# Routed track lane spacing, track width and more.



## tossedman (Mar 19, 2006)

Hi,

This is my first post after lurking for a while. I'm interested in routing my own track and am curious about what's already out there. It's my understanding that MaxTrax have a lane spacing of 1.75" with 2.00" on the outsides and a track width of 10.25" for the four lane and 13.75" for the six lane. Is this correct? 

Also, does anyone know the measurements for WizTrackz? 4 lane and 6 lane? 

Any advantages to the 1.75" lane spacing vs 1.5" lane spacing?

Does anyone have experience in routing Sintra? What kind of router bit did you use? Any better results in using an upcut or downcut bits or end mills? Is there a better speed to route at?

I've got more questions I'm sure but I'll save these for a later date.

Cheers,

Todd


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## Christoph73 (Mar 27, 2005)

Hello Todd,

The lanespacing on the wizztrack is 1,5".
The overall width of the wizztrack is 8".

The lanspacing on my selfmade woodtrack is 40mm which is 1,57".
The overall width of my selfbuilt track is 21cm which is 8,26".

It depends on your preferences which lanespacing is best for you.

Greetings,

Christoph


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

tossedman said:


> Hi,
> (snip)
> Any advantages to the 1.75" lane spacing vs 1.5" lane spacing?
> 
> ...


Yes, there is an advantage.
Dash afx style Cobra bodies can pass each other on the straights without touching. :thumbsup:


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

I would definitely agree w/Joe. I looked into several track manuf. & chose the
Max-Trax for the wider lane spacing and generous track border area. Many of 
the modern bodies are becoming longer & wider. If you are routing a layout
the wider lane spacing seems to be a good idea.


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## brownie374 (Nov 21, 2007)

TKO will make any width you want.


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## bemoore (Dec 23, 2008)

Tomy, AFX, and Aurora Model Motoring all have spacing less than 1.5". 1.75" is nice if you don't want any nerfing or bumping. If I were routing, I would go with 1.5", but then again, I like nerfing.


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## tossedman (Mar 19, 2006)

Christoph73 said:


> Hello Todd,
> 
> The lanespacing on the wizztrack is 1,5".
> The overall width of the wizztrack is 8".
> ...


Thanks for that info Christoph. I'm just playing with designing a track right now and was looking at a few of the WizTrackz layouts. Gives me a better idea if I want to try to replicate one of theirs.

Todd


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## tossedman (Mar 19, 2006)

joez870 said:


> Yes, there is an advantage.
> Dash afx style Cobra bodies can pass each other on the straights without touching. :thumbsup:


Are the Dash cobra bodies about as wide as they come? How about for BSRT G-Jets and lexan bodies? Would 1.5" lane spacing be alright?

Thanks,

Todd


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## tossedman (Mar 19, 2006)

brownie374 said:


> TKO will make any width you want.


I'm routing my own so I can make any width I want as well. 

Todd


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## martybauer31 (Jan 27, 2004)

bemoore said:


> Tomy, AFX, and Aurora Model Motoring all have spacing less than 1.5". 1.75" is nice if you don't want any nerfing or bumping. If I were routing, I would go with 1.5", but then again, I like nerfing.


Yep, I like the standard spacing of the Tomy tracks as well, definitely brings a little more excitement in that the potential to nerf or be nerfed is waiting at the next corner.... 

The max tracks are a lot of fun, but I think the lanes are just a bit too wide, the only way you can take someone out is to exit your lane, a technique our very own Mike King has perfected.


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Tyco & Wizz-Track have 1.5" lane spacing. Aurora Model Motoring, AFX &
Tomy have alternating lane spacing. Lanes #1 & 2 are closer than #2 to 3.
Lanes #3 & 4 will be closer than #4 to 5. 
Most Lexan bodies work well with 1.5" spacing. I like the 1.75" spacing for the new body offerings by Dash, Tomy & Mega cars. I've seen a sketch for 
a routed track that had a donut section of the layout with 2" lane spacing.
If you are routing your own layout you can deviate from the wider lane spacing to have a section or more for the lanes to merge.


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Todd, just a thought for reference. I posted a comparison for 8 lanes of AFX
track to a 6 lane 29" section from my Max-Trax pcs. (Discussion-9/12/09)


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

tossedman said:


> Are the Dash cobra bodies about as wide as they come? How about for BSRT G-Jets and lexan bodies? Would 1.5" lane spacing be alright?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Todd


Todd,
I'm actually thinking of going to 2" lane spacing on a routed track. My personal feeling is that cars larger than T-Jets just look too big for 3" wide (1.5" lane spacing) plastic track. Plus 2" works well when dealing with boards that are a multiple of 2, such as 4x8 boards.

I've run on a Brad Bowman track and found the T-Jets looked too small and the larger cars (AFX, Tyco, Tomy, Lifelike, etc.) looked great. I don't know what lane spacing is used, but it certainly looks wider then 1.5".

If you use some of the lesser know brands, such as Microscalextric and Marchon, you'll see those cars are slightly larger than your run-of-the-mill Tyco, etc. There's even a difference in using a Tyco F1 and wide bodies Tyco. Some of the Tyco bodies can be fairly large, such as the Charger and Superbird.

I find plastic track to be good for T-Jets, but I don't like it so much for magnet cars. Therefore, the routed track will be geared more toward the larger bodied cars. Plus, I want the routed track to be used for 1/43rd as well, and I'm guessing using every other lane for them will look good.

But, as everyone will tell you, build a small test track first.

Joe


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## tossedman (Mar 19, 2006)

Dyno Dom said:


> Todd, just a thought for reference. I posted a comparison for 8 lanes of AFX
> track to a 6 lane 29" section from my Max-Trax pcs. (Discussion-9/12/09)


Thanks Dom, This picture seals it...










I can see that the extra 0.25" in lane spacing looks great. I've drawn up a track with 1.5" lane spacing in Adobe Illustrator. Won't take much to modify it to 1.75" lane spacing. I see on the MaxTrax website that the 6 lane track is 13.75" wide. That leaves lots of room on the outside of the lanes - 2.5". I don't think I'd go much wider though. Makes a 6 lane track pretty wide and limits how much you can fit on a table.



Grandcheapskate said:


> Todd,
> I'm actually thinking of going to 2" lane spacing on a routed track. My personal feeling is that cars larger than T-Jets just look too big for 3" wide (1.5" lane spacing) plastic track. Plus 2" works well when dealing with boards that are a multiple of 2, such as 4x8 boards.
> 
> I've run on a Brad Bowman track and found the T-Jets looked too small and the larger cars (AFX, Tyco, Tomy, Lifelike, etc.) looked great. I don't know what lane spacing is used, but it certainly looks wider then 1.5".
> ...


Hey Joe,

I'm starting fresh after a long, long hiatus from HO slots so I don;t have many cars. I like the idea of the BSRT G-Jets and the AF/x Mega G's.

I may go 4 lane still. Lets you have that much more track, but I'm pretty sure now that I'm going with the 1.75" spacing.

Cheers,

Todd


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

tossedman said:


> Hey Joe,
> 
> I'm starting fresh after a long, long hiatus from HO slots so I don't have many cars.


 That situation will not last long...LOL!!! I think they breed.

Joe


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## tossedman (Mar 19, 2006)

Grandcheapskate said:


> That situation will not last long...LOL!!! I think they breed.
> 
> Joe


I think you're right. One just doesn't seem like enough. 

Todd


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