the end of that straight and the C in the middle. It all fits nicely on a 12x6 table. The table is actually shaped like an "I" with the ends each 4x6 and the middle is 4x4. You can see the way the track follows the shape of the table somewhat.

The split main straight is nice and long and all lanes have to time their acceleration and deceleration, and different cars have more "coast" so it makes a great challenge. I made a little wedge that fits where the tracks split so that they can slide a bit without falling off the edge or banging a guard rail. I use a 1/8th 9" curve and a 1/8th 12" curve to form the split and that makes it smooth enough but you need to work the throttle to get the most out of that straight.

JLTJs take between 9 and 11 seconds to complete a lap. JLXTs take 7 to 8. Stronger magnet cars sometimes break 5 but usually run closer to 6.

I'm thinking about making a change to a new track layout. Many of the new racers seem to struggle for too long on my existing layout. They get better with practice but I'm wondering if going to a more practical layout would be more appealing. I don't mind the extra hassle of cleaning and tweaking a bi-level track but if people would spin/crash less on a flat track, it might be worth a change. The new layout would be faster. But would people crash even more because they could go faster? I'd like to hear your thoughts. Which track would you rather run on? See my prior post for more details on the current layout.

I'd drive em both....The flat would be easier to clean but the raised overpasses offer some really neat senic ops. I think its whats you want if your drivers are crashing a lot tell em to slow down a bit...My 8 year old deslots less then I do and I bet when I put my lap timer on she'll be turning within a thou of my times..she just has developed a good rythem. Or to resolve the issue build both.. its only money lol.. ( Ya try telling my Wife that.. you need HOW many rooms? want to move back to Canada by yourself? LOL)

Dave (hates snow) Coach

Like Dave said, I'd love to drive them both. Beyond the scenic advantage that elevation changes give you, I could see prefering either depending on the car I was running. The long straights of the new layout appeal to the magnet racer in me. The original design appeals to the TJ and MT in me.

They both look interesting, what software are you using.

Just because a track doesn't have overpasses doesn't mean it HAS to be flat...
Scott

Honestly I'd prefer to race on the track with the overpass......tracks like that really appeal to the TJet kid in me :thumbsup:

Timo, I'm using a program I wrote in TK Solver to set up track designs. I start by listing my inventory of track pieces and then as I enter a piece into a table, the program updates the drawing and the inventory list. I use the standard Tomy track letters to ID the pieces. For curves, I add an R or an L in addition to the track piece ID. For example, B would be a 15" straight and GR would indicate a 12" radius 1/8-turn to the right. The program keeps track of how many pieces of each type are left and what the overall dimensions are. It also computes the "slop" between the start and end points.

Thanks for the responses. I prefer the current layout with the overpasses. X-Tractions (my favorites) are a blast on it. I'm getting pressure from friends who prefer the magnet cars though. I think I'm going to tell them to go build their own track!