# MaxTrax w/ Aluminum Frame for Ceiling Mount



## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

I just tore down a 12' x 4' Tyco 4 lane track I had mounted to the ceiling and going for a 19' x 5' MaxTrax. The old track was was built on a wooden platform and because of the span, there was a lot of wood used to support it securely (200+ Lbs). We had many years of fun, but it was time for a larger set-up.

So knowing the weight of this larger set-up. I had to get creative in choosing the materials to support it from the ceiling. I decided to go with 1" aluminum tubing. Right now this 19' long track layout weighs 96.2 lb's including the Lauan board and the weight of the track is 26 lbs. It has six lifting points and I temporarily put some pulleys and ropes to a single lifting point just to see how it would raise manually, which still is to heavy for me to raise manually. So I decided to go with a Polaris DC winch with battery and charger which is currently on the way.

I will update this as I go along, still have to sheet-rock walls etc, but just wanted to point out how one could build a slot car bed out of an aluminum structure and Lauan top to really save on the weight of a wood structure when hanging a track from the ceiling.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

Probably that Lauan will make for a rather noisy track, if that turns out to be a problem you can cover the Lauan with foam backed carpet runner. I was wondering how that aluminum tubing/Lauan would hold up if someone happened to lean on it. Most people overbuild their tables, which can be a problem if you need to move them around, or as in your case, hoist them off of the floor. Back when I worked in a chemical pilot plant we used a lot of Unistrut, which is very strong. Aluminum I beam type material is also available if weight is a concern.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Rich I was considering some cork board, or foam board for the sound. Both are pretty light weight and it will probably make me use 6/32" nuts and screws instead of screwing it to the wood. These next two pictures show the bottom. I made this in two 114" pieces, so if I ever have to move the aluminum structure, I can just take the Lauan off and unbolt the two sections.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

LOL, you took the car cover off the "Fire Chicken" for the second picture.
nice car!
I considered buying one when they were being phased out, but the insurance premiums were higher than the car payments.
just a tad jealous here!
LOL
thanx for the update on your continuing project, 
I will be tuning in occasionally to see your progress.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

In my experience foam board resonates as badly as thin plywood does, which is why I recommended using the carpet runner. You probably would not want to use anything with much of a pile, if you use green runner it looks like grass.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

I will check into this carpet runner just to see what kind of weight it will add. This 19' I have is a long span on this 1" aluminum. Even with six lifting points I noticed a slight bow to the center, maybe 1/8". This evening I'm adding some additional support to the center to true this up. I don't want the track to pop off at the screws when lifting, or lowering. If the foam board is noisy, I will take the advice and not go there.

Your track gives me some ideas for future expansion / lengthening of the layout. You have a really nice set-up and I like the attention to detail when you selected the color of the chairs!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Have to agree on the lauan or foam board being noisey. A layer of cork would help. (Used a lot on train layouts.) Instead of a carpet runner you might consider indoor outdoor carpet instead. It has some rubber backing that will help with noise as well.

On the car insurance check out the collector car insurance guys like grundy or haggerty. A lot cheaper to cover as long as you have another DD in the stable. :cheers2:


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

I did say foam backed carpet runner. If you had used larger diameter tubing for the longer pieces you might not have had the sagging problem. In addition there are different grades of aluminum, there are softer types that bend easily and more rigid types for structural use. The structural type would be better for your application, people that build hang gliders use that sort of aluminum tubing.
As it strands now you can add parallel tubing, but if someone leans on the table it might get a permanent bend. You could also cheat and put a saw horse under the middle of the table.
Using color coded stools was not my original idea, I saw those at the legendary Area 51 five lane 1/32nd track in Storrs, CT. I'll bet that someone was wondering why I ordered four different colors. Note that the controllers and driver's stations are also color coded.
My table can be lifted off of the floor if necessary, if you look closely at the picture you will see a big screw eye in the end of the table. There are matching hooks attached to the floor joists. I have lengths of chain with S hooks in case the basement gets flooded and I need to get the table off of the floor.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Rich Dumas said:


> I did say foam backed carpet runner. If you had used larger diameter tubing for the longer pieces you might not have had the sagging problem. In addition there are different grades of aluminum, there are softer types that bend easily and more rigid types for structural use. The structural type would be better for your application, people that build hang gliders use that sort of aluminum tubing.
> As it strands now you can add parallel tubing, but if someone leans on the table it might get a permanent bend. You could also cheat and put a saw horse under the middle of the table.
> Using color coded stools was not my original idea, I saw those at the legendary Area 51 five lane 1/32nd track in Storrs, CT. I'll bet that someone was wondering why I ordered four different colors. Note that the controllers and driver's stations are also color coded.
> My table can be lifted off of the floor if necessary, if you look closely at the picture you will see a big screw eye in the end of the table. There are matching hooks attached to the floor joists. I have lengths of chain with S hooks in case the basement gets flooded and I need to get the table off of the floor.


We used a 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum. It's about as strong as any 1" tubing out there and not cheap. I just ordered two more 115" pieces which will shore up the center pretty well.

The intentions are not to run this while suspended in the air. If I can't find anything available from the big box stores, I'm going to make 4 x 60" aluminum saw horses which will interlock with the aluminum cross members under the track. They will have rubber strips so they won't slip. I had this under two saw horses and 4 x 37" aluminum scrap I had and the table was pretty steady. As far as someone bending it while leaning on it, that's not going to happen. I guess if I bought the aluminum from HD or Lowes, it could have.

I painted the base yesterday Hunter Green and am waiting on the wire rope, cutters etc. The second picture is this track set up at the home of the previous owner. He had 1 lifting point in the center, with a manual boat winch. A guy on each end to help and one on the winch is what it took to get down and up. I'm building this one for a 1 man operation with electric winch....

So


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Moving right along I picked up another 20' section of the 1" tubing and mounted it this afternoon. It really strengthened the top out good and there is hardly any deviation. I also cut 8 X 27" pieces of scrap Lauan and filled the gaps in the wood on the back side.

I was looking at the tubing I just added and it is going to double as a wire duct. I was going to use wire loom, but where the power sections in the track land, this square tubing comes out right at where they are both located. Tomorrow I'm putting the second coat of hunter green on the top and will start on some basic wiring.

Alpink. It is a 2002 WS6 with a Texas Torquer 3 Cam and PRC heads 450/395hp at the wheel 11.48 in the quarter best time and I hid the tag with the car cover 

Milton Fox is right. I have both of these cars in the basement with Haggerty insurance. The total cost for full coverage is like $600.00 a year and I'm limited to 2500 miles each.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

I like the idea of using the tube as a wire loom
BRILLIANT!


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

alpink said:


> I like the idea of using the tube as a wire loom
> BRILLIANT!


Thank you! I'm an electrician by trade, so I'm always thinking about the electrical.

So on the theme of electrical, I came up with a time savings idea for the support legs, that are going to go under this table. I picked up some 2" EMT, six 2" conduit fittings and six 2" rain tight hubs. Broke the band saw out I haven't used in years and cut 6 X 35" legs. Assembled them all together and they look like they are going to work out great and will be plenty of support. I'm going to get some more aluminum plate in the corners and do pretty much the same thing, bolt the hub and add the connectors. So it's back to the fabricator for more aluminum..................


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

I picked up the aluminum sections for the tubing mounts, got them mounted and with the help of my wife, we got it set in place. The conduit fittings are pretty much adjustable so you can screw them in as much as needed to get it level. Due to the span of the table it does have a slight wobble if you push it hard, but it is not going to collapse if someone shoved it hard. I'm going to source some rubber and put it under the feet of these rain hubs. I went ahead and gave it a second coat of paint, after I got the table in place.

The winch came in today, so know I have to take some time to get the frame for mounting etc. Maybe by this weekend, I will have it going.........temporarily, using some nylon rope until the wire rope arrives.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

The winch came in on Thursday and I found a breaker mounting bracket off of a Kohler generator to mount it on. I pre-wired it and tested it on the bench before mounting. Got it mounted and it worked great raising and lowering the table using a small lawn mower battery. The amp draw is pretty minimal for the weight I have, so I'm going to see if my power supply will make it happen. I went DC for that reason and more importantly it was the only one I found that was made in the USA. 

So while it was up, I screwed the legs on got it level and started to set the track. I picked up 5 rolls of tool box liner and laid these under the track. Since it was rolled I'm going to wait a few weeks for it to settle in and then I'm going to put adhesive under it. It is quite a process putting this MaxTrax track down one screw at a time, measuring the best you can for it to come out right. The first time I was 1/8" to long, so the only thing you can do is to take out several sections till you get it right. Anyway second time around it came out nice and tight.

I temporarily wired the yellow and blue lanes this morning to the Trackmate power supply and after tweaking the connectors, it was off to the races. My barrier's in the corners are not up, so I had to use some donor cars for the test. I'm still missing a front axle from a Life-Like T-Bird:smile2:. I tested 5 cars. AW 4 Gear ran well, Tyco 440 ran well, Life-Like did really well until it went airborne, AFX Non-Mag ran well, X Traction was a new car, had to cut the guide down a hair and it was the worst running one of the bunch. Once I get the guard rails and barriers up I plan on running brass pans and others.

I cut the pegboard to fit over the winch frame, put some lag bolts in the frame and buttoned the wall back up. Back down with the table, so I could start on the wiring job. I was way short on the wire I picked up, so I called it a day, for now.......


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Staying on the goal of getting this track going, I spent the last two evenings wiring the underside. I was able to use the upper tubing to run some wires through, getting to the two track power sections. I had two Molex connector mating pairs and was able to incorporate these in the wiring. One for the power section and the other for the lap counter. When I bring the track down from the ceiling, I will plug these connectors to the power supply and the lap counter and going up I will just unplug them and roll up the main harness. Tomorrow I'm going to build the two harnesses going to the equipment, so until next time.............


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

That looks great so far! One minor problem that I have had with my MaxTrax is that the slots mimic those of the original Aurora Model Motoring lock and joiner track, so they are not as deep as with the later A/FX track or with Tomy track. Most of the custom made tracks also use the same slot depth as Tomy track. With most types of cars the slot depth is not a problem, however with T-Jet SS/Fray cars if I set my guide pin depth for Tomy track the pins will drag on my MaxTrax. I presume that your track is newer than mine and I was wondering what the slot depth was. I suppose that I could ask Paul Kniffen.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Rich the depth looks like it is right at .125 or 1/8". Just for the heck of it, I measured a piece of Tyco track and it is shallower .109375 or 7/64. 

I did notice your track has the hold down tabs on the outside, and this one the holes are drilled through the track on the edges. When I was screwing it down I thought it was odd, for they looked like someone hand drilled the holes. The holes were all the same diameter, but the positions were really not that precise. I remember thinking to myself, "I would have thought these holes were drilled with a CNC type process"? 

Here in a day or so I'm going to get the Trackmate timer going. I went to their web site and downloaded a newer version of the software. I put some Cat5 wire on the terminals with everything plugged in and was able to trip the timers as if a car were going through the lap counter section. I still have not grasped the concept of why an additional relay is needed in this setup. The Trackmate timer I have is the SCL3USB along with the 140-409 USB connection board. It does have the plugin 120vac/12vdc power plug so I don't know if you have this then this is all you need / no additional relay? It seemed to work fine on the bench test without it, but maybe you can shed some light on this for me.

Thanks,

Miike


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

Mike, I think the relay is intended to be hooked up to "track" switches.
also, I think there is a procedure with which the power can be turned on and off from the keyboard through the relay.
I drag race, so I have no need and I am not certain


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

You might want to check that slot depth with a caliper. My original sections have slots that are 0.146 inches deep and the newer section that I had made to to convert the track to an oval is 0.160 inches. The AFX track section that I have measures 0.188.
The hold down tabs in the picture of my track are actually clamps that are held down by drywall screws, those were supplied with the track.
With your Trackmate system power to activate the track power relay comes from the interface unit. Track power would come from your track power supply, the relay just turns that on and off. If you are racing the program activates the relay as needed. You can wire in a track call button or just use either the space bar or Enter key to turn the power on and off. It is also a good idea to wire a bypass switch that jumps around the relay, that way you can operate your track without turning the computer on. An ordinary wall switch can be used in that case.
Here is some info on setting up Trackmate: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzLR42NthGeCZktLR2E3a3dDZnM/view?usp=sharing


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Rich Dumas said:


> You might want to check that slot depth with a caliper. My original sections have slots that are 0.146 inches deep and the newer section that I had made to to convert the track to an oval is 0.160 inches. The AFX track section that I have measures 0.188.
> The hold down tabs in the picture of my track are actually clamps that are held down by drywall screws, those were supplied with the track.
> With your Trackmate system power to activate the track power relay comes from the interface unit. Track power would come from your track power supply, the relay just turns that on and off. If you are racing the program activates the relay as needed. You can wire in a track call button or just use either the space bar or Enter key to turn the power on and off. It is also a good idea to wire a bypass switch that jumps around the relay, that way you can operate your track without turning the computer on. An ordinary wall switch can be used in that case.
> Here is some info on setting up Trackmate: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzLR42NthGeCZktLR2E3a3dDZnM/view?usp=sharing


I got it all going yesterday as far as four lanes running, computer hooked up, lap counters checked and went in the program to change the colors for the lanes. It all works great and my pre-wiring all worked out as planned. For now I don't have the relay, but will add one in the system in a few days or so. I will find my caliper and measure the depth again.

I purchased that 1/16" stainless wire rope off of ebay and apparently the box was destroyed, for the tracking showed dead mail sent to recovery center. Seller is sending more, so I'm still waiting for this to arrive. Tried the power supply to the winch, but apparently not enough current to draw the winch (solenoid clattering), so I'm going to stick with the battery for now. Once the wire rope comes in I will do a video of the raising and lowering of the track.

I found a unique terminal strip which I took out of an Onan transfer switch and used this for the cat 5 wire to the track harness. Worked out great. 

The 3rd picture how I keep my extra cars and parts which are not in my display. These tool boxes are pretty reasonable around Christmas time $195 @ HD and it keeps the grand kids out under lock and key!


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

If it had been me I probably would have gone with the type of manually operated winch that is used with boat trailers. I'll bet that your winch pulls a lot of amps when it starts up. It sounds like you already have a battery to run the winch, if you are just using your car battery to test the winch you will have to buy another battery and a charger for that. I just bought a jump starter from Harbor Freight for $40, that has a 17 Ah sealed battery and the charger is built in. As a bonus the unit has lights, a couple of cigarette lighter outlets and a USB charging port.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Great Looking track, I like the aluminum over wood, I did my table to fold up to the wall its 17 x 4 roughly and use a HF 120 volt winch and it has no problem picking up the track and folding it to the wall 

Looks Great Keep Posting pics, I had a friend who had a Camaro SS similar to your Fire Chicken, Great cars

Boosted


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Rich I did have a manual winch that I used on the 12 footer I tore down, but opted to go electric, for the winch and bracket stuck out of the wall about 1'. My room is pretty narrow about 12' and the rest of the stuff hanging on the wall is going elsewhere. I am using a small 200 CCA lawnmower battery for the power which works great. I have 4 vintage Cub Cadets I restored so I'm pretty much battery poor! I will check in to the Harbor Freight setup.

I worked on the edging / guard rails a little this weekend. I had three pieces of 3/4" X 15' long aluminum trim I never used on another project and modified them around the turn sections. With the extra tool box liner I covered up the rough edges and used a roll of metal reinforced rubber edging to top off the top of it. I used the foam radius protectors that came in the Maxtrax shipping box for an outline. It turned out pretty good, keeps the cars on the track at low voltage and now I can add to this with the catch fences / billboards.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

I had a little time today to put together the relay panel. I wound up building a bracket and put the track sensor terminal strip I built a few days back in the same assembly. Mounted the relay, 10 amp fuse and switch. Got it all hooked up and plugged it in, turned the Trackmate program on and was able to turn the relay on and off. Next I will take the advise from Rich and put a relay bypass in. I have a few more of the Molex connectors left, so I will just make a bypass harness when not plugged into the computer. I will figure a place to mount this under the track in the next few days and the wiring should be complete in the next few days.

So here is a question to people that have read this so far. If this was your track and wanted to incorporate a drag strip, what would you do? I thought about (1) using the lane next to the controllers and using overhead senders, (2)running a drag strip right down the center of this set up, or (3) give me some ideas______________________________

The last picture is of the Maxtrax Drag Strips that would fit down the center of this track. I would have to build a bracket on the far end of the track for the shutdown area when in use and would probably go with the 46" shutdown. I tried researching some drag strips on this site, but a lot of those photo bucket shots don't appear so what is left is minimal. I also tried looking for members photo albums with drag strips, but that didn't work very good, for the search engine seems to have issues.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

Your track wiring looks great, I don't post pictures of mine for good reasons. You might want to consider having some safety straps to secure your track when it is in the up position. A few years back someone has his track come crashing down due to some sort of malfunction and it was a total loss. He was lucky that his car was not parked under the track at the time. He did have safety straps, but he had neglected to use them.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

since it seems you can afford it, go with the 21' track.
you will find that extra shut down can make a huge difference.
consider shunting the dead shut down area or even using low voltage reverse polarity (one 9 volt battery per lane) for "dynamic" braking.
you could of course use your straight on the existing track, but shut down would probably be an even bigger problem.
I have a portable 1/64 scale 1/4 mile and have 10 feet of shut down using 1" wide by 1/4" thick steel for the shut down to aid magnet traction cars in stopping. the space between the steel is the slot.
that is overkill for your situation and adds weight you don't want.
my semi permanent 1/8 mile at home has 6 feet of shut down with the same steel. 
and dynamic braking.
in any case, a sufficient "catch box" at the end is a must. loosely bunched up microfiber cloths (Harbor Freight) to cushion a very fast car is what I use.

timing systems will be another post later


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## Acki (Aug 2, 2009)

I follow your post with interest but have not much to contribute to the technical aspects. Wiring looks good to me. I would not show what I did.
Could you maybe show us how the segments connect. Does MaxTrax use metal brackets? If they do, what material are they made from?
This is one of the many parts I want to improve on my track and look for ideas how too.

Acki


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

Acki and Rich Dumas, I am very curious why you think it is not a good idea to show wiring?


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## Acki (Aug 2, 2009)

alpink, not in genral, just my creations :wink2:


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

My track wiring is functional but not necessarily photogenic. Some things are just not made to be seen. I used beefy wiring and everything is carefully labeled. I have never had any problems with the wiring, so if it ain't broke why fix it? If I had to build another track I probably would fuss more about how the wiring looks.
Like other aftermarket HO tracks the rails are held in place by plastic tubing, but MaxTrax are sectional. The tubing stops just over a half inch from the ends of each section and that makes for slots next to the rails. Inch long stainless steel keys are pressed into those slots and they both make the electrical connections and align the sections.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Let's talk about the wiring first:smile2:. 

I'm fortunate to own a generator company where we take in a lot of used transfer switches. We test and strip them down for the contactors and circuit boards for resale, or refurbish the entire unit and sell them. If it were not for all these extra parts, my wiring probably would look much different and the parts would normally wind up in the recycle bin. Most everything you see in the wiring, the loom, molex connectors, harnesses, terminal strips, brackets, switches etc. came out of these switches, so for me they are all free.

So onto the build. The wire rope finally made it in today. The first box was lost so I patiently waited for the next shipment. It is 1/16" stainless and the break strength is 400+ pounds per wire. As soon as I got home I had all of the components to put it together and got it all assembled. Not trusting an individual clamp I used two each on each lifting point with the thimble With leather gloves on I pulled each of the six cables as tight as I could and used two clamps to clamp the the winch cable.

With the winch wired up, I pulled the table within a few inches from the lights. It went up really smooth and even and tested it several times. With it all the way up, I have 82" of clearance from the bottom of the table to the ground. Of course the first thing my wife said was " I guess your going to have to put lights under the track now". Yeah OK that is for another day.

So after looking at it suspended and pushing it back and forth a little, just to insure the stability, I will probably change the eye-hooks to 3/8" and the same with the D-Rings. They are all capable of the weight I have, just want to make damn sure. Once it is all wired up and the winch all correct, I plan on putting a limit switch on the lifting cable to kill the solenoid, for another just in case.

Also Rich, yes no doubt about the additional safety devices when it is up in the air. I had some on my 12 foot one I took down and this one will have them as well. Thanks for the comments Acki and I will post some pictures soon of the connectors and Alpink when I get to the Drag Strip, it will go right up the center of this table. Wasn't to sure of a return lane by using what I have, but after watching some videos, it looks like the exercise is worth it!

So here are some pictures with it up. I didn't bother taking the legs off yet, for I knew I still have some more wiring to do. And please overlook the mess, it is work in progress:cheers2:


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## Acki (Aug 2, 2009)

Thank you Rich Dumas, for explaining how the sections are connected. I suspected something like a clamp to have firm contact of the pieces.

Acki


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## Acki (Aug 2, 2009)

It looks good to me. Should be lots of fun racing.
I am surprised to see the track table does not bend with connecting the wire only to four corners.
Do you have extra lights once the table is lifted to the ceiling?

Acki


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Acki said:


> It looks good to me. Should be lots of fun racing.
> I am surprised to see the track table does not bend with connecting the wire only to four corners.
> Do you have extra lights once the table is lifted to the ceiling?
> 
> Acki


Acki, there are 6 lifting points, four on the ends in the corners and two in the center. If you look at this picture you see the 6 pulleys. Yes I will have to mount a light under the table, or maybe on the wall.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

I changed a little wiring to make it easier for the hook-up. I built another bracket and was able to put the Trackmate board, relay, switch, fuse on the back and a couple of connectors to hook the DC up to the track. I eliminated the Molex connectors once I got under the table and started to look at the situation. So there are now less connection points for failure. I also built and mounted another switch / fuse bracket for future lighting on the track

I started to make some guard rails to keep the cars on the track. They are pretty simple to make and work well. I put three strips of Scotch storage tape on the back and one on the front, leaving the tape over lapping on the bottom to stick to the door bead I put on last week. I ordered a roll of Nomex 410 insulation paper and will put this on the back to stiffen it up a little more. For now though, the guard rails work good on about 15V of power and the cars stay on the track.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Well it's been about a week now, so I thought I would post something. I did a little more wiring detail underneath, but other than that, I have been having fun using the track for the past week. I have a wide variety of cars I have been testing, trying to determine the best. 

So far this is what I have found.

1. Life-Like T & M Chassis's seem to be the best as far as speed and sticking to the track, the lower the body the better, noisy due to the magnets
2. Tyco 440 Wide Pan pretty good, lots of speed, have to watch the speed in the corners, quieter
3. Tyco 440 Narrow, lots of speed a little better in the corner, but still you have to drive them, nice fishtail action, much quieter 
4. Tyco Brass Pan, they run OK, but seem to bounce quite a bit, still fun pretty quiet
5. AFX Non Mag, smooth not fast, but they run pretty well. AFX Magnatraction about the same sticks a little better
6. Original T-Jet I have a good collection of these and ran a few, but I just don't think this is the best track for them
7. I ran some X Traction and AW cars and Chassis's and I wasn't really impressed. It seems like with the 4 Gear you have to bump the voltage way up for them to run right. I pulled two fresh out of the package and they ran completely different and I'm sure it is nothing more than the quality of where they are made VS the older cars. 



This is pretty much a high speed oval. I don't have any BSRT / Wizzard / Slottech cars or such, but will just run what I have for now. 

The Trackmate program is really nice and I figured out pretty much how it works through the different settings. My best lap time so far at 14 Volts is 2.455 with a Dodge Charger Life-Like Kahne car, which is a pretty low profile body.

So until next time I will still be having fun and racing and laying out some lighting for the track.


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

AMXBmw,
You have done a terrific job on your entire layout, Enjoy the track as I'm sure we are all enjoying your thread!! :thumbsup:
A Max Trax is a hi-downforce track, based on the age of your pieces, you could have the keys between the slot and rails for the more modern design with "L" shaped rails.
The top width of rails is .022" vs. .015" for Tomy and some others.
I have a 6 lane MT road course and would have to disagree with your opinion for the T-Jet based cars whether original Aurora, AW or J/L.
They actually need a minimum of 18 volts to perform due to the complex gearing configuration and are perfect for a MT considering the wide outer borders and 1.75" lane spacing.
Our club is currently in process of obtaining a 4 lane MT to replace a club Tomy layout.
The more current purpose built race chassis you mention will need to have adjustments for height due to downforce especially as the magnets become stronger levels.
If I were to have a gripe with MT it would be the more shallow slot as compared to other track pieces requiring guide pin trimming.
Thanks again for your posting.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

Still running at 15 volts? Most people run their HO tracks at 18-20 volts, except for the Gravity and G-Jet type cars that are are usually run at 12 volts. When my MaxTrax was brand new there was little grip, I broke in the track quickly by running a car around that had big sponge tires with traction compound on them. T-Jets are dogs at lower voltages, I run my track at 18.5 volts. A properly tuned T-jet would be plenty fast enough, even on a large track like yours.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Rich, no the 14-15V is basically test and tune voltage. Just trying to keep the damage to a minimum of cars making it over the wall, until I get this track down pat. I did a whole lot more testing this weekend with some older T-Jets, G-Plus, AFX, Tyco Indy's and other cars. 

So far the Tyco Indy 440 narrow chassis are the best @ 18-20V. I did have a chance to run an Aurora Hot Rod Coupe and a Cheetah as well. Both ran fine at a higher voltage, but I value my older T-Jets and really don't want to crash these. The one thing I did do, that improved the overall performance of all the cars, was to clean the shoes of any oxidization that may hit the track. This made a whole lot of difference. 

As Dyno Dom indicated in an earlier post, the MT track is much different than a factory / out of the box track and some things may need to be adjusted. No doubt the Life Like cars have strong magnets and stick well, but my whole intentions of setting this up was to run brass pan and or lighter magnet cars.

Also keep in mind, I am just a hobbyist. There are no clubs around here that race, so any info I get is from this board or own personal research.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

I had not considered turning down the voltage for test purposes since I never crash myself, well hardly ever!
My MaxTrax has taller and wider rails than Tomy track and the slots are not as deep. I believe that most aftermarket track builders, like Brad Bowman, emulate Tomy track. I will have to contact Paul Kniffen to see what the rails and slots are like now.


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## wheelszk (Jul 8, 2006)

I run my Maxx at 20V


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## RTRSLOTS (Jan 22, 2018)

double post


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## RTRSLOTS (Jan 22, 2018)

*question*

what are these tracks constructed from?


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## RTRSLOTS (Jan 22, 2018)

*question*

what are these MaxTrax made of


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

MaxTrax Scale Racing
" Track material is solid 1/4" thick PVC "

sometimes, a little patience is required on bulletin boards such as this. 
especially during warm weather and even more so on holidays.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

The material is called Sintra, which is expanded PVC. Most aftermarket HO tracks are now made of Sintra. Sintra does not expand and contract as much as MDF, it is immune to water damage and it does not have to be painted.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Well after a few months of fun with the track, it was off to other projects. After some buckling up on the wiring system, I used the electric winch to get it back up, put two additional pieces of aluminum under the track for the ratchet straps to have a better surface area to help hold the track up. Once I put the eye hooks in place, I cinched the straps up evenly and let the track down for equal pressure. The whole table and track is around 225-250 lbs, so there is plenty of security holding this up which includes the six air craft cables rated at 400lbs each. 

I cleaned most of the wall off so I can finish the one side of this track with sheet rock and large screen for the lap counter among other things. I came up with a clever idea to put all that stuff on another wall and getting most of it recessed in the wall frame.


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

Hard to believe it's been two + years since I posted on this site, but the new company has been busier than ever and just getting caught up. So in the past two months I decided to take down the peg board, hang some sheet rock and get back on this race room project. So in the mix of all of this work in the basement, I decided to build a secure enclosure for the track winch. Using an enclosure we had laying around at the shop, I cut out the hole, trimmed it off with Trimloc and added a plexiglass window to see through. Cut a large hole at the top for the cables to go through, added a solenoid / power switch and it all turned out pretty good and functional. Next on this winch setup will be two limit switches to stop the winch from going to high, or two low when raising and lowering it.

Other than that its time to "Rock On" with the sheet rock and sling some more mud!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

To bad you have been busy, but good that you have been. Good to see you back on the build, too! 🤙


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

I finished up on the guard rails. Used some .085 aluminum sheet. It’s pretty easy to work with using a gig saw but not with metal shears. Topped it of with some Trimlok so you won’t cut yourself on the edges. I’m thinking about some safer barriers due to coming into and out of the corners. Had some left over brackets and hardware from my solar project to bolt it down. Oh yeah my first post from my phone!


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## amxbmw (Apr 8, 2006)

After all of that with the guard rails fabrication etc., I tried various materials for the safer barrier. I thought I was on to something with the packing material that came with the track, but it just didn’t work out. So I went to my shop yesterday and grabbed 30’ of bulb trim. I dismantled all of the original railings and put the new trim on. So it’s pretty cool because when the car comes off the track, it hits the lower section of the trim and the bulb portion keeps the cars on the track sort of deflecting it downwards. So the railing I originally put up is still in place and the trim fits snugly to the rails. The rails I used are are intended for a drop ceiling, but work out great in this application. On the corners I cut the rails every 3/4 on an inch to make it form better and covered it with toolbox drawer liner.


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