[ruhdwulf]

I've found a group that does some racing in the area. Looks like most of their racing is on wooden, routed tracks with copper slots.

I'm going to go and observe tonight and take a couple of cars along to play around with. All the cars I have include magnets. I haven't raced a slot car in a long time and, then, magnets weren't used.

Are cars with magnets balanced well enough to be competitive on a non-ferrous track? Or, do they often require additional weight or weight somewhere else in order to perform well? That is, is the magnet placed where one might place a weight.

I know that where the weight or the magent is placed is dependent on the car and the track... but my question is in general terms.

The specific cars I plan on taking are a Scalextric Audi TT and a Scalextric Porsche 911. They are both stock, exactly as they were right out of the box. Maybe I should take some tape and a few flat washers along... just in case.

Thanks.

Mike

 

[ruhdwulf]

Taking the Ninco Porsche along too is a good idea Rob. Will do! And I need to spend some more time with the car.

On the have fun part... no problem!

Mike

 

[ruhdwulf]

Thanks Tropi. Generalised or not, sounds like sound advice to me.

Metal washers seem like an easy way to add weight. I'll have to see which ones might weigh around 5 grams.

Mike

 

[ruhdwulf]

Hi Chris! I'll check out the article.

Thanks for the insights.

Mike

 

[ruhdwulf]

I took the Ninco Porsche and quickly added some weight in the form of metal washers where the magnet is and to the rear of the car. It was all experimental and I didn't want anything permanent or hard to remove, so I just used Elmer's glue to hold down the washers in the rear.

I only ran in the warm-up session, as it was my first visit to the club and I wanted to observe, help out, and socialize a bit.

The Ninco was fun to drive. The rear end slid out like crazy, which was fun. To get some better handling I'll need more weight in the rear. And the de-slotting question was answered. It never de-slotted arbitrarily. So, the problem on the commercial track was with the slot depth on the Scalextric classic track... nothing inherent in the basic car.

The lack of top end speed with the NC-1 motor wasn't so much of a drawback on the shorter club track. (About a 12 foot straight and the rest kinks and curves.)

The Scalextric Audi TT also looked promising. I tested it out in strictly stock condition. Good zip on the straights. Fast acceleration and good top end. Very little sliding. Tended to tip out of the slot when trying to ratchet up the speed -- or misjudging -- on the sharper curves. I think a little weight in the front and mid-section will make this a nicely competitive car and fun for my tastes. Must check though. The gears sounded harsh, where they have not before.

The Scalextric Porsche 911 didn't do badly. A lot of the backend kicking out. Fun to run around the track.

Mike