# Question about track



## Auroraafx1 (Jan 12, 2009)

I have a 1978 Aurora Afx racing set, along with a few more pieces of AFX track. I also have a lot of Tyco track from when I was a kid, like probably 2 or 3 full sets, I'd like to join all my track together. Ive been trying to find adapters on Google but I cant seem to find anything. Is there any adapters out there to make the Tyco Track connect to the Aurora Track? Also from playing around a little bit it seems the controllers from the Tyco sets make the cars run faster then the AFX controllers do, the AFX power supply is slightly stronger than the Tyco, and the AFX Track seems to be thicker and make better connections then the Tyco is that the usual? I'm sure I'm not the only one who likes the AFX track what did you guys do?


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## usdra (Jan 23, 2007)

http://hoslotcarracing.com/Track.html
Part way down the page is the adapter tracks

Eric
www.mobydiditperformance.com


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## Auroraafx1 (Jan 12, 2009)

I was on that page all i saw was an adapter to hook the Aurora AFX track up to the Tomy AFX track, Im hoping to go from Aurora AFX to Tyco.


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

I see it half way down the page in the adaptors section:

Tomy AFX 6" Tyco/Mattel Adaptor Pr. $17.75


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## Auroraafx1 (Jan 12, 2009)

I think I'm just not understanding something, but isnt the Tomy AFX track different from the 70's Aurora AFX track? my track looks like this one http://www.slotcarcentral.com/mm5/m...SCC&Product_Code=21AA2V6SM&Category_Code=AQT9 Or are you saying I need to get the Aurora AFX to Tomy AFX adapter, then connect it to a Tomy AFX to Mattel adapter? I was hoping to do it with just one pair of adapters.


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

I don't think you can go straight from old AFX track to modern Tyco. It would have to be like this:

Aurora AFX>Tomy AFX
Tomy AFX>Lifelike
Lifelike>Tyco


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

... and that's a heck of a straight away.


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

Auroraafx1 said:


> Or are you saying I need to get the Aurora AFX to Tomy AFX adapter, then connect it to a Tomy AFX to Mattel adapter? I was hoping to do it with just one pair of adapters.


Yes. I don't think it can be done with one pair of adapters. But I didn't think you had to go to a LL adapter pair, too. But I'm getting on thin ice -- I'll let others with more adapter experience chime in. Sorry.

Rolls


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## Auroraafx1 (Jan 12, 2009)

No need to apologize I appreciate the help, I'm no professional either, that's why I'm on here lol.


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## KEW1964 (Aug 14, 2003)

The slot depth will also differ from the AFX and TYCO track. Depending on the guide pins used, cars can perform differently...Especially if the guide pin "bottoms out" in the slot.


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## Auroraafx1 (Jan 12, 2009)

so am i better off just using the Tomy and Aurora track together?


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## KEW1964 (Aug 14, 2003)

Auroraafx1 said:


> so am i better off just using the Tomy and Aurora track together?


I think it is a personal choice...There are track pieces from the different manufacturers that appeal to me...So, I find myself setting up different tracks depending on what appeals to me at the time. 

There are times that I regret giving away the Aurora lock & joiner track I had even though I only owned the more common track...I always liked daydreaming about the options that were available. 

I am trying to locate my Aurora AFX track and set it up with a banked "S" curve that was given to me years ago. I know that Aurora AFX gets a bad rap since the tabs break off, but it was what I had growing up. I'm sure I will need to find some track clips since I'm thinking at least one tab on the "S" curve is broken, but I would like to try to set up a track with it.


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## Auroraafx1 (Jan 12, 2009)

I feel like the AFX tracks just got a bad rap. I have the one set and Ive used it a lot of times and use for me is set it up in the living room for a few days then put it back in the box when the family gets mad. But Ive been fortunate enough that its never broke on me, I guess that's just dumb luck. When I was a little kid my dad had set up the slot car set in the basement, and he had what seemed like miles of his Aurora track from when he was a kid and we had hills, spirals, loops, hair pin curves, squeeze tracks, s curves, wiggles, cobble stones, you name it he had it, he even had a track with 2 big flat dials one on each side for a lap counter, at like 5 years old it was amazing. But some how during the move the box got lost or tossed. From then on I always had the Toys R Us Tyco sets and my dad would always talk about how the cars were much faster then his T Jets and early AFX cars (he didn't like Magnatraction he thought it was cheating and slowed the cars down) but he'd tell me the track wasn't as good. I found my AFX set at a yard sale a couple years ago and now see what he means, it just seems better made. So now I am trying to re-create what I had when I was a kid and build it in my basement, and I was trying to build it as cost effectively as possible.


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*¡Aii, Caramba!*

.
*Slott V* sez:


> I don't think you can go straight from old AFX track to modern Tyco. It would have to be like this:
> 
> Aurora AFX>Tomy AFX
> Tomy AFX>Lifelike
> Lifelike>Tyco


Wait a minute. Why is LifeLike in there? It should take only two adapter pieces, not three, for each transition.
*Aurora AFX > Tomy AFX* adapter (3") 
*Tomy AFX > Tyco/Mattel* adapter (6")
both currently made by Tomy (I think).

_*Unless*_, of course, your track is the earlier *Tyco S or Tyco Pro* track









instead of the current *Tyco/Mattel* (also known as *Tyco Quick-Clik*).









in which case, you'd probably have to dig up some vintage *Tyco-Pro > Aurora Lock & Joiner* chicane adapters (made by Tyco, long ago), and mate them to old *Aurora L&J > Aurora AFX* adapters (made by Aurora back in the day, and not_ too_ hard to find), or else, take a quick course in making Frankentrack. It's really not too hard - unless you are trying to go from Tyco lane-spacing to the tighter Aurora lane spacing.

Which you are. :freak:

Hmmmm. Ouch. Sorry, *Auroraafx1*, it looks like there might be some bad Slot-Karma operating here. You must have nerfed your little brother off the curves a few too many times back in the '70s. Or something.

Have you considered routed track? 

Got my fingers crossed for you.
-- D


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

Track brand selection is all about setting up the kind of track you find most enjoyable for whatever reasons. It's much like many other products that involve technology. No matter how simple, the newer stuff tends to be more refined technologically and in a side by side performance comparison the newer stuff tends to be the better performer. Tomy track is no exception, it performs better overall than any of the older Aurora track, mostly due to more secure (and somewhat intrusive) electrical connections, secure mating, and smooth slot transitions. 

The old Aurora Model Motoring (lock & joiner) track had by far the most number of novelty pieces, like junctions, y-tracks, single lanes, bus stops, humps, bumps, cobblestones, etc. But the electrical connections were a very weak point and the slot transitions ... well, there were not any slot transitions, it was a straight butt joint and any slight misalignment of pieces turned up the clickity-clack-attack factor, sometimes to the point of stopping a car dead in its tracks. But variety was very impressive.

The Aurora A/FX Snap Track (obviously named for the audible result produced by trying to overcompensate for even the slightest misalignment) did a great job of fixing the slot transition problems of the L&J track, but the electrical connection was no better. Flipping the contacts from outy to inny didn't make a bit of difference, you were still hoping to pass electrical current through a tiny contact patch. With the A/FX track came far fewer novelty pieces overall but a couple of new ones like the S-turn and a hairpin banked turn with a lane separator. 

The Tomy AFX track picked up where the Aurora A/FX tab snapper track left off and finally fixed the electrical connection issues. Part of the fix involved adding a little z-bend to the rail, which some maladjusted pickups find a way of wedging themselves into. On the down side, the Tomy track has like many things in our lives, seen the material quality and overall quality control take a step backwards in an effort to reduce manufacturing costs as much as possible. The Tomy track is not as well made, not as smooth, not as straight, and not as robust (ignoring the emergency breakaway tab issues) as the Aurora A/FX track. But it's electrical performance is great. Novelty pieces are pretty slim pickins' but it does have a somewhat bizzarro love-it-or-hate-it hairpin turn that is unlike anything Aurora ever did. If you are looking to put together a low fuss and reliable track and can live with the variety limits and a few QC accommodations (like alternating warped straights to approximate a straight line) then the Tomy is the way to go. You can go wide too, up to 10 lanes without resorting to the aforementioned hairpin. 

Track adapters are always a compromise. Performance wise the adapters tend to make you live with the worst of both worlds. For a strictly racing setup, where the emphasis is on the racing action and competition, adapters are atypical and generally avoided. However, for a nostalgia focused two-lane track where the track variety and novelty is integral to the overall enjoyment of the model motoring experience the adapters let you expand into new and exciting areas that aren't limited by one track type or brand. That's totally cool.

Good luck with your track build, it sounds like it will be a great source of enjoyment for you.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

From the devils advocate section: 

Create your own own adapter by carefully halving a section of each brand of track, jig them together, then permanently bond them together.


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

.
Bill sez:


> From the devils advocate section:
> Create your own own adapter by carefully halving a section of each brand of track, jig them together, then permanently bond them together.


That's what I meant when I said:


> ... or else, take a quick course in making Frankentrack. It's really not too hard - unless you are trying to go from Tyco lane-spacing to the tighter Aurora lane spacing.[The link leads to a how-to on making adapters]


I've made *Aurora Lock & Joiner > Tomy AFX* adapters, as well as custom lengths of Tomy AFX track by cutting and bonding. It requires care, but wasn't too hard. But I've never done one where I had to transition from AFX lane spacing to Mattel spacing. I don't know if getting a smooth transition is a lot harder, or just a little harder.
--D


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

D'oh!....sorry D!

A careless oversight on my part. 

Go Franken-Track!


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## Auroraafx1 (Jan 12, 2009)

HAHAHA I like this term Franken-Track. I think I may try the 2 adapters, My aurora track is the later Snap Lock track. I'm on the fence at this point, I was on ebay for a few hours last night looking at tracks. I think the cheapest way to do this is buy a few of the racing sets on eBay with "missing" cars. Or I may try and Franken it. Im thinking strategically place a Aurora AFX to Tomy AFX adapter and connect it to a Tomy AFX to Mattel adapter, and use it as my straight a ways. Also Ive been looking at the Aurora Loops on there to, not the double but the single loop, but according to my dad he had that and it was more trouble then it was worth, cars never made it through or the shot off the table stuff like that, whats the verdict on that one? Also we were talking about flex track and he said that flex track didn't work well to is that true? Hes 50 so I know some of his memories are a little fuzzy, but hes usually right. Id just like some opinions. He also keeps telling me at 25 I shouldn't be playing with toy cars lol but I'm not listening to that.


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

Dslot said:


> .
> *Slott V* sez:
> 
> 
> ...


D there is no Tomy AFX to Tyco adapter, least that I know of. I have Tomy 12" banked sections with a Tyco track and have the LifeLike adapters. They aren't noticeable.

The biggest difference between Tomy AFX and Tyco is the lane spacing.


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

.
Slott V. sez:


> D there is no Tomy AFX to Tyco adapter, least that I know of.


Hi, Slott V.
I have to admit I've never seen one, but HOSlotcarracing.com has them listed as available in the ADAPTER TRACK section.

Tomy AFX 3" Aurora Adaptor Pair $5.65 
Tomy AFX 3" Life-Like Adaptor Pair $11.75 
*Tomy AFX 6" Tyco/Mattel Adaptor Pr. $17.75 *
Tyco/Mattel - Life-Like Adaptor Pr. $11.75​
Unlike the others, they're 6" long, presumably to make a gradual transition between the different lane spacings, and cost accordingly more. 

-- D


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

Bill sez:


> D'oh!....sorry D!
> A careless oversight on my part.
> Go Franken-Track!


My fault, Bill. I got too cutesy in the phrasing. Should have said what I meant more clearly and directly.

-- D


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

If those Tomy to TYCO are the ones I think they are, they're sort of a 6" squeeze track. Boosa used to use them coupled with a 3" Aurora L&J to Tomy to do his 4 lane slot/RR combo package track sets he used to sell on the bay.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

As mentioed above, trying to make your own Aurora (or Tomy) to Tyco/Mattel/Lifelike adapter is going to run into lane spacing issues. Tyco, Mattel and Lifelike use even lane spacing while Aurora/Tomy have the lanes closer together.

The Lifelike adapters, which go from Tomy>Lifelike>Tyco have the lanes in a little bit of a "V" shape to adapt to the different lane spacings.

Joe


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Franken-track? I thought that was some Gar-fangled contraption?


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