Car performance / consistency

[Coaster]

Hi all

have recently got back into Scalextric after a long break.

I ran a race night for a few friends this week - everyone loved it, but the inconsistencies between the cars and the way they perform made it quite tricky.

Is the only solution to this to run identical cars? If so, what sets would you recommend where I could have six cars that will all perform similarly?

many thanks

tom

[Andy P.]

Hi Tom,

It is hard to tell from a distance without knowing more about your track and your cars.

Essentially though all Scalextric cars made withing the last 5 years or so have the same gearing and motor.

Having said that there are small variations (and exceptions). For example thr Ford GT uses a slim can motor that is higher revving and lower torque than the standard Mabuchi 13D motor most car have.

Cars with sidewinder configuration may have different gearing to the inline cars.

After that the overall weight and how it is distributed will make a difference. High weight will cause the car to tip, lots of weight in the rear will cause the tail to break out... etc.

There could be slight variations in magnet attraction, especially if the magnets have been subjected to high temperature fluctuations.

So unless you basically race the exact same type of car against the others there will always be a slight difference.

They way I usually manage this for analog is every driver races every car in the same lane. That way all you have to do is add up the results.

For digital racing that is trickier but making every driver use every car should negate any advantage.

The thing about slot racing is that like in real racing over the course of the race the cars performance will change. The tires wear, the braids wear, some things loosen up (maybe becoming too loose!) etc.

It is always a good idea to keep the cars in their best possible condition of course:

https://uk.scalextric.com/community/advice/car-maintenance