movable track - i'm sure it's been asked before :)

[packetdreamer]

our little club is getting bigger and we are looking for the best way to come up with a good/inexpensive transportable track to setup in parking lots around our city. we have thought of things from cones, to road domes (did i say inexpensive?).

basically i just want to know what looks half decent and works sell. we run nitro touring cars. we were thinking of the flexible pipes, but would does straighten out well after transport and storage? maybe a mix of 2x4s and the flexible pipe? anyone know of any ill side-effects of such a setup, or came up with something better?

thanks

[The Modfather]

When I ran on-road a million years ago, we used old firehose. Fire Dept's change their hoses quite often, so hit up your local station - they gave us 1000', and kept tryin to give us more! We all chipped in and gave them a pretty good donation, and a few of the members even volunteered around the station. It was a WIN/WIN, as we had our portable track that was very changeable for minimal cost.

[packetdreamer]

... we used old firehose...

would have never thought! thanks.

[thunderbt3]

i race at 2 tracks, one is made of 2x4's, the guy who puts on the races put a lot of work into making those. The second track, we use corrugated sewer hose. its like 3 to 4 inches in diameter, black and ribbed all the way around. in addtion to that we use straight black abs pipe of the same diameter. They set the track up using sandbags and duct tape. One bad thing is that sometimes cars can just shoot under the sewer pipe

[Jeckler]

I've raced on firehose tracks before, works great. Flexible, but it's hard to get under it, or I should say easy to stay out from under it, because of weight.
Instead of road domes, use plow discs for all the inside corners.

[KTRTS]

Yeah we use firehose too; works great :D

[packetdreamer]

thanks i think that the hose is going to be teh ticket!

now... just about how much do you think i will need to make a decent touring car track (for serpents and ntc3's and ld3's and such) how long is a good straight?

[CENthasizer]

how about that thick rope, like they use for tug of war? I saw a track set up with it, looked pretty good and stable, the only propblem is it looks heavy...

[packetdreamer]

how about that thick rope, like they use for tug of war? I saw a track set up with it, looked pretty good and stable, the only propblem is it looks heavy...

I'M NO WEAKLING, MY FRIEND!!!

:)

[CENthasizer]

yeah neither am i, but if you buy a long pice of like 6" rope it gets heavy. Anyways i dont know where you can buy that rope... Doesnt firehose flaten out? how do you guys keep it round?
good luck with the track set up!

[newracer]

PVC pipe works great

[packetdreamer]

PVC pipe works great

the problem with pvc is loading it up moving it around. it would take quite i bit to make a decent sized track - wouldn't it?

does any one have pics of a quick track they have made?

[NotWalkinBlind]

Firehose is what we used to use and it worked okay... definitely cheaper than PVC because it's free, it's easy to store (you roll it up, but be prepared for it to be a bear to haul... and if it gets wet, it weighs a LOT more)... you probably need to let someone with a pickup or van store it in their garage.

You can't keep it round, however, but that's okay... it doesn't need to be. You just lay it out there... when it's lying flat, it's about 3/8" high. Most cars won't get over it unless they're rolling and tumbling. If you begin to have a problem with cars actually driving over it, just twist it as you lay it down.

In order to estimate how much you need, go out in a big parking lot with a friend, a tape measure, and a piece of sidewalk chalk duct-taped to a yard stick or something and draw out a typical track, then go back and measure the lines... that will tell you how much hose you need. A good length for a main straightaway would be 60-80 ft., IMO.

ROAR requires pavement tracks for 1/10th to be no narrower than 10 feet at any point on the track... make sure you stick to that... especially for the new racers... a six-foot wide section is a pain in the neck for newbies... and the more experienced racers will appreciate the ten feet because they will be able to pass the new guys more easily and with less carnage.
See p. 47: http://www.roarracing.com/rules/pdfs/2004rules.pdf

[packetdreamer]

Firehose is what we used to use and it worked okay... definitely cheaper than PVC because it's free, it's easy to store (you roll it up, but be prepared for it to be a bear to haul... and if it gets wet, it weighs a LOT more)... you probably need to let someone with a pickup or van store it in their garage.

You can't keep it round, however, but that's okay... it doesn't need to be. You just lay it out there... when it's lying flat, it's about 3/8" high. Most cars won't get over it unless they're rolling and tumbling. If you begin to have a problem with cars actually driving over it, just twist it as you lay it down.

In order to estimate how much you need, go out in a big parking lot with a friend, a tape measure, and a piece of sidewalk chalk duct-taped to a yard stick or something and draw out a typical track, then go back and measure the lines... that will tell you how much hose you need. A good length for a main straightaway would be 60-80 ft., IMO.

ROAR requires pavement tracks for 1/10th to be no narrower than 10 feet at any point on the track... make sure you stick to that... especially for the new racers... a six-foot wide section is a pain in the neck for newbies... and the more experienced racers will appreciate the ten feet because they will be able to pass the new guys more easily and with less carnage.
See p. 47: http://www.roarracing.com/rules/pdfs/2004rules.pdf

thanks for all that (thank you all :) )

[NotWalkinBlind]

You know... the more I think of it, firehose is more like 3/4-1" thick when it's lying flat.

I have a buttload of it rolled up, sitting on top of pressure-treated landscaping timbers under my house... about 20 orange plow discs, too. If you wanna drive to SC to get it, you can have it all. ...chuckle...

[packetdreamer]

You know... the more I think of it, firehose is more like 3/4-1" thick when it's lying flat.

I have a buttload of it rolled up, sitting on top of pressure-treated landscaping timbers under my house... about 20 orange plow discs, too. If you wanna drive to SC to get it, you can have it all. ...chuckle...

DANG DAB-IT!!!!!! i was just down there a few weeks ago in charleston! typical!

[vtl1180ny]

Ever think of capping the ends and filling the firehoses with air????