[rich67]

What are the main advatages and disadvatages between manufactuers such as Scalextric, SCX, Ninco etc. I tend to go for Scalextric as thats the one I remember from my youth. Are these other brands better or worse as some are cheaper? Thanks from an old newbie.

 

[300SLR]

Hi Rich
That's kind of a big question. You might get more helpful answers if you can be more specific.

Are you interested in all the product these manufacturers make?

Are you just interested in the cars?
Are you after appearance, performance or low cost? You won't get the best of all 3 in one car.
You can run pretty much any make of car on a track (in analogue, its not that simple for digital) so you don't need to stick to one make, and there are many others makes as well as the ones you mention.

Are you interested in track?
If you are extending an existing plastic track then you need to stick with what's compatible with what you've got.
If you're starting without a track then you'll be interested in people's opinions on different sorts of plastic track and maybe could think about building a wood track.

Are you interested in digital?
That's a whole different set of comparisons. There are compatibility issues with different makes, so it needs careful thought about which manufacturer before you start buying.

 

[JamieG]

The only way to discover it is to get one or more of each different brand

It might take time and £ but it is worth the experience.
Each brand and car has it own personality. Then as mentioned by 300SLR it depends on many different factors including personal taste and setting skills.
If we talk digital than it is more complicated because of the different systems.
I today run a lot of different brands and depending on the day I might prefer the super performing italian cars (NSR and Slot.it) and other days Scaley, SCX, Carrera, etc.
If you search in the forum there are endless discussions about the best brand. You will find the opinions can vary depending to whom you ask and what track is used.
Cheers,
JamieG

 

[dangermouse]

Hey Rich

there are differences in a range of areas. e.g.
magnets
motors (speed)
wheels - some are plastic some are metal
the tyre compound
detail levels

all of them will run on Scalextric type track - I find that when racing it is usually best to keep brands together e.g. a NSR GT40 isn't a fair match for a Scalextric one.

I tend to buy cars I like firstly and foremost - doesn't matter who makes it. That being said if each company makes the same car - then I would prefer Scalextric over SCX and Ninco over Scalextric - but others will no doubt have a different opinion.

For me I don't buy a lot of Fly cars anymore - unless I really want the car and it is a good price, as I find they require work to get them running well (I do have a few)

slot.it and NSR are good out of the box - quite impressive really - as would be the Sideways cars.

cheers
DM

 

[Mr.M]

Rich,

A great way of finding out about different slot cars (without having to buy them all

) is to go along to a club. Hope I'm not preaching to the converted

Geography never was my strong point, but by the power of Google maps, I think you're within a reasonable distance of the Wolves club. Malcolm and the gang are a great bunch, and have fantastic facilities there, and I'm sure will make you very welcome and be able to answer some of your queries.

 

[Mr Modifier]

Hi Rich,

I'm an old newbie also - although I have been a newbie for about 4 months now.

There is a considerable difference between brands and it's not as straight forward as looking at specs either. For example, I bought a brand new SCX NASCAR Camry. It has floating chassis and a sprung guide as well as brass bearings and double copper braids. Should be much better than an old Scalextric Taurus from 1990. It's not - it's a piece of poop and will need considerable attention to tyres, lubrication etc. to even get close to the Taurus which I bough on Evilbay well bashed and haven't even had the top off it yet!!!

I have a Ninco Subaru WRX with band driven 4wd and it FLIES round my digital track about 1/3 faster than a brand new Scalextric F430 (which is itself quite a quick car). The Ninco looks really basic and nothing much different to the Scalextric chassis but it goes like stink. An old SCX 4wd Subaru that I bought for its direct drive 4wd is a bag of bolts by comparison - its motor is noisy, the transmission is noisy and it grinds its way round the track.

It depends on your style of track (different cars handle differently within brands as well as across brands), your need for aesthetic appeal vs. your need for speed and so on.

If you are going to join a club and compete then go to the club and see what others are competing with - it's down to specific models as far as I can tell not just brand.

Looking at the forum it seems that clubs run lots of different classes so I guess you could see what your prospective club runs and choose a class or two that you like the look of and have a go.

If you are simply racing at home I would say it's more important to have evenly matched cars than the fastest brand. I own Scalextric, Slot.It, Team Slot, Ninco, SCX, Fly and AutoArt cars. They are all capable of being driven out of the slot on every corner. At the end of the day it's your shout what you buy - buy to please yourself not anybody else!

 

[rich67]

Thanks for all replys, sorry i should have been a bit more specific (its the newbie in me lol). I have just started going to Great Barr slot car on a saturday with my daughters (cant make any other days due to work) and they run a standard class consisting of mainly mustangs, camaros and le mans type cars. I was just wondering if there is a big differance in makes in relation to speed and handling. I think for the time being I will stick with what works there and learn a bit more before I start tinkering. I will also be doing a "little" collecting of cars that I like and also have a small track at home that I can run/practice on.

 

[300SLR]

Yes there are big differance in speed and handling.
There are also big differance in what is allowed in standard class.

Sure there are guys who can tell you how to make cars way faster than the cars that club allows. That's not much help if you wouldn't be allowed to run them.

The best way to find out what works at that club is to see what you can learn from the winners there. Sounds like you've already figured that out.

 

[chris99]

QUOTE (Mr Modifier @ 1 Sep 2011, 14:22) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I have a Ninco Subaru WRX with band driven 4wd and it FLIES round my digital track about 1/3 faster than a brand new Scalextric F430 (which is itself quite a quick car). The Ninco looks really basic and nothing much different to the Scalextric chassis but it goes like stink. An old SCX 4wd Subaru that I bought for its direct drive 4wd is a bag of bolts by comparison - its motor is noisy, the transmission is noisy and it grinds its way round the track.
I'm an old newbie as well & it took a while to realise other brands would run on the Scalextric track

. I've only tried SCX (& Pioneer) so far and it was at the time I decided to go magless & the SCXs would run ok without the magnets without any other mods but many of the Scalextric are a disaster and deslotted easily; I still can't get the weights right so I'm thinking about tyres & probably urethanes now.

Anyway, I am also looking to get one car from each brand to try so as I was looking for info on your Ninco Subaru I came across this old comparison (just for fun) but it shows it to be one of the slowest

>Link

Btw if you think the SCXs are noisy try a Pioneer Dodge - excruciating despite tootpaste treatment!

 

[Mr Modifier]

QUOTE (chris99 @ 1 Sep 2011, 16:00) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Anyway, I am also looking to get one car from each brand to try so as I was looking for info on your Ninco Subaru I came across this old comparison (just for fun) but it shows it to be one of the slowest

>Link

Hi Chris,

Interesting article. However, my Ninco Subaru has two belts not one as shown in the test car. It also has roller bearings, a hardened rear axle and an NC-6 motor (23,500 rpm) as opposed to the NC-2 motor in the article. It's a different beast from the standard Ninco Scooby I think. I bought a pair brand new but unboxed on Evilbay for about £38 including postage and they were described as "mega fast pro-race" which I took with a pinch of salt but it appears the description was accurate! They were brand new and believe me I looked at them inside and out VERY hard. So they were a bargain given the performance. There is a pair listed now for about £41 all in from the Netherlands if you are interested - they come up quite often and are often listed several at a time at different prices from £34 up to £38 + postage - I guess the guy bought a job lot!

Richard