Slot cars

[inter]

Hi all
i dont know much about slot cars and i want to get some for my kids. What is the best brand and what is the best scale. Any help will be good.
regards inter:)

[Kiwiracing]

I was wondering the same myself, my son is going on 3 and we (sorry he:D ) would love to race them. Any help is welcome.

Cheers and thanks

Kiwiracing

[Malik]

shop near me sells scalelectrix.. seems pretty good... in the box you get an ambrose falcon and ingall holden.. and you can get addons for tander from GRM and another ford that I cant remember the driver or team..


vanpyre knows slot cars.. he;s the man to ask.

[SS Commodore]

Scaletric is great for all kids big and small, the go fast, but can be a little fragile, and hate carpet. The cars cost a lot more, and there is a huge range, as you can use Fly, and SCX cars as well, then these Autoart new ones.

For small kids only I recon AFX is the way to go, you can drive flat out on the track and the car, if the track is suitable you dont need to slow down for corners. Cars are a lot cheaper.

Spare parts and track are available for both.

[admin]

You can also buy the Autoart slot cars, which, I believe are better made, better priced and have more features.
Check out the site or go to any good model shop!!

[Malik]

Originally posted by admin
You can also buy the Autoart slot cars, which, I believe are better made, better priced and have more features.
Check out the site or go to any good model shop!!

autoart make slot cars... well colour me surprised....:eek:

[Kiwiracing]

Originally posted by admin
You can also buy the Autoart slot cars, which, I believe are better made, better priced and have more features.
Check out the site or go to any good model shop!!

Are these the scale that run on the AFX track?

Kiwiracing

[chups]

the autoart ones goon the scaletric tracks i think. the Aa ones look great, but no aussie cars, the scaletric (or scx i cant remember) holdens and fords look like pretty good body shapes but have blacked out windows with no interior, kind of like the early CC models. i had an old AFX set then bought the lifelike racing holden set which the cars fit on the afx set. id say either one is great for a beginner. (the lifelike 'holdens' are just nascars with holden paint)

[Kiwiracing]

Anyone know who the best supplier (store) in Sydney is for slot cars sets, I've been to one Hobby Store in Brisbane that seemed to have a good selection of cars?

Thanks
Kiwiracing

[oldxr]

Ninco is another good brand of car that fits on to the scaletric track, but with a guide mod and a spacer adjustment you can also use Parma "whomps"(1\32 scale) on the scaletrics track, and boy are they quik.:D

[Ford Boy]

I had AFX when I was little. THat was always fine, and was available from pretty much anywhere! And I wish I had it still now I know who Larry Perkins is! I had a track called lightning larry perkins..... ah fond memories....

[rippa72]

Hi Guys,

Ninco is the better track setup as it has the width to allow for 1:24 slot cars as well. AFX is great for little kids as it really takes no skill at all and can do all the loop to loop stuff that kids love. If you want realistic racing then the Scalextric, Ninco, SCX, Carrera is the way to go. The cars that are available are getting better and better and depending on what you want to achieve will depend on what you buy. The Ninco cars with the NC-2 motor are a great all round package but anything with a sidewinder motor will be hard to beat down a straight.

I have found the best handling chassis is the Scalextric but haven't tested any of the newer cars to see if this is still the case.

There is a couple of great stores in Sydney but I would probably recommend going here : http://www.hornsbyslotcars.com.au/opening.html

If anyone wants any more specific information or advice just let me know.

[rippa72]

Just remembered another really good shop in Sydney :

http://www.armchairracer.com.au/

Hope this helps

[Kiwiracing]

Hi Inter

I hope you don't think I hijacked this thread, thanks for starting it, and I hope you have got as much info out of it as i have, I can see my son and I going shopping this weekend for an "early" Christmas pressy:D

Cheers and thanks everyone

Kiwiracing

[JD!]

Originally posted by rippa72
#1 AFX is great for little kids as it really takes no skill at all...

#2 I have found the best handling chassis is the Scalextric ...

#1 Interesting comment. Is that because it takes more skill to ensure a SCX car goes slow enough through corners to keep it on the track?

#2 I find this to be an amazing comment. I have AFX ( just for the kids of course ) and my oldest brother has Scalextric ( just for his kids ). How can you say the SCX has the best handling chassis when it rolls over through corners at speeds which are a relative crawl compared to AFX?

Just remember, it takes more skill to control a vehicle ( whether 1:1 scale or other ) at a high cornering speed than a low corner speed.

[inter]

Originally posted by Kiwiracing
Hi Inter

I hope you don't think I hijacked this thread, thanks for starting it, and I hope you have got as much info out of it as i have, I can see my son and I going shopping this weekend for an "early" Christmas pressy:D

Cheers and thanks everyone

Kiwiracing
No Kiwiracing
i do not think that you have hijacked this thread, i have learnes a lot from this. I have a 7 year old and a 3 year old boy and i will be purchasing afx for the moment and see how it goes.
One question i have for all the experts out there, I have just finished rennovating and i have a large room that i will be dedicating to slot car racing. Is there a limit size track that i can use( ie 4,5,6m of track) or i can get 20m of track running from one transformer.
Cheers inter

[Kiwiracing]

Originally posted by inter

No Kiwiracing
i do not think that you have hijacked this thread, i have learnes a lot from this. I have a 7 year old and a 3 year old boy and i will be purchasing afx for the moment and see how it goes.
One question i have for all the experts out there, I have just finished rennovating and i have a large room that i will be dedicating to slot car racing. Is there a limit size track that i can use( ie 4,5,6m of track) or i can get 20m of track running from one transformer.
Cheers inter

Cheers mate.

Wish we had a spare room like that WOW that will be one race track. I think we will be going AFX also.

Kiwiracing

[Ford Boy]

Dont take this as a given, but I think it helps if the more track you have, the more power bits running into it. The track I had have a little plug in bit where the power, and 2 controllers go, and as I had 2 seperate tracks, when I added them together, it slowed a little. SO we chucked in the extra poower bit and plugged in the power, and walah! More speed! Dont take my word on it though I could be wrong! Hope it helps!

Cheers!

[rippa72]

ok, just to clear a few things up, firstly, the AFX is better for the kids in that it doesn't really take any throttle control to get the car around the track quickly. This is great for kids as all they want to do is go fast and have fun.

When you jump up to the 1:32 or 1:24 scales, it takes a lot more throttle control to get the cars to go around the track quickly without losing control. The reason I said the Scalextric chassis is better is that they seem to handle a bit better then the other chassis's that are around. It is very much like real cars. The average user would not really worry about this kind of thing as they would just buy the car off the shelf and race it. This only comes into play if you really want to start getting more out of your cars and start doing engine swaps, wheel swaps, bearing swaps etc.

In relation to track length, you don't have to add a second power source if you don't want to. The trick around this is to run wires from where the power goes in under the track to other parts of the track. This referred to as power coupling. Scalextric actually produces a pre made cable for doing this otherwise you can just solder wires underneath. I had almost 30m of track at one stage running off only one power source. All I did was hook all the track up and anywhere where there was power loss just run wire to it. I found 240V speaker cable to be the best as there was no power loss through the cable.

There is also software available for designing layouts which can save a lot of time. If anyone is interested in this then send me an email or a pm and I will see if I can get hold of it for you.

Hope this helps.

[Kiwiracing]

rippa72 thanks for all this, all I need to do is convince the wife we REALLY need this - can you help:D

Cheers
Kiwiracing

[chups]

i can help you with your wife if you cant handle her ;) but seriously, the two power board idea should work but you might need to bridge out the extra controller points on the second board (straight track bitty)
*i accept no responsibility if you blow the cars up or anything though

[timbo333]

The kids (and I:D ) love the 1:32 scale.

We have three sets - 2 x SCX and 1 x NINCO. It all joins up by way of adapter track. I have never had to run more than 1 transformer on any given track layout......but might try this when i finish decorating the room which takes all the track.

SCX and NINCO have some great websites:-

www.scx.es
www.ninco.com

So try these for FAQ's, what's available and the like. I collect Slot as well as diecast due to the huge improvements made in the vehicles. I agree that AUTOART make a great looking car (I have both the MAKKINEN LANCER and SUBARU) but my opinion is that they are the worst for 'handling' on the track.

The best handling cars are, again in my opinion, the FLY and the newer SCALEXTRIC cars.

Intrestingly it seems the Spainish are the experts at Slot as both SCX and NINCO are Spainish!!

Also SCALEXTRIC are a major sponsor of LISTER CARS in the UK. Just thought I'd mention that!!:p

Finally i find AFX just a toy, but agree that its great for kids straight out of the box. HO scale is just not good enough for me!

Cheers,

Timbo.

[the_goldie]

I still have my Bathurst 1000 AFX set out in the shed. I have been meaning to set it up on a board that I can easily store on the side wall of the garage so I can move the car out and then move the track into position. I did have 2 F1 cars for it as they had stronger magnets to help stay on the track... ahhh can't wait for my boy to get older then I might just have to get a scaletrix set(always wanted one instead of the AFX!)

Some of the cars in 1:32 you can buy now are amazing!

[Grubby]

I keep telling my wife that our boys would love a slot car set.

I think when I do get one for them it will have to be SCX

Just gotta convice the other half.

Grubby

[JD!]

I would suggest you try both systems out in a store. Surely some of the larger places would have a test track set up. I prefer AFX as thay have a higher top speed and are the same scale as the model railway I have. And as far as boosters for long tracks, if you have 30 metres of track hook up some jumper cables at the 15 metre mark. A second transformer shouldn't really be needed. UNLESS you section the track so one transformer only powers half the track.

[inter]

Thank you all for all the info
inter:)

[rippa72]

If you really want to go crazy then you can do what a mate and I did. We made our own track using sheets of MDF and routing a slot into it. The track was all designed using CAD and had 3 lanes of about 36 metres each. We had a custom built power supply which had a separate control for each lane between 0 and 30 volts. We then run a copper tape around on either side of the slot to power the cars. I will get hold of some pics for you guys when I get a chance. I also had a collection of about 50 RTR cars and about 10 custom built cars.

The track is still setup and is used on a regular basis. The only problem is that I am now in Perth and the track is in Melbourne.

If you really want to have some fun with the current 1:32 cars then remove the magnet before you go racing with them!!! Makes for some real interesting racing!!!

[inter]

Originally posted by rippa72
If you really want to go crazy then you can do what a mate and I did. We made our own track using sheets of MDF and routing a slot into it. The track was all designed using CAD and had 3 lanes of about 36 metres each. We had a custom built power supply which had a separate control for each lane between 0 and 30 volts. We then run a copper tape around on either side of the slot to power the cars. I will get hold of some pics for you guys when I get a chance. I also had a collection of about 50 RTR cars and about 10 custom built cars.

The track is still setup and is used on a regular basis. The only problem is that I am now in Perth and the track is in Melbourne.

If you really want to have some fun with the current 1:32 cars then remove the magnet before you go racing with them!!! Makes for some real interesting racing!!!
way too complicated for me rippa, i just want to have fun with the kids:)
inter

[timbo333]

Hey rippa72..........

It wouldn't be the racetrack at Maddington SlotCar Raceway would it??

That's huge and is fully custom made with full timing etc..etc.

I think there are 8 lanes on that one though!!!

Cheers,

Timbo.

[rippa72]

No it is just a private track. I will track down the pics this weekend and upload them in the gallery on Vanpyre's site. I will let you know when they are up.

For those that don't want to go to that extent and just want to buy a set off the shelf and race, then I would recommend the SCX sets as I feel they are the better value for money. The F-1 cars from SCX are great to race with and make a great starting point.

[rippa72]

Hi Guys,

Vanpyre was kind enough to give me some web space to throw my old site up. This site has not been updated and has been offline for over 2 years so some of the info is a little bit outdated!!! I had only just started listing the cars on there before it was taken offline so there is only a couple up there. I am not into the slot car scene at the moment but if you want information added or you want some of your own pics put on there just let me know and I am sure I can do something for you.

Here is the link:

http://vanpyremodels.servepics.com/riparacing/

The pictures of the custom track are under Blue Hills Motor Raceway.

[Grubby]

Nice track Rippa72.

Bet you spent many hours driving around there.

Grubby

[inter]

Hi all
I have done it, bought a new 10.3 metre track for my self....... i mean the kids for xmas. I know what i will be doing on xmas day. i have built the table in the spare room all ready.
Thanks for all the info, i will have a cold one in spirit with all of you.
cheers inter:D

[Ando]

There is a place where you can get V8 Supercar shells that clip onto i think the scalectric chassis, i have seen them at my local model shop, i will try and find a bit more info on them.

[Grubby]

Originally posted by inter
Hi all
I have done it, bought a new 10.3 metre track for my self....... i mean the kids for xmas. I know what i will be doing on xmas day. i have built the table in the spare room all ready.
Thanks for all the info, i will have a cold one in spirit with all of you.
cheers inter:D

Inter

What sort of track/brand did you end up getting ?

Grubby

[timbo333]

Some great places to get slot cars and accessories. Will keep you broke just like me.........:(

www.armchairracer.com.au

www.scalextricaustralia.com

www.pendleslotracing.co.uk

The first link is a great site based in Sydney. Just took delivery of the superb 1966 GT40 3 car LE MANS 1-2-3 SCALEXTRIC set from here. Weathered finish, limited edition of 10,000. Very nice.....:D

Cheers,

Timbo.

[inter]

Originally posted by Grubby
Inter

What sort of track/brand did you end up getting ?

Grubby
Scx
inter

[Grubby]

Thanks Inter. It does sound like this is the way to go.

I reckon my boys are old enough. :D

Grubby

[timbo333]

Thought i would drag this old thread back up.

I have just returned today from a convention for my profession. In the exhibition hall i was amazed to see that a company had a full slot car race set up with timing etc for prize giveaways.

Very professionally put together track with pits, tyre barriers and the like to give it proper atmosphere. The track layout was changed each day too. Guess what...it was one of the most popular exhibits for attendance and watching crowds. Even the women were having a go and saying how much fun it was.......There's hope yet guys!!!:p

Cheers,


Timbo.

[SS Commodore]

I just visited the arm chair racer, great shop!

The guys there were Very very knowleagable about their hobby.

I went there after checking out the link on this thread and saw they had Richards VY and Ambrose BA, these look great, blacked out windows but compared to past cars these are great, I havent used my scalextric track in 6-7 years, but after their advise I will be getting a new on e I think, Ninco this time!

[the_goldie]

I saw the new digital tracks. What is the advantage with this type?

[inter]

I thought i will bring this thread up.
3 years on and we are still playing with the scx track.

i must admit that the smaller scale cars would have been ideal for $. new 1/32 cars and part do get expensive.

any one else got one?

[monarocveightz]

I thought i will bring this thread up.
3 years on and we are still playing with the scx track.

i must admit that the smaller scale cars would have been ideal for $. new 1/32 cars and part do get expensive.

any one else got one?


I do have set somewhere in the garage, it was a Bathurst edition probably made in the mid nineties, had Dick Johnson (supposedly a Falcon) and i can't remember who the other one was but it was supposedly a Holden, both these cars fell apart pretty quick from old age.

others cars i have was a Merc Benz truck with working headlights

my fav a Porsche 911 that seemed to be th fastest of the lot
a Pink Jag (like a le mans car)
Buggatti EB110
Ferrari F50?

I haven't used them in the last 3 years as we no longer have the room to set them up, dunno if they work anymore or not.

we used to have a rumpus room in Tassie, and we set the track up on a Table tennis table , spraypainted it and set it up like Bathurst, pity i don't have any photo's of what it used to look like. ahhh the fun memories..........