Good track timer for the money

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I see on the order form for BestTrack they would like to know which timer will be used for the track in order to determine where to drill the holes.

Any advice on what type of timer to look for that won't break the bank would be greatly appreciated.

Also, any general advice on buying a BestTrack please.

I have my eye on the 35' one lane track, but I might go for the 2 lane. I saw someone recommend getting an extra 40" stop section.

Thanks in advance,
 
If it were me, I would go for a 42' track. You can always leave one section out and run it at 35' most of the time. I would want the option of running the whole 42' for testing sometimes, though it would be a pain to fit in my basement! It was only about $70 more for the longer track last time I looked.

More lanes help the resale value also.

+1 on the longer stop section. Depending on the shape of the underside of my cars, a couple of them use the whole 84" stop section I have now.
 
I know that is on the form (which timer), but their standard punching puts all 3 sized holes on the track. Call or email Steve Monk for that.

Only you can decide what is best for you. If your real intent is for tuning cars, I would only get one lane. While two may look more cool, to me that is a lot of money that will be just sitting there most of the time. If you see measurable use running two cars, then great. Otherwise, most everyone that has a multi-lane track quickly picks a favored lane to tune on and sticks to it. I do care about resale, but you are going to put a lot of money out for that 2nd lane, so you really have to know that you are likely to get some use out of it. The second lane is MUCH cheaper to get new though than later, so keep that in mind.

Two stop sections, as others have said, without question.

If you are looking to save money on the timer, to me the choice is basically timer display or computer display. If you are OK with the computer display (and there are advantages both ways), then the hands down best for the money timer is the MicroWizard K1 cheap timer kit which comes with the serial option included for like $65. A little more if you don't want to solder. This only gives you lights on the track. Other choices I would go for are at least $200 though you could get their LCD timer discounted. Can't go wrong with any MicroWizard or The Judge brand timer stuff.

Length is a strong function of what you can fit. Again, if that last straight section is going to sit and collect dust, why worry about the resale ? If you have more room later there is a modest penalty for ordering that additional section later vs. originally - check it out yourself. It's not like the # of lanes question.

At the end of the day, BestTrack is pretty nice to work with. Feel free to call or email them to discuss, but remember, their perspective is Scout racing, not pro's, no many how many pros/leagues use their tracks.
 
quadad said:
I know that is on the form (which timer), but their standard punching puts all 3 sized holes on the track. Call or email Steve Monk for that.

Only you can decide what is best for you. If your real intent is for tuning cars, I would only get one lane. While two may look more cool, to me that is a lot of money that will be just sitting there most of the time. If you see measurable use running two cars, then great. Otherwise, most everyone that has a multi-lane track quickly picks a favored lane to tune on and sticks to it. I do care about resale, but you are going to put a lot of money out for that 2nd lane, so you really have to know that you are likely to get some use out of it. The second lane is MUCH cheaper to get new though than later, so keep that in mind.

Two stop sections, as others have said, without question.

If you are looking to save money on the timer, to me the choice is basically timer display or computer display. If you are OK with the computer display (and there are advantages both ways), then the hands down best for the money timer is the MicroWizard K1 cheap timer kit which comes with the serial option included for like $65. A little more if you don't want to solder. This only gives you lights on the track. Other choices I would go for are at least $200 though you could get their LCD timer discounted. Can't go wrong with any MicroWizard or The Judge brand timer stuff.

Length is a strong function of what you can fit. Again, if that last straight section is going to sit and collect dust, why worry about the resale ? If you have more room later there is a modest penalty for ordering that additional section later vs. originally - check it out yourself. It's not like the # of lanes question.

At the end of the day, BestTrack is pretty nice to work with. Feel free to call or email them to discuss, but remember, their perspective is Scout racing, not pro's, no many how many pros/leagues use their tracks.

Hi Quadad,

Many thanks to you, Bracket and Rocket for your excellent suggestions.

What did you mean by " This only gives you lights on the tracks"?

Is Steve Monk at BestTrack?

Thanks again,
 
The cheap timer kit has LEDs to indicate order of finish. The $65 kit comes with (4) each transmitters, sensors and indicators for four lanes AND the serial interface for that cheap price. That's why it can't be beat. You pay almost that to add serial interface to their other timers. It is a kit though, only electronics included - you have to build a panel to hold everything. But for one lane, that's a piece of cake.

http://www.microwizard.com/k1cheap.html

Yes, Steve Monk is at BestTrack.
 
Thanks again for the input fellas,

After a lot of back and forth I decided on the 2 lane 42' track with extra stop section.

I will most likely get the timer that Rocket mentioned.

One step at a time though.

Thanks again guys,
Joe
 
bracketracer said:
If it were me, I would go for a 42' track. You can always leave one section out and run it at 35' most of the time. I would want the option of running the whole 42' for testing sometimes, though it would be a pain to fit in my basement! It was only about $70 more for the longer track last time I looked.

More lanes help the resale value also.

+1 on the longer stop section. Depending on the shape of the underside of my cars, a couple of them use the whole 84" stop section I have now.

Hey Bracket,

You would make a helluva sales rep.
 
laserman said:
bracketracer said:
If it were me, I would go for a 42' track. You can always leave one section out and run it at 35' most of the time. I would want the option of running the whole 42' for testing sometimes, though it would be a pain to fit in my basement! It was only about $70 more for the longer track last time I looked.

More lanes help the resale value also.

+1 on the longer stop section. Depending on the shape of the underside of my cars, a couple of them use the whole 84" stop section I have now.

Hey Bracket,

You would make a helluva sales rep.

I figured you'd want the 42', that way you've only got to buy two more lanes to host "The New York PWD Nationals"!

Don't forget the electric start gate, too!