[Slot Cars] Slot car 1:32 or 1:24

[Kirk]

I am looking to purchase a smallish track for home. Either 1:32 scale or maybe 1:24. Any recommendations as to which is best, with the flexibility of expanding in the future?
The room I will set it up in is about 12' x 12'.

[BertMk2]

For "out of the box" stuff then 1:32 seems to be best (scalextrix, scx, carrera, slot-it and more) not sure how available 1:24 stuff is ready to run. Also go digital if possible as it allows more cars to be run on the track and allows proper overtaking with lane changing.

[Kirk]

I am old school and so at first scoffed at the thought of digital, but I must admit the thought of running, say 4 cars or more on a 2 lane track does sound intriguing. If anyone has any experience with digital, good or bad, I'd appreciate their comments and recommendations.

[BertMk2]

I don't have digital but I think you'd be mad to opt for 'classic' if you're looking at starting from scratch, buying a digital set gives you a good starting point - I'd check ebay after christmas for those "unwanted presents"

I'm not sure what the limit on the number of cars you can run is but the more the merrier I'd have thought Although the potential for complete carnage is increased with more cars (I have a 5 year old so don't run any single seaters or anything with fragile wings ).

[F.O.F.]

Definitely start with 1:32 scalextric track.If I was starting a track from scratch I probably wouldn't bother with digital.If you're doing a lap in 3 seconds you might find it a bit tricky to think about changing lane all the time.If you want more than two cars racing you can always go for a normal four lane track,It would probably be cheaper than an equivalent length two lane digital track.the most fun tracks I've used have been small(about 10'x4')4 lane figure of 8's

If you start with analogue you can always upgrade to digital if you want but it is significantly more expensive.Whatever you choose to start with get a set at first,It's a lot cheaper than building from scratch

[Kirk]

I was looking at the Scalextric #C1200T as a possibility. Another that caught my eye was the 4 lane Artin #54040.. I also read constantly that Carrera is the best and most popular. Please keep the comments coming. Thank-you

[minimangler]

1:32 for sure, 24 has very little variety and costs more in terms of spac and money.

get scalextric track (easiest to expand) and run any 32 cars.

[Kirk]

When I started this thread I gave it a title that is not entirely accurate. I was leaning toward 1:32 because of its availability but I was not ruling out 1:24. The reason I started it was actually to hear from experienced home trackers of the lessons learned from their experience. For example is Artin a good product, 4 lanes vs 2 lanes, digital vs conventional, do's and don'ts, if you will.

I'd love to build a track from scratch but I just don't have the time or the space (I'd love to build a 3 or 4 lane, 100 footer but that's not going to happen).

Please keep any comments coming. Thank-you

[BertMk2]

The Scalextric #C1200T set looks pretty good but I'd still lean towards a digital set if I were you - you can upgrade later but the basic digital conversion set is £130 and then you'd need chips for your non-digital cars. The C1200T set is £130 so to convert that to Digital and get chips for the 2 cars would be another £150. For £200 you can get C1201 which gives you a digital setup and an extra car over C1200T (and it's still GT's which I'm assuming is your area of interest?).

I've got a non-digital setup that I've had for a few years now, I've got more track than I can realistically use in the front room (no permanent setup). I only run a two lane setup and don't use bridges at all (I find that this damages the contacts and joins between the track sections and often results in one lane losing power. I also try and run borders around the edge of the track as it allows more oversteer I'm thinking about going digital but I'd not bother converting all my cars - I've got too many!

[Kirk]

I had the chance to try a digital Carrera setup at out local hobby store and I was terribly disappointed as I found the cars to very slugish compared to what I had been used to on the commercial 1:24 tracks. I am now leaning toward the wider Carrera track as it will accommodate 1:24 scale and perhaps I will purchase the cars independently. Maybe I'll go back to what I know the best: the parma cars running S 16-D motors, as I see they are still around.