Too Small of a Flat Track?

[hrnts69]

Hello, i am working on restoring/upgrading a older Flat Track. And i am wondering if you guys think it is too small to try OG12 and Eurosport cars? I was told that the longest lap is around 55ft. I am really liking the Eurosport cars, mainly the 1/32 scale. But if it would be pointless to build one, ill just keep dreaming then.

The pics are from when the track was set up whenever i bought it. It has been smoothed out, new braid, new paint, and new power system. Looks way different now! It is 17ft long by 12ft wide.

Thanks

[Ol' Slippery]

I think it is great to have a track at home, even a small one, to test and tune...

[Greg N]

That track will run 1/32 F1s and probably 1/32 ES as well. Remember tho that you need good power supplies with lots of amps and good controllers to run those cars.

The JK 1/32 C-11 with a falcon 7 or hawk 7 would be great there, as well as the JK 1/32 F1 again with a falcon 7 or hawk 7. They will run well and have no special power or controller requirements.

You could also try 1/32 c-can ES. This is a popular class in England. They are fast and lots of fun. No special power, but a good controller is useful. Richard Mack has a good chassis for this, available from Roger Schmitt at Mid-America. These run best with the old style proslot c-can (a truly tiny can). You'd need to buy one here in the classified section. Any 45 deg .518 or .540 super wasp or contender arm would work well in it. You'd gear a 7 tooth 72 pitch pinion with as big a spur as will fit (probably 42), and run at 1/32 clearance.

The 1/32 ES, 1/32 JK c-11, and the 1/32 c-can ES require special tires. Also available at Mid-America.

Hope this helps! Sorry if you know this all already!

Greg

[hrnts69]

Thanks for the reply Greg! This track is actually going into my raceway here in Southern Il. Since my building is only 900 sq. ft, i cant fit a real ISRA legal flat track in like i want.

The main reason why i asked, is that i am interested in the ISRA style of racing. And would like to introduce this style of racing to to my racers. Granted, i dont see alot of them buying ES in the coming months. But if i could have a couple demo's to show, maybe that would gain some interest.

Just wondering, on a track like this. Would a Falcon powered 32 ES be about the same speed as a Cobalt powered 32 ES? Since the sharp turns?

And what kind of power would be needed for Cobalt ES cars? I currently have a Commerical Battery, with a Charger on top. It has around 1200 amps.

Thanks!

[Wallbasher]

Look at a lot of the tracks in Europe. Many of the club tracks are on the small size.

[wjdougherty]

Here is another suggestion. First of all, I do think the track is to short for ISRA style racing. At 55' and with only 4 lanes and at the speed the cars are going, if a car deslots the others will be on top of them so quickly and so often that it will make the racing much more difficult. The best ISRA style flat tracks, even the shorter ones, have a mix of turns and straights so that racers are spread out enough so that the cars are not always on top of or crashing into each other.

My suggestion is to build up to it gradually. I would start with the class, B Production. Start with a JK X25 chassis, get a ProSlot .540 dia Super Wasp motor, 2mm 7 tooth Camen 72 pitch pinion gear, 44 tooth Camen spur gear, Gilbert or Hermanator tires and a closed cockpit JK, OS or Redfox Coupe body. Build and test this car to see how it works on your track and go from there. If this ends up being too fast, keep the platform and move back down to slower motors until your racers are comfortable again. This type of car is also much more affordable by your local racers. I grew up racing in Southern Illinois; I drive through Nashville on my way to Carbondale, I know what the economy can be like.

ISRA racing is a builders class and is very expensive. Good quality 24th or 32d ES cars, unless you build them yourself (which your locals may not be able to do yet), cost $600-$750 from specialized builders. Regardless, the parts themselves (chassis and motors) are highly specialized and very expensive. Likewise, the controllers and chokes necessary to run these cars on a flat track, especially one this short, cost upwards of $400-$600 or more.

Since this flat track is a new venture in Nashville, start slow, build your racer base with cars they can afford/build and see how they progress. As they become more proficient at racing on the flat track, slowly start adding faster and more difficult builds until you can reach the highest levels on flat track racing...

Good luck...

[Greg N]

I think that the above post is correct, tho I'd encourage you to give the 1/32 stuff a try. It would be great on this track. I'd start with falcon or hawk powered 1/32 JK C-11s (both a regular and a F1), and if you want something faster, try a 1/32 c-can ES. You'll find that plenty fast for this track.

Greg

[wjdougherty]

Thanks Greg.

You are right, that 32d JK C11 is a wicked fast/great handling little car with a Falcon in it. Man did we have fun racing that at Pirro's on his MTT (god rest its soul). Now that there are lots of Mini motor options available, I don't know if I'd put a C-Can in that Euro chassis though. I think I'd try to keep the weight down to increase the handling, maybe a H7, PD or BD...

But first they will need to work on their controller issue. As you know, flat track racing is a whole different breed and their regular controllers won't give them the sensitivity necessary to control any of these cars.

[oldweirdherald]

I would agree with the above posts.

A 55' 4 lane track is still plenty of fun, and that track looks like it would be a blast to drive!

Another thing to remember... as the size of track decreases, so do the speeds - yet it is all relative. Just as scaled down cars look way faster in scale then in "real life" 1/1 scale racing... a smaller track also makes slower cars look and feel much faster then on a big commercial track. You don't NEED to run Eurosport motors or cars on this track. A Falcon type motored car will actually be plenty fast and provide good fats & challenging racing that is also very affordable.

You not only want to start out with inexpensive and lower tech cars to get the program started - but you may find that faster (and more costly) stuff is just not necessary!
The Falcon/Hawk type mini motors with JK 1/32 Cheetah 11 chassis are great cars and very fun to drive.

I've raced on plenty of similar 4 lane club tracks, and you can have just as much fun as on a bigger track. 4 lanes is not a problem. Most lap counter programs will let you run round robins or heat race formats. Most of the clubs I have raced with in the Seattle or Portland areas run big round robins regularly with anywhere from 5 to 24 people no problem. Even more works fine, if you have room to put the people!

PK @ OWH

[wjdougherty]

Another thing to consider. With the slower or lower power motors, there is no need for high amp batteries and/or power supplies under the track...

[MentalKase]

I'll go out on a limb here and say you'd be hard pressed to utilize high power/high acceleration/high top speed on that track. A single 10-12 ft straight I'd say lap times will be dictated and limited to entry/exit speed and cornering speed. A light chassis, a light motor, "soft" tires and a high downforce body (OS Bentlee) would give the high corner speeds, maybe even geared at 90% top speed at corner exit. You'll not pay the penalty of the high drag, you don't get up there in velocity. On another limb, you could triple the power to weight and I'd say the lap times would only drop 0.1 - 0.2 seconds. There now I'm out on two limbs.

That's my 2 1/2 sense.

[timneja]

I wouldn't try to open with a Euro program like other's have said. Try GT12 and LMP style falcon cars--- I think you'd LOVE them and have a great time without comitting a lot of money. Baby steps---GT12's are GREAT FUN for the $!!

[JimF]

IMO and YMMV...................Really fast cars and really small tracks are the domain of a very very few racers. OTH, smaller tracks with slower cars are a hoot for everyone. If'n it were me. I'd look into classes that could run something like the S7 Mini brute motor or possibly the Falcon 2. These motors are milder than the F7 and will promote closer (better) racing regardless of who the drivers are. The class and body style is rather secondary but if that track were in my garage and I were trying to start up a club, I'd make sure that whatever I started with was as easy to build and drive as reasonably possible.

Again........IMHO and YMMCMV

Absoluterly kewl track BTW.

JF

[Sam pan]

The track looks like it will be a driver's track.If size is an issue you could easily add to the straights. As far as cars,don't count out WOMPS/Thumpers.Cheap,simple,and a good entry level for newbees.Good luck. Sam.

[novice-slot]

I think the difference between 1/32 and 1/24 scale racing is the lane spacing if you have narrow lane spacing i would stick with the womps cause 1/24 scale cars will just crash all over the place regardless of the size motor and chassie you choose to run. i would suggest the previous post to keep things simple and keep the cost of cars as cheap as possible this way anyone that walks in the door can have fun and still be competitive with your regulars and that in a nutshell will urge them to come back again.
If you want to run faster car's with hotter motor's build something with atleast a little banking in the curves so you can use the car to it's potential, i have a womp with a falcon 7 and i can tell you on a 220' hillclimb i can turn laps of just under 7 seconds.