144 stud pattern.

[fourload]

A friend of mine has 96 studs in the center of his winder and wants to move up to 144. He wants to put the extra 48 studs in the outside belts since it would be too hard to add to his existing 96 in the center. Should he go with a 4-2-4 pattern (same spot on outside belts) or a 3-3-3 (alternating spots on outside belts)? It seems to me that a 4-2-4 pattern would not be balanced as smoothly at high speeds due to the way the track is weighted. Am I overthinking this?

 

[snowman 700]

I prefer the 3-3-3 as I think it is more balanced and puts the same force on each lug. Just my 2 cents....