[SimonM]

Hi guys

I need some convincing.... I'm in the process of getting a new set but can't make my mind up between which brand to go for, Carrera (Evolution) or Scalextric (Sport). What are the main advantages/disadvantages of each and which would you go for. Thanks

Simon

 

[JEXY1]

Minefield alert!!!

Hi SimonM, welcome to the Forum.

Amazed no one has replyed to you yet.

Couple of questions before we start.

Where do you live? - Why? - this will have a bearing on the advise given (a, becuase of available parts and b, so yoy can't come looking for us when you don't like it - only joking!)

Take a look at the following info/chart i did a while back, expect lots of different advice to follow from others, best thing to do is to try each!

It will all depend on what you want to race, with/without magnets?

Good luck!

Gareth

Slot car track manufacturers Pro and Cons:

SCX Track:
PROS:

• Easiest track to assemble and disassemble
• Because of above, best for children
• Compatible with majority of UK households exisitng Scalextric Classic track.
• 8 lane racing possible
• Locks together well on a solid floor or table top
• Good track surface with or without magnet
• Best variety of track sections with special track sections as options (sliding curve, Le Mans start, etc.
• Flexible enough to allow some misalignment
• Best looking boarders of all tracks and available for all sections
• Great looking guardrails and safety barriers
• Excellent low cost lap counter/timers
• Interchangeable with Scalextric classic, Sports and Ninco track.
• Cheapest track.
• Good range of building, accessories and figures for F1 and Rally

CONS:

• Boarders too narrow
• No individual lane power supply system
• No reversing option
• No self racing program track
• Slot too shallow for some other brands of car (Carrera)
• No banking curves
• Difficult for customers to buy
• Electric connections and power supply weak

Prices:

• Standard straight (2) £7.99
• Standard Curve (2) £6.99

Scalextric Sports track:
PROS:

• Solid track connections (but difficult to take apart)
• New low grip track surface(50/50 who likes/dislikes)
• 8 lane racing possible
• Easily obtainable
• Boarders available for all track sections
• Compatible with SCX, Classic and Ninco
• Good guardrails
• 2no. Self racing programme

CONS:

• New low grip track surface (50/50 who likes/dislikes)
• Electric connections and power supply weak
• Slot too shallow for some other brands of car (Carrera)
• No banking curves
• Surface of metal rails comes off over time
• Track is brittle
• No individual lane power supply system
• No reversing option
• Poor cheap range of new building (Cardboard) and plastic buildings based on same as 40 years ago!

Prices:

• Standard straight (2) £8.75
• Standard Curve (2) £7.75

Ninco Track:
PROS:

• Track assembles easily and holds together well
• Wider than SCX and Scalextric track with more space between lanes
• 8 lane racing possible
• Slot deep enough to allow any brand of car to operate
• Flexible enough to allow some misalignment
• Boarders available for all curves
• Individual lane power supply
• Reversing standard
• Brake feature standard

CONS:

• Rough track surface
• Can be diffucult to obtain
• No banked track
• Colour of boarders not realistic
• No self racing track

Prices:

• Standard straight (2) £8.75
• Standard Curve (2) £7.99

Carrera Track:
PROS:

• Track holds together tightly enough to operate on carpet and to move easily
• 8 Lane racing possible
• Offers boarders for all curves
• Offers banked curves
• Braking standard
• Slot deep enough for any slot brand
• Individual lane power standard

CONS:

• Can be difficult to assemble (not for children under 12)
• Plastic track tabs break off if track is disassembled carelessly
• Track can break if stepped on; Brittle
• No reversing option
• Boarder colour are unrealistic
• No self racing program
• Expensive
• Very difficult to obtain

Prices:
COULD NOT FIND ANY UK DEALER SELLING INDIVIDUAL TRACK!

 

[Doug]

QUOTE (JEXY1 @ 4 Dec 2003, 08:12 PM)Amazed no one has replyed to you yet.
We've bee a bit scared of getting lambasted by the other side

 

[astro]

gr8 table jexy!

but a couple of possible errors/ommissions on the scalex sport:

pros-
can have 1 psu or individual psu for each lane
has braking built in as standard
has a tolerable lap counter or rms system available

Thats my understanding of it, unless I have misunderstood something somewhere

 

[Slot City]

First thing to watch out for is that most people are biased towards their own personal favourite track system, and so aren't always a good source of impartial advice.

Just to correct the above post - Scalextric Sport track does have individual lane power (and braking) built in and Carrera cars do run ok on it. Carrera cars won't run on Classic track - but you can get replacement guide blades (we supply one with each Carrera car we sell).

The only real compatibility problem is with Carrera as it is the only system that cannot be connected to the others. You can go from Ninco to Sport using the two different converters.

As regards availability the only problem is again with Carrera. We aim to keep all four track systems in stock, and this just isn't possible with Carrera - hopefully this will change in the new year. All of the other track systems are normally available all the time.

We get asked which track system is the one to buy all the time, and I will always say that if you're unsure you should buy Scalextric Sport. Most people who buy Carrera and Ninco do so for a reason (width, or surface for example), and know exactly what they want. The only real reason to go with SCX is the compatibility with Classic, but with the Sport connectors so cheap this isn't that big an issue.

Jon,
Slot City.

 

[Tropi]

A great list from Jexy.

I'd suggest printing it on paper, if possible, to make all that data easier to read.

I'd like to add a few points.

Simon has it down to two makes only, Carrera and Scalextric, so I am going to ignore the others for simplicity.

Although Jexy had difficulty in locating individual Carrera track pieces, they CAN be found and a pack of 4 Carrera straights is about £22, making it around 25% more expensive than Scalextric (depending where you price it, as always!) However the Carrera SETS, though not as common as Scalextric, are readily available and are very comparably priced.

The steel used in Carrera track is stainless and will not corrode over time like Scalextric - a definite plus.

Conversely, Carrera's stainless steel is not as magnetic as Scalextric - could be deemed good or bad, depending on personal preference.

Carrera track has a plastic groove separating the metal rails from each other, which may be considered a small protection from electrical shorts. Scalextric doesn't.

Carrera curve radius is greater than Scalextric
Carrera track is approximately 2 inches/50mm wider than Scalextric
Take these two factors together and Carrera needs a good deal more space for a given layout.
Depending on your space, this COULD BE the single deciding factor, completely regardless of any other consideration! Do think ahead about space.

Although Carrera track users rate it as the Rolls Royce of plastic tracks and it undeniably has some definite advantages that justify the description, it must be said that it is not as readily available as Scalextric, costs more as individual pieces, needs more space, being harder plastic makes it a little more prone to breakage (but less prone to warping) and is more fiddly to assemble.

So do think carefully before making the big decision.

I'd be VERY interested to know how many, if any, of our members are regular Carrera track users.
Any offers?

 

[moped rider]

Its really down to how you are going to use the track, how often you are going to assemble it and take it apart, and what space you have.

Scalextric track has been designed with the typical UK household in mind.

It clearly is a winner from a conveniance factor point of view.

You will not be put off the hobby if you purchase Scalextric track.

If you have a large room that you can dedicate to slot racing and you can build a permanant layout then the options widen and the conveniance factor becomes less of an issue.

Moped

 

[Dennis David]

Jexy1,

I like your list but I would suggest some changes. See what you think. I've only commented on the Sport track for now.

QUOTE Solid track connections (but difficult to take apart)
Actually it's easy to take apart as you only need to place your fingers under the track and push the tabs. The connections though improved over the classic are still not perfect.

QUOTE No self-racing programme
Is this a con or a pro?

QUOTE Electric connections and power supply weak
Not consistent with above where you stated that the connections were solid. Also week power supply is suffered by all of the sets.

QUOTE Slot too shallow for some other brands of car (Carrera)
The Sport slot is now deeper. I don't think this is still a problem.

QUOTE Track is brittle
This is not true. Instead the track is bendable and may warp.

QUOTE No individual lane power supply system
This is wrong but the power track electronics are fragile.

QUOTE Poor cheap range of new building (Cardboard) and plastic buildings based on same as 40 years ago!
Nothing to do with the track but the cardboard stuff is kind of cheap looking. I like their old buildings.

 

[SimonM]

Firstly, thanks very much for all the replys, especially JEXY1 list.... very useful. I should have explained where the track is going to be installed. We're due to move soon and we'll have a double garage, so looks like it could be installed there. Trouble is though, I'm unsure whether that is wise or not due to temperature changes.... please can someone advise. If it's not suitable then I'm going to install it in one of the spare bedrooms, where again it will be setup permanently. Deep down I'm a bit of a rally freak so I guess I might go for Scalextric Sport due to the great choice of cars and track etc. Just to throw a spanner in the works, maybe I should hang on until the digital systems come out

blimey, too many decisions

Again thanks for the replys guys and I'll keep you posted with what I go for.

P.S.
Any chance of advise on installing track in a garage i.e. temperature changes, thanks.

Simon

 

[JEXY1]

Told you it was a minfield!

By the sounds of it there a couple of errors in the listing regarding sports track.

Just so you know, i race on Ninco, i have a large Ninco home track, but my layout is 80% Scalextric classic and 20% SCX. Mainly a collectors circuit with all the buildings, different track sections (Goodwood, Le Mans, etc, etc).

Didn't know the Carrera track wasn't magnetic? Why do they put magnets on their cars then?

Well SimonM - Any wiser?

Like is said, try to have a play on as many track types as possible, see which one you like and buy it!

Enjoy!

Gareth

 

[Mr.M]

Nice list, Gareth! Long, too!

I can just imagine all your employees thinking what a hard worker you are tapping away furiously at your keyboard

Simon, Ecurie Ecosse should be able to advise on setting up in a double garage. He has a large classic layout (with a small sport section) and a PC to run RMS in his.

Carrera track is less magnetic not non magnetic, surely?

Cheers Mr.M

 

[JEXY1]

Mr Material

Be quite - the staff might hear you!

Well no they wont actually, on my own today!

Worked hard yesterday, so feel fine to surf the slot net today!

It's about time you got a laptop in the cab, then we could work hard together!!!

 

[Mecoprop]

SimonM
To confirm
QUOTE Carrera's stainless steel is not AS magnetic as Scalextric
(my emphasis added)
Opinions vary on the difference between Carrera rail magnetism and the other makes, with figures quoted for Carrera around 20-40% less magnetic. It's difficult to define accurately because the height of the rails varies between makes and tiny height differences make very large attraction variations.
So, Carrera definitely IS magnetic, but less so than the others and this, as mentioned, is a plus for some people and a minus for others.
My own preference is for less magnetism, but the arguments for and against that need a separate discussion (and I am probably in a minority too)!

 

[Mecoprop]

The specialist slot retailers probably won't like this much, but anyone in the market for a Carrera set could do worse than look at Index

Careful - most of them are 1/43 scale GO! - only a couple or so are 1/32 scale.

 

[Dennis David]

Jexy1,

Your list is fine. I might suggest those corrections I mentioned and some might suggest others. Then with your permission we can have it posted at SF and refer new users to the list.