Slot Car Racing

A slot car is a motorized miniature vehicle that races on a slotted track. Its driver controls speed using a hand-held controller wired to the track. The car is steered automatically by a guide pin on its chassis that fits into the slot in the track.

Competing slot cars run in parallel slots on the track. The challenge for each driver is to negotiate curves and obstacles as fast as possible without spinning off the track.

The variety found in slot car racing offers something for everyone, from young children to serious racing enthusiasts. There are three common slot car sizes. HO scale is the smallest and most popular, because the track can be set up easily in a limited space. Larger, higher priced 1/32 and 1/24 scale sizes offer more realism for serious slot car fans.

Slots cars are available in many body styles, including sports cars, street cars, and LMP (LeMans prototype). The larger sizes rival high-quality die cast cars for scale detail.

Slot cars are powered by AC household electric current sent through a transformer to lower the voltage. Metal strips in the slot car track carry the current throughout the course. Each slot car’s chassis has wire braids that contact the strips, creating a circuit that delivers electrical power to the slot car motor.

Slot car racing sets are available in two different formats, analog and digital. Analog slot cars have been around for over half a century. Digital slot cars take advantage of the newer digital technology. The main differences are as follows.

In analog slot car sets, pressing your controller’s trigger sends electricity only through the metal strips in your lane on the track. You determine the amount of current by how hard you press the trigger. The slot car in your lane speeds up or slows down accordingly. You can race only as many slot cars as you have lanes. Special track sections are needed for a car to change lanes while staying under the same driver’s control.

In digital slot car sets, electricity runs continuously through all of the track’s metal strips. Each controller is programmed to operate a specific car, not a lane — and not just its speed but also lights and other features. Any number of cars can compete at once regardless of how many lanes are available in your digital slot car track. Crossover track sections provide opportunities to change lanes, block, pass, and overtake competitors.

Especially if you’re interested in analog HO scale, Tower Hobbies® has a great selection of slot cars and slot car tracks for beginners as well as serious hobbyists. Check out the Auto World brand for slot cars, track, and accessories designed for everyday fun. If you’re a competitor who wants high performance, we recommend AFX and its Mega-G+ HO scale cars and accessories. Tower offers 1/32 scale slot cars from Tamiya as well.

To get everything you need in one box, Tower Hobbies has a variety of slot car racing sets. You can find very affordable starter sets with just two cars and enough track to build a small oval. For more advanced slot car racing, the AFX Giant Raceway includes 62 feet of track! Most sets come with instructions not only to assemble the track layout shown on the box, but also to set up optional courses using the same pieces.

As your experience grows, you can add expansion packs with extra curves, hairpin sections, squeeze track, and more. Some manufacturers offer sensored track pieces that can be connected to a PC for counting laps, measuring speed, recording lap times, and even programming a car’s imaginary fuel supply so that strategic pit stops are required!

Similar to radio control vehicles, slot cars can be maintained and fine-tuned with optional motors, gearboxes, and other parts. Different wire braids can be used on a car’s chassis to adjust clearance and complete the electrical circuit, such as thick braid, thin braid, copper braid, stainless steel braid, weaved braid, and non-weaved braid. Varying styles of guide pins can also be installed.

A slot car track layout provides unlimited opportunities for customizing. An HO scale track can be brought to life with the same scenery and figures that HO scale model railroaders use to design their track layouts.

Slot car racing has come a very long way since it first became a craze decades ago. Check out today’s slot cars, track, and equipment at Tower Hobbies!