4/10/2022

Best Slot Car System

Digital Slot Car Race Sets. Digital slot car race sets aim to allow many independently controlled cars to drive on each lane and for the cars to be able to switch lanes and overtake. The different brands are incompatible with each other, but work on the same basic principles. Most of the systems use the same modular track pieces as their brand. Disney Pixar’s Cars. This set from the Go!!! Line makes an excellent starter set.

This article is a little less bot-like and little more for the hobbyists out there. We’ve got all the best slot car set options to add to your collection this year. It’s great to live in an age when the ‘frivolous’ fun of youth gets retooled and upgraded. Many things that were thought of as toys are now series machines that support careers. Slot car racing might not quite be useful as a job, but it certainly has come a long way.

Slot cars provide the thrill of participating in a competition based on control and instinct. The feeling of hard-fought victory may explain some of slot car racings remarkable history and growth. Today the best slot car set combines the simple pleasures of old with new levels of realism. Branded sets give a glimpse into car culture and the world of racing.

Whether you are starting as a beginner or developing a collection as an enthusiast, slot cars have a lot to offer.

10 Best Slot Car Set Picks

Now that you have a grasp of the ins and outs of the hobby, we’ll look at some great picks for getting started in slot car racing.

Best Slot Car Set for Kids

This set from the Go!!! line makes an excellent starter set for kids. The 1:43 scale is compatible with Carrera’s Digital 143 hobbyist line but geared for children. They will love the character representations and the easy-to-learn analog controls. The set features a lap counter, three difficulty modes, and a loop. Prices are reasonable and the durability will hold up to some aggressive usage from the eight and up crowd.

Best Slot Car Track

The use of the word ‘giant’ on the box actually undersells this amazing 62.5-foot track. A combination of risers, curves, and overlaps let you really push the endurance of a race. A digital lap counter and three difficulty modes provide a way to throttle up the difficulty. The cars and track will break under rough handling but can survive some rough and tumble starts. Controls can get set to digital or analog.

You get a lot in the box but the drawback of this system is its lack of major compatibility as it’s not provided by one of the frontrunner companies. This is one of the best slot car track to buy because of it’s size for the price.

Best Slot Car Set for the Money

This middle tier (in size and difficulty) product from Carrera features 1:25 scale cars and tracks. The smaller cars make the track look long and winding without taking up too much space. This size also allows for more reaction time and skill improvement in comparison to the 1:34 line.

The included Mustang GT and Shelby Cobra cars are fun. They have great detail and identical performance. It’s a shame that the cars don’t have different handling or speeds. Carrera’s track kit comes with risers and a combination of cure grades to create some solid skill-building tracks. The guard rails protect most of the track so you will have few problems will fly-offs.

Best Slot Car Set for Beginners

Geared for children but with compatibility to other 1:32 Scalextric products, comes the Fast and Furious set. The cars have a bit of bulk in comparison to some other slot car products. This provides them with some needed heft when going over the signature jump of this set.

The track provides some incredible competitive features usually found in larger sets. Aside from the jump, the set includes a crossover section and a sideswipe area. This narrowing of the track can allow one car to shove the other off the track to devastating effect.

Finally, the set comes with analog controls but has a digital plug ready to upgrade or if you want to use the cars elsewhere.

This set brings a little more gimmick than performance over other top sets. The track is made of a durable light absorbing material that glows in the dark. Kids will love watching the cars zipping through the near total darkness on a futuristic glowing roadway. The cars and the track are extremely durable and even a bit rubbery over other sets.

The controls are analog only and a bit heavy on the battery power. The set itself uses batteries instead of an adapter setup. The 46 feet of track store well and come apart without the usual concern for edges as the power is in the cars via the controller chargers. A good beginner set if rough-playing children is a concern for more delicate products.

Another in the line of big boxes loaded with some competent and durable beginners equipment. The 1:43 scale of the track and cars are perfect for many Carrerra products but won’t necessarily be compatible.

Analog controls and hard to break cars make it easy to deal with the ostentatious track. LEDs installed under the tracks or on the loop configurations add some spectacular color. This set only has two-speed modes. The jump between the two can be a bit much for smaller children. Watch out for that frustration when swapping modes!

Best Digital Slot Car Set

The track only allows for a simple oval without purchasing more track. But with the track at 1:43 scale, this can be easy to find. For those looking to supply a larger competitive experience, this set comes with four cars and controllers. The cars use dynamic racing technology to allow them to jump slots on the track and move back and forth across lanes easily. This creates a heated competitive experience.

The durability of the track and cars is surprisingly high with all the grooves in the track.

Another from the kid-friendly Go!!! line but with some added pizazz. The 1:43 scale cars have a lot of detail from the stock car world with branding and logos galore. The track features loops, banked turns, and a 70-degree raised bank. The lower speed is just enough to keep the cars on the track across the more dynamic features.

The set comes with spacers for the controllers that work as throttle limiters. This makes changing speed settings even more intuitive. The excitement kicks in when you go to the intermediate or advanced settings. Controls are analog with digital ready options.

Best Slot Car Race Track

This simple entry in the best slot car track to buy list builds skill like no other. The track has a few turns and weaves but no frills. The controllers are where the real dynamic action lies. The controllers are digital and come with power selector for on the fly adjustments. Similar to changing gears, you can also swap the power levels on the fly. Most sets require the levels to be set through the power supply between races.

At 1:32 scale it is compatible with other Scalextric products even those in the ARC line. The cars have beautiful and intricate detailing and run like a dream.

Best Slot Car Set for Enthusiasts

For the serious enthusiast looking to get started in the digital control and competition world comes the Platinum GT. The set comes with four cars and supports up to six.The provided cars accurately simulate high-end vehicles from several manufacturers. Feel the power of a Mercedes, BMW, Aston Martin, or Porsche. A tablet app and stand provide a scoreboard.

As a starter for the ARC Pro line, this also gets you a toehold which can be expanded by adding more track. It already has a stellar set of features built in including pit stops, tire wear, lane changing, and even weather. More features can be added with additional programming.

Best Slot Car Set Features

Ask an expert what makes the best of anything and they’ll start spitting jargon and fuzzy metrics at you. They’re not dodging the question, they just happen to need to answer it with the knowledge you might not have. Armed with this information, we’ll highlight a few of the best sets currently on the market, much as we’ve done with electric trains.

Brands

Brands of slot car racing sets matter. In part, the brand offers a window into the rich history of the hobby. More importantly, it tells you something about the compatibility of products. In a wise move, each company ensures that sets within a certain timeframe work together. This means you can start with a brand and continue to purchase new sets without fear your new pieces will no longer be compatible with the old sets.

The top brands currently offering slot car excitement include:

  • Ninco
  • SCX
  • Carrera
  • Scalextric

Scalextric and Carrera lead the market in terms of sales, branded deals, and history.

Controls

Controls come in digital and analog formats. Some companies even use smartphone apps as controllers.

  • Analog controls connect to the track and set the power fed to a specific lane. These controllers use a pressure switch to regulate power and go back to the start of slot car racing.
  • Digital controls are newer and provide more options, overall. These control specific cars. With these options for track changes and more competitive elements became possible. Digital controllers also free up internal components, since these are on the car and not the track. This allows sets to support four to six cars instead of the standard two.

Tracks and Customization

As we just touched on, tracks come in 2, 4, or 6 car configurations. Tracks no longer conform to simple ovals and eights but can be built out to cover dramatic shapes and recreations of real-world courses. Components such as pit areas, risers, and different slopes for corners all increase the excitement and the skill level of slot car racing. Amazing features such as loop da loops and lane switching panels add to the danger.

Also taking a page from model trains, slot car sets provide even more entertainment when dolled up. Combine accessories and miniatures to create a facsimile of the real world.

The most advanced sets leave space for a monitor, tablet, or smartphone to be used as a digital scoreboard. These display number of laps, lap times, and other information. Pace cars and AI controlled opponents provide ways of improving skills. Pit areas go from fun visual additions to necessary tools when you add in fuel limits (power limits) to the cars.

Tire wear, car damage, and incidents programmed into the race bring up the realism.

Durability

Having a lot of customization and parts comes with a hit to durability. Cars, now heavier and laden with internal control mechanisms (for digital controllers) become easier to break. They also go up in price to replace. The track edges fit together snuggly to prevent lines and grooves which could trip up a speeding car. This makes them easier to put together than pull apart. When pulling apart a track, the edges need to be pristine or it will interrupt power flow.

Power Needs

Power bases work double duty in the best slot car racing sets. They provide power to the track and/or cars but also manage elements of the race program. A power base can be configured to provide power to the 2, 4, or 6 cars and also for which control scheme is preferred. In this way, the power base is essentially the computer running the rest of the track.

Cars

Slot cars retain a surprising level of backward compatibility even with the new technology. Not the most key reason collections of vintage models grow in popularity and price, but it is worth consideration. Adjustments kits for tweaking the tires, weight of the car, and the connection to the track all provide more nuance to a race. While track pieces stay compatible only within a specific brand, cars can be widely used across different sets.

Accessories

Finally, third-party accessories (a staple in hobbyist circles) give more options in the aftermarket. PC controllers simulate realistic racetrack options and run from a computer. AI-programmed cars find their ways into shops.

Perfect Timing?

TrackMate Slot Car Lap Timing

(Infrared Detection)

If you were looking for a comparison of all the lap timing options in our hobby, this is not it. Like anything else in our hobby, personal preference is going to dictate what features you are looking for and how much time and money you are willing to invest in it. This is simply a look at the choice we made for our home track and why.

But I will share with you that over the years I have tested just about every timing option out there. From homemade to after-market there are a lot of options. I can also share that if you truly want a reliable system then you are going to have to invest in it.

What I wanted is what most any enthusiast would want: A system that is easily installed and that I know will work. Like other aspects of this hobby, some investment in time and money is required. I looked at a timing system choice like I look at other parts of my layout. I want quality but I also want value.

And compared to other options Trackmate offers a lot of both.

So if you are looking for a fairly simple approach that gives you a rock solid platform to start racing with, then read on.

Hardware System Criteria:

1. A virtual plug and play system.

Sensor and computer interface cables are fully assembled and ready to be mounted in the track. As with any system there is some installation to do but not much. I also had to build a bridge to house the overhead infrared LED's. The important thing was that the electronic hardware was ready to go.

2. System that could use an overhead infrared interface.

Since braiding our track I did not want to cut the braid to use a dead strip system. I knew infra-red systems were just as reliable as any other detection method and Trackmate fully supports it.

3. Solid customer service.

With well over a decade in this hobby, Trackmate has become one of the standards in our hobby. One of the reasons is good customer service. A couple phone calls and prompt email responses verified that I had made the right choice.

Software System Criteria:

1. Software Simplicity. - Easy setup with minimal system requirements.

We just want a simple program that allows us to race with lane rotation. Also one that does not need a higher end computer. This program accomplishes both.

I do not need a database for all my slot cars or a track design program. We do not utilize pit stops or desire simulated fuel consumption. Some of you do like these options and with the Trackmate hardware you can always download other programs you feel has the features you want. So even if you want more bells and whistles when it comes to software, the Trackmate system is still a good choice.

Our System Configuration

What we purchased:

If you are looking for a Dead strip or Reed switch solution this is the kit you need. Or if you want to do infrared but can't use any of the bridges available in the other kits.

You could get the components and wire/solder it up yourself. I did not want to. Saving me time and effort was worth the extra cost easily.

REMEMBER - This is not a light source. You do not need a light source for the infrared to function using these LED's. The LED's are also INVISIBLE to the naked eye when turned on. So do not think they are broken.

Total cost was $197.00 before shipping. For my budget that is reasonable enough and even when you figure in the computer this entire system was under $250.00.

The computer is actually one of the more budget-friendly parts of it. One of the nice things about this system is that can use old/outdated PC's. This system was taken from the trash bin at a local Salvation Army and I just plugged it in and it booted up. After some clean up of the files it was ready to go. I also looked for other PC's and found many older systems like this are easily had for around $50-$100.00 depending on where you look. I found that places like the Salvation Army I mentioned and old fashioned yard sales the best places. The second PC I have that will be used for our oval was purchased at a yard sale for $40.00. You can also search EBay and even your local Craigslist & find some really great deals as well. So do not think because a timing system needs a PC that the cost will become out of your budget.

Trackmate uses the serial port as an interface. If you have a computer that does not have this port, they have a USB to Serial adaptor that will work as well. These ports are only found on older machines so getting that cheap PC has the added benefit of these ports.

Here is the wiring diagram Trackmate provides. It is very easy to follow. If I can do it, so can you. I mounted mine to a board under our track.

Building Bridges

Having a system like this still requires some work on your part. In our case we needed to build a overhead bridge to mount the pre-wired LED kit.

I used some sheet plastic (styrene) that I had on hand. Don't have any? That's ok. You can useElmer's Foam board found at Wal-Mart or any craft store. I have built an almost identical bridge with it and it lasted for years. If you have a Dollar General they have board identical to it for about a $1.00 a sheet.

I cut a strip about 1 & 1/2 inches wide. I measured the distance from my wall to the outer edge of the track and cut to fit. I marked where I wanted the holes in the track and then marked the strip.

Using a #8 (3/16') drill bit I drilled the holes for the LED's in the strip. I then slid the strip over where I had marked the areas in the track to make sure they lined up as close as possible. I then re-marked the track using the holes in the strip as a guide.

The LED's has a small flange so that when you mount them, they will sit flush and are easily glued in place.

After the LED harness was glued I made simple walls to enclose everything. You can get as creative as you want to here. I am not trying to win any scale awards with our scenery, but still wanted it to look somewhat pleasing.

I measured the pipe so the bridge sits about 5 1/2 inches above the track. That is 1/2 inch over the distance advised for the LED's but it works perfectly. This is tall enough for any model we will race on this particular layout.

I decided to use 1' plastic electrical conduit for one end of the bridge. Could you use smaller? Yes. I used what I had. Here is a tip: go to your local Lowe's or Home Depot and check the scrap bin if they have one. I found a 2 foot section there and it was free. I just bought a coupling for the inside of the bridge for mounting the pipe.

I placed the coupling over the strip and traced around it, and simply cut the hole to allow it to slide up. I sanded a small notch in the coupling for easier wire routing. Hot glue on both sides of the coupling holds it very well. No need to glue the pipe to the coupling, it is tight enough. Could you do it without this coupling? Yes, but I found it made a stronger base for the bridge.

I created a sliding tube system for the other end of the bridge for support. I made it like this so I could use a small bubble level and easily adjust it. Once it was set I just added a drop of Testors model glue on the tubes. The one support at the large end is actually enough to hold it easily. But I did not want any more mounting hardware on that end as it is not easy to get to.

Sensor Installation

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

Please pay attention to the color of the wires. The chart provided by Trackmate (shown at top or article) has the legend of the colors and how they correspond to the lanes.

For example:

Lane #1 Brown

Lane #2 Orange

Lane #3 Green

What Are The Best Slot Cars

Lane #4 Blue

This method of installation is NOT required.You can just mount the sensors into a hole directly. But I found using a sleeve for the sensors made it easier for installation. It slides into the hole easy enough, but still tight enough to hold itself in place while you glue it. It is also a good way to increase the durability if you ever have to move them to another track.

Using the same drill bit as for the LED's, carefully drill the holes through. Just try and keep the drill as straight as possible and it will be just fine. There is a little wiggle room when you mount the sensors, so do not worry about it being perfect.

I test fit the tubes before installing the sensor inside.

Once you have the sleeve mounted, you can go under the track and install it.

I placed a scrap section of plastic over the hole and pushed the sensor assembly up until the top of the sensor touched the plastic. Basically keeping the sensor flush or just slightly recessed from the track surface.

Testing

Time to install your bridge and begin testing. Just align the bridge by sight and it will be fine, no need to try and perfectly match the sensors.

But you say you want to make sure? Ok, try this.

System

Using a 1/4' tube, slip it over the end of the LED. This will let you know if you are where you need to be.

All set to fire up the system now.

Turn your computer on and make sure your sensor and LED power supplies are hooked up.

Install the software and follow the instructions, very easy. Just click on the link below and read each section that applies to you.

When you auto test your com port you should see a screen like this:

Best Digital Slot Car System

Pretty self-explanatory.

Inside your TRACK tab is where you can make changes to match your track. I set the lane colors to match our track along with the name. There are also options for scale speed and lane length.

Among the actual racing options the PRACTICE mode is where we spend most of our time. This is a fun way to enjoy your models if you are a lone wolf racer as well. This screen has what I really want to know: Lap times and the best lap. It is a lot of fun to try and best yourself and we have spent many hours just challenging each other in this way.

Maybe you want more options? PC Lap Counter is a great program that just about everything you could ask for. It is not free, but it is fair priced and has very solid customer support. I still have it installed and it works perfectly with the Trackmate interface.

Having a good lap timing system adds more to your hobby than you might think. We have made many laps without one for the past couple of years but we did miss it. Now that we have one back the fun factor has been more than doubled. From just solo racing and trying to break that track record, to seeing just how close we are running in a pack. A good timing system adds so much to your home racing and is well worth investing in.

Slot Race Tracks For Sale

I feel this system is an excellent choice for any home racer or club and was well worth the investment.

-Harry

Quick List Of The System Ordered

1 24 Slot Car Tracks For Sale

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