Finding The Correct Scalextric Track For Your Set
Scalextric Help
Scalextric Help
1. Set Purchase
2. Age recommendations
3. Car types and makes
4. Track
5. Spares and tuning
1 Scalextric set purchase
So you are thinking about purchasing a Scalextric set...
Once you have set your budget we would recommend spending the most you can on your set. Sets represent great value for money and are far cheaper than purchasing the items individually. You will find the more you spend on a set the more you will receive for your money. We would only recommend cheaper sets for younger kids if you are unsure if they are going to be interested in taking up Scalextric as a hobby or pass time.
Firstly you need to make your mind up on what type of racing you want. Scalextric offer four types of slot car racing. Micro Scalextric, Drift, Analogue or Digital all types are explained below.
Micro Scalextric Micro Scalextric are for the younger drivers. Micro sets are 1:42 scale rather than the normal 1:32 scale sets. The smaller cars and track are tough, also the tracks are far smaller than some of the expensive alternative sets, allowing a long track in a small space to keep them entertained for many of hours. The only drawback with micro Scalextric is that spare track pieces and cars are limited. Another option could be to purchase from the Carrera Go range. The scale of the cars and track is a little bigger but the track and the cars are far better detailed than Scalextric, Carrera offer great value for money across their entire range.
Analogue sets The principal of this type of racing has not changed since the invention of Scalextric over 50 years ago, with two lane racing with two cars. Many things have changed over the years with improvement of the track connections in 2002 Scalextric changed their track connectors to a new style. The new clips are more durable and easier to fix together, also two types of cars are available for your pleasure. Robust cars are suitable for younger drivers. These cars are tough and can take a fair bit of punishment. Detailed cars are available but these cars are not suitable for young children due to parts on the cars being easily broken.
Digital Sets this is the new type of racing. Digital sets offer up to 6 cars racing on two lanes. With the simple press of a button on your hand controller you can select to change lane at the relevant sections of digital track. With up to 6 cars racing on two lanes it makes for exciting racing for ages of 8 years and over. Digital racing even offers a pit lane and pit lane game for a race to extinguish all their lights to win the race. Although digital sets and the individual sections of track are expensive, we feel it is money well spent by moving your slot car racing in to the new age. We have many families that all enjoy racing together.
Drift sets Cars skid around corners with little grip, racing is not about speed, its style that matters.
Cars have a clever guide blade that allows them to spin 360 degrees, allowing car to race in both directions on the track. Also cars do not come off the track if driven too quickly. Cars are robust and durable, making drift sets suitable for all ages.
2 Age Recommendations
If your children are under the age of 6 we would recommend that you look for sets where the cars are robust or any of the micro Scalextric sets.
For ages of 6-9 robust sets, analogue, digital and drift sets are suitable for this age bracket
Ages 10+ all types of sets including ones with highly detailed cars.
If you are still unsure which set would be best for your requirements please feel free to contact us and we will happily advise you of the most suitable one for you.
3 Slot Car purchasing
Slot cars come in many makes and styles. Some makes of models are more suited to certain ages than others and in this section we will try to inform you as best we can as to what slot car is for you.
Scalextric cars there are 3 types of cars that can be purchased from Scalextric.
We will start with the cheaper priced cars. They are robust in design and surprisingly quick. The reason for their speed is that they have a light weight body shell and also these cars as a rule do not come with any lights so all the power is sent to the motor thus providing greater speed and acceleration to the motor and car. These robust cars are great value and are suitable for younger drivers or for tracks that have crossovers or lane changes, where crashes are common. The cars are very durable and can take a fair amount of punishment.
The second types of cars are the detailed cars. These have parts that can be damaged if in a crash such as spoilers or wing mirrors which are normally the first things to come off any high detailed slot car. So what will you get for your money? Highly detailed cars have clear windows and a driver inside the car. Detail inside the car will either have racing interior or road car interior depending on the type of car you are purchasing. Some cars have two figures situated inside the car, this is normally rally cars with the co-driver ever present for added realism. Other details on the cars are working front and rear lights and some even have flashing roof lights or sirens.
Drift cars drive completely different to the standard Scalextric cars. With no rear magnet and low grip rear tyres its all about the style as you slide around the track without losing control of your car. Drift cars have a very cleaver guide blade that allows them to spin 360 degrees and continue on the track, drift cars can travel either way around a track. These cars are very difficult to crash off the track due to the guide blade design. Drift cars are made the same as cheaper robust cars due to the high amount of crashes that happen with this type of racing. If you are looking to add drift cars to your track then we would suggest that you have nearly all your track with inner and outer barriers to allow the cars to spin as they do.
If you have a digital track and you are looking to add a new car to your collection, then you need to look for either a car that had a D suffix on the end of the product code Eg. C2860D or any car that is digital plug ready (DPR) these cars have a small trap door just behind the guide blade and you can fit a digital plug C8515 simply in the underside of the chassis in about 1-2mins. This will convert the car to digital and will be ready to race on your track. Full details of how to fit the plug are below(Add utube video)
Ninco Slot Cars
Ninco cars are fantastically detailed cars. Their model finishes are the highest standards you can find on a plastic bodied car. With grill and vents being cut in the body instead of paint or a sticker you will notice the quality of Ninco cars. At present due to the exchange rate Ninco cars are fairly costly but you will not be disappointed in the article you will receive. Ninco are releasing a low cost range of cars and we expect them to add to this range over the coming years. Ninco cars are fully compatible with Scalextric analogue layouts but do not work on Scalextric digital layouts. We would only suggest high value Ninco cars for either collectors or adult racers, and lower priced cars for any ages.
In 2009 Ninco released a range of budget cars in analogue and N-digital format that are more affordable and far more robust. They are great value for money but their range is only limited at the present time.
Carrera Slot Cars
Are a cheaper alternative to the Scalextric robust range of cars. Their cars are well detailed way above comparable priced cars. With many features such as working front and rear lights that can be switched on and off at a flick of a switch on the base of the car. We would not recommend these cars for serious racers but if you want to add some different cars to your range and have some fun racing these are for you. All cars come with a range of spares which are not offered by any other manufacturer. We believe these cars are suitable for intermediate drivers who would like some detail on their cars and a challenge to drive but offered at a price that cannot be sniffed at or for younger children who want lights on their cars as all small children love and they are an excellent cheaper alternative. Also as Ninco cars are also fully compatible with analogue Scalextric tracks.
Slot.it Cars
Slot.it car are for the serious racer, with high quality and engineered cars and parts they offer high performance racing. Slot.it cars come either ready painted or in kit form to allow you to add your own unique livery to your race car, with many tuning options for every car, leaving you in search of the perfect car setup for your race circuit. Slot.it has a collaboration with Scalextric and produce a digital chip that is compatible with Scalextric digital tracks, making Slot.it the only manufacturer that allows you to race in either analogue or digital on a Scalextric set.
4 Slot car track
Scalextric produce a wide range of differing track pieces as detailed in the picture. Straight sections of track and digital specific track pieces are missing from the diagram as are the associated barriers for the straight sections of track.
With digital layouts the track is exactly the same except for the specific lane change sections of track so if you have old or new track there is no problem with compatibility with what you already have.
There are four different radius bends that are available, all curves have inner and outer barriers which can be seen in the bottom right of the diagram.
Each radius fits perfectly inside each other starting with the tightest curve radius 1 to the widest curve which is radius 4, this allows multi lane racing to be achieved if using either analogue or digital power base.
All current Scalextric sets come supplied with radius 2 curves. This is Scalextric standard radius curve. Digital lane changes corners come as radius 2 curves, Scalextric produce a single lane radius 3 inner curves that can be used for either pit lanes or to add a third lane or racing to your digital track. These track sections fit perfectly on the outside of radius 2 curves. There are barriers available for the all types of digital track most of them are standard barriers with the exception of the single lane curves and the item that is required is C7017.
With the change of Scalextric track to the new sports track Scalextric have produced a range of track packs to add to any Scalextric set. The track packs will fit any set and represent good value for money if you are looking to add to your existing layout. The only word of warning is that leaps do not agree with digital racing and can cause the car to become un-programmed to the power base. Even so we would still recommend any track extension pack to a digital track due to the huge saving of purchasing the item in the first place.
If you have some old style track that you wish to add to any new track then you will require a pack of convertor half straights. These half straights have old style connectors at one end to connect to your old track then the new easier to use connectors at the other end to allow you to add whatever new track you have for your track.
by: Lee Catherine
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