Issues recreating coasters in NL2 and FVD++

I am a new user, still looking into buying NL2, and I was wondering about a couple things. I was thinking I might recreate a few coasters I know after buying, and there are a couple of potential problems I can see.

1. If I wanted to use FVD to recreate a ride, would it be possible to make specific dimensions in the program, or would it be better to just make the general shape and worry about specifics with an overlaid photo in NL2? I can get pretty specific in terms of appearance in FVD, but some parts would be tough, as almost all the measurements I can see are in either force or time, not position and distance.
2. How exactly do I match the friction coefficient and segment length in FVD to NL2? Tutorials say different things, and none of them seem to be exact. There have to be set values between the two programs that can be matched, right? If I wanted to change the friction coefficient for steel vs wood coasters, would that translate between programs? Same idea with segment length, and possibly heart line height, too.
3. In both programs, is there a way to modify the weight and type of the train? For instance, if I wanted to accurately recreate the roller coaster Cyclops at Mt. Olympus, I would currently need to use Gravity Group track with a PTC train. In this case, the train would really make a difference in the ride behavior.
4. Finally, I have no idea how to do blocking. How long is the default dispatch time, and is there a way to change it and do anything else without coding? I would want to have the option to use multiple trains, but I don’t know how to code.

1. You can use Geometric Sections with the Function with respect to set to Distance instead of Time. You could get pretty close to a specific radii curve, hill, or valley with some dodgy math. This may not be quite what you're after though.. No Limits makes really pretty roller coasters really quickly, but it isn't an engineering tool, so some of the precision and functionality you might get with SolidWorks or Inventor isn't necessarily there. I see and use NL2 as a presentation tool. There are methods and techniques out there for getting very, very accurate track pathing, but there comes a point where you're so caught up in the weeds of specifics that you lose sight of what NL2 is.

2. FVD++ doesn't take into account air resistance whereas NL2 does. The pro version does allow you to set this to 0, so you then simply match the friction paramter values between FVD to No Limits and should expect more accurate results.

3. Custom trains aren't really my territory, but if it's possible to change the weight I'm not sure it would really have an affect on the behavior in sim. The track is static and does not flex under load, the supports are purely aesthetic, and the speed of the train is determined from static friction and air resistance values. I do not believe there is any difference in the available wooden track styles, unless I've missed them. And outside the RMC tracks of course. So if you've after something more specific, you'll have to make that using a third party tool like Blender or 3DS Max.

4. No Limits implements an automatic block zone system. By default, your station, lift, and brake segments are block zones; only the brakes may be changed to trim brakes that do not behave like a block zone. Settings for all of these, including trigger speed, stopping force, allowing the trains to either come to a complete stop or continue through after slowing, holding the brakes for a set time, are just a few of the many options you have to control your block zones. No coding required. You CAN code your own block logic, and it isn't difficult to do so, but it is nearly totally unnecessary.

This should cover a great deal of what you need to know before diving in.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL20Dp8jCv533Ez0klBGr0IsflGpXc_k25

Thank you, I’ll check that out

1. My method to trying to be as accurate as I can with regards to dimensionality is building in NoLimits 1. I mainly stick to wood coasters, so I basically string segments at the interval of bents and edit the Y values. For turns I use FVD++ to generate circles with track segments again coinciding to the number of bents, and again edit the Y values. With some ctrl g smoothing and then more carefully deleting/replacing nodes and very selective smoothing once in NL2, you can get pretty close to how a real wood coaster would feel.

2. I use NL2 pro's frictions settings and try to get close to the real rides duration and pacing. Where I know my dimensions would be correct, it just comes down to trying to overcome any inconsistencies in NL2's friction engine.

3. Not really. Wood track is wood track, the rolling stock is the only difference.

I have a pretty accurate Holiday World Legend recreation I've been working on for a while that uses the method I outlined. I can send it to you if you'd like to take a look.