Manufacturers of slot cars.

[bobbyraz49]

I must say that I am very pleased with the assortment of slot cars manufacturers ...VERY !
That being said I own 14 Scaleys,1 Carrera, and one Pioneer.
I started this hobby last October and it has become more of an obsession than a hobby.
My scale of choice is 1/32 because of the great track here in Buffalo. This guy ( ME) even built his own wood track.
I haven't rebuilt any cars as I prefer to simply run them.
How about some pros and cons of several manufacturers !! Your favorites etc.

And.......BEGIN .....

[Modlerbob]

My favorite manufacturer overall is Slot.It. Best value for the money spent. Unless you are racing on an unusual track they are competitive right out of the box every time. On top of that they are about the best looking cars out there. The only drawback is their narrow choice of cars they produce. But that is not really a drawback as it allows them to concentrate on making every car a winner.

[Flytoo]

I'll second that Modelerbob. I wish they would do more US cars. I know they have a Ford GT 40, but other than that, I'm drawing a blank?

[Gameover]

So far since ive started 1/32 in feburary i have 23 slot its 5 fly classics, 2 fly marchs, 3 mrrc cobras, 5 flys, 1 scaleauto, 1 pioneer, 1 nsr, 7 scalys, 2 carreras, and 2 scx cudas. I prefer the slot its as well. The scaleauto and nsr are great but cost a bit more.

[Ember]

[bobbyraz49]

Thanks fine folks !!
I'm considering the Slot-it Led Zeppelin car for my next purchase.

Keep the comments coming !

All the best from Buffalo !!

[RazorJon]

Carrera is the best slot car manufacturer hands down :text-bravo:

no other slot company gives you more choices for under $50.00

If you are going to list Pioneer then list ShotgunDave and The Doc as they have built more cars than Pioneer

Anyone that tells you Carrera needs lots of work to run, they are full of .... well you know

Scally cars run good with magnets, add tires and tune they are good runners, I have ran many start cars that are as good as slot-its

Ninco great car but you pay for it

SCX another great car, add a motor they will race with anyone

Slot-it top notch, but on my track not the best car

I have 2 NSR's They are great made cars but again not the fastest on my track


when its all said and done, I love them all, but I like most of us have so much slot money
do I get 2-3 NSR or 7-8 Carrera, you can make them all run, and its not hard

[DHansen]

I would have to agree with RazorJon as to Carrera being the best slot car manufacturer. They make 1/43 scale, 1/32 scale, 1/24 scale cars, have the most to choose from as far as type of cars, and a great track system, plus there in my price range. I like Ninco especially there vintage cars, but can't afford to by many of them due to there price being double of Carreras. Other manufacturers build great cars all so like, SCX, Scalextric, Fly, Slotit, NSR, extra. I like them all, Some manufactures build better quality, race ready slot cars right out of the box. which is great. But my car budget isn't all that great some times. So this is why I stick with Carrera.

[Mayberryman]

For non mag racing on a wood track I would have to rate NSR and Slot It as being first and second with a fairly large gap back to third. You must realize that I have only raced SCX, Scaley, Slot it, NSR and Racer Sideways cars so far. I will change my above statement to include the Racer Sideways Capri as being very close to the top two. Right out of the box the top three brands have metal wheels and acceptable tires and after a session with the tire razor all of them run very smooth. I also race scaley Camaros and if you are to use the stock rims and axles you will spend as much time attempting to get the rims round and get rid of the slop in the axle bushing fit. All of these brands have a place for different people but for my money NSR, Slot It and Racer Sideways are my cars of choice if they meet the criteria for the class we are racing. I can not wait to try a Racer Resin in the vintage class, these look well made and able to run very smooth.

[Ember]

[RazorJon]

looks like wood 2 me :naughty:

[Ember]

They don't look like Carrera cars either. ;) You haven't completely replaced the big track with wood, have you? If so, congrats. Must've been a massive job with that enormous track.

[HomeRacingWorld]

You don't HAVE to change the guides in a Carrera car to run them on wood. Do it all the time. To make them run better? SURE.

Same can be said for ANY ready to run brand. Aside from maybe Slot.it/Racer/NSR. We could go on all day about what it takes to make (insert brand x here) to run "right" on a particular surface.

As far as the topic goes? Carrera is by far my favorite brand. The offer a great selection and a great PRICE for those on tight budgets. Fit and finish is just as good of not better than brands costing more and are easy enough to tune for my personal taste. Being a wood track owner, I take responsibility for it. Which means I realize a brand like Carrera or Scalextric is not designed for my surface and that I will have to work on them to get them how I like them.

Slot.it, Racer, & Scalextric round out my other favorite brands.

As for others brands? I rarely choose from other brands unless I get them on a great sale or a model that I just cannot live without. NINCO is one of these brands. They make a decent toy and love the classics, but the price and constant motor changes have made them a rare purchase these days.

Nothing bad to say about ANY other brand, they all have good and bad depending on the taste of the user.

[Florida_Slotter]

"Which manufacturer is best?" - talk about a loaded question . . . . .

To me that depends on what the racer is looking for in the product.

I totally agree with each and every choice thus far. All the cars that are made and sold today have a lot going for them. Of course each and every choice has good and not so good points about them.

I have Carrera, D-Slot, Sloter, Spirit, Scalextric, Fly, Ninco, Slot.It, NSR and a lot of home brewed slot cars that travel along with me when I go to the track. Which is best? That truly depends.

When we race, the goal is to have some very close, very tight racing. When all the cars are very similar in performance, that is easy to have happen. If you race Carrera cars against Carrera cars, the racing is going to be close.

A few of us purchased Carrera DTM cars. Let me tell you right here and now that is some of the best racing action you can ever get into. It's kind of like watching a herd of turtles racing. While it is definitely NOT the fastest racing you will ever observe, it is without doubt, one of the most enjoyable. Those cars are all running within inches of each other - usually in a staggered formation as you NEVER want to be on the outside of one of these beasts in a turn as you will normally wind up being nerfed. I have learned that most of our racers are masters at this skill. Of course the smile on their faces when it happens is just so innocent. But deep down they all have the belief of "if I can't beat you, I'll just wreck you".

Slot.It - just about anything is also a lot of fun. Of course you better up your game or change to a bit less powerful motor. If you have a 'twitchy finger' with all that power, why you're going to have issues with the car, especially on MDF. But what fun with those cars. I do not care if they are "Modern Le Mans", "Group C" or "Classics". All of them are fun. Once again, if you race each of the major categories together, then you have some great racing. Makes for a lot of fun for all.

So, to be honest, "Which is the best slot car" can only be truly answered by you. You cast a vote for your choice each and every time you purchase a new slot car.

[DaveKennedy]