SlotRacer Forum
Question Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - Printable Version

+- SlotRacer Forum (https://slotracer.online/community)
+-- Forum: Tracks & Scenery (https://slotracer.online/community/forumdisplay.php?fid=8)
+--- Forum: Planning (https://slotracer.online/community/forumdisplay.php?fid=11)
+--- Thread: Question Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? (/showthread.php?tid=1174)

Pages: 1 2 3

Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - dvd3500 - 30th-Mar-20

There was recently a heated discussion in other areas of the interweb about equal lane length on 2-lane analog layouts.

My personal opinion is that for home use, on 2 lanes if you are concerned about one lane having an advantage you have a race and then swap lanes and add up the results.

The argument for nearly identical (getting them 100% the same is kind of impossible) is that the racing is closer.

Personally I have gone to mostly digital racing at home so this is a non-issue for me and when I race at the club you race every lane so it makes no difference.

While I can understand the wish I see some people agonizing over track layouts trying to get lanes to match.

I just feel in a given space, getting a decent layout in place is more important than a "lane advantage" that can be negated by swapping...

I simply don't see this making a huge difference at home but am I just being a silly grump?

Of course, if one really is into having equal lengths far be it from me to stop you..... at the end of the day even if 51.89% like things one way there are still a heck of a lot that may like the other and that is fine...
:-)

Thoughts?

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - Gordon Steadman - 30th-Mar-20

When I designed my track, I did try and get the lane lengths near enough equal by having the same radius curves going in each direction with one crossover.

More of a problem is that the centre lane is quicker than the others as it has fewer of the tightest bends. However, as you say, if every lane is used during a race, it's not a huge problem. At home, it means that, as I generally run by myself, the centre gets used most and is well rubbered in but when guests arrive, the outer two lanes tend to be a bit slippery.

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - Savage GT - 30th-Mar-20

Kind of....

If one has lane has a significant advantage then its always going to win barring massive skill differences in drivers.
So doing a race in each lane on a 2 lane track would always equal a draw.
So I believe it is, but you needn't have to be exact, just within reason.
When I designed "Roughwood" I didn't have crossovers so I balanced it a bit by making the shortest route a little longer.
What you also have to consider is one lane may be shorter, but also has tighter turns on balance, so could also be slower.
In my case I just guessed and added around half the lane difference to the shortest lane. As it turns out, I can circulate both lanes with under 1/10th difference using the same car, so close enough :)

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - CMOTD - 30th-Mar-20

Equal lane length does not guarantee equal lap times, other variables are at play. More by luck than judgement my home track has equal lengths but one lane is consistently slightly faster than the other. If I run the same car on both lanes at a set voltage (i.e no controller input) one lane is about a 10th faster than the other.

This partly due to the fact that I use one lane more often so more rubber has been laid down on it giving a grip advantage at certain points. Also, the longest straight gives an acceleration advantage to the car coming off the outside lane as it has gone round the corner quicker than the one on the inside of the bend. There is not an equal length straight elsewhere with the lane advantage reversed to even this effect out. The only way to negate this sort of thing would be to have a mirror image track.

Does it matter on my home track? Not in the least as it is only used for friendly competition and the lane advantage is marginal anyway but, as Tel says, you do have to avoid a large discrepancy between lanes or heat rotation just produces a draw.

Does it matter on a big club track? Indeed it does but that is a whole different can of worms! Rofl

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - Fluff - 30th-Mar-20

When I built my 3 lane MDF track I tried to make all lanes the same length by using a flyover ,but in all honesty the flyover with fast cars is a pain in the arse as the launch themselves into the scenery hense the GOLD meetings cause so much damage on my track , whereas Tels ( Savage) is much more balanced even with the small amount of difference in lap length 

Steve

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - Nonfractal - 30th-Mar-20

For me   YES it matters. 
I like to see close racing and unequal track is the enemy of close racing. 

Even if a club operates a "drop1" policy, drivers know that the edge lane will have to be the one to drop.

Some ways to mitigate 

A. figure 8 designs 
Make the inside and outside closer in length with a crossover. 
Unfortunately these designs create points in the track that are hard to marshal.
Here is the bridge at Nascot Wood. 
[attachment=6023]

B. Cut-Ins
Just because you have a wide track does not mean that you have to put it together as the manufacturer intended. 
Here are some cut in sections from the WoodGreen track.
One of the cut ins shortens the corner for the edge lane. 
The second forces all of the lanes into equal radii chicane at the end of the straight.

[attachment=6024]
[attachment=6025]
AlanW

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - woodcote - 30th-Mar-20

Go digital - then it doesn't matter Bigsmile 

Or rather, it doesn't matter quite as much - you still don't want one lane to be much easier/quicker, then it gets really hard to overtake. A good digital layout is all about overtaking opportunities.

Without an overpass, I think some variation on Catalunya works well for analogue or digital racing: slotracer.online/plan/f1-2018/barcelona

Ultimately, it all depends on how exactly you'll be racing on your track and what you want from it.

You might adjust racing formats to suit the quirks of a layout. If you race on both lanes to determine the race result, make it all about how close you finish on the trickier lane (ie. time difference if you race a set number of laps or distance apart if you race for a set time). I quite like not having a dropped score on a 4 or 6 lane club track - then the result rewards the driver who drives the worst lane the best.

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - Tamar - 30th-Mar-20

As with most things in our hobby, its a guideline, and as such it can be an aide in designing tracks (home and club) that are fun to drive and provide close competition.
But when it becomes dogma (thou shall not have unequal length tracks) it can result in exactly the opposite, boring tracks, no fun to drive and as such bad competition.

I would rate equal length track way down on the priority list on track design:

  1. Avialable space
  2. Track theme
  3. Visibility
  4. Acces : driver and marshalls
  5. Challenging/ Fun to drive
  6. Equal track length 
with kind regards
Tamar

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - Gordon Steadman - 30th-Mar-20

(30th-Mar-20, 02:17 PM)Tamar Wrote:  As with most things in our hobby, its a guideline, and as such it can be an aide in designing tracks (home and club) that are fun to drive and provide close competition.
But when it becomes dogma (thou shall not have unequal length tracks) it can result in exactly the opposite, boring tracks, no fun to drive and as such bad competition.

I would rate equal length track way down on the priority list on track design:

  1. Avialable space
  2. Track theme
  3. Visibility
  4. Acces : driver and marshalls
  5. Challenging/ Fun to drive
  6. Equal track length 
with kind regards
Tamar

I'd put your No. 5 up to No. 1 - for a home track at least Thumbup

RE: Equal Lane Length...? Does it Matter? Thoughts..? - Tamar - 30th-Mar-20

I'd just love to have a 320m long scale copy of the Nurburg Ring....so with me, Challenging & Fun remain on 5  Bigsmile

But we do agree on one thing, no way either of us would move Equal length up from 6th  Thumbup

with kind regards
Tamar