Rpm Records
Pimp Your Scalextric for Staggering Speeds
Slot car racing with Scalextric is a hobby that continues to grow in popularity. Scalextric and slot car hobbyists soon start to look for ways to get the most speed from their systems. Here are just a few simple tweaks that will help make your cars fly around the track.
You can apply the same basic principles to slot cars as they to do F1 racing cars and rally cars. To increase speed you might install a more powerful engine, lower the weight and fit better tires. Optimising Scalextric cars can be very educational.
Let’s first think about the Scalextric car’s engine. Your Scalextric cars don’t use petrol engines, they use little electric motors that are very easy to swap out. You can readily find high performance Scalextric car motors that provide higher revs per minute (rpm) than those that are fitted as standard in most cars. A motro upgrade will give you an instant speed improvement.
Increasing your speed means that it is more likely that your car will fly off the track when it gets to a bend. Your car is kept on the track by means of a magnet. Most scalextric cars are fitted with magnets but you can upgrade to a stronger one that will help to keep your car on the track.
The next improvement you might like to make to your car is new tires. Improving grip will improve traction and increase overall speed.
So you now have a fully pimped out Scalextric car ready to break records. But what about your Scalextric track? There are a few simple tweaks that can make all the difference. I recommend that you first try this enhancements on one of your two lanes so that you can compare the difference with the unmodified track.
Start by cleaning the Scalextric track. Any dirt, dust or grease on the track will lower friction and result in poor performance. The next thing to do is thoroughly clean your slot. The slots in your Scalextric track will inevitably become clogged with dust and dirt. This will obviously slow the progress of your car. Ensuring your slots are free from dust and debris will bring significant performance improvements.
Finish up by ensuring that all electrical connections in your system are as good as they can be. Clean all the contacts and make sure the connectors on your car are ultra clean.
Your car should now be flying around the track. Now you’re ready to find a worthy opponent for a race.
Suzy Q – Dale Hawkins 78 rpm record!
