Hi all, I am a newbe and am wanting to build an HO slot car layout. I have done some studding on the subject and have come to the conclusion that AFX or TOMY are among the best. What about box sets are they any good, what about power supplies and controllers? Is there a place to look for answers here so I won't be bothering you folks? I am from a small town in SW Okla and have lots of room to build about as big as I want. I also am building my 3rd model RR. See my post in the beginners section. Thanks, Michael

For HO, you can't beat AFX/Tomy. The sets and everything that comes with them are great. There are Super International Challenge sets on ebay regularly for $109! Can't beat it with a stick.

Hi all, I am a newbe and am wanting to build an HO slot car layout. I have done some studding ...........l

Slot cars are like girl repellent. We had a lady show up at a slot car race this past weekend and the place went all quiet and nobody knew how to act. Kind of like a Star Trek convention. So get your "studding" days out of the way now because once you start with the little cars, well...... :)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Later, The sadly WAY past my Studding days Rockinator :cry

Thanks. I am 52yo and disabled and have lots of time and no wife/girlfriend. I enjoy my model trains very much, and slot cars will be a nice addition to the upstairs. I have a finished out attic in my house that I have removed all the interior walls and built my train room up there. It is about 20 ft. wide and 38 ft long, plenty of room for a nice racetrack.

Welcome! Much depends on what type of track you want to model.

Vintage or modern track and cars?
Sectional, continuous rail routed, routed modular?
F-1, Oval Track, Road Course?
Street or Strip?
Scenic'ed or not?

The insanity takes many forms ...some of us have more than one strain of the virus...LOL

If you are going to build a Tomy/AFX track make sure you use some high speed 18" radius turns.

__________________

http://www.sloganizer.net/en/style8,SuperFist.png

1) Go 4 lanes. You have the space and it allows for more friends to play at once.

2) Buy several sets, it's the least expensive way to get track. Sadly the 18" radius curves don't come in any set I'm aware of so you will need to add those once you get a layout designed to use them.

3) To start with power each lane with it's own power supply. This will give more even power to the track and prevent power surges when one car comes off. Eventually you will want to replace the stock power supplies with an nice variable/adjustable power supply with a minimum power range of 0 - 20 volts and 10 amps. You can power all 4 lanes with one of those.

4) Controllers. The controllers that come with the sets are toys. That said you can get as crazy with high end controllers, such as a DR or a Defalco as you want. For a nice set of standard controllers though it's hard to go wrong with some good ol' Parma econo's. I personally have 4 - 45 ohm Econo's connected to my routed track. They seem to be OK for most stock classes of cars.

5) Lap timing/Counting. If you are going to race at all some sort of lap counter is essential. Even if you just run by yourself you probably will want to know how fast you are going. Lots of options out there for these too. I personally use Track Mate with a light bar and sensors in the track. Reasonably cheap, easy to set up and use, reliable.

Now of course the above suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg and if your layout plans have nothing to do with racing then most of them are probably useless to you.

Later! The have covered my routed HO track with a 1/32 Digital layout because the little cars are, well, little Rockinator

P.S. Say, If you live in the Washington/Oregon/Idaho area maybe I could interest you in buying a routed 4 lane track? ;)

I think the 18' radius turns come in the long beach set.

I think the 18' radius turns come in the long beach set.

The Big D set comes with two 18"s and 6 12"s...

Dont forget you can buy the 18" turns seperate on the cheap also.

If you go Tyco, You can get the train crossing and intergrate your trains and slots into one setup

just a thought

H.O.SlotcarRacing.com has info. on all the box sets.

And don't feel like you are bothering us by asking questions... most of us like to give our opinions and I think I can safely say that 99.9% or more are truly trying to be helpful.
A lot of your answers depend on your expectations for your layout. Are you wanting a racing layout? What types of cars will you run? Do you prefer the scenery aspects? Add as much additional information as possible and you will find someone that has done that exact thing and will have a plethora of information for you.

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com

:thumbsup::thumbsup:i have to agree with rockinator.four lanes is great if you have the room.also having an old computer dedicated to lap timing is really nice to have.even if you only do the old sunday driving,you will eventually begin to tune your cars at one point or another,as you realize what amazing little machines they are.lap timing software is really the only way to monitor the improvements in performance your modifications make.as the counters measure into the 1/100th of a second,it doesn't take much to make the difference between winning and losing a race.one thing my slotbuds and i enjoy aswell,is competing for track record in a variety of classes{eg.what kind of car}happy motoring!one thing not mentioned is powertaps and jumpers however.the further your car gets away from the power supply,the less power it will have on a big layout.thats where powertaps come in.jumpers are actually soldering wires to complete the mechanical track joint,to ensure even current flow all the way around your layout.there is much good advice on these things by more qualified people than I,just search through the forums there are lots of good threads on powertaps,power supplies,and track timing software.oh,and one more thing.sadly,slotcars are a powerful girl repellent!lol!good luck on your build!