# Building a Drag Strip with the AW Set



## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

Building a Drag Strip with the AW Set

I bought the NTB set at Tire Kingdom right after Christmas and finally got around to working on it.

Thanks to some precut wood from Home Depot and some pre -planning, I was able to get an awful lot done on the first day of the build. See the picture. I used 2 - 6ft. long 1 X 6s for the base. I used 1 X 2s for the walls and 2 X 2s for the legs.

Tomorrow, I will be painting the boards to match the boards on the slot car track. I will be mounting certain sections with #4 - 3/4 in. countersink screws. I will be using 3/4 wide, 1/4 thick self adhering form on each side of the track. I will be mounting a small extension of the board by the Christmas tree to connect the controllers and a power supply.

I am making a phono pin to alligator clips cord to connect the existing Digitrax power supply to the Drag strip. It has 13.8 volts at 20 amps, 18 volts at 15 amps, and 24 volts at 10 amps.

I decided on a 12 ft. drag strip so I could easily store and transport the track. It can also use the back straightway of my slot car track as a base. This will allow for Web casting.

I have built the track for the possibility of later replacing the Christmas tree section and the win light section with normal sections with sensors, so I can use the $125.00 Trackmate Drag System and LCD monitor, if I get enough racers coming out.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Awesome idea! That looks like a great track to take to a car show!


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

Looks great. Maybe paint it white and add some drag racing sponsor decals designed for 1/10 R/C cars. Parma sells a few drag racing and stock car stick-on decal kits:

http://www.shopatron.com/products/category/1/10 Drag And Stock Car/137.0.1.1.232.56308.0.0.0


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

Smart thinking. Looks great!


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## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

*Progress*

I've finished the painting, controller and power hookups, the foam edging, and foam track stop. I've screwed the track down with #6 3/4 in. screws. Home Depot didn't have #4s in that size. All I have left to do is connect the AFX cables I have soldered spades on to and construct the alligator clip to phono pin cable to connect the power supply.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Wow that's lookin sweet! :thumbsup:


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## CJ53 (Oct 30, 2007)

Nothing wrong with that !!!! Lookin good :thumbsup:


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

the rebound of the cars off that foam stopper will cause more damage than any other crash. replace it with a softly balled up rag. or pillow case that is fluffed out to create an airbag effect. I have a long history of many scales of drag racing and all foam rebounds with the same energy as the impact into it. think billiards. you need some thing soft that will collapse. yes, it mean resetting the "airbag" for every run, but, someone is going to walk down there and retrive the cars anyway?


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## beast1624 (Mar 28, 2009)

'58
What size are the foam 'aprons' and where did you get them? They look like a perfect match for the track height. I got some Woodland Scenics foam HO railroad bed (http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/HOScaleTrackBedSystem) to play with as boarders (cut them in half and use as aprons around the whole track) but the aren't quite tall enough...need a little layer underneath to make them flush. The O scale is a touch too tall.


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## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

*Apron*

The apron is from Home Depot $3.27 for 10 ft. of 3/4 in wide and 1/4 in thick foam self adhering insulation. Cheap and good! Stretch it a little while you install it it looks and holds better.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

You could always put a ramp at the end? =o)


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## slotcar58 (Jun 21, 2007)

*Foam stop at end of strip*

With the type of cars we are running AW Funny Cars and Tyco 440X2 with Clear Bodies, it is not a problem at 13.8 VDC and 18 VDC. At 18VDC it stops right at the foam. I have roughly a 48 in shutdown strip. Thanks for the advice. I will run soft towel if we are going to run something faster.


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