I see that Carrera is offering up a Richard Petty 2-car set with his Talladega and Superbird. Now I am an HO guy but I'm a life-long fan of The King, so I am interested in this set and have a few questions for anyone who can offer an answer.

1 -- How are the cars in this set going to handle? Do they use traction mags or not? If they do, how strong is the pull. I am only used to HO and have ZERO laps with any kind of 1/32 scale car.

2 -- How fast will these cars feel? Will they run slow enough to enjoy the looks of the bigger scale but still fast enough to be a challenge?

3 -- As I understand it the Carrera track is 1/24. If I chose to make a more permanent 4-lane track at some point (should I enjoy 1/32 enough), should I opt to just purchase the Petty cars separately and instead get a true 1/32 scale track system? Would a 4-lane with 1/24 scale track be much bigger than doing the same thing with 1/32 scale track?

4 -- Are all the Carrera 1/32 chassis alike? I.E. the chassis for the Petty cars will be the same as the chassis for the street Chargers and Camaros, and sports car Ferraris and Porsches? Can I expect comparable performance from one 'style' of car to another, i.e. F1 cars to sports cars?

5 -- Will Carreras run on Scalectric track? Will Scalectric run on Carrera track? I ask because a friend of mine got a Scalectric Ferrari F1 set for Christmas that he hasn't set up yet -- I'd like to be able to run the Carreras on his track once he gets it done, or vice versa if he comes over by my place.

Sorry for the multitude of questions but if I get this set I'd like some info on the track and what I can expect. If I just get the cars, I'd like to know what I can race them on.

And if it helps any, I don't know much about digital except that you can change lanes and run multiple cars on the same lane. I don't think I want to get into that starting out, so any answers you guys have can be biased towards non-digital running.

Thanks,
'doba

1) The cars use two traction magnets. A bar magnet that is positioned near the rear axle and is removable with 2 screws. The other magnet slides from the front to the rear of the chassis so you can adjust the level of downforce to suite your tastes.

2) Out of the box using both traction magnets the cars will perform similar to an AFX Turbo chassis. If you remove the rear bar magnet than you will get the car to run more like an X-Traction car.

3) I prefer Carrera for a 2 lane track. When going to 4 lanes the 1/24 Carrera track uses a lot more space than a 1/32 track system. For this reason, I prefer 1/32 track for a 4 lane track.

4) Most of the chassis are the same as what I described above. The brand new series of cars such as the Hot Rods and the Porsche Spider use a different chassis. The Petty cars are the older style cars that have been released recently with the Petty paint schemes.

5) The Carrera cars will run on any 1/32 track. The only thing you might need to do is trim the depth of the guide blade to run on Scalextric track.

Best regards,
Brian

Hey 'Doba,

I have a Carrera set, a few years old. I like the width of it, and I have run Scalextric, Fly and AutoArt on it as well. I am sure there are specific controllers/voltages that may favor one motor over another, but I have enjoyed running all when set up. I do understand that some cars run better out of the box than others, Scaley and Carrera both have good reputations.

In my experience, those beautiful, highly detailed cars are more fragile - tow hooks, mirrors, and wings can easily go flying. There is more expense involved in a big "off", if you can get the parts! That's why lots of guys buy two, end up with "before and after" examples.

With the cars I have, the molded chassis fit the corresponding bodies. Yes, they are "the same" but not interchangeable - the sports racers have differently tapered front and rear ends, chassis matches body.

Digital won't work on regular track - at least that's my understanding.

Digital won't work on regular track - at least that's my understanding.

Digital can work, if you do not mind removing the chip. A lot of the cars in some of the other brands are coming with the chip optional or included so you can switch from analog to digital. So do not be too concerned with the digitial vs. analog, unless you just do not want to hassle with removing the chip.

Sounds like Brain and SplitPoster covered the rest! Good luck and have fun!

PD2:thumbsup:

Doba,
I have a bunch of Carreras and love them, I routed a track as I could make a lot more track for a lot less that plastic track. I have more or less switched from racing H.O. to collecting them and racing 1/32 cars. Check out the hotrods and soon the Willys in 1/32. way too cool! Most cars are close in speed unless a motor upgrade is done, handling is more realistic as size/shape of car exerts realistic forces on cars. F-1 cars are close to track handle best/top heavy cars are a little harder to drive but to me more fun to run fast.

Great info -- Keep the replies coming!

Thanks,
'doba

Well, I can throw my $.02 in and tell you that I personally own a Scalextric track and have converted the controllers to Parma Plus 45 Ohm controllers. I bought the ones with the alligator clips and then bought adapters for the Scalextric track as well as the track that I race out (routed wood tracks there). I currently own Scalextric, Slot.It, FLY, Carerra, Spirit, NINCO, Scale Auto, and ProSlot cars and have never had an issue with the cars working on the Scalextric track. The only car I have an issue with running on the track is a Parma Womp-Womp car - just does not hook up well due to the thickness of the guide up front. Aside from that, I really enjoy having access to a home track to mess around, setup my cars and what not and then go up to the wood, routed track to race there.

I've personally never tried the digital stuff, but I have heard several arguments against it from the perspective of will it be something that last for racing or competition style setups. Again, no personal experience with it yet.

Hopefully that helps you a little there too.

PD2:thumbsup: