Astroturf experts
 

Can anyone with knowledge on different types of Astroturf advise on which is the best for RC tracks (1/8th really).

There is a range of pile lengths available and I'm trying to find out which is the most consistent for rc / wet / dry conditions.

I hear the long pile stuff mostly used for football pitches isnt too good as the cars track and move around?

Help appreciated thanks

Sam

Depends on whether its full of Sand or not tbh...

The astro at Kidderminster is a fine pile stuff, very close weave. Might be worth an email to Paul Worsley to see if he knows where they got it from.

From my experience the shorter stuff at Kiddy goes from being very slippy in the wet/damp, to very grippy in the dry. The longer stuff like the stuff used at Coventry for example seems to stay a lot more consistant however at the cost of ultimate grip, and it seems really sandy....

no seems Ben! it is lol

Anyone have a good idea on pile length of the stuff they like to drive on?

The Astro we use at NNRC is great. I'd say its probably around 2 or 3cm deep. It has black rubber pellets inside it instead of sand and will disperse off the racing line after a few months. The astro itself has started to pack down on the racing line.

Good grip when dry and tons of grip when the sun gets on it and warms it up! In the wet it can be very grippy too with the right tyres.

Im liking the idea of rubber pellets instead of sand, never come across that before, sand gets EVERYWHERE. And yea I think I prefer slightly longer astro, as long as there isn't big joins/bumps hiding underneath lol

sorry to sound thick but what purpose does the sand/rubber pellets serve?

On football pitches the sand and the pellets serve to keep the fibres upright and "grass-like". It also serves to keep the pitch from blowing away in wind.

On tracks, the sand is a pain in the behind.

We used the astro that came off a tennis court, the pile is approx half a cm. packs really well and grippy when dry, but it's a different story when wet!! We have used astro on less than 50% of the track, dirt on the rest:)

The bits of rubber are pretty much the same end up everywhere, like inside the reciever!! haha hows that possible

But they are no way near as bad, sand combined with muck and oil gives you grinding paste... The rubber pellets always used to collect on our chassis' after a race day but now they are virtually non-existent as they get thrown off the racing line over months of use.

I always have thought they put rubber in there to ground the static charges that the fibers will produce from rubbing together... :woot: I've never researched though

There purpose is to soften the ground.