different type of coasters

Just out of curiosity I was wondering, what are the major ways to tell who produced a certain type of coaster (I can tell Schwarzkopf from the trains, type of loops, and intamin I can tell by the giga and so forth) but I was wondering how can you tell by trains, type of loops, etc.... wondering b/c I would like to know how and what to design on nl and sm. Also what is the differences in hypers, hyper four seats (which I understand it has four seats lol but is there anything different w/ the track b/w the two) and giga besides the track style and the type of inversions if it is capable (gigas cant have loops right?) Well hope I am getting across what im wondering but if not just tell me what I should ask lol and I will.

i would look at the track style like B&M track looks very different to Intamin track.

but what I mean is what actaully sets them apart

im not sure whot u mean [confused]

to answer one your questions. inversions are very possible on hypers and gigas. a lot of support is needed for a verticle loop that is 200ft plus. it would be nice to see a 350ft coaster with a 300ft loop, huge corkscrews and a huge cobra roll for example.

from one maker to the next what are some key points to tell them apart

I don't know if this is what you mean, but there are major differences in the tracks themselves. Intamin track is usually triangular when you look at a cross section and contains all those little diagonal cross ties in the track itself (examples: Millenium Force, Expedition GeForce, Superman: ROS). I'm not sure if there are any 4-seater Intamin hyper/gigas out there; they all seem to be two-across, though I could be wrong. B&M track is a little wider than Intamin track and is very smooth with kind of a flat look and boomerang-shaped cross ties (example Nitro, Medusa). I believe that most 4-across and floorless coasters are B&M's (again, I could be very wrong LOL). Some Schwarzkopf coasters have a very narrow, kind of chunky flat look to their tracks (Texas Tornado) and some have a more Intamin-like look to them (Mindbender) and often have more circular loops than other coaster types. Arrow and Vekoma are similar in track type with very thin track tubes making an assembly that is U-shaped when seen at a cross section and they are also known for sometimes being very rough with sudden, jolting transitions and head banging. (examples: Mind Eraser, Face/Off (Vekoma); Magnum XL, Vortex, Drachen Fire (Arrow).

That pretty much sums up what I was trying to figure out. Also was wondering do different makers have different type of loops that are exclusive to them (Schwarzkopf-alot of high g loops, Vekoma-boomerrangs etc.)

vekoma doesnt make magnum xl, that would be arrow.

Originally posted by lpth5

vekoma doesnt make magnum xl, that would be arrow.

That's what I said. [:p]

here is some pictures of track types if that helps amungst other things.

http://www.coasterforce.com/information ... manu.shtml

click on a manufacturer and it will tell you information on that manufacturer.