Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

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nerangers
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Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by nerangers »

We built our track last year and it works great for us. The one thing I notice though is that the cars come off the track pretty fast and sometimes crash into each other in the pit area that is setup on the end of the track. The end of each lane raises up on the end to try and slow the car down. I think the rails have just become smooth. We were thinking of putting Velco (the felt side, not the hook side) on the end to add some friction without causing any damage to the cars.

Any thoughts on what we could do?
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Stan Pope »

A lot has been written about this ... use "search" function in menu at top and search of "stop section" and select "all terms". I saw a bunch of good posts that should allow you to zero in on your goal.
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Stephen's Dad »

We're having the same problem as is everyone else I know who uses a raised center rail to stop the cars.

I fear that the loop side of Velcro would be too smooth to stop a car.

Our track has the stock upside down rubber backed traction carpet from Piantedosi. It worked fairly well when new, but is now crumbling severely. Cars have regularly escaped since it was new. A comforter works but is not a good solution in all cases. Track tenders must remember to replace the blanket after every recovery. Someone always forgets in the heat of action & this is when the wheels fly & hopes are dashed.

I understand that Piantedosi has recently introduced an improved replacement. But I'd like to discuss Scout built solutions.

Has anyone contemplated or built a hinged affair with a wedge shaped piece of foam that would sandwich between the track end & the hinged cover? Maybe a simple magnetic switch could be employed to "lock-out" the start gate to prevent starts without the car saver. Or maybe the car saver would be spring or gravity biased so it can't be left open under any circumstance.
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Pinewood Daddy »

Stephen's Dad wrote:I understand that Piantedosi has recently introduced an improved replacement. But I'd like to discuss Scout built solutions.
Why not replace the worn out stopping material with the tape from the new Piantedosi stopper??
Stephen's Dad wrote:Has anyone contemplated or built a hinged affair with a wedge shaped piece of foam that would sandwich between the track end & the hinged cover? Maybe a simple magnetic switch could be employed to "lock-out" the start gate to prevent starts without the car saver. Or maybe the car saver would be spring or gravity biased so it can't be left open under any circumstance.
Anything that has to be reset is a pain. A "lock-out" would pevent accidental starting, but could be bypassed.

Anything that touches the car, other than the front, could potentially break or misalign something. I like the idea of the ballistic stoppers, but who wants to have to reset them everytime.

But, you might be onto something!! Lets keep discussing. More heads are better than one. We brainstorm allot at work and have come up with some great designs that one person could never of thought of.
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by psycaz »

We are thinking about using computer case soundproofing rubber on the bottom of our car. Stuff is about 1/16 " thick
I'm thinking about trying embedding it between the rear axle and back of the car with epoxy. I want to embed it so that I can maintain a good clearance off the guide strip. Farther back to keep the car from going end over end.

Only concern is if the car were to pull hard to one side and jar a front wheel.

Has anyone tried this yet?
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Mr. Slick »

I run a couple dozen races a year and have settled on using a "lift the car and let it slide" method with lane dividers. The material that seems to work real well, is cheap and easy to replace after 20 races or so, is a 27" bicycle inner tube cut in half the long way. I turn it inside out and fold it over the stopping section at the track end and it is screwed in at the far end underneat the 2" foam pad. The stop section is 4 ft long and the vast majority of cars slide to a gentle stop before hitting the foam.

The collisions are kept to a minimum by using 3" high lane dividers.

sample photos at: http://www.skypoint.com/~kalsowwp/
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Stephen's Dad »

Stephen's Dad wrote:
I understand that Piantedosi has recently introduced an improved replacement. But I'd like to discuss Scout built solutions.

Pinewood Daddy wrote:
Why not replace the worn out stopping material with the tape from the new Piantedosi stopper??
The stop ramp that came with our track 4 years ago was inadequate to stop many cars when it was new. Quite a few cars would reach the end with relative ease. With or without wear, at 3 feet, it is too short to be effective especially with the speeds we're seeing now. And changing the wear strip every other year isn't my idea of a solution. It's a Band-Aid.
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Hot Rod 1 »

We Just finished building our track. The Stop -Box we glue cabinet padding to the sloped middle rail to act as a brake. worked great
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Stephen's Dad »

I've called & emailed Piantedosi 3 times now offering to buy their new stop section. No response at all. For a company that makes such a great track their customer service leaves a bit to be desired. :x
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Darin McGrew »

The stop section at the end of our track uses the self-adhesive traction tape, the kind used on steps.

If I were to make one change to its design, I would have the track bed drop out from under the cars, rather than having the center rail raise. That would get the full weight of the car rubbing on its belly faster.
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Stephen's Dad »

I like the idea of having the track drop away too. Ramping the center rail up starts the car moving in the wrong direction as has been the problem for us this year.

Gary Piantedosi was traveling & is now back in the shop. He shipped us the new stop section last week. We'll see how this works for now.

Mr. Slick's Pack 227 photos are really something. Their stop section looks bullet proof!
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by PW Grasshopper »

Stephen's Dad wrote:
Gary Piantedosi was traveling & is now back in the shop. He shipped us the new stop section last week. We'll see how this works for now.
How many lanes is the stop section you ordered and is it wood or aluminum? If you don't mind sharing, how much was it?
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by Stephen's Dad »

The new aluminum Piantedosi "Pinewood Derby Track Brakes" arrived today.

$15 per lane (we have 4) plus a $10 adapter to make the new aluminum stop section fit our 4 year old wood track, plus another $15 for shipping.

$85 for all for lanes delivered.

I haven't assembled it yet but it looks to be very well engineered. I can't wait to try it out.
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by PW Grasshopper »

Stephen's Dad wrote:
I haven't assembled it yet but it looks to be very well engineered. I can't wait to try it out.
Did you get a chance to try it out and if so what do you think??
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Re: Slowing cars down at the end of the track...need advice

Post by A1nogoslo »

Here's an excellent way to stop the cars with out banging the end of the stopping sections and with out having to put pillows, blankets and a big wad of foam around it...
We have a 42' Aluminum Best Track and they have a 40" stopping section that comes with the track kits.. But after running some really fast cars on it the 40 inches was not enough length to stop the cars without crashing into the end wall and foam... So now we ordered another 40 inch section and the cars stop nice and smooth way before end... Here a video of this setup and cars in action showing how they stop...
(I for one wouldn't like to explain to the kids and parents why there car got broke due to track setup after all the time they spend on there cars for the race.) hope this can help...

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