# Combination track



## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Something I have been thinking about lately as far as track building.......

Anyone ever build a track,routed of course,that used non magnetic rail material in the straight sections and ferrous material in the curved sections.

Probably been done,Im sure.But I thought with a track such as this you could really get the magnet cars to scream and increase lap time,as the straights would be a lot faster as no magnetic downforce would come into play.

Mike


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Won't the fast magnetic cars lose traction on the straights? I would think you would have to run at least a foot of magnetic rail stuff off of the corners to give the cars some traction as they are accelerating on to the straight. Either that or use wheelie bars. I haven't tried it, just a theory.

Rich


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## ScottD961 (Jan 31, 2008)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Won't the fast magnetic cars lose traction on the straights? I would think you would have to run at least a foot of magnetic rail stuff off of the corners to give the cars some traction as they are accelerating on to the straight. Either that or use wheelie bars. I haven't tried it, just a theory.
> 
> Rich


I was kinda thinking the same thing ?


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Won't the fast magnetic cars lose traction on the straights? I would think you would have to run at least a foot of magnetic rail stuff off of the corners to give the cars some traction as they are accelerating on to the straight. Either that or use wheelie bars. I haven't tried it, just a theory.
> 
> Rich





ScottD961 said:


> I was kinda thinking the same thing ?



Yeah,probably some kind of "lead" in and out of the turns.

But,I would think it would make for a much faster track if you think about it.

With no magnetic downforce(friction)you could really get some fast speeds in the straight sections.

Mike


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

I'm looking into this with Brad Bowman. Probably better to do with GAR, should it come to be, because then the magnetic approach and exit lengths can be adjusted 3'' at a time.

It is obvious from the experiments I have done that once an in-line car is stable in goes along a straight just fine without the need for seperate traction magnets. The speeds are surreal, and I assume wear and tear on the car less.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Montoya1 said:


> I'm looking into this with Brad Bowman. Probably better to do with GAR, should it come to be, because then the magnetic approach and exit lengths can be adjusted 3'' at a time.
> 
> It is obvious from the experiments I have done that once an in-line car is stable in goes along a straight just fine without the need for seperate traction magnets. The speeds are surreal, and I assume wear and tear on the car less.


For YEARS now the GAR track has been "coming out soon".

What kind of experiments did you do?????I would have to say that certain parts wouldnt wear as quickly.Lap times must increase quite a bit??????

And,did any of your experiments involve shaving dogs or monkeys?????:woohoo:

Mike:wave:


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

I did not say on this occasion anything about when GAR will be out, only that if I work on a non-magnetic system sectional track would give more chances to get it right than routed.

I ran cars with magnet removed along medium length straights of about 6' and some longs ones (10'+). Once the car was stable it would be very quick and showed no signs of fishtailing, although braking was another matter.

Of course the whole concept cannot be tested until some NM straights are made, but I saw enough to think it worth looking into further.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Montoya1 said:


> I did not say on this occasion anything about when GAR will be out, only that if I work on a non-magnetic system sectional track would give more chances to get it right than routed.
> 
> I ran cars with magnet removed along medium length straights of about 6' and some longs ones (10'+). Once the car was stable it would be very quick and showed no signs of fishtailing, although braking was another matter.
> 
> Of course the whole concept cannot be tested until some NM straights are made, but I saw enough to think it worth looking into further.



I thought you ran on actual track that was set up with magnetic and non magnetic rails.You just took the magnets out,which I guess gives you kind of an idea anyways.

The only thing is,with this idea,as far as racing,going from the non mag to the magnetic sections would be interesting.There might be so much of a difference in speed,going from one type of track to the other,that it might not work.

Mike


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

As I say it gave me enough of an idea to make me want to look into it further. I did wonder about removing the rails from some of my unwanted Tyco track and fitting copper tape, or plumbing in model motoring straights.

I assume with that last idea there would be 2-3 sets of adapters needed to hook into Tomy track, hardly ideal.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I have thought about this as well.

If you were doing a routed track, this could be done by using magnetic braid on the curves and non-magnetic braid on the straights.

If you remove the rails on plastic track, you could then use stainless steel for the straights. I understand Model Motoring used non-magnetic steel in it's reproduction track.

Joe


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## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

I think you'd likely see worse lap times, at least on a road course, for many reasons. There's just way too many differences in setup between the two types of track. Shoes, springs, tires...all of it. Shoe tension will be the big factor, light enough for good cornering will be too light once you hit the non-mag straights.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

SwamperGene said:


> I think you'd likely see worse lap times, at least on a road course, for many reasons. There's just way too many differences in setup between the two types of track. Shoes, springs, tires...all of it. Shoe tension will be the big factor, light enough for good cornering will be too light once you hit the non-mag straights.


Gene that is exactly what I thought at first.But,then again,finding the right balance could be where the challenge might lie.

Mike


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## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

I'm certainly going to look into it further. If any else does the same post their findings here please.


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