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A Couple of my 1:32nd/1:24th Car Comparisons.

1. 1:24th Carrera BMW M1 (with Parfit Chassis) vs 1:32nd "Scalextric" BMW M1

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2. 1:24th Carrera Ford GT (with Scaleauto Chassis) vs 1:32nd Scalextric Ford GT

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As one that started racing 1/1 cars then scaled down to 1/32nd, and up to 1/24 after 10 years and back to 1/32nd after another decade...I can say size does matter.
But not in the way most people might expect.

I've always had a crush for sports cars, never had a slot car set until my 30's.
I had acquired my driver and race license by then, but from the start it was very obvious that, regardless of my driving talent, my lack of talent as a fundraiser meant that 1/1 sportcars would be a very hard target to reach. No matter how much I tuned my beat up 2.0L Vauxhall Ascona, it would never sound like a V8 or produce the downforce of a Group C car.
About the same time while having a drink in the pub, the question was raised: " What did you always wanted to have from Santa..but never got?"
4 out of 5 friends answered "een racebaan" (a slotrace set) guess who ended up buying one.
At the beginning of the 90's that meant either buying a Carrera Go set (because you can overtake) a Scalex set or an SCX set.
The salesperson rightfully steered me to SCX, walked out the store with a BMW M1 and a Ferrari GTO... it took 3 years before I openend my first club.
Racing 1/32nd cars in the 90 also meant limited choice of cars and buying 3 rear axles with plastic wheels in order to (hopefully) get 1 straight set.

From left to right: Ninco DTM anno 1995 on the 4 lane 1/32nd Fleischmann club track, modified inline chassis and plastic wheels, limited choice of cars, had to scratch build if you wanted to race anything other than a F40

So after a decade we moved to 1/24, metal chassis, metal running gear and a wide(r) choice of (model kit) bodies.
Here's were size mattered, at birthday parties, for now you could spread your hands a little bit wider when people asked you "so you race with toy cars..and how big are they?". 1/24 has the benefit that it allows you to build much more detailed cars, which is great as long as you're building, the downside of 1/24 comes when you start racing. Bigger cars need bigger tracks, for bigger tracks you need bigger clubs, took me 10 years before I opened my second club and soon realized l needed a bigger wallet.

From left to right: FIA GT. 2005 Scratchbuild 1/24 Murcielago on Plafit Chassis, 20 x 1/24 BMW M1 Procar with inline chassis on the new 6 lane Carreraclub track (but only 6 cars could race at the same time), Toyota TS010 @ the Le Mans Legends on the big 50m 1/24 Scale Spa Franchorchamps track ,Still had to scratch build if you wanted to race anything other than a GrC Porsche 962

The group I was racing 1/24 cars with was going through the usual "speed" development cycle meaning bigger tracks (that looked more and more like 50m shuffle boards) and faster cars (and crashes).
As the scene grew with larger grids, more and more time was spend waiting instead of driving.
Then I "re discovered" 1/32 but with running multiple cars on the same track..so I went back to 1/32 digital.

Initially I started running 1/32 cars with the intention to create and race 1/24 cars digital..but I soon discovered that A 1/24 cars are not as sturdy as 1/32 and B on the track size I would need to create a "scaled" circuit... 1/24 cars would be just as small at the far end of the track as a 1/32nd car on much smaller 1/32nd circuit.

From left to right:1/32 Digital Dome s101 @ the Oxygen Le Mans 24hrs, The 60m 1/32nd 50m DiSCA Le Mans track , The 50m 1/24 6 lane Suzuka track of the SRCB (Charleroi, Belgium) To make this track the same scale size as the 1/32 Le Mans track it would have to "grow" 33%

Last but not least, the technology level and choice of cars in 1/32 had taken a giant leap in the last decade.
Which means that for me size matters...and 1/32 is just the right size for me


With kind regards
Tamar
 

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Hmmm. I do kinda subscribe to that bigger is better motif. At least theoretically. But also think a bigger car needs room to breathe and 'be', and the track has to therefore be in direct proportion.

Which rules 1:24 out as a scale for me.

Somehow, sometime back, possibly in order to scratch an itch, I picked up a brace of Carrera large scale cars. From memory, a 911 GT-1 Evo and a Panoz (have I made that last one up??), they didn't inspire.

But there is still a yearning, a desire, to have a go. I watch Sean's Offers page and get tempted every once in a while.

Off at a tangent, I watched a couple of the 24hrs on TubeYou the other day and was just so jealous of that Le Man's track you race on. Amazing. Hats off to whoever it is that puts that on.
 

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Look, its very easy for me to go "Been there, done that...not doing that tomorrow".....because I have done it.

And for those who have an "itching" feeling of "is there more than 1/32?" you should definitely try 1/24 slot cars.

But not just because they're bigger (like in trying a 1/24 Carrera).

1/24 modelcar racing with metal chassis has a technical side where you can easier learn about chassis set up and cornering speeds.

In 1/24 scale the parts you work with are just that tiny bit bigger that makes it easier to work with.

So in all honesty, here size matters as well
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with kind regards
Tamar
 

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I have a few 1/24 - 1/32 pairs like you have Empiremonkey - I love the 1/24 cars they are a lot of fun to race. I also have Scaleauto and Plafit 1/24 cars they are super fun very smooth runners. Wankle - the GT1/Panoz 1/24 cars used a pretty ordinary chassis/guie setup the new Carrera 1/24 cars use a much better chassis/guide set up. They are chalk and cheese. Well worth a look.

cheers
David

PS If you replace the Carrera chassis in your 1/24 cars Empire - what do you do with the original Carrera chassis/wheels/motor?
 

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Just fitted a 30k 18v replacement motor to my new 1/24 Carrera BMW M1, trying it out at club tonight to see how it compares to
my Scaleauto Z4, have fitted rubber tires to the Z4 to give me some idea of how competitive the M1 might be, if it's within 1/2 second
to one second in lap time may decide to upgrade further but of course you're limited with what gearing you can use.

Robert.
 

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Forgot to add re size, was thinking of building up 1/28 Mini Z with Plafit chassis but I've had a couple of others club members
object because it much lower, so question is what would you race 1/28 against, it's looks nearer size of 1/24 than 1/32.

Robert.
 
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