Easy Ways to Pimp Your Scalextric Cars

Scalextric For Schools

Racing Scalextric cars is growing in popularity as each new generation discovers the fun and excitement of slot car racing. Scalextric enthusiasts soon start to look for ways to enhance the performance of their cars and systems. Here I will outline a few simple techniques that you can use to make your Scalextric cars literally 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 get more speed you can install a more powerful engine, optimise the tires and lower the weight. Optimising Scalextric cars can be very educational.

Let’s first think about the Scalextric cars engine. Your Scalextrci 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. Changing the motor will immediately give you a significant improvement in speed.

But increased speed can mean that your car will tend to fly off the track when it encounters a bend. Your car is held on the track using 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.

Another simple improvement is to fit a new set of tires. Better grip with the track will help your car to fly around the track.

So now you have a pimped up Scalextric car capable of incredible speeds. The next thing to consider is the track itself? A few simple tweaks can make all the difference. I suggest that you try this on just one of your two tracks first so that you can compare with the unmodified track.

Start by cleaning the Scalextric track. Dirt, dust and moisture on the track will inevitably result in low friction and maybe even some wheel spin. Next, clean out the slot. The slots in your track will inevitabley gather dust and dirt. Inevitably this will slow your car down. Keeping your slots free of dust and debris will make major improvements to your system.

Don’t overlook your electrical system as ensuring all your connections are as good as they can be will bring performance enhancements. Clean all the contacts and make sure the connectors on your car are ultra clean.

Your car should now be flying around the track. Time to challenge someone to a race.

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