Slot Car Kits

Slot car kits from Tower Hobbies make it easy to enjoy a miniaturized version of fast auto racing right in your home, anytime and almost anywhere. You can start with inexpensive slot car sets like the Hot Wheels Slot Drag Set, which includes two slot cars and 14 feet of two lane slot car track. As your experience grows, you can move up to the bigger thrills of advanced slot car kits like the Victory 400 Slot Race Set. This one comes with four slot cars that compete simultaneously over 36 feet of four lane track filled with sharp turns, long straightaways, and many other exciting challenges!

No previous experience is needed to get started with your first Tower Hobbies slot car kit. However, it might be helpful to know a little about the equipment you’ll find inside.

Slot cars kits typically include the following basic components: slot cars, an equal number of controllers, slot car track sections, and a transformer.

A slot car is a tiny, motorized model vehicle designed to race around a slotted racetrack. The track has two or more parallel lanes with a slot in each lane. Competing slot cars each run in their own separate lane. A pin on the car’s chassis fits into the slot to guide it around the racetrack.

Household AC electric current powers the action in your slot car kit. It’s first sent through an included transformer to lower the voltage, then travels through metal strips in the track. Wire braids on each slot car’s chassis transfer the current from the track to the car’s motor. Each slot car is matched with a hand-held controller. You control the speed of the car’s motor by squeezing a trigger on the controller.

Slot car sets are available in two different formats — analog and digital. In analog slot car sets, which are the most common, squeezing your controller’s trigger determines how much electricity runs through the metal strips in your lane. Your slot car then speeds up or slows down depending on how hard you squeeze. In digital slot car sets, the electricity running throughout the metal strips stays constant. The controllers are programmed to operate a specific car rather than a lane. This allows any number of cars to compete at once, regardless of how many lanes are available. Multiple cars can run at different speeds on the same lane and wait for special track sections that provide an opportunity to pass.

The variety of slot car racing kits offers something for everyone, from young children to serious racing enthusiasts. There are three common slot car sizes. The smallest and most popular is HO scale, which you can set up in a very limited space. Serious slot car fans might prefer the larger, higher priced 1/32 and 1/24 scale slot car kits, with cars that rival high-quality diecast cars for scale detail. You can find slot cars in many body styles, including sports cars, street cars, and LMP (LeMans prototype).

There’s more strategy involved with winning a slot car race than going faster than your challengers. The victorious driver must demonstrate superior skill at maneuvering through the obstacles and challenges in the racing layout. Most slot car racing sets come with instructions for connecting the included track sections into the layout pictured on the box. They’ll also show a few other track layouts that you can create using the same track sections supplied with the set.

As your experience with your slot car kit grows, you can add expansion packs with extra curves, hairpin sections, squeeze track, and more. In fact, slot car sets provide almost unlimited opportunities for customizing. The dimensions and the difficulty of your slot car race track will ultimately be up to you. Having an ever-changing track layout is part of what makes the slot car hobby so much fun. It keeps the action fresh and exciting. Just be sure to read the Tower Hobbies product descriptions to make sure any accessories you order are compatible with the slot car set you own. Check out the full lineup of slot car kits, cars, track, and other equipment at Tower Hobbies today!