banking curves

[kctess17]

Hi, This my First Post. Been a member for awile and reading and learning. I'm a old slotter from the 60's,getting ready to retire. I started to build a oval,table is 7.5 wide by 19 ft. long . Decided on carrera track r4 and r3 curves, straights about 12 ft. long.My question is should i bank the curves any and how much. i want to drive the track not just hold the car wide open all the way around.

[RichD]

If you have more than a few degrees of banking you will be able to run the cars flat out unless you switch to more powerful motors or increase the track voltage. The Carrera banked sections are too steep in my opinion. If you use regular flat curved sections there is a limit to how much you can shim those to make banked turns.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Carrera pre-formed banked sections are too steep. Although I disagree on running flat out, it doesn't make them a "drivers" track my any means.

Stick with standard curves and just experiment with banking using blocks/shims until you find the effect you like.

[mattb]

Agree with the above, the Carrera banked tracks are useless. The flat curves can be banked a little, I would guess 8-10 degrees. That is about what I do with mine. I run 1/24, no magnets or phony handling, just whatever the chassis design allows. I find even that little bit of banking makes a big difference, but you still have to drive thru the corner, no wide open throttle. There is an issue with banking the flat tracks, though. The more you bank them, the more the tight fit goes away and the tracks want to pull apart. Several ways to bank a section and the best is for a 180 curve. Mount the whole curve to thin plywood or fibre board, then lift the center of the curve and just let the track be raised a little at the center of the curve and not a bowl shaped bank all the way around. That makes the corner a little easier to get around, but not a perfect bank. It does keep your track joints tight, though. If you try to do a bowl shaped banked turn with flat track. you will have open track joints the more you try to bank it. Your track will still work ok, it will just have some joints that aren't tight.

If I get a chance, I will take some pictures of my banked and raised turns tomorrow to show you. I run non-mag 1/24 cars with 60's style engineering, no flexi's, no hinges, no vac bodies, just solid chassis with hard bodies and silicone tires.

mb

[kctess17]

Thanks for all the info. I don't have the carrera banked turns just flat track. I was thinking of maybe 5 to 8 degrees thats all. i like the idea of putting a 1/4 in plywood and then raising any little till i find the right banking

[RichD]

That sounds like a good plan.

[mattb]

Followup on how I banked the Carrera track. I think I got underlayment panels from HD. They are 1/8 thick and pretty flexible. I attached my track to those panels and then bank or elevate as I want. Here are some pix.

P1010008.JPG
By lifting only the end of the panel at the center of the curve, you don't make the track pull apart and you keep the dimensions of the track the same. When you twist and bank track like in the overpass above, you change the dimensions of the track and start having to cut and past track together to make it fit your odd sized design. Modifying track is not hard to do, you just have to get up your nerve and start cutting!!!

P1010001.JPG

[kctess17]

thanks for the pix. very nice track,thats what i hope i can do.