What goes into making a RC track? What are the costs involved? Can anyone shead some light?
costs-
no.1
the MOST expensive thing
Area- land- ground!
As far as I know, the land is the most expensive..
But, what most tracks (Including PitStop) do is, they set up a Cafe right next to it.. That way, people going to the Cafe might want to rent a car and try it out.. :)
Are you planning on starting a track?
Haha no was curious. :) appart from land? I mean the track is just a flattened piece of ground?
Then you need dirt or clay for an off-road track.For an on-road one,you can choose carpet or asphalt.Then you need the pipes for the course.First,it has to be flattened.Then jumps have to be added.Turns can be cambered.
PS:There are some carpet off-road tracks as well.It offers lots of traction with foam tires.
Land is obviously the most expensive investment. Rest would be setting up the track itself. Plus you may want to hose it down occasionally. Most tracks do and some of them have it automated.
You'd also want rails to prevent the cars from flying off the track on turns which is usually heavy duty rubber hoses or something similar like conduit pipes etc. As for setting up the jumps etc, nothing a shovel and a truckload of sand cant fix. ;)
And space has to be made for pit tables and power has to be brought to the track as well.Will need washrooms as well.Some tracks have compressed air to clean cars as well.But there should be enough area for drivers.The best thing would be to have area that is enough for more than the track can handle.
Most of all,the drivers' stand is very important.It should be a rigid structure and should be able to support 10-15 drivers.There might not be that many on the track but more is always better.Right below that,you need a pitlane.Some tracks have pipes during the approach to the pitlane such that one has to slow down considerably.(helps like a pitlane speed limiter in 1:1 racing).
And as Tassem said,rails help a lot.Pipes can be PVC or heavy duty rubber as Tassem has already mentioned.Sometimes,they use fire hoses(old ones)from fire stations as well.
The surface can be changed in many ways.It can have clay,dirt et cetera.Some have a mixture of two.Some are hard packed surfaces similar to a cricket pitch.Some are hard packed with loose dust on top.
Lots of stuff to do.Also,the track needs to be watered and rolled regularly
Man now I feel like building a track :D I must keep these evil thoughts out of my mind!!
I think it'll be good to have a refreshments counter and also a place to buy fuel in case you run out.
My dream track would have a nice restaurant, hobby store and a multiplex in the same compound. The multiplex would be a good excuse to get the better half along ;)
The multiplex seems far fetched but who knows ;D ;)
I like your fuel,restaurant and hobbyshop idea though.Some places have all three.Many hobbyshops have their own indoor track.Sometimes even an off-road track.
Maybe in the next 5 years! Fingers crossed.
I want it in the next 3 months!!! ;D
Well I don't think crossing fingers are that powerful ;D
lets hope there are higher powers at play ;D
Oh well,I just went too far.I've been hearing about a track at Palace grounds.I think we should be happy with a track.
Well that'll be good. We could always do with more tracks. As for the higher powers, let's hope they play with RC ;D
What is the difference between a hard packed track to a regular one ? And did the race happen at pitstop last sunday?
A hard packed track is similar to a cricket pitch.Some tracks have loose dust or clay on a hard packed surface(its called a loamy track).A regular one would be loose dirt or clay.
I' rather make a short list.
Land
Machinery to design and dig, flatten
Weedicides
Chemicals
Pipes for boundary
Pit area
Basic amenities
Basic Gardening Tools
Stuff for making elevations
Shovels, Tiller, Roller
Finally, Courage
And money
And time
lol
If you are looking at a pro track a lot of work goes into it and its very expensive. Plus it has to be maintained regulary. If you are looking at a backyard bashing track i dont think to0 much work is required.
We have setup and build multiple tracks including RadiCo which is a pro track. A lot of money went into that one as we had to do landfilling. After which you require mud, screened mud, bendable pipes for the full track and boundries, misc building equipment for jumps, obstacles etc, drivers stand, plug points, fans, timing equipment, pit tables, pit lane, air compressor, race director area etc etc.
If you need specifics please call my cell, will be more than willing to help.
Hey thanks for the info Siddharth. I was curious - no plans of setting up a track or anything as of now :)