Suggestions Club Racing Car Choices

[DaveW]

We are racing on two tracks, Oval and road course. The tracks have been supplying matched cars and controllers, and we are starting to grow. However a number of racers are wanting to get their own cars to tune and tinker with, as many of us have also raced 1/24 over the years.

I am looking for input as to which Brand(s) and types of cars to go with to start this class. One direction would be lower cost Scalextric LMP which would be limited on tunability, Or possibly go with Slot it group C for a more tunable car. Or do I leave it open?

What is everyone's thoughts on which route to take?

[drvanski]

Scalextric Trans-Am cars are an excellent class for club racing. There are so many liveries and models to choose from, and they are competitive with the Pioneer Trans Am cars if you want to open it up even more. Other than that, Slot.it Group C as you mention is an excellent class if your club wants to race something faster with more adjustability and better quality parts.

[williamg]

What about the 1/24 H&R chassis on a plastic model kit body?? If you don't want to build the body you can epay for a built model.
Spec the tires foam or rubber and let them have at it.

[Giddyup]

Our club, Rocky Mountain Racers started small, with 1-2 classes and has settled on ten classes. If we add a new class, then we drop one. Otherwise, we won’t run them very often.

Here’s what we currently run, primarily based on availability and variety of liveries and eras:

1. Scaley Modern Sidewinder NASCAR

2. Fly LeMans Classics (1965-74)

3. Carrera Modern DTM

4. Fly Racing Trucks

5. Scaley and Pioneer TransAm

6. Sideways Group 5

7. Slot.it Group C

8. TSNP Classics - Thunderslot, Slot.it, NSR and Policar

9. Fly F1

10. IMSA - Modern GT and LMP (1994-present), open tuning motor max. 25k

The first 5 are the cheaper classes. The latter 5 are more tunable, quality - what I’d call enthusiast classes. We recently did a vote and ranked our classes 1-10. Tops was Group C, then Group 5, then TSNP then IMSA.

Group C would be a good start, reasonably priced, great quality and with a little tuning can be made to run well. The toy-based market, cheaper brands really need skill and practice to run anywhere near the enthusiast brands. If you are starting out, may be best to avoid unwanted frustration. Then evolve into other more challenging classes to tune. In my mind, better to spend more, less likely to get into arms races with after market parts, where those with the deeper pockets can buy their way to a better car. That helps to keep the playing field somewhat level. We’ve been doing it this way for a while, by also keeping it somewhat standard (just change rear tires), helps lower the cost of entry and barriers for newbies to join.

And as mentioned, a spec tire is a must. Given what we run, and the types of tracks (routed wooden), we’ve found urethane to be the best compromise - specifically Paul Gage tires, because of his wide variety of tires that can fit pretty much any make or model you may have.

Hope that helps,
Tom

[drvanski]

Another vote for Sideways Group 5s - awesome cars!

[chappyman66]

Tom is right about tires. Pick a type, and go. We run silicones, but every group is different. Choose what works and use them.

Beyond that.....car choice depends on what folks like. I have 1 F1 car (Gurney Eagle) and 1 Trans Am (Scalex Camaro) because they are classes we run.....but I have a hundred different sports cars from the last 60 years.

Carrera cars are inexpensive and pretty bulletproof. They are not fast but they are pretty well matched. We run sports/GT3 cars.

The Slot-It Group C and Classics (CanAm and Matra/Alfa/Ferrari 312PB) are great value....they run well out of the box with minimal tuning but they do cost a bit more ($45+).

There are lots of TransAm and NASCAR fans too.....

[DaveW]

Thanks guys, we have decided to go with the Slot it Group C cars to start with. We feel they offer the best balance of price, tunability and performance. Starting out we are leaving the rules a little open on both the motors and tires, I'm sure everyone will use silicone tires.

[Cincyslots]

We primarily do:

Scaley Trans Am
Slot.it Group C
Sideways Group 5
RevoSlot
Carrera DTM, GT and Group 5

Bruce

[noddaz]

Thanks guys, we have decided to go with the Slot it Group C cars to start with. We feel they offer the best balance of price, tunability and performance. Starting out we are leaving the rules a little open on both the motors and tires, I'm sure everyone will use silicone tires.

Use the orange end bell motor or the Piranha motor. Keep it simple, keep it low buck. Never heard at a slot car race "Group C cars AGAIN?".
Scott

[War Eagle River]

We are almost wide open here. Specs on motors. Only silicone tires. We do clinics also. We want racers to experiment, tune to their driving abilities, etc.

[Giddyup]

Never heard at a slot car race "Group C cars AGAIN?".
Scott

So true!