Best Track vs. Freedom

Commercial tracks.
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farra
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Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by farra »

I know there is already a thread discussing this, but some of it is old and it looks like the tracks have been updated. Can anyone give me a basic run-down of the differences between these 2 tracks? (ease of use, durability, weight, stored size, etc.) I'm assuming they are both good high-quality tracks. I'm just not sure how to choose!! :D

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
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PWD
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by PWD »

How are you going to use the track? Personal use? Pack race? District race? Rent it out?

If it is for your pack race what track is used for your district track?
farra
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by farra »

This is going to be our pack track. We don't always have a district race, although there was one last year. I don't know what kind of track they had. We may end up hosting a district race on our track once we get it all figured out. We are a small pack in a small and widely dispersed district.
sprntrcr

Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by sprntrcr »

farra wrote:This is going to be our pack track. We don't always have a district race, although there was one last year. I don't know what kind of track they had. We may end up hosting a district race on our track once we get it all figured out. We are a small pack in a small and widely dispersed district.
Sounds very similar to our situation. Last year we had a changing of the guard as the previous cub master moved on and a whole new group of parents and leaders moved in. It turned out that the last person that coordinated the PWD left the area and no one knew where the timer system went to or how the pieces of the old antiquated homemade track that we could scrounge up went together. We ended up borrowing a BestTrack from another pack at the last minute and it turned out great. So we held a fund raising drive to purchase a new track and timer system for this year. Since we had borrowed the BestTrack last year, everyone who participated fell in love with it, so that is the route we went. The track we borrowed had a Judge timer system, but we did not have a computer interface, so it was quite the challenge trying to explain the different rates of the flashing LEDs to everyone and it led to a lot confusion throughout the day. So after much research and thought, we ended up getting the NewBold Turbo timer because of the nice big numeric displays on both sides. Because of the hall we use for the derby, the scouts sit along the side of the track, and the parents/audience sit at the end looking towards the start area. Now everyone can easily see the finish order.

Our derby isn't until Jan 19th, so I can't give you our experience yet, but I'm sure this year will be even better.

I can tell you that the ordering and support we got from BestTrack was excellent. We ordered it in September and asked to have it by November 15th. They said we would have it by October 15th. I think it actually came on September 28th. In fact when UPS delivered the 3 big boxes, I had no idea what is was until I opened it as the return address was SMR industries or something like that. Since then I have ordered the starting gate extension for running big rigs and Steve has been very timely with answering my questions and keeping me updated with status.

Good Luck.


Rob....
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gpraceman
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by gpraceman »

This is a summary of the two tracks, based on my experience with them. I did try to keep it to more of an objective comparison.

Piantedosi Oars - Freedom Track
+ Approximately 8 ft sections - makes transport a bit harder (though I can fit our pack's track in its crate in my wife's minivan - barely)
+ Sections do flex to allow for a natural curve on the curved section. You must put spacers at the ends and middle of each straight away section to support them (wooden spacers are supplied)
+ Requires two 10 lb weights to give track it's curve (you need to buy these locally)
+ 3-1/2" lane spacing
+ Stores flat
+ Provides plans for storage crate
+ Allen wrench (joining sections), socket wrench (lock nuts on start gate) and small phillips head screwdriver (start section legs) needed for assembly. We replaced the phillips head screws with wing screws and use wing nuts for mounting the start gate, so all we need now is an allen wrench for assembly.
+ Straight away sections are joined right side up using joiner plates and allen head screws. First two sections must be joined on their side.
+ Joiner plates align sections
+ Start gate is spring loaded to open by activating a manual release lever
+ Start gate removes easily for storage
+ Stop section is type where wheels drop out from under car, stopping on their bellies
+ Can get anodized or unanodized
+ Edges are fairly smooth and free of burrs

BestTrack
+ 7 ft sections - makes transport a bit easier
+ Sections are very stiff due to the profile of the extrusion, so no extra support is needed
+ 3-1/2" lane spacing
+ Machine bent curve. Makes storage a bit more difficult.
+ Provides plans for storage crates (two are needed with 4 or more lanes)
+ Wrench needed for assembly (start section legs)
+ Straight away sections are joined right side up and secured together by spring clips, but you have to lift the side of the track to get the clips in place
+ Dowel pins help align sections
+ Start gate is spring loaded to open by activating a manual release lever
+ Start gate is recommended to remain attached for storage
+ Unanodized only
+ Stop section is type where wheels drop out from under car, stopping on their bellies
+ Edges can be sharp. They provide end caps for the start section and stop section exposed ends.
+ Offers a loop section as an accessory (new for the 2007-2008 season)
Last edited by gpraceman on Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:12 am, edited 3 times in total.
Randy Lisano
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farra
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by farra »

sprntrcr - Yes, our situations sound very similar... we are thinking about getting the Turbo also.

Randy - thanks for the great info. That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

Thank you both for your input! This is such a nice resource to have!
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by Mr. Slick »

My minor comments. . . .

The Best Track is assembled upside right.

All metal pieces may have sharp edges - have some fine sandpaper to take the edge off if needed.

The Best Track can easily be raised off the floor with support only at the joints since it is a rigid piece.

The Best Track can be added to easily by adding additional lanes or sections. I've seen groups start with two lanes and add a new lane each year until they are upto a 4 lane track.

The thing to remember is the timer needs to be carefully matched to what your needs are over time. I use the FastTrack timers for my group races. I ordered it 6 lanes wide even though I was only using 4 lanes initially. There are other timers that can have lanes added as needed. NewBold is one such style I believe.

Avoid the anodized surfaces unless you are VERY careful handeling the track between races and during setup/take down. Once scratched it can't be unscratched and made smooth again with out great effort.

The main monthly racing leagues all use BestTracks.
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gpraceman
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by gpraceman »

Mr. Slick wrote:The Best Track is assembled upside right.
Then how are you putting on the spring clips to keep the sections together? Or are you not putting the clips on? Assembly is faster to go without them, but I have seen a section get bumped slightly out of position, which may have caused some variance in how the track ran after that point.
Mr. Slick wrote:The Best Track can easily be raised off the floor with support only at the joints since it is a rigid piece.
The Piantedosi track can as well, but you would need to support the middle of each track section. On occasion, I've put our Awana track up on tables to improve the visibility for the audience.
Mr. Slick wrote:The Best Track can be added to easily by adding additional lanes or sections. I've seen groups start with two lanes and add a new lane each year until they are upto a 4 lane track.
Same with the Piantedosi track. Both will require some replacement pieces in order to expand the number of lanes.
Mr. Slick wrote:Avoid the anodized surfaces unless you are VERY careful handeling the track between races and during setup/take down. Once scratched it can't be unscratched and made smooth again with out great effort.
Our Awana track is annodized and we have yet to scratch it. It is used in several races per year. We do store and transport it in a crate to protect it, so the main wear and tear on it is setup and tear down. I do believe that the annodization makes the surface a bit harder and less prone to scratch. It is fairing much better than our pack's track which is not annodized and is also stored/transported in a crate.
Randy Lisano
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Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
Mr. Slick
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by Mr. Slick »

We use a piece of angle iron at each end of the sections that extends out beyond the edge of the track so that they can be "clipped" together.

One of the builders at PwdRacing came up with a really nice design for the "clips" -- I'll get a photo of then during Sunday's race set up.

My experience with the metal tracks is with several hundred set-up/takedowns by "volunteer helpers" -- Sounds like having some dedicated caring hands really makes a difference with pretty much any kind of track. :D

Being able to elevate the track even a couple of feet makes a huge difference in being able to see it from the back spectator(parent) rows. :)
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Darin McGrew
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by Darin McGrew »

Mr. Slick wrote:Being able to elevate the track even a couple of feet makes a huge difference in being able to see it from the back spectator(parent) rows. :)
Absolutely. And it also helps discourage kids (of all ages) from stepping over the track, rather than going around.

The sections of our current track have a box frame of 1x4s, with legs built into each section. Essentially, we built a set of folding tables that latch together to make a derby track. With 20/20 hindsight, I'd build a more traditional track, and build a set of separate tables to rest it on.

Another consideration though is that raising the track also raises the starting gate. If you have the kids staging their own cars, then you'll need a way for them to reach the starting gate. And if you have adults staging all the cars, then you still need to consider how they're going to reach the starting gate, and how you're going to get the cars from ground level up to the starter's level.
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Re: Best Track vs. Freedom

Post by gpraceman »

Darin McGrew wrote:Another consideration though is that raising the track also raises the starting gate. If you have the kids staging their own cars, then you'll need a way for them to reach the starting gate. And if you have adults staging all the cars, then you still need to consider how they're going to reach the starting gate, and how you're going to get the cars from ground level up to the starter's level.
We've been able to put the start section up on the stage and adjust the tables to the same height as the stage. It keeps the start gate at a reasonable height for loading cars. If there was no stage at a particular church, then we'd leave the track on the floor.
Randy Lisano
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Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
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