# AW Dragstrip problems???



## Dyno (Jan 26, 2009)

I was at a popular slot car store today and they had the new AW dragstrip set up in the store. I asked the owner how he liked it. He bluntly said that" if you get a good one they are great" , and that he has had several customers return theirs due to the tree stopped working and the power track shorting out or something like that. He said that he thought AW knew about the problem because they just sent replacements right out when he called. Has anyone here had any problems with theirs?

I had a friend of mine pick me up an NTB set in Fla. and now Im a little bit nervous about getting a lemon..

Dyno


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

I've bought 4 of them so far with no issues. I'm using them for a racing program in KY schools. They have worked flawlessly for me. I have 1 of the John Force sets and 3 of the NTB sets.

-Paul


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## Dyno (Jan 26, 2009)

Thats good to hear.:thumbsup:


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

I bet I know whats going on. The power plug is different than standard Tomy so I bet people are trying to jam all kinds of supplies into them causing a problem.

Apparently the included supply is only 13.5 volts, probably for liability reasones, but thats not enough volts for most.


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## scottman2007 (Oct 16, 2007)

Plus if you have finish line issues, its because there isnt enough light at the end of the track for the sensor,it cant be in a room with energy saving blubs and a dark room,all you have to do to correct that,is buy a cheap table lamp,with a regular blub,and shine it towards the finish line and it will take care of those problems,But i too have heard alot of people buy them with NO issues at all.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Maybe that store owner will sell all his bad sets????


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## Dyno (Jan 26, 2009)

Joe65SkylarkGS said:


> Apparently the included supply is only 13.5 volts, probably for liability reasones, but thats not enough volts for most.


13.5 volts? What good is that? Most modern Tomys are 22 arent they?

Are the trees run by battery or the wall wart? If they are battery powered then the voltage going in wouldnt effect them. I guess it could effect the track itself though.


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

Dyno said:


> 13.5 volts? What good is that? Most modern Tomys are 22 arent they?
> 
> Are the trees run by battery or the wall wart? If they are battery powered then the voltage going in wouldnt effect them. I guess it could effect the track itself though.


Light system is battery powered. This track can handle alot more than most have available to them. Guys run 30 volts.

I will be going for 24.5 to 25.


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## Dyno (Jan 26, 2009)

Joe65SkylarkGS said:


> I will be going for 24.5 to 25.



Good, so there are no worries about blowing out the Sensors and Tree with too much voltage. Im probably going to put 24 volts to mine also.


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

Dyno said:


> Good, so there are no worries about blowing out the Sensors and Tree with too much voltage. Im probably going to put 24 volts to mine also.



10-4 :thumbsup:


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## Paul Songas (Jan 12, 2005)

My right lane win night didn't work out of the box. and all the track sections are warped terrible (fish bellied). I e-mailed AW and they said they are sending me new parts right away.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Im gonna use 72v. I bet my cars are faster than yours.


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## Dyno (Jan 26, 2009)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Im gonna use 72v. I bet my cars are faster than yours.


LOL... Im sure they will be too.


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

*More Power!*

I'm skipping the whole voltage debate and going jet powered! Just strap a bottle rocket on the roof and and stand back! :thumbsup:

-Paul


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

*AW track vs. Tomy*



Paul Songas said:


> My right lane win night didn't work out of the box. and all the track sections are warped terrible (fish bellied). I e-mailed AW and they said they are sending me new parts right away.


I guess it's just the luck of the draw. My friend got one of those NTB tracks, 
and his 15s were straighter and flatter than any Tomy track I have bought over
the last few years. 

Are these tracks made at the same factory? AW vs. Tomy?
AW looks like a little bit different plastic, and even though the connections are
the same, you know its made in a different mold because of the name on the back.

Anyone know about this?


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

I would guess it's AW mold. But it's all made in China so there's no telling. I always hold out hold they will make new pieces. Cobblestone maybe? 18-21 inch curves, 18 inch bank...okay now I'm dreamin'.

-Paul


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## Dyno (Jan 26, 2009)

Paul Songas said:


> My right lane win night didn't work out of the box. and all the track sections are warped terrible (fish bellied). I e-mailed AW and they said they are sending me new parts right away.


 I recieved one of the two NTB sets I ordered from Fla. today. I excitedly opened it up and low and behold, all the 15' straights are unbelievably warped, including the rails !!! However, the curves and 9' straights are good.


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## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

Its funny how Aurora could turn out millions of track pieces and there never was any comments and concerns throughout the hobby for track not being true.

Yet, today, 15" straights by both Tomy and AW seem to bow up, down, right and left! Aurora's quality track production was a testament to a great company. Why can't they match what was achieved 45 years ago?!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

> Why can't they match what was achieved 45 years ago?!


They absolutely can. The only difference is that Aurora was flush enough with cash and responsible enough that they directed their contract manufacturers to throw away the production that did not meet Aurora's quality standards - and their contract manufacturers in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Long Island filled many a dumpster with marginal product that didn't quite make the cut. Aurora probably had trained quality inspectors on-site to assure that only the product that met their standards was allowed into their sales channel. 

The quality of the product that leaves the factory is ultimately the responsibility of the company who puts their name on it and the people who the company pays to be responsible for carrying out and enforcing the company's quality program. It does not matter whether the product is manufactured in China, Bangladesh, or St Louis, the company who sells the product to their customers is the one putting their reputation on the line, regardless of what takes place in the manufacturing process, who does it, or where it is done. 

That being said, quality comes at a price so there is always a tradeoff between how much quality goes into the product versus how much customers are willing to pay for the product. Of course we as consumers want phenomenal quality at minimal cost but that's not reality. Someone has to pick the quality point and deal with the customer support situation on the back end. Smart companies will lean more heavily on building quality into the products on the front end and actively maintain the quality metrics as part of the continuing process, and make adjustments as needed. But again, it depends on the product market and what customers will accept from a product price standpoint. Going offshore does lower some production costs - substantially. Some of these savings should be invested in beefing up the quality process if necessary. 

It's all very straightforward and very simple. If a product is not up to snuff it's because the company selling the product decided to allow it to be sold that way. It's not the system, it's not the workers, it's not the technology, it's not the wheres or hows or whens, and it's not a question of why. It always comes down to whomever is putting their name on the product is totally and completely responsible for all aspects of the product. That's where the buck stops. Quit blaming China - they have nothing at all to do with it. It's 100% AutoWorld's responsibility. Period.


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## Omega (Jan 14, 2000)

The NTB set i picked up all the track is nice and flat.

Dave


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

*Track Condition Variations*

Another difference is the track material itself. The original Aurora track is thicker on all surfaces and even the bracing under the track was thicker. The material was also different. Aurora track was an ABS plastic, the same stuff they made the car bodies out of. Very rigid, cures fast. Modern track, Tomy AFX, AW, Mattel is made of a less dense variant of ABS/Nylon. It's cheaper and easier to manufacture with, but has tendencies to warp if not fully cured/cooled.

I think Aurora had issues too, especially in the late 70's-80's. We just hear more now due to better communications with the Internet and all. Which is a very good thing.

-Paul


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I was thinking the same about the cooling, but another thought hit me that would compound the issue. Once track comes out of the mold, it gets stacked on pallets. If the pallet isn't flat / level across the top, the bottom tiers of track are not going to be properly supported during the final cool down and during storage. When the pallet is full, there's a lot of weight on the bottom half of the pile. The tracks all come out of the same molds, so it's unlikely the fault of the molds. It has to be the handling after the mold.

Also, another thought. I may be the same mold as tomy track. It's easy enough to swap a block in the mold with the company logo printed on it. I don't have any AW track to verify this, but if the other info molded into the track is the same, it was be a fairly safe assumption they are the same molds, with a removable company logo block section.


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## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

According to a review of the John Force drag strip on Home Racing World the track fits together but has slight variations in the end design. I compared AW and AFX track ends and all I could see were very slight differences. So, I think we have two molds.

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Ok. Like I said, I never had both to do a side by side comparison. Thanks for the info! The process is the same though, and I've heard complaints on both brands of track. The problem might be as simple to fix as swapping the pallet they stack on.


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## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

It is probably time we consumers raise a stink about such poor quality track. But, we don't have the luxury to say to one manufacturer that if you don't improve we will buy from the other manufacturer! 

I have a Tomy 15" lap counter that you can plainly see curves to the side, 9" radius curves that when made into a 360 degree circle are not 360 degrees and more 15" straights that are warped than are straight!

I have noticed bad track now for 17 years! What we need is a third manufacturer to offer 24" straights that are perfectly straight!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

*Age*

The Tomy AFX track molds were made in 1985 (released in 1986), so they are at least 25 years old. That'a an extremely long run for any injection mold die.
Add to that, the length and thickness of the part, inconsistencies are expected I would assume. I'm not sure how old AW track molds are. However, at some point the manufacturers are going to lose money exchanging good for bad. I have seen posts by both AFX and AW on other boards saying they were looking at new tooling. It would benefit us to let them know what we want and what improvements we would like to see. I think the track surface section should be a bit thicker (.005") and the bracing a bit more stout. Curves that nest correctly or multiple lanes and new pieces like larger radius curve (Banked and Flat) and longer straights. How about a straight that is not an increment of 3? A 5", 7" or 11".

-Paul


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

I think all these issues really help the custom track makers.


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## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

Paul:

Great point. There are many noteworthy tracks that can't be built today with Tomy track because they chose not to make the Aurora 5" and 7" straights. Namely, the AFX Clubman 4 lane which a fantastic track of the early 1970s!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

*I Remember the Clubman*

I used to race on a Clubman at a buddy's house when I was a kid. We used to send the results to Car Model hoping to see them posted. Wouldn't it be great to see that done today with the Internet? Same track design, same power with a website posting the results from anywhere in the world. I would enjoy seeing my lap counts compared to others. It would be like proxy racing without the mailing headaches! Now if Tomy AFX OR AW is listening....

-Paul


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Cyber proxy! Exciting!

Looks good on paper Shoe, but what about the nefarious types and those with tiny glands and monsterous eggos that wont fit in the toaster?

Would there be some kind of combination IQ/personality test in order to qualify?


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

Life was definitely simpler then. Aurora AFX 20 volt hi-performance power packs and run what ya brung. I miss those days...mostly cause I had more time and energy then!

-Paul


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## Dyno (Jan 26, 2009)

pshoe64 said:


> Wouldn't it be great to see that done today with the Internet? Same track design, same power with a website posting the results from anywhere in the world. I would enjoy seeing my lap counts compared to others. It would be like proxy racing without the mailing headaches! Now if Tomy AFX OR AW is listening....
> 
> -Paul




I love that Idea, my friend and I were just talking about the same thing two weeks ago.:thumbsup:


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## SuperFist (Aug 7, 2005)

The new 4 gear AW drag cars don't use a standard size pancake motor.
The new motors are shorter between the deck and the chassis.
So you can't change the motor without it binding up.

__________________


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## H.O. Slotrods (Jan 30, 2009)

recess the hole in the bottom of the chassis to get your clearance.it worked on mine.


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## SuperFist (Aug 7, 2005)

H.O. Slotrods said:


> recess the hole in the bottom of the chassis to get your clearance.it worked on mine.


That's a good idea.

__________________


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

I recieved an Autoworld John & Ashley Force Drag Race Set from MotorCityToyz.

I set it up and ran some cars on it. The only issue I had was room lighting. At first the upper right and lower left staging lights would not light on the car side of the christmas tree. I added more light to it and the problem fixed itself. 

So make sure your room is well lit above the sensors in the track at the start and finish lines. My biggest tip is to throughly read the instructions. 

I ran the Funny Cars, two Xtractions, and two Thunderjets. All worked great. 

Also the track pieces are all nice and flat. I'm very happy with my set. Hoping to get my grandchildren up here and have them race on it.

Randy.


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

A/FX Nut said:


> I recieved an Autoworld John & Ashley Force Drag Race Set from MotorCityToyz.
> 
> I set it up and ran some cars on it. The only issue I had was room lighting. At first the upper right and lower left staging lights would not light on the car side of the christmas tree. I added more light to it and the problem fixed itself.
> 
> ...


You got a good one. Consider yourself lucky. I have JF, NTB and Matco and I think there is 1 flat 15 inch straight in the entire bunch.

I am not mad or even upset. Today quality control isn't even a consideration today. There is ZERO pride taken in just about any product production. Just the way things are today. No one really cares. Sad but true.


But I did call AW and told the guy what I was dealing with and I am expecting to receive a group of "Flat Good Useable 15 IN sections"

I will keep you guys posted.

On a side note Randy, I was aware before I set mine up that light was an issue due to the fact of the way Al and Hank run their track so I thought it needed alot of light at the start and finish.

Turns out I had too much light and the finish lights weren't working correctly. So I moved the spot away from the finish line and it seemed to fix the issue.

SO when the lighting is concerned I think it works best in an average room light. Not too much but not too little. Because it doesn't work in a real dim situation either.


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## TheRockinator (May 16, 2007)

Got my J.Force/A.Hood set from Bud's + 2 more Funny Cars. Set is fine, track is flat and went together well. Hardest part was getting screws out of start/finish tracks to install the batteries. Works fine in dim to normal room light just be careful of shadows. One side note, the 4-4 gear Funny cars, out of the box, are the slowest cars I have tried. Good looking though.

Later, The looks like another HO slotcar thing I just "had" to have which will end up shortly in storage unless someone figures out a cheap timing system wouldn't you just need two pairs of connected sensors in the track one to start a computer clock and one to stop it until then it's "only" a Toy Rockinator


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## Dyno (Jan 26, 2009)

My lower right prestage light doesnt work. It doesnt matter how much light is near the sensor. It just came burned out from the factory. Good thing the staging lights dont affect the launch timing ! Also my track is so warped on the ends that I cant run any lower than 6 ohm Tjets because they wont stay on the track ! The magnet cars are fine. The set works MUCH better with more amps. I hooked up a laptop power supply today with 19.6 volts and 4 amps. No more surging cars when running two cars at a time. I also agree a cheap and easy timing system would be a HUGE plus in my book. But at least now I know which car in my stable is the fastest for now. It happens to be a Tyco 440 X2.


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

Okay,

Sunday I set my drag strip up on the Corian drag strip in my basement. I do have four pieces that have a slight upward bow. Nothing huge. Had it set up the night before on the living room floor and did not notice the bows.

The closer I put a light to the start line sensors, the better they work. But I had it set up the night before upstairs and the lights all lit up. I think the angle of light effects those sensors too.

Still I'm very happy with it. Had a couple of real close races and the win light works perfectly.

A timing system would be great. But It would be more expensive. Autoworld would have to run wires from the start track to the finish track which would limit the lenght of the strip. Or they could run the timing wires in each piece of track so when you put them together the wires would connect as you go. That would require a retooling of the track mold, which could be done. But the cost would increase. 

Grand kids are going to have a blast with this. 

Randy.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

I thought AW is coming out with a timing system for this later this year?


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## Omega (Jan 14, 2000)

Dyno said:


> My lower right prestage light doesnt work. It doesnt matter how much light is near the sensor. It just came burned out from the factory. Good thing the staging lights dont affect the launch timing ! Also my track is so warped on the ends that I cant run any lower than 6 ohm Tjets because they wont stay on the track ! The magnet cars are fine. The set works MUCH better with more amps. I hooked up a laptop power supply today with 19.6 volts and 4 amps. No more surging cars when running two cars at a time. I also agree a cheap and easy timing system would be a HUGE plus in my book. But at least now I know which car in my stable is the fastest for now. It happens to be a Tyco 440 X2.


Same thing on my set. I took to starting track back to NTB and they give me another one which i tested there first. Everything worked fine. Got home put the track down and it worked a few times then went out, but if I tap it, it will come back on. I think there must be a lose connection some where.

Dave


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

Well they wouldn't have to be physically wired from the factory so to say but they could put all the sensons in the tracks and use a terminal track and wire as you need. As far as length goes. I say the most important sensors would be, reaction time, 60 foot, 1000 foot and mph through the traps with et. It looks like 4 sensors and a program wired to a starting tree.

Doesn't sound like alot but it is. But I will be looking into doing something here because i'm allready bored when there's no one to run with. Alone it would be great to get a chance to work on them and see actual improvements with results.


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## twistedone (Aug 17, 2007)

I got a Bad one also with the same problems as above and AW sent me a new StartTrack ASAP so there standing behind there stuff that is awesome to me!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

I had Monday off from work and went to Menard's and purchased two 8 1/2 inch clamp lights. Set them up above each sensor and no problems with any of the LED's lighting on the starting tree.

Somtimes the prestage and stage LED's come on independently just like each car is going through staging. And that is on the side where the cars start from. I'm happy with it. 

Randy.


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

How many batteries do the Autoworld lights require? What size batteries? How long do they seem to last?


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

3 in the starting gate and 2 in the finish line. I use the system in school programs (Racing to the Future) and have been through 2 sets of batteries (10 total) since May of 2011 The lights are low voltage LEDs and do not wear the batteries out fast. We've had 300-500 students per regional event racing for 4 hours at a time, so the system works well and lasts. AA Energizer or Duracell batteries are used.

-Paul


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

Thanks Paul. I just snagged the hardware in an auction. Do you use the stock power pack with the kids or do you use a Tomy/AFX pack from another set? I read that the stock pack with the drag strip is just 13.5 volts.


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

It's listed at 13.5V but meters at 17.75V. However I use the Tomy AFX Tri-Power set att 22 volts 1 Amp, one power pack with each lane. Here's a link to our Racing to the Future website. There are pictures of the track set up in the 2011 Full Coverage link. We run on a 20 foot 4 inch strip with a 10ft shut down section. Power is jumpered 3 times across the strip and the driver's stations are powered independently.

Racing to the Future Website

-Paul


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