Magnetic Braid

[Michael.cannonj]

I'm asking out of curiosity, trying to think outside of the box. If a person takes a standard wooden track....let's say an American orange, and used magnetic braid in the turns to accommodate 1/32 cars.... would they be able to run effectively on that track and would that braid cause any difference to the usual slot car traffic?

I know the braid is expensive. I understand we don't have a working model to prove this is effective. I am just wondering about the technical aspects of the experiment. We can argue about whether folks would race on it or not later.

[CARSHouston]

The braid isn't magnetic braid, its steel braid and you install magnets on the cars.
You need to have Jim Honeycutt from MagnaTech Raceway in San Antonio post, he has 180' Engleman that they run magnet classes on.

[Michael.cannonj]

Done some checking. There are some tracks doing this. Most are smaller or 4 lane but....on an Orange or Windsor style track it might work ok. The Magna Braid is a tinned braid, which I'm sure everyone knows and it's a little more expensive but not so much so as to make it impossible.
So....is it worth trying to draw out the Carrera crowd?

[CARSHouston]

This is a commercial raceway with a 8 lane, 180' Engleman that they run magnet classes on

http://slotblog.net/topic/9374-magna...y-san-antonio/

Check it out and contact Jim, he's been running this setup for years.

[Sam pan]

I'm told the braid lasts a lot longer too. This would offset the slight premium in cost. The added participation of the plastic car crowd would be a welcome addition of income. Plus rental cars could be fitted with magnets to make the newbie experience more appealing. To me the braid is a win win win.

My only concern is with its use in the turns only. Might make for some weird handling quirks coming into and out of the turns. If not re-braiding the entire track I would extend the use to the entry and exit of the turns. There is also the issue of varied braid thickness affecting the braid depth. So in my opinion I would use it on the entire track.