scalextric car speeds
Discussion
They vary quite a bit - although the set I bought is about ten years old now.
I presume you are talking aboyut the cars that come with tehe actual sets.
Cars sold separately are often quicker - although quick isn't always most fun. Cars with tail out characteristics are a bit of a hoot. I have a Pink Car Auto Union which is great fun to drift around the bends - but it is the slowest car I have.
I presume you are talking aboyut the cars that come with tehe actual sets.
Cars sold separately are often quicker - although quick isn't always most fun. Cars with tail out characteristics are a bit of a hoot. I have a Pink Car Auto Union which is great fun to drift around the bends - but it is the slowest car I have.
I played with my nephew's set at Christmas - the Mclarens that came with the set were much quicker than the Renault he'd been given after he'd had the set for a year.
As a btw, what are the under car wire flex type things that help slot the car to the trak called? They don't seem to last very long.
As a btw, what are the under car wire flex type things that help slot the car to the trak called? They don't seem to last very long.
Oh God.
I could sprout on this all night long but will try to keep it brief.
Scalextric - Current F1 cars are almost always the fastest things round a proper track. There used to be a range called SRS (now PRO?) which were the fastest things they made.
There are a number of older F1 cars which are sold with different colours to the 'correct' ones which are usually the bargain basement end and are quick in a straight line but have cheap tyres and very little magnets meaning that they are not as fast.
After the F1 cars it is really a question of looking at things on a car by car basis. I have a couple of Focus cars which are fun if you know what you are doing but slow as hell and very tricky to drive. I have a number of GT3 Porsches 1 is a 360 car which is a hoot on it's own but pointless for racing. One is a full detail model but is a bit of a handful and one is a DPR (?) car and is a great all rounder.
Usual common sense should be applied though. Low COG, fat rears, big magnet, usually means quick round the track. Lights will make a car slower but you'll only notice if you are taking it far too seriously...
Outside of Scalextric there are lots of other brands to try all of which will race fine on Scalextric track and most can even be retro fitted with a digital chip from Scalextric.
SCX - Brilliant cars IMO, very detailed, slightly cheaper than Scalextric but also a little more fragile. For someone like me who, with a very few exceptions, believes you buy these things to play with and if they get broken accidently that's life, there is little to beat them. I only have more Scalextric cars than SCX ones because I have be buying sets over the last few years to replace tired out and gifted away track and power bits.
Ninco - Have a couple and am not very impressed. Nice enough detail and should be very quick but my Mosler and Ascari just can't hold a candle to my SCX DBRS9 or Scalextric Viper and Jag XK8.
I have yet to buy myself any Fly cars but have been very impressed which the ones I have tried and plan to get some in the next few years. Likewise I plan to buy a few Slot It cars which I have head very good things about.
It doesn't help you if I start talking about tune up parts either...
I could sprout on this all night long but will try to keep it brief.
Scalextric - Current F1 cars are almost always the fastest things round a proper track. There used to be a range called SRS (now PRO?) which were the fastest things they made.
There are a number of older F1 cars which are sold with different colours to the 'correct' ones which are usually the bargain basement end and are quick in a straight line but have cheap tyres and very little magnets meaning that they are not as fast.
After the F1 cars it is really a question of looking at things on a car by car basis. I have a couple of Focus cars which are fun if you know what you are doing but slow as hell and very tricky to drive. I have a number of GT3 Porsches 1 is a 360 car which is a hoot on it's own but pointless for racing. One is a full detail model but is a bit of a handful and one is a DPR (?) car and is a great all rounder.
Usual common sense should be applied though. Low COG, fat rears, big magnet, usually means quick round the track. Lights will make a car slower but you'll only notice if you are taking it far too seriously...
Outside of Scalextric there are lots of other brands to try all of which will race fine on Scalextric track and most can even be retro fitted with a digital chip from Scalextric.
SCX - Brilliant cars IMO, very detailed, slightly cheaper than Scalextric but also a little more fragile. For someone like me who, with a very few exceptions, believes you buy these things to play with and if they get broken accidently that's life, there is little to beat them. I only have more Scalextric cars than SCX ones because I have be buying sets over the last few years to replace tired out and gifted away track and power bits.
Ninco - Have a couple and am not very impressed. Nice enough detail and should be very quick but my Mosler and Ascari just can't hold a candle to my SCX DBRS9 or Scalextric Viper and Jag XK8.
I have yet to buy myself any Fly cars but have been very impressed which the ones I have tried and plan to get some in the next few years. Likewise I plan to buy a few Slot It cars which I have head very good things about.
It doesn't help you if I start talking about tune up parts either...
Edited by Rude-boy on Monday 17th January 17:29
Wire parts under the car - Pick-ups, Braids, Contacts - Whatever you fancy really.
F1 cars are great if you have a big layout, they a rapid on the straight but you may struggle with the speed on a tight circuit. But they are definitely the most responsive cars (standard scaley.)
Personally my favourite cars are the Le mans type cars, so the pug 908 Fap, Porsche RS spyder, Audi R10 etc. They are quick but much more progressive in the corners.
If you want equal, good detail, reliable cars from the box you cant winge at a scalextric car.
However some of the other brands make some brilliant cars, Carrera cars for instance feel really smooth and powerful. Have a standard carrera Vanquish and it matches the Scaley F1 cars in the straights.
Ninco make some very nice detailed models, have a couple lovely Audi R8s out.
F1 cars are great if you have a big layout, they a rapid on the straight but you may struggle with the speed on a tight circuit. But they are definitely the most responsive cars (standard scaley.)
Personally my favourite cars are the Le mans type cars, so the pug 908 Fap, Porsche RS spyder, Audi R10 etc. They are quick but much more progressive in the corners.
If you want equal, good detail, reliable cars from the box you cant winge at a scalextric car.
However some of the other brands make some brilliant cars, Carrera cars for instance feel really smooth and powerful. Have a standard carrera Vanquish and it matches the Scaley F1 cars in the straights.
Ninco make some very nice detailed models, have a couple lovely Audi R8s out.
Did James May not look at this very question on his recent series?
If I remember rightly they set up a straight piece of track in a hangar & scaled the speeds up to proportion the real thing.
I believe a young girl recorded the fastest speed...in excess of 600mph, can't remember the exact speed or car but...impressive all the same!
If I remember rightly they set up a straight piece of track in a hangar & scaled the speeds up to proportion the real thing.
I believe a young girl recorded the fastest speed...in excess of 600mph, can't remember the exact speed or car but...impressive all the same!
Waynester said:
Did James May not look at this very question on his recent series?
If I remember rightly they set up a straight piece of track in a hangar & scaled the speeds up to proportion the real thing.
I believe a young girl recorded the fastest speed...in excess of 600mph, can't remember the exact speed or car but...impressive all the same!
But they wouldn't have been using standard out of the box motors, and would probably have also changed the gearing.If I remember rightly they set up a straight piece of track in a hangar & scaled the speeds up to proportion the real thing.
I believe a young girl recorded the fastest speed...in excess of 600mph, can't remember the exact speed or car but...impressive all the same!
tr7v8 said:
Eric Mc said:
Fly cars are very nice - almost too nice to race.
Much too nice to race, beautiful models though!I purchased it from here, his official website, very highly recommended.
http://www.vicelford.com/storemodels-FLY.html
russy01 said:
Wire parts under the car - Pick-ups, Braids, Contacts - Whatever you fancy really.
Thanks for that 
Getting back to basics...with a childs scalextrix assembly ( 8 years old) as opposed to dad's wannabe cars.
What's the best thing for a child aged 8 ?
He has the simple track layout - has the McLaren cars..has a Renault F1 car ( that is crap)- - burns out the little flex thing under the cars within a few hours.
Is there a decent Scalextrix car that will last more than a few hours?
Probably the best for a youngster are Scalextric's range of super resistant cars. They have a simple plastic body shell and are less prone to being damaged than cars like the F1s and others that are more detailed. Also, new cars usually come with a set of spare braids to use if the originals do get worn.
DIW35 said:
Probably the best for a youngster are Scalextric's range of super resistant cars. They have a simple plastic body shell and are less prone to being damaged than cars like the F1s and others that are more detailed. Also, new cars usually come with a set of spare braids to use if the originals do get worn.
I have a couple of Audi TT's, 2 Fiat 500's and a Porsche GT3 for just that purpose. And those Audi's are pretty quick!Agree Mark. I race a digital set with a bunch of friends from time to time, and with 6 cars racing together, and most of the drivers not having much of a clue, the cars do take a battering.
I have 2 x AudiTTs, 2 x GT3s, 2 x Fezza 360s, 2 x Lamborghini Gallardos, 2 x Fiat 500s, 2 x Minis and 2 x Porsche Boxsters to run on these occasions, and they all provide pretty close racing and loads of fun.
I have 2 x AudiTTs, 2 x GT3s, 2 x Fezza 360s, 2 x Lamborghini Gallardos, 2 x Fiat 500s, 2 x Minis and 2 x Porsche Boxsters to run on these occasions, and they all provide pretty close racing and loads of fun.
DIW35 said:
Probably the best for a youngster are Scalextric's range of super resistant cars. They have a simple plastic body shell and are less prone to being damaged than cars like the F1s and others that are more detailed. Also, new cars usually come with a set of spare braids to use if the originals do get worn.
I've just bought a set of these "Start" cars to get back into it. Looking forward to giving them a bash before I let the beautiful HPi Skyline out.Gassing Station | Scale Models | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff