Unamed Dirt Venue: New Video of cars driving **page 5**
 

First drive around the unfinished track :)

Latest video of Track Layout 20/04/22012, Click Here



Right so following on from my other thread, here is the build thread i will be updating in stages. The track will be a permament dirt track.

First of all, the unit itself:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/9d2f2404.jpg

Today we started on clearing the van's out of the unit and giving it a good sweep. We then decided on a layout and rostum postion etc etc and started building.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/a966f7b7.jpg

When we left this afternoon after working on it we had some of the main straight built up, the back fence built and started marking out and cutting wood for the inner markings.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/e5d6d7c8.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/3ddb06f8.jpg

We have designed the track to be 2meters wide all the way around.

There will also be multi layout sections so we can change the track every month or so with ease.

I plan to have it usable (although small) for 1/10th and 1/16th cars.

Interesting. And whereabouts roughly will this venue be?

The venue is 5mins from Heathrow Airport

:thumbsup:

great
 

another decent track(hopefully) not to far away!!!!

when you planning on running?

Just read the other thread and whilst I applaud your idea, 150m sq is very small buddy :eh?: for a perm place. Our indoor is the smallest you can get away with ad it's 12m x 22m racing area, which is 270 ish.

To be fair Neil the track area I showed you on wednesday that we use is only 10m x 18m (180 sq m) we somtimes get 12m x 18m in but thats it. PDA in Bicester was not that much bigger than this to be honest, so it is more than do-able, albeit a bit on the small side (especially if only 2m wide)

I really wish you all well with this new venture,here is a vid i took of the PDA in all its glory . It gives you a good view of the scale of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgRwcoTI-2c

Any new venue on DIRT is a plus whatever the size
i,m sure Teddy Truman and PTRU on here can give you some sound advice on building it.

GOOD LUCK :)

So are the USA indoor dirt venues smaller :confused:

Neil, you would be surprised just how small some of the US indoor dirt tracks really are, not all mind you but more than you would think, they are not these huge dirt filled warehouses that people think...

ATM i have no idea when i plan to run it i will have to have a look at other local clubs so i dont clash meetings. However initionally i will proberly start with just running practise session until i can afford a timing loop (any idea on price and where i can get from?)

Thanks if all goes to plan i should be able to get a semi decent size track together without it being to compact, lets call it careful planning and measuring ALOT :/ I can however in the future take over the next door unit aswell and knock through the stud wall and then ill have 250sqm of track which would be plenty big enough, but that would depend on if i can make enough to cover the price of rent for two units in heathrow.

Thanks, ive read alot on PDA to try and get information and i have been in contact with Mr Trueman and he has been giving me some valuable information.

We shall be down there from 8am till 1pm tomorrow morning to make some more progress before i watch the spurs win and the gonners lose :)

Rob Nelson at BBK Racing for all the timing equipment, but be warned it is NOT cheap.

As for the comment in bold, well there goes all my respect for you in foul swoop!!! LOL :woot: (Seriuosly though, if you need any help from this end, we are only in Watford, then give us a shout - even if you do support the other half of North London ;-) sadly)

Down at the unit nice an early today to finish off the top section of the track

Best of luck with this, look forward to coming to have a play!

Dig out the rear motor 2wds! :thumbsup:

I have a fully working amb 20 system including transponders that you could use to start with. Then as your plans progress you can trade it in for the newer system. I think you get £700 odd off with the trade in. I'm asking £500 for my system.

Watching with interest as I can finally use the losi mini 8's kit tyres on this!

I'll actually have to buy a 1/10th so i can test the track (currently only run a 1/16th), a cheap and cheerful car will do, cheaper the better and if from a company ill plaster banners and stickers around ;)

Thank's well atm i cant afford to buy that off you even at £500 but i will bare you in mind for the near future.

Pictures from todays work:

As i got there nice and early
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/3ddb06f8.jpg

First intersection area in for different layouts
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/d1517b86.jpg

and finally as we left all the intersections and the top part of the track completed
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/ed615602.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/175f255f.jpg

The top section of the track is now complete and i cant start on the other part until the rest of the unit is clear.

Any comments, tips and tricks?

i will admit i have never built a track but i think its odd you have marked out the track in the way you have for dirt?
to me i would have got the dirt in sculptures it into features and then made the track as in the link above and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgRwcoTI-2c

Tbh the reason i have marked out the lower part of the track like i have is because i dont plan to fill the warehouse wall to wall full of dirt in the style of PDA.

When it does come to building the jumps i will be raising the sides at the part which the track is at to support the mud. Dont worry i have a game plan :) :woot::thumbsup:

When you say "mud" I hope you mean "clay" .... :thumbsup:

A few years ago I found a unit in stevenage to open a unit i had a few issues that stopped me moving it forward.

The business rate on the unit was light industrial not leisure rate the local council had issues with me using the venue for this as they did not want children on the business park they also got the valuation office involved to work out the new business rate.
They suggested that I took a unit on the leisure park but the rent and rates were too expensive.
I would advise that if the main use of the venue is model car racing you check this out first there are ways round this, if one part of the venue is used or highed out for one off events you can get away with it.
I believe this is why dirt arena closed!
There is a myth going round that model car tracks don’t pay rates as they are no profit making this is not true I found out the hard way and are club got a back dated bill of over £6K
Please get everything in place first speak to the landlord about what you’re doing and council get it in writing as well.
This is different than running a club at a hall/sports ground where you hire room/land off them they will be paying the rate on the land/building.
Good luck

Just as a note, the track will be clay but throughout the thread i may class it as mud by mistake, but it is deffently clay

Noted, thanks i will look into it. My family own the unit outright but i will still talk to the council

Just a quick update:

Got all the wood onvoard of my van now, will be there nice and early tomorrow morning to get the rest of the track boarders built. Then will post more pictures tomorrow along with a walk around video and a exact measurement of the track length. Hopefully will then be able to start progress on rostum and orginising the clay

Sam (still looking for a company to sponsor the race track and ill name the venue in there honor)

Right, spent a good few hours there this morning and got nearly all the track markings/boarders done, so you can really see the shape.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/4394ee8a.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/35ecbc8e.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/e2530bc8.jpg

The view from where the rostum will be (minus the blinding light :lol:);
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/3c4416d3.jpg

Im now fully aware of the size of the track and i think it is the right width and length for 1/16ths but i also think you could get away with 1/10th racing but there may be quite a few laps done :)

Next weekends plan:

Tarpaulin the floor inside the boarders
Build Rustrum
Get in the clay

Looking good and id say you have put a lot of effort and time in to this project and all for a hobby too,i look forward to running my cars down there. Are you going to put some banked curves/corners in by any chance?

jK

The first thing you need to do is check which use classes the unit has planning for, if you find it hasn't got planning for leisure use and just the usual B1,B2 & B8 you will need to apply for planning permission- the council will visit and they will not take kindly to you having already started works, it makes them far less likely to give retrospective planning. Don't underestimate the planners - you will do so at your peril!

Thanks its a labour of love, lol.

I will be introducing banked corners etc and jumps when the clay goes down. The boarders are there purly to hold the clay in place.

Sadly no videos atm but ill run my 1/16th Or 1/10th round thus weekend on the flat track and post vids

I was looking at a Losi Eight mini yesterday - this is the sort of venue it was made for.

I agree :)

Spent the morning door at the track this morning well 8-3 so more than just a morning.

Few things are changing, like the track layout going to include a crossover to make the most of the limited space i have :)

Today we spent the day building the rostum, its 16ft long and elevatedjust under 2ft off the floor. (its not finished yet)

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/c73d6971.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/02e74590.jpg

Alot of the internal boarders are going to be removed and replaced with plastic tubing which will allow track changed easier

Sam

i wish we had a indoor dirt (clay) track up here in the north.

looking great mate :thumbsup:

Cheers mate, ive tried quite hard, does get frustrating at times. The only thing which is really holding me back atm is the search for Clay, once that is found and delivered then it wont take long after.

Rostrum is now completed apart from a lick of paint and the step. The base of the rostrum is now all bolted down the the floor so it wont go anywhere. Also had 6 people on it today and it didnt fall down! :thumbsup: Also ive measured out that there is enough room on the rostrum for 8 people allowing each person to have 2ft of space

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/577c848f.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/db33335c.jpg

Also here is the one of the layouts im gonna settle for which is going to have a crossover just so i can utilise more of the space

(the picture isnt to scale or size, its just a rough one with layout on it)

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...phpaperv12.jpg

Sadly im away at the first round of karting nationals next weekend so next progress wont be for a fortnight :(

Sam

A cross-over? Seriously?

:confused::confused:

Cross over
 

A cross over is a great idea to give a longer lap in a small area. Many great 1/8th tracks have done it in the past. As long as you use mesh or see through material so you can always see the cars. Also don't forget to put sides on to stop cars falling off.
A large thing to think about as well is being able to marshal/get to the cars if they crash on/under it.

awsome
 

:thumbsup:Cross overs are awsome if done right, terrible if not done right..... SO........

Do it right and will be great!!!!

Good luck.

Would love to come see it once done.:thumbsup:

Yes seriously

Way ahead of you, i plan to use clear plastic, now do i choose corrigated or smooth? Will have sides on it aswell.

Hope to see you here too!

I need to raise funds for a transponder setup for track so will run practise days until i can buy one so i can run race nights

Looking good Karting! Keep up the good work.

I'v got my Tamiya 201 in rear motor ready to hit your track!

.....as you found out the hard way James. :(
Did anything come of your indoor project?

We have never done anything without planning permission - just to make that clear :) ! We just tried very, very, very hard to get permission for a building to house an indoor clay track, sadly we couldn't get permission for the building.

does this mean we're all soming to RHR for a week soon.....

Or is that the 'Special oOple Invernational Surprise' this year !!!

'Hint, you may need Holeshots' somewhere on the Entry Form.......


:thumbsup: :woot: :thumbsup:

Not much of a update for a few weeks, so ill bang in a big-un.

First of all, a supplier for the clay has been found! Barring any problems clay should be delivered early next month. :D

Secondly, Track crossover is nearly finished, track has been swept and all nails and screws have been removed

Thirdly, thanks to MR Trueman i now have shed loads of track markings :D

Now for some pictures:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/e94d34ac.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...w/5a42bdc0.jpg

Hope to see you all for when its finished for; testing the track and advice/modding for jumps to suit from beginner to experienced. Plan to have one big feature jump, the crossover jump/bridge, one set of doubles/triples, one bit of 'whoops' and some other bits thrown in. With banked and off camber corners. Might even be able to get a wall ride in there too for extra length.

I think when its open i will:

One night during the week for racedays (will have to make sure it clashes with no other local clubs)
One day during the weekend for general practise days and beginners

Sam