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Post by Dennis Samson on Jan 25, 2007 11:37:26 GMT -7
I asked for this thread so I could post a few pics and whet your appetities for another circuit that will be here just as soon as my relocation is complete (looks like mid-March at this point) I built this layout about 2 years back. It's called Pebblestone Raceway after the street we live on, and will keep that name once it's transplanted to CO. Hopefully I will not have to dismantle it to make space for a routed track, as I managed to get a house with a BIG basement (how does 2089 sq feet sound?) ;D I have not been completely assimilated into the SoCal lifestyle, so I still like to use my garage to store (guess what?) cars, not "stuff". This meant devising a system to hoist the track up into the garage roof space. The track is two-lane, unpainted Carrera, on a 12x6 frame, with a lap length of just over 57 feet. Nice to drive, with some challenges on the up and down grades and in hindsight the banked curves were a bad idea as the longer and lower cars struggle there. I will probably take the banking out eventually and replace it with a flat turn. OK, Photo time: Bird's eye view (well, from a ladder actually):  Back straight out of the banking:  Bottom of the hill:  Lap times run from around 4.5 seconds for a magnet-equipped TSRF to 9 seconds for non-magnet NC1 powered classics, but a nice pace is in the 6 second range. More photos with construction details are here: smg.photobucket.com/albums/v48/gascarnut/Pebblestone%20Raceway/?start=0 |
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Post by Tom Dolan on Jan 25, 2007 12:09:56 GMT -7
Nice track Dennis. Can't wait to have another circuit for the clubs to race on. Your basement is as big as my whole house!!!!!!!
Tom ;D
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Post by Dennis Samson on Jan 25, 2007 13:05:09 GMT -7
with a basement that big, maybe you should look into routing a 4 or 6 lane track...you know, for endurance racing, and such.  I have to share some of all that space with my wife's studio, but there will be a routed 4-laner in there eventually, it's already in the planning stages....or dreaming stages more like  |
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Post by Dennis Samson on Jan 25, 2007 13:38:40 GMT -7
Funny, in looking at you pictures I realized that I had bookmarked one of them (the one with the 2 Chevrons) way back when because I like the elevation changes and your use of cut up heater hoses for the tire barriers. Now I find out its your track... Glad you liked it then, you'll like it more when you drive it. The heater hose was one of those inspired accidents, but it took a bit of time to get the technique right. I started with a length of 5/8 heater hose, used some lacquer thinners to clean off the printing, then sliced it into 1/4" wide "tires". Getting a knife to cut the stuf was part of the problem, eventually the most effective I found was one of those cheap types wuth the snap-off blades, using an old blade that I sharpened up on the grinder so it had kind of micro "teeth". they sliced through the rubber and the reinforcing very nicely. A new blade made such a fine cut that the friction of the rubber on the blade made it difficult to cut, and using a saw of any type left the reinforcing fibers all fluffy and the result did not look like a tire at all. I've been thinking of changing the elevation sections as well as the banking. The down-grades are great but the up-hills are too steep and cars launch very easily, so eventually I want to make the upgrades more gradual. I'll probably do this when I remove the banking. BTW, are the photos still coming out so wide? I have reduced the size of the originals on Photobucket, but on my computer I'm still seeing the 900 pixel width. Maybe there's a cache somewhere that needs to be cleared? |
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Post by Dennis Samson on Jan 31, 2007 10:56:31 GMT -7
Looks like the movers will have my stuff here in the week of March 5. A few weeks to unpack and settle in, then it's race time... |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2007 20:07:28 GMT -7
It's here, keeps you very busy! Thanks for the laps and the tour Dennis, had a great time.  Three Amigos  Denver is a great place to be for slot racers |
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Post by Tom Dolan on Mar 29, 2007 20:53:29 GMT -7
When did this happen Dennis? Why weren't we invited? Tom  |
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Post by Dennis Samson on Mar 30, 2007 8:09:35 GMT -7
When did this happen Dennis? Why weren't we invited? Tom Last night, and I really want to make the changes to the track and get a lap counting system installed before I organize a big event. I hope no-one thinks they have been ignored or marginalized, I just wanted a few of the locals to try the track as it is and help me by evaluating the changes i want to make. I didn't expect that people would want to drive all over town on a night like last night to run a track that still has some issues and no lap scoring. I will do it properly, don't worry, and it will be good....... |
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Post by michaelh on Mar 30, 2007 8:26:30 GMT -7
Cool track you got there Dennis.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2007 9:43:18 GMT -7
The change from hi-bank to 180 flat and from humped climbs to gradual inclines should make for better flow and side by side racing. The tyre walls are very unforgiving. This will be a great training circuit once you complete that 127' 5 lane...
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Post by Dennis Samson on Oct 30, 2007 13:29:05 GMT -7
I'm currently struggling with gettng Lap timer 2000 to talk to my aged laptop. Hopefully that will be done tonight, and then I can think about changing out the track sections. I have a group of cars from the VRAA Proxy Series at my house awaiting my round of that series. I am hoping that I can get a few of you around this weekend to help me run that, but if I don't get the timing system working I will have to either re-schedule or move the event to DIRCUSA (if Miles is still agreeable). If any of you would like to help with the VRAA driving, please let me know. I have talked with Tom and Miles about it and they are both keen to do this. I would ideally like 4 drivers apart from myself. The VRAA cars are a selection of scratchbuilt and kit-bashed cars from around the country that have been competing in a Proxy series since June, running events so far in Connecticut, Tenessee and Iowa and now they are with me on their way to Washington for the final rounds. More details here |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2007 14:26:03 GMT -7
That's fine, even at the drop of a hat, Dennis...sounds like you're running out of time, so let's figure it out.
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Post by Dennis Samson on Oct 31, 2007 9:21:07 GMT -7
Thanks Miles - I will call you later today.
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Post by Dennis Samson on Oct 31, 2007 12:53:02 GMT -7
Does anyone have a spare PC with a functioning parallel port that I could borrow just to try to pinpoint my problems? I'm thinking that the fact I can only get one lane counting is possibly because I have a computer with bad pins on the parallel port. My work laptop no longer has a parallel port, so it doesn't help any. I have a monitor, so would just need the CPU.
Thanks!
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