Hope My track is slow

Jan 23, 2014
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I set my 42'best track up, cleaned it with pledge, leveled, laser straight, My street stock ran 3.01. I'm feeling like I hope my track is slow but I think I just must be doing too much wrong. I let the Red Rocket dry for about 2 hours then buffed with extra fluffy pip cleaner. Blew off and moved on with axles, the jig dried fot about 1 hour added 1 drop on each side of the groove, I guess I'll be able to just compare time with the NPWDRL track. I'm scared. I think I'd be less nervous to get in cage match.

 
+1 what Hurricane says, I've had my 35' test track for about four months and just now getting the track comparison set correctly. Send in several cars, run them on DD's track, then when they are returned run them on your track and get a differential. Double check that they received no damage in shipping. You'll get it.
 
It takes a few races to gauge what times you get on your test track and be able to correlate them to the times you get on John's track. I know other people here with 35' test tracks get different times than me, some varying widely, yet we are within 1/100[sup]th[/sup] of a second of each other.

As for the wheel bore prep, it varies from person to person, but I follow the instructions that came with Red Rocket, just so I can develop some consistency in my preps.

EDIT: Hurricane beat me to it
 
Also check the spring tension on the gate, if yo have a lot of tension on the spring the times will be slower. Make it not pull so hard and your times will drop.
 
Bracketracer, I have seen posts that very in curing time for red rocket, I let it cure about 1 1/2 hours in my dust free container. I used to do it less time per DVD instructions but I thought I'd try longer, should I wait 24 hours? How long will Red Rocket last in the bottle? Thanks man.
 
Bulldog, let it cure (after you buff it) for at least 12 hours, 24 hours if you can. If you put oil on it after just 1 1/2 hours you will drown the polymers so it can't crosslink which kills the speed.
 
Bracketracer, that really make seance. I work with a lot of epoxy and polymer based sealers, they all crosslink, Now you're speaking my language. Thanks I'll wait 24 hours before I mate the wheel and axle and oil next time.
 
Yes, today was the first Ice series race and my track is much slower than NPWDRL track times. I was running 3.01- 3.02 on my track, on his I ran 2.99- 2.98. I'm stokedwith the time and relieved. Thanks to all the pros who have been helping me. The bug just bit down harder!
 
Now you can kind of use the deviation to get a frame of reference. Getting your track to run closer maybe tweak the slope angle a little? Not sure with the best track how much the slope angle varies even with the same frame legs.
 
ngyoung said:
Now you can kind of use the deviation to get a frame of reference. Getting your track to run closer maybe tweak the slope angle a little? Not sure with the best track how much the slope angle varies even with the same frame legs.

I would leave the hill at 27.1 and the flat at 0.0 and just use a correction factor to estimate times between the two tracks. If you go messing with the angle trying to match the league track for a SS then it'll be off for any other class you enter Bulldog. And you know you'll be entering more classes now that you're hooked.......
 
bracketracer said:
...use a correction factor to estimate times between the two tracks. If you go messing with the angle trying to match the league track for a SS then it'll be off for any other class you enter
+1

If at all possible, I do not move my track (or even look at it funny). I have a correction factor that is within a few thousandths for each class I run.

And FWIW, its not my track that is slow
smile
 
I wish I didn't have to move the track. I have been building a house for my parents and I basically stopped construction for the last few weeks so I could leave my track up. I'm actually thinking about adding long skinny room onto my cabinet shop, I bet you know what I'm thinking/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
 
What about this ?!?!?!?

Leave a hole in the wall for your track to run through !
idea
lol


I know the feeling though... My last house, I would have been able to have my track in the actual house. Where I live now, people don't design homes with larger rooms.

That's okay though... I just fire up the heaters in the shop, and it is race day !
smile
 
My home had 2 bedrooms and a rec-room back to back. Once the kids were finally married and gone, I just ran my test track through all three rooms, and installed a small bridge over the track at the point where people had to walk over the track. My wife doesn't like it, but it works great for me. Somewhere on this forum is a picture of my setup that was posted over a year ago.
I visited SOGONE's shop. He actually did poke a hole through one outside wall for the track to go through.
 
I feel a little better knowing I'm not the only one who cut a hole through the wall just to extend a track. As it turned out, the cat got more "runs" on it than I did. Most expensive cat walk I've built to date/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif
 
We're all nuts. I just asked my wife if I could suspend the track above our living room into our bed room. I would build a library ladder to reach the start gate. She quickly smashed that Idea.