Bart Bender

I have a track at my house and am trying to get the dirt conditions better for racing. The dirt, in farm speak, is black sand. When wet has great traction and dry's out fairly fast after a rain. The down fall is there is a lot of loom to broom off after every couple races. I am considering incorporating bentonite to see if this helps with the drying out issue and the loom. I do not want to turn it into a clay surface just control moisture and loom. Any help or suggestions? I can't find a lot of info on this type of tech specific to RC tracks. How much to add. How to incorporate it, till, rake? Thanks for anything.

tommygun32

Good question...wish I could help...[&o]

Try posting this question in the RC Cars General Discussion...[&:]

Hack u 2

quick answer off top of my head without google searching to sound smart....There are to kinds calcium and sodium one of them may retard water so when it rains you will get pot holes or puddle areas that may cause grief...thats about as much as I know.

J.D.T

if you have access to a tiller/disc or chissel plow and are willing to start the process over I would suggest adding both lime and laundry detergent, if you plan on tilling four inches or less a medium dusting is good, if you want the track for years go heavier on the products and deeper on the tilling, This don't really make the dirt any "better" but it helps retain moisture so it stays wet and tacky longer, it will also pack much better so plan on adding a little dirt or you may end up with some low spots.
You want powder detergent not liquid, you can get it cheaper at dollar stores or sams club if you got one available, garden lime can be found anywhere but if you got a bigger track you might want to get a pickup load of ag lime from a Coop to be cost effective.
It will only make foamy bubbles through a couple waterings and them calms down and packs a bit more in my experience.

Bart Bender

I realize the lime will help pack and hold the surface together but what dose the detergent do? Hold the moisture longer with the soap in it? I don't have a problem with the moisture really. I always have a hose available. It's mainly the loom that makes thinks tough. The water goes down and as the surface loosens up it really won't pack down untill you phisycally pack it or broom it off. Maybe I'll try the Ag Lime idea and the Bentonite in a couple different spots and post my results. Thanks for the advise fellas.