Tuning tables ....Pictures and bragging rights
- Thread starter Thinkin'Bout Racin
- Start date
Just for some perspective ... I won a few league races with this as my tuning board:
Yes, that is a cheese head being used for the bumper. Not to say there is anything wrong with building and using something elaborate. I just don't want people on the fence about trying out league racing thinking they need an elaborate tuning board to be competitive.
Yes, that is a cheese head being used for the bumper. Not to say there is anything wrong with building and using something elaborate. I just don't want people on the fence about trying out league racing thinking they need an elaborate tuning board to be competitive.
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You make a good point LB. I know a racer that used the seams in his laminate floor to set the drift.
Mine is coffe table turned upside down with a 15 dollar closet mirror
In my early days, I used a very smooth finished concrete floor that I marked out and cleaned very well. The floor had a natural slope for drainage and it seemed like a no-brainer to me, at the time. I did well with it. I then upgraded to a tuning board about a year or so later. The markings are still on the floor today. It reminds me of where I've been.
EDIT: Nonetheless, being consistent in what you are using is the key, not how fancy the tuning area is.
EDIT: Nonetheless, being consistent in what you are using is the key, not how fancy the tuning area is.
Just a question maybe Lighting Boy and Huricane Racing might be able to field....how important is the overall length and is glass vital in your opinions? Mine is 33" long and scaled to 8' measurements and made from a melamine shelf.....it seems to do the trick but hasnt got any titles....yet
I think it's more important to just use the same surface every time, set up the same way. Even better if you have a surface you can leave up, untouched, to use every time. Glass, melamine, MDF, as long as it's smooth and clean, it's good.
Don't just use the tuning board to set the drift, listen carefully to the car as it rolls. Any clicks or telltale noises will alert you to a problem that needs attention.
Don't just use the tuning board to set the drift, listen carefully to the car as it rolls. Any clicks or telltale noises will alert you to a problem that needs attention.
I used a melamine shelf board for the first couple years. It was a 6' board that I marked at 4'. Like BR said, it's all about consistency.
I now use a glass topped tuning board. You can hear the wheels defects better but the shelf board got the job done.
I now use a glass topped tuning board. You can hear the wheels defects better but the shelf board got the job done.
Mine are 18", two were bonded with E6000 adhesive, on the third one for the lowriders I used plain old CA glue. Go easy on the glue, you don't want it to squish out from under the edge. Thin bead right down the middle is fine.
I don't think I would go shorter than 18" for the strip, with a 7" long car there's not even a foot of rollout to set the wheels before it roams across the table. It's long enough, the wheels come set only a few inches before the end.
Thanks I was thinking of using a actual bestrack start gate section then have a transition to glass, anyone have thoughts for or against having a seem from the aluminum to glass?
Although I have only been racing in a league since August, I have noticed the wheels that make less noise on my tuning board also produce better times.
That is a big clue to unraveling the PWD mystery. Quiet cars are typically fast cars...
I think I would want the surface as smooth as possible so I don’t think I would want a seam right where the guide stops? If you butted the aluminum to the glass you would have a cut glass edge that would be hard to smooth? If the track laid on top you would have about a 1/16” drop to the glass, might nick a wheel? I thought about cutting just the guide rail part out of a length of track a gluing that down but in the end I just went with aluminum bars machined to size. Could use acrylic strips too?
I use the center rail as a guide for consistent placement and nothing else....my guide is 14 inches long and when tune in at about 3": 3' it just starts to tap the guide before it is off....
I really want to get a glass board set up......heard THE DIFFERENCE and it IS obvious when you do.......
I really want to get a glass board set up......heard THE DIFFERENCE and it IS obvious when you do.......
Working on my Tuning Table.
It’s a laminated table top I got out of the trash and started marking up with painters tape and sharpies.
Top is about an inch under 5’ feet so my tuning will be based on “X” inches over 4’ feet from Rear of car (as I've been told) to steer tape for a total of four feet.
I plan to add a 12” Track Center Rail (table too short for 18" I've been told) of some sort to help line up the cars consistently on center as I’ve noticed Proxy Cars tend to get lined up On Center.
Center Rail will be place so the Outer Edge of a Fat Wheel Car (with Axel washer) will meet the Zero tape Edge.
Table rise has been suggested to be 3" or less
From all that I've read I think I'm shooting for 3.5 to 4" inch steer over 4' feet on my Razor wheel cars and 4" to 5" inch over 4' feet on my Fat Wheel cars as starting points.
Thoughts please.
P.S. wondering if a 18" piece of sample track could be attached to the starting end of the table to get a better starting run.
It’s a laminated table top I got out of the trash and started marking up with painters tape and sharpies.
Top is about an inch under 5’ feet so my tuning will be based on “X” inches over 4’ feet from Rear of car (as I've been told) to steer tape for a total of four feet.
I plan to add a 12” Track Center Rail (table too short for 18" I've been told) of some sort to help line up the cars consistently on center as I’ve noticed Proxy Cars tend to get lined up On Center.
Center Rail will be place so the Outer Edge of a Fat Wheel Car (with Axel washer) will meet the Zero tape Edge.
Table rise has been suggested to be 3" or less
From all that I've read I think I'm shooting for 3.5 to 4" inch steer over 4' feet on my Razor wheel cars and 4" to 5" inch over 4' feet on my Fat Wheel cars as starting points.
Thoughts please.
P.S. wondering if a 18" piece of sample track could be attached to the starting end of the table to get a better starting run.
How long is your track after the 18-inch guide? I'm thinking about making an 8ft glass table but a guide would take up nearly 20%. What do you think is more important: A longer run on the table (96-inches) or consistent starting position (18-inch guide and 78-inch table) with a shorter table?
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