Switching to 1/43 - advice please

[Valvarez]

Moving to a smaller home means storing my 1/32 stuff and going to 1/43. I'm considering Carrera Go! track and cars, but I'm open to suggestions. I have a ton of Scalextric Sport track, which I believe will run most 1/43 cars with a little tinkering. But the track is still large and limits my layout options. I'm also considering Carrera Digital 1/43, but I'd like to be able to build and tune my own cars so I'll probably stick to analog. Any suggestions?
Thank you!

[ourwayband]

Welcome to the madness.. :D Just my opinion but I would try out analog first.The 1/43 digital is fun,I've had it,but is missing some of the key deals that 1/32 has ,such as pit lane and fuel..These can be adapted,but with some extra cost.Carrera makes a great 1/43 track system .I enjoy running the cheapy artins on ours.You will need an adjustable power supply and controllers if you plan on doing so . Carrera's power supply and power track doesn't do well with Artins..I'm using a cheap adjustable supply with 45 parmas..Most 1/43 cars will run on your Sport track with a little guide adjusting..Some of the best fun with these little guys is the custom building and tuning.You will find that 1/43 track is about the same foot print as HO.One can get a lot in a small space.I've also found some great deals on track sets at return and outlet stores.GO is Carrera's largest selling line and the one that stores carry more of.You are more apt to find them in outlet stores and even yard sales,Craig's list,etc....Have fun!

Rusty

[Valvarez]

Thanks for the advice. I've had good experiences with Carerra Go! track in the past. They make a clever mechanical lane change track that adds some fun to the analog races. And I love tinkering with the Artin cars because they're so simple and cheap.

[chappy]

Hi Victor, I wanted to get my little guys started into slots so went with the Carrera Go analog system.
Not only is it durable, but also good quality. The variety of cars is great too. Then I started seeing othe brands of cars that can run on the track too. There are some very nice looking cars out there.
The footprint will allow you to downsize but still have a good layout imho.
Good luck
Bob

[BARC 1]

I scratch build my own cars and use the Carrera D132 stuff for digital. It gives you all the options of D132 because it is D132.

If I was just going into this again, I think I would look at using the Scalextric 132 track for 143 scale cars. I used GO track and added outside and inside borders, and in hindsight it would have just been easier to use the Scalely track. The whole issue with Horneby being in receivership casts a bit of a shadow over that product line, so I would still go with the Carrera digital equipment.

I have many posts on this forum showing my adventure into 143 analog, and then into D132 components on 143 cars when I went digital.

I honestly wish Carrera would have built a 132/143 track instead of the very large 124/132 they went with. To me it would have made more sense with the 143 and the 132 sharing the same track, and then people could have easily moved between the two scales. 124 then could have been done as a separate stand alone scale. It( 124 scale) needs are much different and it requires more robust power supplies and electronics to run the bigger cars. The marriage made in heaven would have been between 143 and 132, and not between 124 and 132 IMO.

COX back in about 1976 produced their Superscale which was 143 cars running on Eldon 132 scale track. The proportions of this just look really good.

So my advice is to go with 132 track ( Scaley , Ninco) the Carrera 132 track is just too large to fit in a small area, and the GO track is really small and will prevent you from running any 132 cars unless you add the borders, and if you add the borders then the 132 track would have been a better choice. If you have an inventory of 132 cars it would be a shame to not put in a track that would allow you to run these from time to time. The larger track would still allow you to build and prepare cars for 132 proxy racing as well. So something to think about.

Cheers


Dan

[Gameover]

Carrera go is where I started. You can't go wrong. Any questions you might have you can contact Carrie at carreraslots.com. They are my go to carrera place. She is also local for me too lol. They have a great website and you can even call and talk to a live person :). Like most have said the analog is the way to start. You can always turn it to digital. An adjustable power supply is the bees knees. I added one myself and did the upgraded controllers too. Any questions feel free to pm me or contact Carrie.

[Valvarez]

[Valvarez]

[masmojo]