# 2 Lane vs. 4 Lane (ie: Dancing with myself)



## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

When I re-discovered slot cars a year ago, and started searching the net for more information about building a track, everything I found was recomending building a 4 lane track, instead of the 2 lane track I was envisioning. Personally, I could not see where I would get the use out of these 2 extra lanes, but I took the tips from those more experienced, and built a 4 lane track. I had the track up for a month or two, and realized that the majority of the racing was taking place between me and one other person (a neighbor of mine). So, I rebuilt the track as a 2 lane setup, which allowed me much more flexibility in the track design. My neighbor and I both agreed that this new, longer, 2 lane layout was much more challenging and a lot more fun then the shorter 4 lane setup I previously had on the same table space.

But after a few evenings on this 2 lane setup, I realized that one thing had not changed - most of the time, one of us (usually me) was dancing with himself, as the other person had deslotted. 

Each race would start with great expectations....

"Are you ready Steve?"....Aha
"Andy?"....Yeah
"Mick?" (not there)
"Alright fellas..Let's Go"

But then........deslot.

Two people and self marshalling just wasn't cutting it for a competitive race. With the laptiming software, we found the most fun was letting one person run a certain number of laps shooting for best lap times. In essence, a single lane track would have suited this type of competition fairly well.

On those occassions where "Mick" was present, we still found it to be tough to try and race 3 cars, along with self-marshalling each person's deslots. With three people present, even with a 4 lane track, it was more fun to still race for lap times then to try competitive racing.

Based on the above, unless you have 4 or more people present to race, a 2 lane track might serve you just as well as a 4 lane track.

But having said that, I would still recommend a 4 lane track. Why? Because on those times, as few or as infrequent as they might be, when you have enough people present to load up 4 lanes with racers, and have marshalls available for deslots (or run a "Crash and Burn" race where a deslot means you are out) I submit that you will have more fun on those occassions then all the lap-time racing you previously did combined.

If you build only a 2 lane track, you may find that you are dancing with yourself, without another option.

Just my thoughts - would like to hear yours.


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## rudykizuty (Aug 16, 2007)

4 lanes, definitely. I believe in looking down the road and planning for potential. All it takes is to have company over a few times, people get interested.....and before you know it, you may be either joining or forming a club. Then, after all the hard work you had put into building a two lane setup, you wish you had done the four. If the club never happens, no harm, no foul in having four.................just my $0.02


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Chances are...*

nobody will ever come over to my sty anyway  ... Space is _very_ limited, so 2 lanes is likely all I'll have in the immediate future. BUT... if you have room (or if I did) I would go 4X. The problem is once you go to 4 in the same small space, it gets harder to build an interesting/challenging track. I have up until now utilized the Tomy Hairpin(s) to get more bang outta the small space I have. However, a couple HT members staged an intervention and have enrolled me in a 12 step program that will help me avoid HP abuse... (I'm down to one now and working at zero). For me 2 lanes has worked out fine and on the odd occasion someone came over it was fine too. nd


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I prefer 4 lanes mostly because I use my track for race practice and car setup and each lane is a different challenge. Besides that it's mostly force of habit and a deeply rooted disdain for guard rails. I totally agree that a 2-lane setup can be more interesting on the same sized table as a given 4-lane setup, especially if you are into landscaping. 

A landscaped 2-lane track can also be quite nice:
http://www.f1specialties.com/main/racetrack/racetrack.html

If you have a 2-lane track and only occasionally have 3 or 4 people over you can run lane rotations and use the extra person or two for marshaling, which gives you more real racing options. Self marshaling is fine for playing around, and crash & burn is exciting for people who thrive on caution and conservatism, but if you really want to run "on the edge" and become a better driver you really need marshals.


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Dat's niiiice Mr Too....*

I even like the track color. Looks more like a paint "technique" was utilized (and well) rather than just looking like painted track. nd


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## rudykizuty (Aug 16, 2007)

All good points on the side of two lanes that I agree with. 

After giving this topic more thought, I believe that part of my motivation is the particular track layout that I have chosen as the "go forward" for my project. The Aurora Clubman. 

I've always been a traditionalist, and I find that I get a greater sense of enjoyment when seeing a ballgame at an older ballpark, or watching a race at an older track that is steeped in a rich history within the sport. 

So, I'm a little charged up by the fact that my project is based on an "original" Aurora design that dates back to the earlier days of the hobby. Along with that comes the fact that the spec for the track is 4 lanes. (I'm a typical Virgo too and tend to go "by the book" with some things)

Oh yeah.....and though I know I can never, ever build a "Portugal" (very impressive!!!), I consider myself very, very lucky to have the space I've got to work with. Very lucky indeed.


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

*2 lane tracks can be cool*

Here is a cool 2 lane track we built for one of the members of our club. He mostly races with his son or his 2 kids race together. We're in the process of upgrading his wiring right now, but the track is now 10 years old and he has tons of fun with it. The table is @ 13 feet long and we managed to squeeze in about 75 feet of track onto it. His little area of the basement isn't big enough to host a lot of racers so we have 2, 4 lane tracks in the club for events. This track is fun and is packed with all kinds of realistic trackside stuff.










http://www.planetofspeed.com/slots/Kuhlmanoco/

:thumbsup:


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## rudykizuty (Aug 16, 2007)

I'll say!! I am really in awe of the realism that some people are sufficiently talented to produce!! WOW.


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## BewstdGT (Jan 4, 2005)

Im with ya Jeff! When I first started out I thought there was no way I would ever get more than one person to race with me, my dad. Even he's lost some interest because he enjoys watching more than playing anymore. So being able to landscape with a 2-lane setup is more fun for me personally. But lately Ive had some people come over with their old school stuff and say wow this is fun. So my track has actually gotten people back into racing and they are buying cars to race now heh. So its always good to have the additional lanes. It serously depends on the kind of racing you want to do. I would actually like to start talking to some of my buddies and trying to get them to buy some cars so I can build a 4-lane setup and actually have little get togethers on the weekends to race. Winter sucks so its nice to have an outlet to resort to when its bitter cold. I love my 2 lane setup and as much as Im trying to design a 4 lane track that would fit on my 4x10 table I cant come up with anything that would let me do scenery and still have a decent length track because it just takes up all the room. So Im torn between the two still because I dont have a bigger table. If I had a 16x4 it would be an easy decision, 4-lane all the way!!


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

Great input guys!

One thing I hoped to identify with this thread are the many variables involved when deciding on whether to build a 2 or 4 lane track, and you guys have done a good job on that. 

Some of the factors to consider might seem obvious, but for someone new to the hobby, even obvious factors might be overlooked with all the new information they are trying to digest.

Two-lane set-ups definitely have their benefits, as people have mentioned. I’m considering a building a 2-lane track, and maybe try and incorporate a single lane rally track portion to it. Or maybe even better, a 4/2/1 track.

I have seen where people build a large 4-lane oval, and then maybe a 2-lane road course inside of it. Unless the person was seriously into duplicating NASCAR style racing, I wondered why not just build a larger and more challenging 4 lane road course. However, I recently realized something that I had not considered: On those occasions where you have four people wanting to race, the fun is having all 4 cars actually ‘racing’ for longer stretches of time. A less-challenging course helps make this happen more frequently, so I now see one possible benefit of the large oval track that I hadn’t seen before.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

A couple more points to consider: First, no matter what you do the first time out, you're going to wish you could redo some or all of what you've done. Second, a lot of the joy in the hobby is in the learning and discovery, be it with the modeling, building and racing different types of cars, track design and construction, landscaping, scenery, etc. If you treat it as an open ended, lifelong adventure with branches in many directions and with a very flexible timeline, you'll probably stick with it longer because you'll never feel like you're done. 40+ years into it, I see no end in sight so I'll keep plugging along. 

Here's another track design option. This is a 4-lane road course that converts to a quad oval by popping out a couple of corners and filling the gap with straights. You can permanently affix the rest of the track pieces and just leave the few pieces involved with the conversion unattached.


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## lolagt (Sep 19, 2006)

Ive got 74' of 4 lane AFX track on a 12' x 5.5' table complete with over pass and computer lap timer ; we power it with 3 -6 volt golf cart batteries with no power loses from lane to lane even with deslots. ive had a lot of 2 lane set ups but 4 lanes is the only way to go. if you run the inside and the out side you will almost never wipe each other out.


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## lolagt (Sep 19, 2006)

:woohoo: :woohoo:


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## rockley63 (Oct 27, 2007)

lolagt,

I just built basically the same table and have been monkeying around with different layouts. Care to post a pic of your layout???


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Just a couple of points.

A four laner can be turned into a 2 laner simply by replacing a 9" straight with a single crossover on each pair of lanes. Usually you have to use crossovers in pairs, but if you only use one, you control both lanes with a single controller. Basically, you double your lap length. So, you can have your cake and eat it too.

If doing a four laner, make sure you have the proper number of curves. For every 9" you use, you have to have a 6" or a 12". For every 12", you must have a 9" or 15". For every 15", a 12" is required. For every 6", you need a 9". I used a lot of 6" curves on the layout I just constructed on a 7x5 board so I could fit the most track without going multi-level --- yet. I also have a section where I've got two four lane sections nested - a 6", 9", 12" and 15" combination. Now that looks cool. To really be insane, I could use adapters and put in a Tomy 3" and 18". A 12 lane curve.

Joe


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Go ahead and do the 4 laner, you won't kick your arse later for sure. Even if you're the only racer for the most part, you can use the other lanes to run chassis for burn in or testing or whatever. When I came back to slots back in the early 90s, I had a couple of those old Aurora steering wheel controllers that I'd hook up to a lane and just let the chassis or car(s) run while I worked on the next one. Sure beat holding the 9 volt battery on the pickup shoes for a burn in. And If I was the only racer, I could have some competetion by setting the controllers up a bit and racing against them.  Well, I could never master the racing two cars at once thing.  rr


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## BewstdGT (Jan 4, 2005)

I tried to attach a couple photos from my computer in this thread, not sure if it will work or not. MY FTP server is down so I cant host them. Anyway, I had drawn up a couple layours for my 10x4' table because I wanted the ability to do an oval or tri-oval with wide sweeping turns. You will notice the inside road course setions can be removed from the main ovals and by putting a straight section in you can put the oval back together in 2 minutes.


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