Slot Car Basics
Slot car information 101: First, just what is a slot car? In a nutshell, a slot car is a powered miniature vehicle which is guided by a groove or slot in a track. While there’s nothing wrong with creating scenic slot car layouts, the majority are used in the competitive sport of slot car racing.
Slot car information:
How they work
Drivers use a hand-held controller to regulate a motor within the vehicle. Each car runs on its own guide-slot, though new digital systems allow cars to switch slots or even run multiple cars on the same slots. The challenge in racing slot cars is to push the vehicles to their highest speeds without causing them to lose grip and ‘deslot’ and thus lose power (and slide off the track).
Slot car information:
Understanding scale
There are different ’scales’ of tracks and cars, based on their scale to full-size, ie 1:24 cars are much bigger than 1:64 (called HO) scale cars and tracks. The most common track size is 1:32, and you will find that all major brands today, Ninco, Scalextric, SCX, Carrera and Artin sell tracks and cars in this size and that are more or less interchangeable.
1:24 scale cars are built so that 1 unit of length (such as an inch or millimeter) on the model equals 24 units on the actual car. 1:24 cars require a course so large as to be impractical for many home enthusiasts, so most serious 1:24 racing is done at commercial or club tracks.
1:32 scale cars are smaller and more suited to home-sized race courses but they are also widely raced on commercial tracks, in hobby shops or in clubs. A very popular scale.
HO-sized cars vary in scale. The original small slot cars of the early 1960s roughly approximated either American/European HO scale (1:87) or British OO scale (1:76). As racing in this size evolved, the cars were enlarged to take more powerful motors, and today they are closer to 1:64 in scale. Though there is HO racing on commercial and shop-tracks, probably most HO racing occurs on home racetracks.
In addition to the major scales, slot cars have been commercially produced in 1:48 and 1:43 scale. 1:48 cars were promoted briefly in the 1960s, and 1:43 slot car sets are generally marketed today as children’s toys. So far, there is little organized competition in 1:43, but the scale is gaining some acceptance among adult hobbyists for its affordability and moderate space requirements.
Slot car information:
Understanding tracks
Modern slot tracks fall into two main categories: Plastic tracks and Routed tracks.
Plastic Tracks are made from the molded plastic commercial track sections. Sectional track is inexpensive and easy to work with and the design of the course can be easily changed. The joints between the sections, however, make for a rough running surface.
Routed Tracks have the entire racecourse made from one or a few pieces of flat material with grooves cut directly into the material. This provides a smooth and consistent surface which is generally preferred for serious competition.
Slot car information:
Best for beginners
For the beginner, a good slot car set is the best bargain. In a good set, you will find everything you need to get up and racing in no time. An important thing to keep in mind is that the more track you have, the better. This will give you more options for building your track layout.