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Few Questions about my first Slot.It car

1002 Views 51 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  P944guy
Picked up this PORSCHE 962C LH 1988 - Le Mans / #18 - B. Wollek, V. Schuppan, S.V.d. Merwe and am really liking it so far. I installed the chip and turned a few laps during lunch and like the feel of it. My track is kind of dusty so it was sliding a bit after a few laps picking up some dust ;-(. Until now I've only had the starter set Ginettas and two other Scalextric branded cars. I wanted to give a third party a try and have always like the 962 from AFX HO days.

Some questions:

1) The "ferrite man" components are not needed with this car, correct? My understanding that it may be needed with alternate motors that don't already have a board or circuit to suppress motor electrical noise? Seems to work fine so far with the lane changers etc.

2) What are the parts in the other bag used for? Is that some kind of conversion kit for a different guide blade, perhaps for different track types or something like that?

3) How does one change the braids in this kind of car? It doesn't use the quick-change style discs found on my other cars. The braids look to be integrated into the guide blade itself. Speaking of, the guide blade looks to be a snap-in type vs screw-in found on my other cars.

Any other pointers or links would be appreciated.


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1) Not so long as the car is behaving itself, especially if the motor already has an EMI filtering board on it, as recent slot.it cars do. But, if the motor is without that PCB, and/or the car behaves erratically, it's best to install the ferrite man, paying close attention to the proper way to install them (as seen on Scalextric cars). There are plenty of cars out there that run fine without them, because they have relatively clean running motors. As long as you remember that a given car does not have it, and are prepared to install it should the car misbehave, you can leave them off. Personally, I install them on any car without the PCB as a matter of course, so I don't have to deal with it later.

2) The plastic bit is part of the clip to help hold the chip in. The hex wrench/key is for adjusting set screws on the car, such as those that hold the wheels and gear on the rear axle, or that set the ride height of the front axle... or in some cases, that hold the braid/wire into the guide.

3. If the guide has set screws in the top of it, just unscrew those. You can then pull the wire out, and pull the worn braid out to replace it. You'll want to pick up a meter of braid. Lean toward thinner/lighter braid if you have a choice. Put the new braid in, put the wire in, and re-install the set screw. Some cars will have an eyelet on the end of the wire that just presses into the top of the guide, and this pressure is what keeps the braid in place. The first few times you do it will be challenging, but you'll get better at it.

As for your final question... read lots of posts. :)
Thanks for the replies, guys. I didn't realize that piece was to hold the chip in. The instructions didn't mention that and I saw others using glue tack. I used a small piece of command strip used for a hook. Seems to work fine thus far. I was a little disappointed to find the car didn't have working lights. Is that common with Slot.It cars? The chip looked to have a connector. Is that for lights?
I’m scared. Lol. Impressive work. The AMG with the strips in the window looked cool.

What makes a car “hobby class”? Are the first party cars like Scalextric and Carrera not considered hobby cars? Are these labeled toys? Not looking to debate, but just want to understand. They seem pretty similar. The pricing is in the same ballpark. More than anything I’m trying to figure what I want to buy moving forward and understand why.
I'll beat Gary to it... :p

Thanks Greg. I’ll watch at lunch today. He even calls them “professional”. Whoa. The toys I have seen pretty fast as well. :). Which brand do you prefer?
As with just about any question in this hobby... it depends. :)

If I were given the choice between brands, in a situation where every single brand offered the exact same car (body and livery) and so my choice was purely from a performance standpoint... cost/value being entirely aside... I'd probably go with NSR. Tying in a really close second would be Thunderslot, ScaleAuto, RevoSlot, and MR Slotcar, with slot.it being a close third.

They're all great cars, but in my experience, NSR have been the closest to race ready out of the box with little to no need for any fettling while still being relatively robust and straightforward, no overcomplicated chassis and pod to make things more challenging. Pretty much the only thing they need right out of the box, for me, is front axle setting. They come floppy and loose out of the box because they're designed to run on NINCO track, which tends to be fairly bumpy, so fixing the front axle in place can be problematic, while on a more flat/smooth track like practically everything else, it's beneficial to set it at a fixed height.
Thanks as always for your time and insights. I run digital Scalextric and am too lazy to solder. I like the easy fit chips for DPR. The plug in chip for Slot.It was also pretty easy. I assume the others you mention are harder to chip?

Is it fair to say that pro/hobby cars are better suited for larger tracks found in racing centers, or are they beneficial even at smaller home plastic tracks?
Enjoying my first Slot.It and considering another. I'm drawn to the Gulf livery on the "SLOT.IT CA20D FORD GT40 NO. 1" and think it looks slick. I'm a little confused though by the following photo. It looks to have the easy connections for a chip, but doesn't look like there is room for one, nor a hole for the sensor. Is this plug and play like the Porsche above? Does the chip go in the gray motor mount? Looks like there are holes there. Wasn't sure if they were too far behind the guide blade.

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I've tried most of the major manufacturers and my take... for smaller layouts Slot.it cars are great. Plenty of speed and handling with great detail on their bodies. Once you get to a larger layout they feel underpowered and NSR comes into its own. More torque, faster top end with as good or better handling. Suited for even larger layouts but if you are wanting something old school RevoSlot won't disappoint. Their all metal chassis is something to look at and appreciate. It won't turn the fastest lap but it might well be the most entertaining. Grounded and can be pushed well beyond its limits without fear... worse case you lose your slide.

Now the others not so mainstream (Scaleauto, Thunderslot, etc) often will approach or exceed NSR. However you need to match them up to what type of layout you are running. As an example a Scaleauto GT3 I had did nothing but spin its tires (even on replacement tires) on my Carrera track. Even the NSR Mosler was unruly however once I switched to Policar its additional traction brought it under complete control... close to or breaking the track record.

Bottom line without knowing the layout and what you are looking for who knows what might be your favorite. :)
Totally fair point. Liking the Slot.It so far compared to the Scalextric cars I have. I have 2 starter cars and 2 others. The starter cars don't seem as nice, but run pretty good.

My current layout is 53 ft. with a pretty long straight. It's a temp setup as my wife won't appreciate a full time layout. This also lets me tinker and try new layouts. Have to add at least another lane changer now that I got much more track.

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Without shoulders you aren't racing. :)
Lol. I actually have a bunch. Took this picture before I added them on. I don’t have enough for all the turns. Starts to add up. I tried some Tyco HO rails. They fit and work, but make it too easy to take turns fast.
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1) Not so long as the car is behaving itself, especially if the motor already has an EMI filtering board on it, as recent slot.it cars do. But, if the motor is without that PCB, and/or the car behaves erratically, it's best to install the ferrite man, paying close attention to the proper way to install them (as seen on Scalextric cars). There are plenty of cars out there that run fine without them, because they have relatively clean running motors. As long as you remember that a given car does not have it, and are prepared to install it should the car misbehave, you can leave them off. Personally, I install them on any car without the PCB as a matter of course, so I don't have to deal with it later.

2) The plastic bit is part of the clip to help hold the chip in. The hex wrench/key is for adjusting set screws on the car, such as those that hold the wheels and gear on the rear axle, or that set the ride height of the front axle... or in some cases, that hold the braid/wire into the guide.

3. If the guide has set screws in the top of it, just unscrew those. You can then pull the wire out, and pull the worn braid out to replace it. You'll want to pick up a meter of braid. Lean toward thinner/lighter braid if you have a choice. Put the new braid in, put the wire in, and re-install the set screw. Some cars will have an eyelet on the end of the wire that just presses into the top of the guide, and this pressure is what keeps the braid in place. The first few times you do it will be challenging, but you'll get better at it.

As for your final question... read lots of posts. :)
Glad you included the bit about the braids. My car was cutting in and out and finally lost power entirely. I opened it up and sure enough the wire had broken off one of the braids. Mine has the screw in to hold it. The pressure is good enough to hold the wire in? Does anyone solder wire to the braid before inserting it?
This is definitely not a plug and play install. You will need to trim the wires, solder the chip in and the use a dremel for removing the tabs the chassis between the front pod posts and trimming down the interior to make the chip fit.
I would not recommend this car for someone that is still to new at this game.
Interesting and good to know. It's odd they would make a new car that is difficult to chip despite having the connectors on the motor wires. If the connectors are there, why would the wires need to be shortened and why would there be soldering required?
Thanks to Greg and Grunz. You explained this well. Feeling like if I might want to avoid this car to race digital as it will involve some surgery, despite the wire connectors being in there? Looking at the photo there does seem to be a hole for the led in the motor pod? The proximity of the magnet gave me some pause. I may be better off with DPR Scalextric cars for their simplicty in getting them ready for digital? Dunno. They don't make a GT40 DPR near as I can tell.

Amazing to hear the original car was 40" to the ground!
Interesting. I didn’t see that one. Do you have a link handy? Is it Gulf #1 as well? Is it out yet?
Another quick question - how are Policar and Slot.it related? Near as I can tell Policar sells tracks and cars, but the two companies are owned by the same parent? I see some Policar cars have the same connectors as slot.it. They use slot.it chips? Are the cars generally computable / comparable in quality?

Somewhat related, is it possible to tell from a Scalextric C# if a car is DPR or not? As in are all cars after a given C# DPR? I can’t tell for example if Scalextric C2642 - Ferrari 330 P4 #24 - '67 Le Mans is DPR or not.

I’m looking to get a Ferrari to go with the Ford above. Haven’t seen a 66 Ferrari out there. Just the 67.
If you are talking about the slot at the front of the pod with the little tabs at the front and back that is for the key that holds the car to the display case base, it has a T shaped end and just pushes through the slot and is turned 90 degs to hold the car in place.
Totally makes sense. Thanks. So I need to drill a hole for the sensor on this car, or is it obscured in the photo above by the wires?
Both Slot.it and Policar are owned by the same parent company.
Policar makes some home-grade cars (like the subaru/toyota) but also some pro-level cars.
Policar is mainly known for their classic F1 cars. These cars are not easy to chip (you can do something with the DPR F1 chip from SCalex if you remove it from its dpr case).
They do also a generic modern F1 car and that is super easy to chip.
I am sure that there is a C# after which they introduced DPR (unless it is from an old mold). I would use the C# and do a google search and see if you can find a pic of your car in a case where it clearly says DPR.
The slot.it chips can be used to digitilise any car once you get rid of the connectors - they are not specific for slot.it and policar.
Any idea how hard this is to chip? Probably same challenges as the Ford above? Chassis looks the same.
Most likely it is has a similar level of difficulty.
Thanks. Now I just have to find one. Looked easier to buy at first.
Just saw this video posted by Slot.it / Policar doing an interview at UK Slot Car show. It does a great job of explaining the relationship between the two and some of the history.

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Easy Peasy. Slot.it chip goes right in.

Mike M.
Some dremmel surgery I’m guessing? Have to you chipped the Ford I posted about above? Also I can’t seem to find the Ferrari in stock for list price :-(
Most slot cars are produced in small runs/batches, sent to dealers, sold to slot car people and that is it - no more will be made. I suspect that Ferrari, being released in 2019, has long been sold out.

Moral of this is if you see a slot car that you think you would like, get it right then, don't wait, or it will be gone.
For sure. Only got into the hobby again recently. I’ll keep searching. May also consider the Scalextric Ferraris I have seen. Was trying to avoid soldering the Chip.

Curious, where / how did you determine it was released in 2019? Was trying to figure that out.
All you would have to do is drill a hole in the center of the chassis just behind the body mount to allow the ir led to shine through. Mount the chip on some double sided tape so that the ir led shines through the hole. Part of the chip will be on the pod but that’s ok. Plug in the leads to the wires and you’re set to go. Some of the chip installs are on my YouTube channel “Road America Northwest” if you would like to look at them. I also post my weekly races there if you’re interested. All the races are digital using RCS 64 as a race management system. Also the Ferrari is available in yellow (#11) from professor motor and 132slot.com if you don’t mind the color (I prefer anything other than red) and you can see that car run in one of my videos if you like. Same car just a different color. If you don’t like yellow the new blue/red “Ken Miles” GT 40 is also available. The Ferrari is one of the faster lemans cars that I have, but any of them are quite good.

Mike M.
Thanks, Mike. I’ll check out the videos. I ordered the Ford. Looking forward to it. Not sure about the yellow. I found that one too :). Another reply above said I may need to carve out interior to fit the Chip.
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