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**32lbking** · January 13, 2022, 05:15 PM

I don't run ghost cars all that much , but since you have no responses yet I will respond in the meantime.
I don't have either of the apps, I am still using Carrera x-lap, the computer based software.
As far as running 2-3 cars, it will depend on the length of your track as to how fast a ghost car will catch up with another [inevitably one car will be a bit faster than the other]. I would only run 2 ghosts, one in each lane, and disable their lane changing ability by putting a piece of electrical tape over the sensor on the bottom of the ghosts. Put one ghost in each lane and you will not have to worry about one catching the other in the same lane, and you can pass them whenever the opportunity presents itself. Also, if you have a pit lane you won't have to be concerned with a ghost entering the pit at full speed and ramming into you or other racers.
I'm pretty sure all ghost cars are automatically programmed to ID#7, so I don't think there is any way to get individual lap times on the ghosts.
I'm sure someone else with more experience with ghost cars and the apps will offer more help soon.
Randy

**ourwayband** · January 13, 2022, 06:37 PM

"I'm pretty sure all ghost cars are automatically programmed to ID#7, so I don't think there is any way to get individual lap times on the ghosts."
This was my finding some time back.You can run 3 ghost cars,but you will need to do as Randy says and cover the sensor on all but one ghost car.
If you don't each will register a lap as car 7 as they go across.Leave one sensor uncovered.This way it will change lanes and will register each lap..
At least this was my experience a few years back when we had the Carrera digital lap counter box..These days I just race against two ghost cars.
They have all of the factory mags in them.We race against them with only the front mags .Makes for some fun racing..

But we have not run with the apps.So,,,,,,my info may not be correct.Hopefully some of the guys that use the apps will chime in.

**Eric P** · January 14, 2022, 01:36 AM

Like the others I have no experience with Smart Race or the Carrera App, I use the Yingling software. In addition to using ID 7 for the ghost car, Carrera uses ID 8 for the pace car. You can race against the pace car...I believe, you'll just want to cover the track LED for the pace car parking spot ?? Here's the dilemma, if you tape over the car sensors, not only will the cars not change lanes, but they won't count laps. Programing multiple cars to ID 7 ghost will count every ghost car all as one car. Left uncovered, they count laps, but they also change lanes. That's a good thing until the cars crash into another.
There is a solution though, Digital Racing Solutions makes the Lane Gate. You add the hardware to each lane change and it senses when one car passes over the track LED and will prevent another car from triggering the LC, either ghost, pace or controlled.

http://www.digitalracingsolutions.com/lanegate.html

**Bluevista** · January 14, 2022, 04:05 AM

The ghost car does not enter the pits so no worries about crashing into cars stopped in pit lane as said previously. The cars will wipe out if you try to enter the pit at speed anyway, pit crews beware. The entrance is way too tight to enter fast unless you convert it with half a digital chicane, have to switch over the electronics or the ghost car will enter, pace car functions need them. I do have the DRS pit lane gates on both my pit lanes to prevent carnage. I have seven and ten year old grandsons, and friends, and relatives, and my own self to worry about.

**LAMing** · January 14, 2022, 08:25 AM

FWIW:

I thoroughly enjoy autonomous car action when I'm up and active in my "Hooterville Speedway" theme. (Digital short track racing ala' "dirt" style.") Each "race night" there are heats, and sometimes Consolation and Feature races, that consist of only autonomous cars. Those can be just as much fun to officiate (only) as the races in which I participate in as a player car.

Without the aid of any type of electronic monitoring, I have to man the on/off button and manually stop the action after an incident and then set up for the "restart". I use a race length timing system so that I don't have to mess with laps. When the timer goes off, there's two more laps to the checkers.

The above has worked well for me.

Have fun!

**Fourshipp** · January 14, 2022, 03:35 PM

I’ve run up to 8 ghost cars at once. I run urethane tires, but cleaned the track very well to set up for testing a proxy car for a proxy that ran silicones. I did it to “rubber in” my track after a good cleaning. I let them run for 30 minutes.

If you run multiple ghost cars, lane gates are a must. It’s amazing how quickly two ghost cars will find each other without them.

**32lbking** · January 14, 2022, 04:39 PM

Originally posted by Bluevista View Post

The ghost car does not enter the pits so no worries about crashing into cars stopped in pit lane as said previously. The cars will wipe out if you try to enter the pit at speed anyway, pit crews beware. The entrance is way too tight to enter fast unless you convert it with half a digital chicane, have to switch over the electronics or the ghost car will enter, pace car functions need them. I do have the DRS pit lane gates on both my pit lanes to prevent carnage. I have seven and ten year old grandsons, and friends, and relatives, and my own self to worry about.

Oop's, you are right Allan. That is the way my pit is set up with the digital chicane as the initial entrance to the pitlane entrance piece, and I have not switched the electronics between the 2. I have a 2 bay pit separated by an analog lane change track and the ghost cars are routed into that second pit automatically. And they ain't slowing down

One of these days I will get the electronics swapped out

Randy

**dw5555** · January 15, 2022, 11:11 AM

Originally posted by 32lbking View Post

Oop's, you are right Allan. That is the way my pit is set up with the digital chicane as the initial entrance to the pitlane entrance piece, and I have not switched the electronics between the 2. I have a 2 bay pit separated by an analog lane change track and the ghost cars are routed into that second pit automatically. And they ain't slowing down

One of these days I will get the electronics swapped out

Randy

Nah, you won't do it Randy for the same reason I don't. You love keepin that 3rd eye out for the ghost cars coming round and moving out quickly if they enter the pits.

Dave

**dkfuball** · January 17, 2022, 05:53 PM

I use the Smart Race app so can chime in on racing with ghost cars. The Smart Race app can now be set to the number of ghost cars you are running in a race. For example, setting the race to 3 ghost cars. It then essentially takes every 3rd beep (sensor crossing over the start/finish line) but is still limited to just showing a single ghost car in Position ID 7 (because there is no way around this Carrera setting). So essentially you are still just racing against one ghost car even though the Smart Race app can now at least understand that multiple ghost cars are running on the track. By the way, this all goes to pot if one of your ghost cars derails and you do not stop the race and marshall this car back onto the track. It throws off the “third beep” example if one of the cars is derailed and it now takes an additional lap of one of the other ghost cars to register as the 3rd ghost car registering a lap.

hopefully that is not too confusing. But it’s a long way of writing that even though you can run multiple ghost cars, you are still just racing against one other car.

**jhardy3333** · January 19, 2022, 07:15 PM

Great stuff. Thanks for all the comments guys. Very helpful.

**CarlosInSeattle** · January 20, 2022, 02:08 AM

DK, I didn't realize Smartrace had that feature. Thanks for the head's up!!

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