[Gripping Pneus]

"Imagine what would happen if one buys a set (track & cars) for their young child and the cars do not stay on the track."

I was that young child once. My parents bought me an early Scalextric set for Christmas which had cars with very shiny hard tyres and little grip. It was absolutely brilliant! The cars cornered like the real ones and I quickly learned about car control and how to catch and hold a slide. I’ve been a slot car fan ever since.

 

[KensRedZed]

I like to turn the magnets upside down so the car floats 1/8" inch off the track. If you plug a speaker in backwards. Will it listen?

So many questions...

 

[Charles R]

@Charles R
Do you find using a variable power supply with an analog set up can slow the cars down by de-tuning them with the power supply? Which one are you using?

I started with Carrera's 14.8 volts and when I first migrated from their cars I ran the same voltage with this power supply. The cars were rockets and you were lucky on the fastest laps as you couldn't react consistently that fast... Eventually I dropped to 12 volts which is close to what I think most would prefer and was quite happy. My layout is rather sweeping so "fast" isn't an issue especially with the outer lanes (I run four).

Now I'm really looking for the commercial vibe where the car floats around the track versus what I call a home layout with a lot of stop-and-go. Eventually I noticed with one car (detuned) I could almost floor it around the entire lap and I really enjoyed the experience. And a crazy idea hit me... starting at a really low voltage take each set of cars and slowly increase the voltage until I just couldn't keep it floored on the fastest turn - 9.5 for Scaleauto F1 and roughly 10.0 for RevoSlots. This means I have to drive each corner however at the same time the car is as smooth as it can be... giving me that commercial vibe float.

For me the lap is much more enjoyable as I'm in complete control of the car, the cars feel matched to the layout and at the slower speeds I can appreciate how the car handles and even relax a moment down the front straight... setting up for the almost flat out corner or coasting deep into the tight 180 depending on which direction I'm running.

 

[MrFlippant]

If you plug a speaker in backwards. Will it listen?

Actually..
If you plug a speaker into a microphone jack, yes, it will listen. Poorly, but it will.

 

[Steve-E-D]

Actually..
If you plug a speaker into a microphone jack, yes, it will listen. Poorly, but it will.

Speakers do indeed make modest microphones. This is in fact a fantastic trick for recording bass drum. However, microphones make extremely lousy speakers. 🤘

 

[Expidia]

I started with Carrera's 14.8 volts and when I first migrated from their cars I ran the same voltage with this power supply. The cars were rockets and you were lucky on the fastest laps as you couldn't react consistently that fast... Eventually I dropped to 12 volts which is close to what I think most would prefer and was quite happy. My layout is rather sweeping so "fast" isn't an issue especially with the outer lanes (I run four).

Now I'm really looking for the commercial vibe where the car floats around the track versus what I call a home layout with a lot of stop-and-go. Eventually I noticed with one car (detuned) I could almost floor it around the entire lap and I really enjoyed the experience. And a crazy idea hit me... starting at a really low voltage take each set of cars and slowly increase the voltage until I just couldn't keep it floored on the faster turn. This means I have to drive each corner however at the same time the car is as smooth as it can be... giving me that commercial vibe float.

For me the lap is much more enjoyable as I'm in complete control of the car, the cars feel matched to the layout and at the slower speeds I can appreciate how the car handles and even relax a moment down the front straight... setting up for the almost flat out corner or coasting deep into the tight 180 depending on which direction I'm running.

Very cool Charles, thank for that explanation of how you run your set up. Would love to see a pic of your setup.
Like I mentioned I have that variable brick power supply. I’ll hook it back up and run the layout at 12 volts. The Scalextric OEM power supply each puts out 15 volts at 4 amps now. I only use 1 when running 1 to 4 cars.

 

[Expidia]

The weight and laws of physics issues also vary comparing home tracks to 100 foot club wooden ones .

Ya I’m sure a club or commercial tracks are a whole other experience. Would love to give some of my cars a spin on one.

 

[Tinkerer]

For all cars including the Scalextrics I would recommend Quickslicks Quick Slicks (By Tire #). You’ll find a handy chart that tells you what tyre goes with what car. There is no need to Glue and True so no expensive tyre truer required let alone learning the dark art of tyre truing. They last for absolutely ages - years - unlike the NSR tyres which I can burn through in about 3-4 months. They can be pulled off and put on multiple times so just grab a car put the tyres - tires - on and off you go. Finally they work really really well on plastic track.

Here in the UK they cost us around £20 -$25 - per pair as we have to pay shipping and sometimes import but they are still worth it. In the US your spoilt for choice.

I prefer the Firms but others I race with prefer the X Firms, but again being in the US just buy both for one car and see which you prefer before committing.

Good Luck

 

[42redcat]

A higher mass lowers the CoG which keeps all 4 tyres on the track at higher cornering speeds and reduces the tendency of the car to roll deslot.
Don't listen to other people's theory, empirical testing and a stopwatch tells me which is best 👍
...and I've never raced with magnets nor intend doing so.

Plenty of room for debate here!
Empirical testing works for a particular track, but take the car to another track and you may have to start again.

Something else to think about is the balance of weight between the driven wheels and the guide. A very little added weight just behind the guide can reduce those annoying ‘understeer’ deslots.

I still have magnet cars as I occasionally enjoy the sheer adrenaline of cornering with them on my home track. It saves money on tyres, too.

Mike

 

[rastas]

I keep a couple of older Scalextric high impact cars with magnets in them to use as pace-gost cars on my analogue Scalextric Sports track, I set a controller up with the trigger set so it will go as fast as possible without desloting with some tape or rubber bands and us it to chase around the track.
This is great for me as I'm a solo r racer most of the time and it's good to have another car on track for a challenge!
Cheers,
John.

 

[Kevan]

Empirical testing works for a particular track, but take the car to another track and you may have to start again.

If you do Slot Rally with multiple different tracks in the same day you'll find a compromise is the only way because you normally aren't allowed to change anything once the meeting commences which limits you to controller settings.

 

[Ade]

No mags definitely the way to go , after that if your on Scalex track then painting the track surface is next on the list , I later switched to Urethane tyres as well 😊.

The above gave some nicely controllable cars , for the ultimate true the rear tyres and zero grip the fronts 😎👍🏼

 

[Kevan]

We painted our main 3 lane track and one of the Rally stages with polyurethane floor paint (no grit type), it was a huge success and I may try it on my Scaley Sport test track at home.

 

[Expidia]

For all cars including the Scalextrics I would recommend Quickslicks Quick Slicks (By Tire #). You’ll find a handy chart that tells you what tyre goes with what car. There is no need to Glue and True so no expensive tyre truer required let alone learning the dark art of tyre truing. They last for absolutely ages - years - unlike the NSR tyres which I can burn through in about 3-4 months. They can be pulled off and put on multiple times so just grab a car put the tyres - tires - on and off you go. Finally they work really really well on plastic track.

Here in the UK they cost us around £20 -$25 - per pair as we have to pay shipping and sometimes import but they are still worth it. In the US your spoilt for choice.

I prefer the Firms but others I race with prefer the X Firms, but again being in the US just buy both for one car and see which you prefer before committing.

Good Luck

Thanks Tinkerer, great for me that Slot Car Corner carries them as I've used them for a number of purchases already. My grandkids love the lolly pops too. I'll probably start with slicks on my NSR cars once their tires wear out. I don't like the idea of sanding tires without using a machine for eveness especially using sandpaper taped to a track as 9 of my cars are 20 years old and that method puts great stress on their motors IMO. Don't like stressing new motors either.

Slicks sound a lot better. Even the shop where I just bought the NSR cars from . . . when I said I was surprised the condition NSR ships tires their tires in and the work they need he said they only use slicks there and he is a U.S. shop. Some say just use the NSR tires the way they are and they will break and true in on their own. The holes from the mold process are one thing as they are at least smooth, it is the lumps sticking out of some of the holes that are not going to break in on their own.
Sure, it's easy enough to slice them off with a razor blade and smooth them with an emory board, but then I've already tinkerer'd (get it😁) with the car and ethecially can't send it back for a swap if I'm unhappy with my purchase or a car has defect.

My point is NSR's advertising for me, a newbie their "race ready out of the box" is blatantly false!
The members here corrected me in that these next level up cars are sold mostly to slot aficionados that are in it for setting up each car their own way. That's fine. At least I understand it now.

But for a newbie having only been at this hobby 4 months I'm still surprised at how companies like NSR can't ship their cars with their rubber tires already glued and trued when they are charging $80 to 90 a car here in the U.S.
At least offer it has an option, I'd pay a small upcharge for that 🤔

I just had to buy a set of tires for both my cars. Cost me $1,400 for another set of Michelin Run Flats. I tow a boat during boating season and if I get a flat on the highway, I'd rather just be able to continue to drive to a tire shop or drive there the next day and have them repair the tire. Sure the tires ride a little firmer, but they get me out of dangerous situations. Past years low profile tires are the thing. They don't have a lot of meat on them anymore (tire companies love selling tires with less rubber). I've gotten 2 flats over the years. Run Flats saved me both times.

But I can't imagine seeing my new $1,400 Michelins with a hole in them and a glob of rubber hanging from the hole and then the dealer tells me "and you do realize that you first need to get these tires trued and glued before you can just drive around on them" 😱

I now know from the posters here that NSR tires are shipped that way as slot car owners enjoy the tweaking and set up process especially for pro track or club use.

Thanks for the tip Tinkerer on the slicks and the link. I've printed it to my tire file. I have watched Youtubes on the various tire choices.

Sounds like slicks are my cup of tea.

This is such a great hobby with all the variables and choices.

 

[Expidia]

I keep a couple of older Scalextric high impact cars with magnets in them to use as pace-gost cars on my analogue Scalextric Sports track, I set a controller up with the trigger set so it will go as fast as possible without desloting with some tape or rubber bands and us it to chase around the track.
This is great for me as I'm a solo r racer most of the time and it's good to have another car on track for a challenge!
Cheers,
John.

Same here for me John on the solo racer. I use a pace car with my Pro Arc digital set up with running digital cars. I've never tried the same with my analog cars. I'll check to see if it can do it with analog too. Digital has been cool because I can pass the pace car on the two switch tracks or get behind it on the same track waiting for my move.

 

[RichD]

Be aware that Quick Slicks are silicone and may spoil the grip for cars that use rubber or urethane tires. I believe that the Firm Quick Slicks have mostly been phased out in favor of the X Firm formulation. Firm tires are still available in some sizes however.

 

[Expidia]

Thanks Ade, noted to my tire file. It will be fun changing various tires around. I purchase cars in sets of two, so I can race like models, drives and motors against each other. Be interesting to set up each car with different tires. Easy enough to switch around if I don't glue them on.

 

[Expidia]

Be aware that Quick Slicks are silicone and may spoil the grip for cars that use rubber or urethane tires. I believe that the Firm Quick Slicks have mostly been phased out in favor of the X Firm formulation. Firm tires are still available in some sizes however.

Good to know Rich, thanks. As my 20 year old cars have 20 year old rubber. I sanded them and for my needs and they still all run well.
But as I start adding different types of tires who knew that slicks would also effect my use of other tires 🙀

 

[Wankel Ickx]

And now you will begin to learn why a tire truing machine is a useful tool. Don't tell @Wankel Ickx

Tsch! I was gluin' an a truin' in the last century, youngster! 🙄

It's part of the Stage 1, Race Tuning by Pedro™ process. 👍

 

[Kevan]

But for a newbie having only been at this hobby 4 months I'm still surprised at how companies like NSR can't ship their cars with their rubber tires already glued and trued when they are charging $80 to 90 a car here in the U.S.
At least offer it has an option, I'd pay a small upcharge for that 🤔

NSR do sell glued & trued, a pair of each (front/rear) would be the equivalent of $47
Gluing & truing takes time which obviously equates to more money.