Object not following path

Question

I have set two particle systems to move along a path while emitting particles. However, I'm having two problems. Firstly, the particles are moving slower than the emitter object and therefore is creating a gap between them. Secondly, one of the particle system is not following the path accurately.

This is my set up:

As you will see, one of the particles systems is following the path consistently, while the other isn't.

PS : Crank up the particle count for both the particle systems to 10000 or higher to view an accurate representation.

UPDATE: PPS : How do I delay the start of the path animation for one of the objects?

Answer 1

Problem 1: Fixing particles

To fix this go to the particle system tab under Velocity and turn the Object option up to 1.00.

Problem 2: Path follow

To fix this, go to the start of the animation, select the path, go into Edit mode and, with all points selected, click Toggle Cyclic in the Tool Shelf. You should now see a gap in the path, which is the start and end. Determine which one is the start(the path lines are leading away from it) and select it. Press Shift + S and select Cursor to Selected. Click Toggle Cyclic and go back to object mode. Select the object to follow the path and press Shift + S again, this time choosing Selected to Cursor

Problem 3: Delay animation start

The only easy way to do this is to use a Follow Path constraint instead. It allows you to offset the animation. You could also just rotate the path with the object around the Z axis to start at a different place.

Also, I would but the animation end up to 100 for a smooth loop, if its going to be looping that is.