Dirt Track Prep question: sugar or no sugar?
06-01-2015, 07:18 AM
#1
Dirt Track Prep question: sugar or no sugar?
Hi guys,
I've done a little googling on track prepping and sugaring. But mostly it seems that what I've found talks about clay tracks. The consensus was that water is better for the track than sugar. Well DUH! But we're in a serious drought here in California, and I feel guilty watering DIRT. If there's a breeze, I can go out an run my RC for a while, but it gets really dusty. Forget Race Days, our season is over without any rain.
I was wondering if sugaring the track would keep the dust down, without watering? I thought it was as simple as spreading sugar on the track and watering it in, but that's not the case. The "preferred method" involves mixing about a pound of sugar per gallon of water, and the water is a mix of water and grape soda. (The soda apparently has stuff in it that helps keep the sugar from re-crytalizing.) The liquid mixture is then sprayed on the track.
Has anyone tried this on their plain-ol-dirt backyard track? What was the result / effect?
I've done a little googling on track prepping and sugaring. But mostly it seems that what I've found talks about clay tracks. The consensus was that water is better for the track than sugar. Well DUH! But we're in a serious drought here in California, and I feel guilty watering DIRT. If there's a breeze, I can go out an run my RC for a while, but it gets really dusty. Forget Race Days, our season is over without any rain.
I was wondering if sugaring the track would keep the dust down, without watering? I thought it was as simple as spreading sugar on the track and watering it in, but that's not the case. The "preferred method" involves mixing about a pound of sugar per gallon of water, and the water is a mix of water and grape soda. (The soda apparently has stuff in it that helps keep the sugar from re-crytalizing.) The liquid mixture is then sprayed on the track.
Has anyone tried this on their plain-ol-dirt backyard track? What was the result / effect?
06-01-2015, 01:10 PM
#2
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Well, I will tell you for sure, you will need new tires after every run if you use sugar. Just use dry dirt, except pack it very well. Run it over with something heavy and smooth often and eventually it would be good for racing.
5 minutes of sugar track racing compared to a new tire. I do remember seeing a tire that was completely bald from sugar, too.
5 minutes of sugar track racing compared to a new tire. I do remember seeing a tire that was completely bald from sugar, too.
06-01-2015, 01:55 PM
#3
Holy COW! Five minutes??! Yikes.
The dirt is pretty compacted. Like hard as a rock. Almost. Of course the tires scrub off dust, and that eventually collects around the edges. Ripping thru that stuff creates huge dust plumes. I thought maybe if I could keep that fluff from forming in the first place, it would be a more dust-free running environment. But cripes, if the sugar treatment causes tires to wear out that fast, ****edaboudit. Guess I'll just have to sweep the dusty bits off once in a while to keep dust out of the air when I'm driving on it. But I was also trying to keep as much dirt/dust where it is, thereby slowing erosion. However that may be unavoidable.
Huh. Picture is worth a thousand words, eh?
The dirt is pretty compacted. Like hard as a rock. Almost. Of course the tires scrub off dust, and that eventually collects around the edges. Ripping thru that stuff creates huge dust plumes. I thought maybe if I could keep that fluff from forming in the first place, it would be a more dust-free running environment. But cripes, if the sugar treatment causes tires to wear out that fast, ****edaboudit. Guess I'll just have to sweep the dusty bits off once in a while to keep dust out of the air when I'm driving on it. But I was also trying to keep as much dirt/dust where it is, thereby slowing erosion. However that may be unavoidable.
Huh. Picture is worth a thousand words, eh?
06-04-2015, 07:04 AM
#7
No they don't, they BLOW. 
Har..
Yeah, you're right guys. I took the time, and effort, to sweep the track off the other day (so as not to create HUGE dust clouds with the leaf blower). I then watered the swept dust into the weeds so it stays there. For a race day, I'll blow the rest of the dust off with the blower, but for testing, I ran my SCT on the track as is, an it was indeed an improvement. I had far less dust getting throw into the air. EGbasher is coming up Friday for a race day, so we'll see how it goes. The added benefit also seems to be better traction too. Naturally, since there isn't all that fluff to slide around on.
Haven't been back to the local race track. Kind of afraid of it, since last time were were there, we broke all of our cars....
Har.. Yeah, you're right guys. I took the time, and effort, to sweep the track off the other day (so as not to create HUGE dust clouds with the leaf blower). I then watered the swept dust into the weeds so it stays there. For a race day, I'll blow the rest of the dust off with the blower, but for testing, I ran my SCT on the track as is, an it was indeed an improvement. I had far less dust getting throw into the air. EGbasher is coming up Friday for a race day, so we'll see how it goes. The added benefit also seems to be better traction too. Naturally, since there isn't all that fluff to slide around on.
Haven't been back to the local race track. Kind of afraid of it, since last time were were there, we broke all of our cars....
06-04-2015, 05:22 PM
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No they don't, they BLOW. Har..
Yeah, you're right guys. I took the time, and effort, to sweep the track off the other day (so as not to create HUGE dust clouds with the leaf blower). I then watered the swept dust into the weeds so it stays there. For a race day, I'll blow the rest of the dust off with the blower, but for testing, I ran my SCT on the track as is, an it was indeed an improvement. I had far less dust getting throw into the air. EGbasher is coming up Friday for a race day, so we'll see how it goes. The added benefit also seems to be better traction too. Naturally, since there isn't all that fluff to slide around on.
Haven't been back to the local race track. Kind of afraid of it, since last time were were there, we broke all of our cars....
Har.. Yeah, you're right guys. I took the time, and effort, to sweep the track off the other day (so as not to create HUGE dust clouds with the leaf blower). I then watered the swept dust into the weeds so it stays there. For a race day, I'll blow the rest of the dust off with the blower, but for testing, I ran my SCT on the track as is, an it was indeed an improvement. I had far less dust getting throw into the air. EGbasher is coming up Friday for a race day, so we'll see how it goes. The added benefit also seems to be better traction too. Naturally, since there isn't all that fluff to slide around on.
Haven't been back to the local race track. Kind of afraid of it, since last time were were there, we broke all of our cars....
But why are you afraid of going to the track? I find it hard to break parts while racing personally. If you went during a practice session where there was 1/8 buggies on the track and you had a 1/10 bitty buggy, I could see why you are scared. Just take it easy till you learn the line of the track and once you do and feel confident that you know how the track feels, go for it!
06-04-2015, 06:01 PM
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Pfft! I knew you were gonna play on that the second I hit the "post" button. lol
Man I wish I lived out by you guys... Racing Evader's and SCTs on a backyard track sounds like so much fun.
lolMan I wish I lived out by you guys... Racing Evader's and SCTs on a backyard track sounds like so much fun.
06-04-2015, 08:57 PM
#10
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It does. We all live in different corners of the US, which is really weird. You up north, Rob in the west, and me in the south. If I ever win the lottery, I'll fly you all down here and we can race at my local track. Lol
06-05-2015, 05:38 AM
#11
Maybe hire Lil' Sweet from the Diet Dr. Pepper commercials to spread some sweetness on your track.
Just kidding. I don't know how much sugar one would have to use for a concoction to spray on a dirt track, or how much it would help. Smooth clay tracks in an indoor controlled environment would be the ideal place to use sugar. For an outdoor semi-smooth dirt track, the long term benefits would be short lived within a day I would think. I really don't know. I'm just so used to dust, it's common place for me. An air compressor is my best friend, most days, at getting rid of what's left over on my RCs from an overly dry track. My neighbors are glad, I'm sure, that I have enough land/space between my track and their pristine houses.
Just kidding. I don't know how much sugar one would have to use for a concoction to spray on a dirt track, or how much it would help. Smooth clay tracks in an indoor controlled environment would be the ideal place to use sugar. For an outdoor semi-smooth dirt track, the long term benefits would be short lived within a day I would think. I really don't know. I'm just so used to dust, it's common place for me. An air compressor is my best friend, most days, at getting rid of what's left over on my RCs from an overly dry track. My neighbors are glad, I'm sure, that I have enough land/space between my track and their pristine houses.
06-05-2015, 06:14 AM
#12
My problem is more so a vegetation game of grass/weeds trying to grow on the track. I just got done spraying the track, the other day, with 12 gallons of a commercial concentrated weed/grass killer. If I were to use the name brand, Round Up stuff, that would be crazy expensive. I usually have to do that once in the spring and then the upkeep of walking around the track every so often; spraying the new growth trying to pop it's nasty leaf out of the ground.
I can see why AstroTurf is popular over yonder and some places in the US...the short vegetation that grows, from my lacking of keeping up with it some months, is a traction boost when my vehicles transversing from hard packed loamy stuff to short leafy green stuff.
I can see why AstroTurf is popular over yonder and some places in the US...the short vegetation that grows, from my lacking of keeping up with it some months, is a traction boost when my vehicles transversing from hard packed loamy stuff to short leafy green stuff.
06-05-2015, 09:36 AM
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quit stealing my daydreams! i plan to win an obscene amount of money and buy many large properties. one of those properties is currently an executive retreat, over 250 acres with a large house/small hotel with 12 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. the conference room would be adapted into an rc machine shop. perfect place for an TEC/The Lounge race and bash weekend. of course, being obscenely wealthy, i'd cover all travel expenses and lost wages. also, what kind of host would i be without giving goody bags (well, crates)? filled with the latest in RC, from top-o-the-line chargers and batteries to 8th scale gassers and tekin brushless systems for the various electric kits also in there.
06-06-2015, 10:25 AM
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Now that, sounds like fun. I'd be there. lol
quit stealing my daydreams! i plan to win an obscene amount of money and buy many large properties. one of those properties is currently an executive retreat, over 250 acres with a large house/small hotel with 12 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. the conference room would be adapted into an rc machine shop. perfect place for an TEC/The Lounge race and bash weekend. of course, being obscenely wealthy, i'd cover all travel expenses and lost wages. also, what kind of host would i be without giving goody bags (well, crates)? filled with the latest in RC, from top-o-the-line chargers and batteries to 8th scale gassers and tekin brushless systems for the various electric kits also in there.
06-06-2015, 10:27 AM
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06-10-2015, 07:11 AM
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Ha ha....you guys are great. 
Rusty, if you have vegetation growing on your track, you ain't running enough! We never did anything to create the track, the cars themselves cleared the route, and now, nothing grows on the track. (Of course, we don't have the humidity and rain you guys get. Stuff probably grows on concrete down there.)
As for how they apply sugar, I've read that the preferred method involves using a gallon of water per pound of sugar, AND grape soda is also added to the mix. (The soda has stuff in it to keep the sugar from re-crystalizing) Then you spray the track surface with it. But dang, after seeing what it does to tires, I tossed the idea.
Just got the RC Car Action Newsletter. It included an article on the IFMAR Championships coming up in Japan. The controversy is that the off-road course has been covered with astro-turf. Is it "off-road" if it's not on dirt? You decide. It actually looks like a pretty cool course. Maybe this is what I should do.....
Rusty, if you have vegetation growing on your track, you ain't running enough! We never did anything to create the track, the cars themselves cleared the route, and now, nothing grows on the track. (Of course, we don't have the humidity and rain you guys get. Stuff probably grows on concrete down there.)
As for how they apply sugar, I've read that the preferred method involves using a gallon of water per pound of sugar, AND grape soda is also added to the mix. (The soda has stuff in it to keep the sugar from re-crystalizing) Then you spray the track surface with it. But dang, after seeing what it does to tires, I tossed the idea.
Just got the RC Car Action Newsletter. It included an article on the IFMAR Championships coming up in Japan. The controversy is that the off-road course has been covered with astro-turf. Is it "off-road" if it's not on dirt? You decide. It actually looks like a pretty cool course. Maybe this is what I should do.....
06-14-2015, 07:43 AM
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Well Dont know if its legal in the US, well Im sure its illegal everywhere.
But one thing Ive noticed on trips to Guatemala was that in the dry climate moutains locals would spread burnt waste oil onto the dirt roads. Water would evaporate quickly in the hot dry climate so they would use oil, several gallons would last for several months before being washed away by the elements.
Maybe some organic oil like corn or vegetable?
But one thing Ive noticed on trips to Guatemala was that in the dry climate moutains locals would spread burnt waste oil onto the dirt roads. Water would evaporate quickly in the hot dry climate so they would use oil, several gallons would last for several months before being washed away by the elements.
Maybe some organic oil like corn or vegetable?
Can you imagine the crud that would build up on your car? Oily sludge. Ick. Thanks for chiming in tho.
