[BEEJAY7]

Looking at David's great slot car purpose built building, has made me start thinking again about my own proposed much more modest set-up.

I really am getting a little disillusioned with Scalextric Sport track, every time I set up a temporary layout I seem to spend a great deal of time just trying to get the track to run properly, the joints seem pretty uneven and slot width is variable to say the least.

I'm very keen to see Jon's set up at Phoenix using Ninco track, as everyone who uses it seems very pleased with it.

Is everyone else happy with Sport? maybe it's just the track I've got, but at the moment I am very reluctant to buy anymore.

I would like to use Carrera but it is just too wide for the space I have available. Perhaps I really should consider routing my own, but I'm no great carpenter so it would require a steep learning curve, any router virgins out there who have gone through this process?.

I think I will have to get Luf's video to check out how he creates his superb tracks.

Regards

Alan

 

[Intergrali]

our club track is fine, but we have a severe lack of grip which we cant understand?

Rob.

 

[jonny s]

There is no grip on Sport track, full stop! There just isn`t a plexi track as good as Ninco and that is a fact. We`ve had ours up and running for three years and I simply cannot fault it.

The man to talk to about routed track is Jim at Slot Tech and he`ll have a stand at ours 28th. I believe that the Hamilton club are looking to sell a routed track? Could be a little late with that one though. Yves is building a new routed tracks and it`s a first time for him. It`s looks awesome and Yves ois here on SF as Tadman.

 

[GRAH1]

I m glad you said that Inte I think thats just the way sport track is compared to ninco and classic,when I first came to your track I thought it slippy but I thought it was just me being used to the level of grip we get on our routed tracks ,When my routed track got destroyed in the storms we had I set up a polistil track as a tempory trackbut it soon got a layer of rubber down which gave good grip similalarly when I changed to carrera I found that slippy but a libberal aplication of tyre lotions and a bit of use has soon put that right. It looks to me like the manufacturers arnt to fussed about grip as all the cars are designed for magnet racing so when you remove the mags expect a slippy track .I chose the carrera as a cheap option to a mag braid track and when I get it fixed down permenently i will paint it with the same paint as I use on a routed track so I should get the same grip ,As for your sport track it may be if you are now using tyre lotions they are sitting on the polythene and making it slippy ,the carrera and poli tracks are styrene and seem to go sticky like a routed track ,for me I find carrera as near to a routed track as makes no difference .

 

[jonny s]

Ninco has superb grip. We run every class of car going and our senior night is completely non mag. Some sound points from Grah about residue etc, which is why we insist on running dry tyres, even so the rubbering up is gonna take place. My biggest heart ache with Sport? I built ten cuircuits for the telly and it added about six working hours to each day trying to get the connections sorted.

 

[James - Junior Racer]

Grip on sport track also puzzled me, but when fitted (using a good example of Wrexham's superb track) I thought it was much smoother than Ninco. I've visited Phoenix and found that quite good. But me being a fussy routed track racer, found it quite hard to get accustomed to, patricianly the bumps. I have 2 routed wood tracks near me, Pendle, which became one of the British slot racer's favourites. And also, Jim Brown's amazingly fast track in Preston. Both of these tracks were built by Pendle Slot Racing.

I have attempted to build my own track from roughly 1 inch MDF and I bought a router. I drew out the track on the board, but that was as far as I got. Other things unfortunately took priority.
So I'd say you just need time to work on a project like this. But once it's done you'll never have uneven track problems again. And a completely personal track!

O I believe Wolverhampton Scalextric Club are buying Hamilton's 4 lane wood track.

James

 

[jonny s]

One major factor to consider I think is who will use it and for what? A home track can be looked after lovingly without the major multi use of a club circuit. My own very personal choice is that I want a track to resemble the real thing which is always going to add some thing to the racing. Any real track has some bump here or there and whilst I don`t think Phoenix is bumpy, we run Pro Slot GT 1 cars without weight added and they do not deslot (being extrememly light they would if it was bumpy) I know that a routed track like Pendle is superbly smooth. As always it`s a matter of personal choice. Nowadays there is a lot of choice and you can`t go wrong as long as you know what you want and what you want to do with it.

 

[JohnP]

I'm running Sport and have noticed both the problems you mentioned Alan: variations in slot width and uneven joints. The thing is that once you have your final layout you can sort out problem sections and get it all running smoothly before wiring and sticking it all down permanently.

Grip? ...well you know me

As for "routed", I made two hand made tracks back in the '70s: a small hardboard track with a hand sawn and sanded slot and later, a 12' x 4' routed chipboard track with a hand cut hardboard raised section. Neither was particularly hard to make.

The latter track was in the attic and the only negative was the copper tape conductors which were none too happy with the extremes of temperature up there. I imagine you might have a similar problem in your garden shed so braid conductors might be a better bet if you go that way.

I'd make a routed track again if I had the time (and hadn't already spent so much on Sport track). Then I could run wing cars

 

[David Lawson]

This thread has come at just the right time for me.

I have been pondering which make of track for my permanent circuit and had provisionally decided on Scalex Sport. I have a fair bit of Ninco track already but was prepared to get rid of it as I've heard that on a larger track the Ninco Classic cars were prone to tipping rather than sliding as they do on Scalex Sport and Classic.

I had to reject Carrera as a 4 lane would take up too much space - a pity as I will be running quite a few 1960s 1/24 cars such as Cox, Monogram and K&B etc.

Reading this thread it appears that everyone is reasonably pleased with Ninco both from a reliability and performance point of view and the Scalex Sport is proving a bit troublesome.

Thanks for the advice.

David

 

[jonny s]

Just to add that best racing of my life has been with Ninco classic cars. As a club we raced them on Scalex classic track, wooden routed at Oaklands and also on Ninco. The only modification we allowed was a motor swap,still low powered in using RX4`s. The tipping out was cured and we still retained all of the old style and correct speed for the closest racing I ever enjoyed.

 

[dreinecke]

Not having driven on any track other than Carrera before I purchased Sport, I can't say much about anything other than Sport. I like it. I've not had any issues with connections, slots, or anything else. I did put about a million layouts together before my permanent, and didn't see any problems there either.

If you like Ninco, stick with it. I really think it is up to whatever YOU like. I built my track for me, not for a club, or other racers. They are welcome of course to come over, but any critisisms can be leveled at me and my technique, not the track itself.

As for the traction, my mags are either out, or modified, because I like tail sliding my cars.

 

[Mecoprop]

I am surprised that anyone would consider ANY sectional plastic track for a permanent circuit.
No sectional plastic system is as good as routed MDF.
Whereas a huge number of plastic users would welcome a routed replacement,
I cannot think that anyone who has a routed track would ever consider replacing it with plastic. The only advantage of sectional track is the ability to pick it up and relay it but, if it's going to be parmanent, this is a completely pointless 'advantage'! It could come in handy while experimenting with trial layouts but, other than that, it's more expensive, way less reliable and limiting in circuit design possibilities.

Routed offers the opportunity for totally reliable mechanical and electrical connections with a surface to your personal choice. You can have ANY number of lanes you can fit in and NO restrictions on radius of curves.
Routed is the ONLY track I would consider for a permanant set-up.

 

[astro]

once you add in the cost of the power tools, and labour per hour to build it, sectional track is probably cheaper than routed. The thought of all that routing, laying of conducting tape around complex corves etc sends shivers down my spine!!! (and not good ones)

 

[jonny s]

Each to his own. Routed is fine if you know what you are doing. I like textured routed tracks but not smooth, it`s like ice skating not car racing. Never , not once had a problem with power on our ninco circuit. Whichever you choose enjoy it

 

[Vinno1]

As dreinecke said you build what YOU want. We each have our own reason for building what we have.
I have half Scalextric Sport and half classic. Most tyres seem to work on this combination and I have gone back to no magnet so i don't find sport slippery.
A trick I use is to run the car for 5 or 10 laps stop and clean the tyres with a damp rag and repeat for a few cleaning cycles. It is surprising how much extra grip you can get after doing this. I can generally knock nearly a second off my 11 second lap times and it does not leave residue on the track or muck insice the wheel arches of the car.
My mate has Ninco and it was a matter of working out a tyre combination for his track. We have found Ninco has so much grip that the more powerful cars tend to deslot under acceleration. With the compounds of tyres Slotit now offer it was a matter of working out which tyres offer that bit of slip to stop the front end lifting when the back end hopped.
With regards to connections I found Sport to be a bit of a problem too but I have since added taps and a 25 amp power supply so no more problems. For the record my classic and my mates Ninco track have nothing like the connection problems. Both our layouts are over 20 metres.

 

[gose]

my experience with both systems (first had ninco and now sport) is that they are very different. the ninco track on the floor was much better (very good, maybe perfect connections) than sport.
now i've made my track on a table and then sport is good enough, because of the simple fact that the track is permanent.
the most pleasure with my ninco track was with racing with cars with an nc-1 motor, without magnet. because of the rough surface the acceleration of the cars is more aggressive.
on the sport track the cars drive much smoother.

my advice?
on the ground ninco and on a table sport or ninco if you prefer that type of surface(ninco takes more space for building the same track).

gose

 

[davidtq]

My sport track is all new, but I have not once had a connection problem. Probably will with age though?, Most of my older track types have connection problems

.

David

 

[peter]

Did anyone mention wether Scalex 'Sport' track has a deeper slot than 'classic'? I think it has - but I do not have the track easily available to double check my assumption...

//peter

 

[Intergrali]

yes sport slot is deeper

 

[LMP]

I have recently got myself a sport set, I must say I'm chuffed to bits. The slot is deep and completely covered underneath, no more 'clacking' from un-trimmed ninco guides.

The grip does seem to have diminished, but I think that adds to the fun. The track is easy to fit together, and its flexibility in the joints allow you to just pull together the last peices that don't quite fit.

The only thing that is slightly dissapointing in my opinion is the racing crossovers, I tend to brake during the corner rather than before, and often end up stalling between the rubber bits where the lanes cross.