1. Am I correct with my speculation that the
aluminum track is generally faster than wood? Yes, mainly due to very
smooth surfaces on the center guide and the wheel surfaces reduces rolling
resistance.
2. What is the radius of your curve section? Our curve section has a smooth
4 ft. radius. When laid on it's face for storage, the highest point stands
about 5-1/2 inches.
3. What makes your stop section better than the
competitors? Our patented (Patent #7,270,279) stop section works better than any other
stop section anywhere, period. The 40" long patented stop section consists of a
special section of track with a sticky foam rubber stopping pad in the center of the
lane. The cars glide off of the last section of track onto the special stop section
extrusion leaving the wheels dangling in the air,
usually stopping in 9" - 12".
Some tracks use a foam "garage" which probably works fine for some cars but
could potentially rip off side mirrors, antennas or other fine details that some
racers detail their car with. Still others have a similar system with a wedge to
lift the car, possibly throwing the car off of the track. BestTrack's
'original' patented stop section was designed several years ago, and has won
rave reviews from anyone who has tried it. Our stopping system is the
absolute safest, surest system on the market, Guaranteed!
One of our competitors has
re-designed his stop section to resemble ours.
4. Do you offer anodizing of the aluminum track?
Not at this time, but it is something we have looked into. The benefit you
would get from anodizing is very small and not practical when compared to the
extra cost. Due to the existing superior strength of our track, there would be
minimal benefit from anodizing. Removal of fingerprints may also be a
minimal benefit, but we feel a quick wipe down with Simple Green is more
practical than increasing the cost of the track.
5. How durable is the track? Our
aluminum track is very durable. It is made from heat treated & tempered 6063
alloy T-5 aluminum
extruded to our specifications. The track is strong enough to stand on, though
we don't recommend it since it will get dirty.
6. Can I paint the track? We do not
recommend painting any surface that the wheels of the car will touch, but
between the center guides, on the sides of the lane or the stand should not
hurt anything. Painting the top surface where the wheels ride could cause one
lane to faster or slower than another.
7. Does the length of the track include the
stopping section? Yes it does. Our new CNC hydraulically formed curve section is about
41" long and together with our stop section is about 7ft long like the rest of
the sections.
8.
How long is the track? The length of our track includes the stop sections.
All straight sections are 84" long (7ft.) and the curve section is 41" (almost
3-1/2 ft.). The stop section is 40" long. Each lane of a 35ft long track
consists of (4) 7ft sections plus the curve and stop sections for a total
length of 34ft.-9 inches.
9. The timer company web page says I need to
give them the center to center lane widths and other dimensions before I can
order a timer. What are these dimensions? If you order a timer from either
Microwizard (FastTrack) or The Judge, just tell them you are ordering a
BestTrack aluminum track and how many lanes and how long. They will know what
to send you. Both of these companies have developed special versions of their
timer or special mounting brackets just for our track. The lane width of our
track is 3.50" as is the center of lane to center of lane distance. The
sidewalls of the track is about 1-1/8" tall. The center wheel guide is 1/4"
tall by 1-5/8" wide. This track was designed to follow Cub Scout and other
groups standard recommended track deign dimensions.
10. I already own an electronic timer. Can I use
it with your track? Probably. If your existing timer was built with a
different center to center distance than 3.50" you can center the timer and
just drill the sensor holes in line with the sensors. This will work most of
the time. The sensor hole may not be exactly in the middle of the lane, but
that will still work fine. Check with the timer manufacturer. Some timer
companies will swap out the lower sensor board for one that will work better
with our track for a reasonable fee.
11. The shipping company damaged a section of
track. What do I do? Call or e-mail us right away. We will send out a
replacement if needed. We insure every
shipment. We want to make sure that you have a perfect track!
12. How heavy and how big are the shipping
boxes? All tracks ship in 2-6 boxes. The curves ship in one box along with
most of the small parts. This box is about 5" X 12" X 42" and weighs from 23
to 36 lbs. depending on the size of track. The long sections ship in one of
three sizes of boxes depending on the number of straight sections. The smaller
of these three boxes is 5" X 6" X 84" and usually weighs 30 lbs. The largest box
is 5" X 11" X 84" and can weigh up to 50 lbs. We try to keep all boxes under
50 lbs. for ease of handling.
13. Will the track fit back into the original
shipping boxes for storage? The track will not fit back into the original
shipping boxes once assembled. We ship each lane nested with another lane to
save you on shipping costs. When the track is assembled it is bolted into lane
groupings with each lane attached to the one beside it. You will not want to
disassemble the track that far after the race. Most if not all will leave the
track in 2, 3, 4 or 6 lane groupings each 7f. long. Some packs have built
storage cases from plywood. A case is not necessary if you have a safe
location you can stack or stand on end the sections of track. If stood on end,
we recommend tying the sections to something solid to keep them from falling
over. You can also put a layer of cardboard or other padding between sections
to avoid scratching the surface of the track.
14. How long does it take to assemble your
track? The first time you assemble your track allow at least a couple
of hours. More for bigger tracks with more lanes. The second and
subsequent time you set up your track it will take only 20-30 minutes because
you will leave it partially assembled. I recently set up a 4-lane 42ft. track
with timer for a local race by myself in about 20 minutes.
15. How tall is the starting gate from the
floor?
Our starting gate is approximately 4ft. from the floor.
16. Can you guys quote me a 10 lane track or a
longer track? We have built special tracks for some groups. Call or
email us with your needs and we will see what we can do.
17. I can only afford a 2 lane track this year and I
want to add 2 lane next year. I am buying a timer for a 4 lane track. How will
I attach it to a 2 lane track? Just let us know and we will send a
couple of short sections of track and a longer connector angle at no charge to
allow easier mounting of your timer.
18. Our group races Semi Trucks. Will they fit
on your track? We offer an extension to the top of the track to
allow use with your rigs.
19. What about that edge guided plastic track?
How does it compare? One main difference between our patented track and
theirs is our standard center guide verses their edge guide. This may make a
difference when racing at district races because a car that performs well at a
local race on an edge guide track may not perform the same on a center guide
track at a district race which is what most existing tracks are. Their rubber
band and plastic tube support stand seems as though it would be flimsy and
easily breakable. Does their stand shake and sway? Although ABS plastic is
tough, I don't know it's long term resistance to sunlight, ozone, etc. I'm
often reminded of my Hot Wheels tracks when I was a kid when I look at this
track. I was always messing with the joints bending out the edges of each lane
and bending in the edges of the one leading into it so the wheels wouldn't
catch on the edge at the joint. Also, our patented stop section is the safest and most effective
stop section on the market. The cars glide smoothly onto their belly on a very
sticky rubber surface often stopping the car in 9-10 inches. Our competitor
has a foam "garage" which probably works fine for some cars but could
potentially rip off side mirrors, antennas or other fine details that some
racers detail their car with.
20. What forms of payment can you take? If you call, fax or mail
your form we can take Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Pack checks, or other organizational or business checks, and money orders. If you order
on-line we can take Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, electronic
checks or any other for of payment that
PayPal accepts through their website
including direct transfers from a
PayPal account.
You can also pay for a phoned, mailed or faxed order by clicking the
PayPal link at
the bottom of any page.
21. We are having a special event with hundreds of racers and we want
a 8 lane (or more) track 56 ft. long (or longer). Can you make a special for
us? We are willing to work with your special needs and because of our
track's design, we can do most any variation you need. A longer track needs a
taller start section which may need a platform beside the track to allow the
racers reach the starting gate area to place the car on the track.
Starting gates wider than 8 lanes are made only to order and may add lead time
to your order. Before ordering a special, you may want to check with the
timer company you plan to use if a timer is available for a track this wide.
If you are thinking of a wider than 6 lane track to speed up racing for a
large event, you should probably consider having more than one track instead.
Please call us to discuss your special requirements.
22. How did your get started in this business and who are you guys
anyway? I have been a Scout leader for many years, and have had to
deal with refurbishing our pack's track year after year, smoothing the joints,
adjusting the track to compensate for warping, etc. Still, we would always
receive complaints from parents that the track didn't seem fair, that one lane
was always faster than another. Being a design engineer, I knew there had to
be a better way. The patented BestTrack all aluminum track is the result of many years
of design, testing and inventing a better way. We are a small family run
business. We have been in business for over 20
years as SRM Enterprises. We
are active in our local community and churches and plan to be here a long time
to come. We are a member of our local Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business
Bureau, and have had a lot of fun serving the pinewood racing community. There
isn't a better group of customers to work with!
23. Do you recommend going with a track longer than 35
feet because of the quicker track? Personal preference here. Many people
are opting for a 42ft. track and I have quoted tracks up to 54ft. A
longer track reduces the need for a timer system, however, too long of a track
may disappoint some boys who had no help building their car if their wheels are
crooked and it doesn't reach the end of the track. Most any car will reach
the end of our track at 35ft. or 42ft.
