Backyard Racetrack (FINALLY!)

[Lessen]

So... anybody around here who has known me for some time probably knows I've been wanting to build a racetrack for years now. Well I'm finally gonna do it! Since my son is racing now I figure it's a good time to have a place to practice on our own terms. Although a bit off of our discipline (indoor onroad carpet), I'm building a 1:24 scale rally track specifically to run the Losi Micro Rally car. Obviously, it'll be dirt; but it will not include jumps of any sort as I want to keep the focus more grounded. The dimensions are a tidy 8 x 24 so as not to take up too much space in our yard. Below is the sketch of the initial layout.

Stay tuned for more progress!

 

[tmaxxfreek]

that should be fun with the micro's

 

[slowngreen]

Oh sweet! I've not really seen a track for that scale before.

 

[godale03]

Sweet deal Josh!!! That looks like it will be killer!

Tom

 

[Lessen]

Sweet deal Josh!!! That looks like it will be killer!

Tom

How's your track Tom?

 

[godale03]

How's your track Tom?

It's been a lot more work than I had hoped it would be. Its not pro by any stretch! Washout after these big thunderstorms is killing me! LOL! The track can handle some rain ok.. but these big downpores and all the rain we have had this spring and early summer have been killer. Weeds are also a big issue. This spring I was finally able to get some help with it and we came up with a more technical layout. I like it... but I wish now I had of gone with a smaller layout. This spring I finally with the helpd of my old man, built a small, modest drivers stand. I will post a few pics. Best of luck with your track my man. It is a lot of work but when you are enjoying it with your son... man its all worth it!

 

[Lessen]

That's sweet bro. Nice!

 

[godale03]

That's sweet bro. Nice!

Thanks bro! It like my third child! I should probably just go ahead and name it! LOL We shall see how long I can afford to maintain it. I am running out of clay it is washing out so fast.

 

[hamz9561]

Cool track there, Josh!

 

[Lessen]

Thanks bro! It like my third child! I should probably just go ahead and name it! LOL We shall see how long I can afford to maintain it. I am running out of clay it is washing out so fast.

yeah, I'm not putting more work than necessary into this. I'm hoping not to need to bring in any dirt, although I realize over time it'll probably be necessary. Really, I don't want a ton of traction anyways. The goal is really to build driving skill. The lanes will be super narrow (even for 1:24). Most widths are 18" in the drawing above. Relatively speaking, that's about half of a "narrow" race lane considering the size of the car. I probably need to till it so I can move dirt around and fill in some low spots. Hopefully, it's not too tight. I've drew a layout today using what I might consider a normal width lane and the options are drastically reduced due to the small confines of the overall footprint. We'll see...

 

[HPI-Killer]

Hell yeah thats cool! I hope I can have some tracks someday when I own my own homestead!

 

[Phins Fan]

Isnt it funny how a "little 8x24 track" turns into the entire back yard everytime? Nice job and at least you have less to mow now!!

 

[Non Crimen]

Lookin good so far!


Sent from my Pipboy-3000

 

[vbgagnon]

Nice!!

 

[NCNitro]

Any more progress? I think a track like that would be great for my little 1:18 Smash truck.

 

[BullDog]

That track is a really complex design. That should be really cool to run on.

 

[Lessen]

Not much more progress. Been SUPER busy this week. I did started breaking ground manually the other day after we got some rain. Ill probably do it all by hand since its so small.

The layout is super tight Joe. Size has s lot to do with speed too, so I'm not really positive what it'll be like. I expect it'll be a fun practice track, but not a good "race" track. I'm guessing I would want another 4 feet of depth to make interesting layouts wide enough to race.

 

[slowngreen]

Kind of on topic, Josh, do you have the Losi mini sc already? How is it? I watched some vids on youtube and they look crazy durable.

 

[Lessen]

I'm planning to run the Micro Rally cars on this, but no... I do not have one yet. I've only watched videos of them (the brushed version). I know they are 3.7" in width so I take that into consideration for the layout. Most areas of the track are planned to be only 18" wide so that's only about 5 car widths. That's pretty narrow. At the local carpet track the lanes are generally around 8-10 feet wide and 1:10 touring cars are about 7.5" wide. That's nearly 13 car widths. Even at a smaller/tighter track the lanes are at least 6 feet, so that's nearly 10 car widths. It'll be tight, even for a tiny car. Certainly a challenge.

 

[hamz9561]

For fun you can always try the Brushless version of the Losi Micro SCT or Rally. The Micro SCT with the 10250 kV motor is a hoot.