Repugol Tracks

[arch2b]

we had begun a good discussion on Repugol tracks which i would like to see continued here.

[arch2b]

what about using this surface from the post below. Interesting rubber material with what seems mad grip from the racing videos.

Originally Posted by ocean rodeo

This is something to look into also, even though your already finished, if that surface does not work out. 62 cents a sq.ft. The 6511 is all black and made from recycled tires.

http://www.regupolamerica.com/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai-3B...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svGZm...eature=related

Enjoy.

I am building a replica of the track in the first video in my garage without a elevation change, just flat

[arch2b]

Originally Posted by mugler

what about using this surface from the post below. Interesting rubber material with what seems mad grip from the racing videos.

Repugol rubber is an interesting surface. I've seen tracks made from it, but never personally run on it. The couple tracks I've seen made from this have been permanent, and I think it would get old running the same layout quick. I also think it would be hard to incorporate this into RCP's existing design. Lastly, I think it would be difficult to use one company's product when making another company's product. I'm not sure, but I'd think it'd be complicated.

This surface always comes up when a discussion is started about which track surface to run. I'm interested to see what RCP has to say about it.

[arch2b]

Originally Posted by -J-

This surface always comes up when a discussion is started about which track surface to run. I'm interested to see what RCP has to say about it.

Me too.

The simple way of thinking about it would be to have some sort of a modular rail system designed for this surface, I mean just like the carpet surface . I'm thinking some RCP foam rails with some used D sized batteries in the pin holes to weight the tracks down in and keep in place would be the fast solution but a super narrow and slick material like the worm rail system would be ideal if possible to pull off. On carpet there's the velcro securing system, not sure if that would work for this surface too, until RCP chimes in. Interesting that Kyosho didn't go with this surface.

[arch2b]

i don't see why kyosho would even consider a general building construction product mostly used (and only in a few places) for rc in the EU? are there tracks in asian using this?
i doubt they even considered it.
i imagine you could use some tiny rail pins like finish nails, if the rubber is self healing. then it's just like landscaping trim with pegs.

[arch2b]

Peg's are a possibility. Another would be tracks like the Kyosho barriers with rubberized bottoms so rubber on rubber would keep the barrier from moving. Yet another system would be a micro version of the CRC's click track and that would work on all surfaces like painted garage floors, super smooth asphalt etc.

With Kyosho I meant I thought they would have scoped for surfaces all over the world & maybe they did and still settled on the carpet. But in the videos the quality of the drive on this surface looks dead on. Closest to the level of 24th scale slot car action I've ever seen the MZs at.

[akura2]

There's a "new" track surface that's been popping up that might work VERY well for this purpose... Kyosho's Route 241 raceway uses it, and I think it's the same stuff that's used on all of the HTUSA tracks... and it's also what's used at the Underground Mini-z speedway in Korea (see video below), and THOSE cars look HOOKED up...

It's called Pytex carpet... it's the same stuff that is used in convention booths. The fibers don't com out and foul the drivetrains of the dnanos, it's smooth and has a very scale driving feel for Z's and 'nanos, you can AWD drift on it w/o flipping it over like RCP tracks, and I swear after running my dnano on it at 241, my car came off cleaner than it went on...

Someone (John at RCP... LOL) should look into it....it might be a viable option for Mini-Z and dNano alike

High grip Mod race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-RAS2W6dHE

Dnano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdUwukbaRCU

Drift:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cPcJMC0uLw

All on the same surface....

[arch2b]

that is not the prevailing opinion expressed by those running at hobby town tracks. they often complain of the mess and need to constantly clean out the wheels.

[akura2]

interesting... well the track at Route 241 works great... and I had no issues wth fibers, dirt, or any other misc. stuff getting into my car,,, and there was a guy drifting a Honda Odyssey van, and has wasn't complaining about residue... dono


still a good option versus some of the other carpets out there... and looking at the Underground videos, the grip levels have the potential to be amazing...

[Rooster29]

That would be great Nano track to have at home in the basement, I like it! Thanks for sharing.

[lornecherry]

...any fiberous surface is simply a no-go for the d'NaNo. I did far more testing then Kyosho and I can assure you that you cannot use a running surface with fibers. Not on the track, not on the run-off area, not anywhere around these cars. I've seen cars get fouled from simply running off the track for a few inches and into a barrier run-off made of felt.

Noth'in, nada, nope ...I tested anything from specially-made "Mini-Z Ozite" to micro-fibered trade show carpet (probably very similar to Pytex but I can't be sure). I even tried the very best industrial felts that have the most compacted fibers. And I tried coating the fibers with chemicals to keep them from shedding and tried even a few industrial treatments recommended by an Ozite chemist. Everytime I thought I had the problem solved, the wheels would eventually foul up. As the former Ozite racing carpet distributor for Canada, I had a vested interest in making a carpet track for the D'NaNO work, but there's something about the front-end of the cars or how close they are to the ground that attracts fibers like a flies to pile of %&#!.

Yes, I able to get some cars run about 15 minutes before one wheel fouled, but if you've ever cleaned the front end on these cars, you know what a pain in the asz it is ... because of the low-mass wheels; one single fiber or hair wrapped around the front axel will tweak the car's handling. John's RCP, the Realtracks surface, or the stuff I make my custom tracks from are not fiberous at all and there's a good reason for that... it's far easier to care for these non-fiberous surfaces and the cars; just keep your track static-free and use a dry (graphite) lubricant on the fron end.

I only wish this were not ture, since we had $99 roll-up carpet track ready to go that was perfect in terms of traction and convenience. Moreover, John from RCP and I had a few long discussions to try and get a carpet-type surface to work; I don't give up easily, but I just couldn't sell or use any fiberous track and be honest about it.

Kysoho could easily redesign the front end to keep the fibers out of the axle area or at least make it a 10 second clean-out like it is on the rear wheels. (I consider the current front-end a design flaw with the cars.) Fixing this one problem would do a lot to help this class of cars, not to mention that the Hobbytown tracks would actually be useful ...and think of how many tracks could quickly be setup if clubs could use their exisiting Ozite that they run larger cars on.

If you have a link to Pytex carpet (I think it is made in China) or you know where I can find a sample I will have a serious look at it; (I can't find it in Canada) ...but my gut feeling is if its got fibers, stay far far away.

If I can save a few hobbyists the grief of going through all the carpet/felt/whatever testing I did then this rant has been worth it. Kyosho, please, please fix the front end.

[akura2]

Originally Posted by arch2b

the texture looks great! from the pictures, it resembles the reprogul tracks in europe, only in carpet, not rubber.

Hey John.. do you have a photo of the WHOLE track, and not just teaser parts?

and can we have more info?

[akura2]

I think I've found another surface.. it's acoustic underlayment for tile... one is cork, which is very grippy but not overly so... and the other is rubberized an looks and behaves just like asphalt...

the cork one (VC300) comes on 39-inch x 62-foot rolls... and the rubber one (Cerazorb Green) comes in 48-inch x 30-foot rolls and you could easily make an 8-foot x 15-foot racing surface that's just like asphalt by cutting the roll in half and laying the halves next to each other... and maybe the halves can be connected or bonded to each other to create a rollable surface...

http://www.vc300.com/



http://www.cerazorbgreen.com/

[lornecherry]

I truly appreciate your diligence and that you have perhaps stumbled upon something with promise.

The cork surface is similar to a cork-rubber surfaced also manufactured by the Regupol people. I rejected it because it looked really, really uggggly and was quite expensive per sq yd. You could paint it, but that would ruin the traction or at the very least, be impractical.

The other stuff (Cerazorb) does look interesting. It's a little on the heavy side, but not nearly so heavy as 3mm rubber. And from my testing of rubber, 3mm is the ideal thickness (2mm holds the contour of the surface underneath too much, i.e. tile joints and thus lies uneven, 4mm is too heavy)

There are three criteria it must pass to be better then what I'm using now (said smuggly after searching a year for the best surface

1) It must deploy flat when continually unrolled/rerolled/unrolled (some rubber does, but lighter/intermixed stuff tends not to). This is a biggie for a convenient, roll-up portable track.

2) It must not have too much traction so as to cause traction rolling with the cars or excessive rear-end shudder (without a fancy, scmancy damper). A stock d'NaNo must be able to run on it well without excessive tunning, with the exception of the correct tire matching.

3) It must be reasonably easy to cut or shape with hand tools. (it's difficult to make a true, straight cut on 3mm rubber)

It is already the right color, thickness and width (although 6ft wide would be better) —a good starting point a worth testing. The lighter weight (when comapred to rubber) also suggests that it might be easier to work with.

I'm going to contact the manufacturer and see if I can get some sent up here. Ya' never know, it just might be good. Now if you can only attract another 5,000 people to the d'Nano class, I might be able to explain to the company President (my wife) that there really is a market for these tracks ...

[lornecherry]

Oh ****z, I just realized I totally hijacked John's RCP thread ...Arch, perhaps you could move these last few posts under the Regupol thread or somewhere else.