Slot Car Handbook (eBook)

Modern 1/32 scale slot cars are remarkable machines. Advances in computer aided design, moulding techniques and ‘tampo’ printing mean that they can look stunningly realistic, better than some die-cast models. And they move too!

They operate like real cars, having a motor that drives the rear wheels. Although steering is governed by a guide at the front of the car which sits in the slot of the track, they drive similarly to real racing cars; for the best lap times you have to brake into the corners and accelerate smoothly out. If you overcook it, the back end may slide out or the car might roll…

As with real racing cars, preparation is vital for good car handling and for winning races. This section will tell you how to tune your cars to improve their performance.

A recent advent in the world of slot car racing is the application of digital control. This enables you to run many cars on a two-lane circuit, and for the cars to change lane to overtake. The tuning and setting-up tips in this section apply to both conventional and digital cars.

Conventional (non-digital) car brands are all compatible with each other. It is perfectly fine to race a Carrera car against a Scalextric car on Ninco track, for example. You can mix & match and purchase whichever cars you like.

There are performance differences between brands. However, there are equally big performance differences between different cars of the same brand. For fair racing, class cars of similar performance, or use the tuning tips to equalize the performance of the cars.

ANATOMY OF A SLOT CAR

1 Body/Body-shell: This is the top part of the slot car, moulded and painted to be a scale model of a real car. Unlike the real car, the shape and aerodynamics of the body have no impact on performance. The mass and the distribution of weight do.

2 Interior: This can be a detailed copy of the real interior, including a full driver figure. Sometimes it is a ‘pan’ interior – the driver and interior are only modelled from just below the window height. This allows more room for the motor and can also reduce the weight of the car. The interior is usually clipped or glued to the body-shell.

3 Chassis: This is the bottom of the car, to which all the other parts are attached. Modern RTR cars use a plastic chassis, often one piece, but sometimes with a separate motor pod section.

4 Motor: This is an electric motor which powers your car. The motor may be at the front, middle or rear of the car. It may be in-line (as illustrated), sideways (sidewinder) or at an angle (anglewinder).

5 Pinion: The small gear attached to the motor is called the pinion. It usually has between 8 and 12 teeth.

6 Bush or bushing: The bearings which hold the axle. These are usually clipped into the chassis.

7 Crown/Spur: The large gear which meshes with the pinion. When the gear is at the side, and the pinion is rotating on the same axis as the wheels, it is called a spur gear. When the pinion is rotating at right angles, it is called a crown gear (as illustrated). Crowns tend to have between 23 and 30 teeth, spurs up to 36.

8 Axle: The steel rod to which the wheels are attached.

9 Tyre: Slot car tyres are usually solid, not air filled as with real cars. The material these are made of affects the grip of the car, and therefore the performance.

10 Hub: The wheel, not including the tyre. These are usually made of plastic, and are pressed or glued onto the axles.

11 Guide or guide flag: This is a plastic fin which pivots, and will sit in the slot of the track. It holds the braids. In SCX digital cars, the guide is a complex mechanism which also controls the lane changes.

12 Braids: These are braided copper or steel wires that make contact with the rails of the track. It is often critical how these are adjusted to enable the car to operate optimally on a given track.

13 Magnet: Front and rear magnets to give additional down force to keep the car on the track.

14 Chip: On digital cars this refers to the control circuit board for interpreting the digital signals from the track, and operating the motor. Some conventional cars also have a circuit board, for controlling lights. This is not commonly referred to as the ‘chip’. Many conventional cars do not have a circuit board at all.

15 Lights/LEDs: Some cars are fitted with working front and/or rear lights. Some cars even have working brake lights. Police cars may come with flashing lights.

Other Features

Suspension: A few cars offer suspension systems. Some use magnets to allow some play in the rear axle; others have springs on each wheel.

4wd/awd: Most slot cars are rear wheel drive. However, there are a few which are 4-wheel drive (all wheel drive). This is achieved in one of two ways. Sometimes, the front and rear axles have an additional pulley wheel, and these wheels are linked by a belt (rubber band). The rear wheels are powered as usual, and power is transferred to the front by the belt. Alternatively, some cars have motors with a shaft that extends forwards and backwards, with a pinion on each end. Both the front and rear axles have crown wheels, and so are driven simultaneously by the motor.

PREPARING TO RACE

RTR slot cars that you find in hobby and toy shops are designed to be taken out of the box and raced straight away. However, if you take the steps to tune your car first, it will perform much better and may last longer too.

The first thing to do is to remove the body. Undo the screws underneath the car and remove the body.

Check that everything is in place – the bushings and motor are all properly clipped in, the guide can turn freely and the wheels and gears rotate smoothly by hand. If the gears are stiff, refer to the section ‘Meshing the gears’.

Check that the chassis is not warped or cracked, and all 4 wheels can sit flat on a track. Check the axles are straight. Twisted chassis and bent axles are not easy to fix, take the car back to the shop for a replacement, contact the manufacturer or order spare parts to replace the faulty parts. Cracks can be repaired with two-part epoxy.

Check for side-to-side movement of the rear axle, especially on anglewinder or sidewinder cars (cars with motors which work in parallel with the rear axle). Ideally there should be a tiny bit of play,...