Special Track Layouts For Specific Purposes
Four×8 Maximizer
4x8Maximizer in Scalextric Sport track
The most basic layout configuration is one using a Four×8 sheet of plywood. We are frequently asked for a track plan that gets the longest lap length into that space. This is the best Four×8 design we have developed over the years. It uses all four of the curve radii available from Scalextric. Its average lane length is just over thirty feet. This circuit makes an excellent starter layout for beginners of all ages and its track components can all be used in expanding to a larger configuration.
4×8 Maximizer showcasing possible scenery arrangement
The plan even permits room for some buildings and other scenery touches to increase play value for children and add a more realistic and visually appealing look to the overall layout. This is a track you can have joy with even if you never expand it beyond this configuration. Reminisce also that you can build this layout using the Scalextric Sport Digital system and run up to six cars on it, tho’ we think four cars might be a more manageable maximum for a layout of this size.
Five×9 Maximizers
5×9 Maximizer inScalextric Sport track
Upsizing from a Four×8 sheet of plywood to a Five×9 ping-pong table sheet adds just enough table area to let you get a lot more track into the plan. This very first Five×9 plan is simply the Four×8 Maximizer spread out a bit and lengthened slightly to give a more open design with more room for scenery. The lap length increases slightly to just over thirty four feet.
5×9 Maximizer two in Scalextric Sport track
This Five×9 plan takes total advantage of the extra foot of space in each dimension to increase the average lane length to thirty nine feet. This would make a good digital track, also.
5×9 Maximizer with overpass in Scalextric Sport track
We’re not superb fans of overpasses in slot car layouts due to the glance line and turn marshaling access problems they can cause, but to some hobbyists the equal lane lengths provided by an overpass are very significant. So, here is a Five×9 layout that uses an overpass to achieve equal lane lengths of 40.23 feet. that’s only about a foot more lane length than the Five×9 Maximizer two without overpass above, but it does equalize the lane lengths. One caveat: This layout makes fairly extensive use of Radius one forms, which makes it more of a track for experts than beginners. We have found over time that beginners and children typically find Rad one kinks difficult and frustrating, so we attempt to use them as sparingly as possible, preferably not at all on track plans we publish for the general public.
two thousand ten Race Of Champions track
2010 Race of Champions track in Scalextric Sport track
One of the inherent drawbacks of slot car layouts is that none of them, or very few, ever reach the scale dimensions of a life-sized track. Even a petite road course like Lime Rock, at 1.Five miles, would be 247.Five feet long in 1/32 scale. This track, however, may actually come pretty close to matching the scale dimensions of its life-sized prototype.
If you’re not familiar with the Race of Champions, it’ an annual event that brings together top-level drivers from major racing series, including Formula One, sports car racing, pro rallying, and even NASCAR to rival two at a time on a course laid out in an enclosed stadium. The two thousand ten event was held in a stadium in Dusseldorf, Germany. We don’t know the length of the course, but at sixty seven feet our Scalextric Sport model of it scales out to two thousand one hundred forty four feet, a little less than half a mile. That ought to be somewhere close to what can be laid out in a soccer stadium.
The ROC race procedure has the cars beginning out from a embark/finish line that spans both the internal and outer lops of the track, one on each loop, effectively placing them half a lap apart. In completing one lap of the course each car will cross the extended embark/finish line twice. A 4-lane lap counter/ timer system will serve to time and count laps with this kind of arrangement, bearing in mind that each car will count twice per lap. Or, you can have the timing and scoring system counting just on the outer loop and race on this course like any other 2-lane track. This layout would make a good digital track with ample passing opportunities. It most likely would accommodate the utter 6-car field possible with Scalextric’s digital system. Its 7.Five×14.5-foot size makes it fairly compact while leaving lots of room for scenery whether you treatment it as a scale stadium-sized track or as a compressed version of a much larger road course.
16×5-foot 4-lane demo track
16×5-foot public demonstration layout in Scalextric Sport track
Another type of track we get inquiries about is one suitable for public participation events such as parties, trade shows, fairs, fund-raisers, school carnivals, church events, and public events of all kinds. Such a track needs to be effortless for a finish beginner to learn to drive and should be designed to be as effortless as possible on the cars, minimizing as much as possible both the incidence and consequences of the very frequent crashes that occur at public events.
Members of the Electrical Desire Team have done uncountable events of this kind, and the layout pictured above is one that has served very effectively for several years. It sets up on four 8-foot by Two.5-foot office tables, a table type available almost anywhere either on-site or for rent. The average lane length is about 36.Five feet, enough to look amazing to non-hobbyists but compact enough for many types of venues. Al the components to assemble and operate the layout can be carried in four or five plastic totes and with practice two people can set up the entire thing in not much more than half an hour and take it down in even less time. This layout uses only Radius two and three forms, simplifying assembly.
The longest straight (indeed the only significant straight) has forms leading into and out of it which are configured to slow down the cars enough to mitigate end-of-straightaway crashes. The rest of the circuit is technical enough to keep the speeds down. When used with Scalextric super-resistant cars this track design keeps car attrition to a very manageable level. We have found that most people, even children as youthfull a six, can get the dangle of driving this track with only a minute or two of practice, often by simply finding a constant speed at which the car will go around the entire track, yet it is challenging enough that when used by more skilled racers it is still lots of joy. The layout works identically well in either direction. Placing the drivers’ positions along one side of the table and the begin/finish line on the other makes directing the racing more efficient because the race director is always facing the drivers and is in the best location to direct their participation.
We will be adding more track layouts to this article as time goes on. Check back frequently to see fresh track plans .
If you have questions or comments about anything in this article please send them to [email protected] .
Need more information about race sets and building track layouts? Check these articles:
Slot car racing layout: Slot Cars, Slot Car Track Sets, Digital Slot Cars, Fresh Slot Cars and Vintage Slot Cars – Electrified Desires
Special Track Layouts For Specific Purposes
Four×8 Maximizer
4x8Maximizer in Scalextric Sport track
The most basic layout configuration is one using a Four×8 sheet of plywood. We are frequently asked for a track plan that gets the longest lap length into that space. This is the best Four×8 design we have developed over the years. It uses all four of the curve radii available from Scalextric. Its average lane length is just over thirty feet. This circuit makes an excellent starter layout for beginners of all ages and its track components can all be used in expanding to a larger configuration.
4×8 Maximizer showcasing possible scenery arrangement
The plan even permits room for some buildings and other scenery touches to increase play value for children and add a more realistic and visually appealing look to the overall layout. This is a track you can have joy with even if you never expand it beyond this configuration. Reminisce also that you can build this layout using the Scalextric Sport Digital system and run up to six cars on it, however we think four cars might be a more manageable maximum for a layout of this size.
Five×9 Maximizers
5×9 Maximizer inScalextric Sport track
Upsizing from a Four×8 sheet of plywood to a Five×9 ping-pong table sheet adds just enough table area to let you get a lot more track into the plan. This very first Five×9 plan is simply the Four×8 Maximizer spread out a bit and lengthened slightly to give a more open design with more room for scenery. The lap length increases slightly to just over thirty four feet.
5×9 Maximizer two in Scalextric Sport track
This Five×9 plan takes total advantage of the extra foot of space in each dimension to increase the average lane length to thirty nine feet. This would make a good digital track, also.
5×9 Maximizer with overpass in Scalextric Sport track
We’re not fine fans of overpasses in slot car layouts due to the look line and turn marshaling access problems they can cause, but to some hobbyists the equal lane lengths provided by an overpass are very significant. So, here is a Five×9 layout that uses an overpass to achieve equal lane lengths of 40.23 feet. that’s only about a foot more lane length than the Five×9 Maximizer two without overpass above, but it does equalize the lane lengths. One caveat: This layout makes fairly extensive use of Radius one forms, which makes it more of a track for experts than beginners. We have found over time that beginners and children typically find Rad one forms difficult and frustrating, so we attempt to use them as sparingly as possible, preferably not at all on track plans we publish for the general public.
two thousand ten Race Of Champions track
2010 Race of Champions track in Scalextric Sport track
One of the inherent drawbacks of slot car layouts is that none of them, or very few, ever reach the scale dimensions of a life-sized track. Even a petite road course like Lime Rock, at 1.Five miles, would be 247.Five feet long in 1/32 scale. This track, however, may actually come pretty close to matching the scale dimensions of its life-sized prototype.
If you’re not familiar with the Race of Champions, it’ an annual event that brings together top-level drivers from major racing series, including Formula One, sports car racing, pro rallying, and even NASCAR to contest two at a time on a course laid out in an enclosed stadium. The two thousand ten event was held in a stadium in Dusseldorf, Germany. We don’t know the length of the course, but at sixty seven feet our Scalextric Sport model of it scales out to two thousand one hundred forty four feet, a little less than half a mile. That ought to be somewhere close to what can be laid out in a soccer stadium.
The ROC race procedure has the cars kicking off out from a commence/finish line that spans both the inward and outer lops of the track, one on each loop, effectively placing them half a lap apart. In completing one lap of the course each car will cross the extended begin/finish line twice. A 4-lane lap counter/ timer system will serve to time and count laps with this kind of arrangement, bearing in mind that each car will count twice per lap. Or, you can have the timing and scoring system counting just on the outer loop and race on this course like any other 2-lane track. This layout would make a good digital track with ample passing opportunities. It most likely would accommodate the utter 6-car field possible with Scalextric’s digital system. Its 7.Five×14.5-foot size makes it fairly compact while leaving lots of room for scenery whether you treatment it as a scale stadium-sized track or as a compressed version of a much larger road course.
16×5-foot 4-lane demo track
16×5-foot public demonstration layout in Scalextric Sport track
Another type of track we get inquiries about is one suitable for public participation events such as parties, trade shows, fairs, fund-raisers, school carnivals, church events, and public events of all kinds. Such a track needs to be effortless for a finish beginner to learn to drive and should be designed to be as effortless as possible on the cars, minimizing as much as possible both the incidence and consequences of the very frequent crashes that occur at public events.
Members of the Electrical Fantasy Team have done innumerable events of this kind, and the layout pictured above is one that has served very effectively for several years. It sets up on four 8-foot by Two.5-foot office tables, a table type available almost anywhere either on-site or for rent. The average lane length is about 36.Five feet, enough to look awesome to non-hobbyists but compact enough for many types of venues. Al the components to assemble and operate the layout can be carried in four or five plastic totes and with practice two people can set up the entire thing in not much more than half an hour and take it down in even less time. This layout uses only Radius two and three forms, simplifying assembly.
The longest straight (indeed the only significant straight) has forms leading into and out of it which are configured to slow down the cars enough to mitigate end-of-straightaway crashes. The rest of the circuit is technical enough to keep the speeds down. When used with Scalextric super-resistant cars this track design keeps car attrition to a very manageable level. We have found that most people, even children as youthful a six, can get the suspend of driving this track with only a minute or two of practice, often by simply finding a constant speed at which the car will go around the entire track, yet it is challenging enough that when used by more skilled racers it is still lots of joy. The layout works identically well in either direction. Placing the drivers’ positions along one side of the table and the commence/finish line on the other makes directing the racing more efficient because the race director is always facing the drivers and is in the best location to direct their participation.
We will be adding more track layouts to this article as time goes on. Check back frequently to see fresh track plans .
If you have questions or comments about anything in this article please send them to [email protected] .
Need more information about race sets and building track layouts? Check these articles: