manufactures / models / price
Manufacturers
The most important item in the selection of your car is the track that you are going to race at: the car scale supported, the track surface material and the rail/guide design all must be considered when selecting the ideal car. Each manufacture designs cars suitable for the different track designs. Flat stamped steel chassis cars with Lexan bodies and foam tires are excellent on large wood surface tracks but not so great on the plastic tracks like Scalextric makes.
Scalextric is one of the leading manufactures of 1/32 scale slot cars. They have cars suitable for kids racing with their Super Resistant line all the way up to some very nice High Detail cars suitable for display. The disadvantage is the cars are not truly adjustable for racing and the replacements parts are difficult to impossible to find.
The Carrera product line offers plenty of new sets and cars for dedicated slot car enthusiast, hobby racers and beginners alike. Exclusive worldwide reproduction license agreements with Ferrari and Red Bull in the slot car segment guarantee authentic Formula 1 racing excitement at home. Like Scalextric cars the fine tuning ability is just not there nor are replacement parts readily available.
Slot.it cars and accessories are produced by Galileo Engineering, a small Italian company based in Reggio Emilia. Founded in 1998 by Maurizio Ferrari and Maurizio Gibertoni, slot cars have become an increasingly important part of the business. Former F1 engineer Maurizio Ferrari has become the face of Slot.it internationally. His – and the company’s – philosophy is to produce performance slot cars that are both sumptuous scale models and the fastest on the track.
NSR are undisputed top-dogs when it comes to their modern ‘anglewinder’ GT cars (eg Corvette C7R above. And it’s not just their cars – spares, tyres and accessories produced by NSR dominate the tune-up market.
Beyond different layout and motor pod options, NSR cars use higher-quality components – and offer a wide range of tune-up parts. With Slot.it and NSR, the cars will usually work very nicely straight out of the box – and then there is a fairly logical progression of tune-ups and tweaks
There are really too many slot car manufactures for me to list them all here but MRSlotcar. MR actually stands for Mossetti Racing, created by multi-time World Champion racer, now builder, Ernie Mossetti.
While the car selection is limited the performance review of his cars is 5 Star.
Scaleauto Model Car produces top quality competition cars, spare parts and precision tools for the slot car racing hobbyists.
To see even more slot car manufacturers go to one of these resellers and click the car links.
Professormotor.com
electricdreams.com
132slotcar.us
Local Racing Options
Manzana Speed Lanes (MSL) is constructed with all Scalextric 1/32 Sport plastic track with standard nickel plated steel rails. We run magnets, hard bodies, and rubber tires. No vacuum formed bodies and no silicone tires.
If it races in full scale I guarantee there is a slot car to match. I've even seen motorcycle slots. At MSL we group the cars into four classes.
The fastest cars are put in the LMP group
Formula 1 and Indy cars in open wheel group
GT, Endurance and NASCAR in a group
And the slower cars run in the Classic GT & Classic Le Mans and street car group
Coming soon Rally cars
Several of NSR's slot cars are available in a variety of configurations. Which one is right for you is a matter of personal preference. Standard is the anglewinder because it is the best all around. Inline configurations are seen mostly on F1 & Indy cars due to the lower side profiles. The sidewinder or parallel motor has weight and cornering advantages over anglewinders. Check the video from Slotcarazing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJcRF4YBjlU&t=101s
Professional vs. Toy
Why spend more money on a NSR or RevoSlot car
The video describes what to expect from both a toy version of a car and a professional racing version of the same car.
Repairs and Upgrades
When ordering you first slot car you should consider things that might need a quick repair during your first night of racing and what upgrades you should consider doing on a brand new car, in addition to routine maintenance items that all slot cars require.
Fine tuning a slot car is not a necessity to having fun running around the track; however to win races fine tuning is mandatory. Click the picture above and watch the video about gearing! ONLY use the pinions and spurs designed for YOUR cars configuration! Slot.it, NSR, Ninco, Scalextric all have different gear meshes and are NOT interchangeable.
If you have raced any at all you probably already know the pickup braids are the fastest wearing item on the car, so make sure you get plenty of spares when you order your car. Having a few sets of new rubber is a good idea too. Stock rubber is usually medium softness and NSR has 4 levels of grip in a variety of sizes.
Items to consider for brand new car upgrades might be a better hand controller so you can have better control over your car. Larger lighter wheels, maybe a soft chassis or a light weight interior. Scorpius Wireless Controllers are compatible with the Scalextric Digital we are running at MSL because we use the SSDC computer management for the races. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn2OqshuxuM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZTYNCYaubw
Placing the Order
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There are many places to buy from and a few to avoid buying from. MSL has used Professor Motor for years and has always had good results. https://www.professormotor.com/ They are located in Michigan. https://132slotcar.us/ is another fine retailer up in Tacoma Washington that I have not only ordered from but have visited the store and raced at their home track. Another place I order from is electric Dreams and they are in El Segundo, California. https://www.electricdreams.com/
The first additional item on your list to go with your car is a digital chip. At MSL the track is powered by a Scalextric digital power base. Analog cars can run on the track but all the racing is done in digital. Scalextric cars are easily chipped with their C8515 chip all other cars need an aftermarket chip like the Slot.it SISP15C and the SISP32 LED kit .
Lubricants, screwdrivers, parts boxes and a carrying case - these type of items are often an afterthought but showing up to a race without the basics just means you are standing in line waiting to use the track host's tools.
Questions, comments, suggestions don't hesitate to reach out.