What is Slot Car Racing?
Slot car racing is the hobby of racing model cars with electrical motors around either plastic or wooden tracks. Slot cars are built to run on tracks that have a groove or slot to guide the car around the track. The slot car's motor gets power from metal rails that are embedded on both sides of the slot.
The main objective with slot car racing involves going as fast as possible on the straight areas of the track, and then slowing down in the turns to keep your car from de-slotting. De-slotting is the term used when your car comes out of the slot in other words off of the track.
Control
The more pressure on the throttle or trigger of the controller produces a greater speed. Each car runs on a separate lane, with its own slot. The challenge in racing slot cars comes in taking curves at the highest speed that will not cause the car to lose its grip on the track and spin sideways or de slot and fly or run off of the track. For the most part Slot cars consist of a plastic body, metal or plastic Chassis or frame, an engine or motor, gears, tires, and often magnets. The magnets apply a downward pressure on the rails of the track to help in maintaining speeds around almost any type or degree of curve, but if you use too many magnets, you can sacrifice performance or put stress on the motor which will in turn burn it out.
Scale
The term Scale in Slot Car measurements, measures at 1 unit of length (such as an inch or millimeter) on the actual Slot Car. Intern this equates to 32 or 24 units on the actual car, hence a 1/32 scale car is 32 times smaller than the actual car in which the slot car was modeled after.
There are four common slot car scales (sizes): 1/24 scale, 1/32 scale, 1/43 scale and the HO size which ranges from (1/87 to 1/64 scale). The pronunciation of the scale names are "one twenty-fourth," "one thirty-second," 'one forty third and simply HO.
HO -1/64 scale slot cars : also known as HO slot cars, these slot cars are the smallest size, which makes them a great companion for model trains. The 1/64 scale size also means you can have a larger track with the same amount of space and it is generally less expensive than 1/32 or 1/43 scale slot cars.
- The original small slot cars of the early 1960s were very close to 1/87 scale, because they were intended to function as accessories for HO (1/87) model trains (or OO-scale, 1/76, in Britain). As racing in this size evolved, the bodies were enlarged to take more powerful motors, and today are closer to 1/64 in scale, but they still run on track of approximately the same width, and are generically referred to as HO slot cars. You may find HO racing on commercial and shop-tracks, but for the most part, most HO racing occurs on home racetracks and clubs.
1/43 scale slot cars : These days 1/43 scale slot cars are the entry level scale of choice and are the most affordable. These cars are approximately 2 to 4 inches in length and are widely available. Detail is not the highest priority as the focus for his scale is durability. These cars have been around since the early 80's. There are a number of clubs worldwide and discussion boards who focus on taking 1/43 scale slot cars to the next level. Their passion for improving the performance, cosmetics and overall theme of 1/43 scale racing is motivating to say the least.
- Phillipes 1/43 Slot Car Page is an excellent resource on this great scale of slot cars!!
- At Slot Car Circuit we carry an assortment of 1/43 slot cars, track pieces and accessories.
1/32 scale slot cars : 1/32 scale slot cars are the most common scale worldwide and has the largest variety of models and styles available. The first mass produced cars and race sets were 1/32 scale. The earliest motorized slot cars were made by Scalextric in the late 1950s. These early models were made out of tin.
There a a good handful of manufactures who produce reproductions of the many different cars through out the age of automobiles. There are also many smaller companies who manufacture special edition cars in limited quantity. 1/32 scale cars are more suited to home-sized race courses, but they are also widely raced on commercial tracks, in hobby shops or in clubs.
- At Slot Car Circuit we carry an assortment of 1/32 slot cars, track pieces and accessories.
1/24 scale slot cars : 1/24 scale slot cars are the largest in size for slot cars. The length for these cars typically start at 7 inches long and 3 inches wide. This scale measures at 1 unit of length (such as an inch or millimeter) on the model equals 24 units on the actual car.
There are many different classes and are highly customizable. These cars are raced on Wooden tracks in RaceWays around the World. Most tracks are typically 8 lanes and while those who race in their homes tend to have a 4 lane track. 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.
Some of the above content was taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
