Sunday January 28, 2007

Throttle Control for your 1/32 Scale Model Race Cars

You may wonder if anyone really knows anything about throttle control for 1/32 scale model slot cars.  We wonder too.  It’s frustrating because there are countless articles and internet discussions on this topic but nothing that really explains the topic thoroughly. There is a lot of information but very little that is actually specific enough to be useful. Of course you can spend a lot of money on expensive equipment but do you really need a $150 power supply and a pair of $100 controllers for your $200 race set? The answer is no and we will show you what is really needed and explain why.

Throttle control is a very important topic. The lack of good throttle control is a common problem with the hobby and it is probably the greatest issue facing people entering the hobby.  Many people may not experience good control and encounter frustration attempting to obtain it, even for long-time enthusiasts it can be a difficult issue to resolve. This is a very complex topic; there are a number of inter-related factors that make this topic very confusing.  Many have figured out their own unique way of dealing with these issues but it may or may not be applicable for other people to use these unique solutions.

This article is intended to illustrate what a novice or returnee to the hobby would need to enjoy racing 1/32 scale model slot cars.  The intention is to show how to provide good throttle control for a home racing track without breaking the bank.  This is NOT intended to determine what may be the absolutely best controller available.  Most racers are accustomed to providing their own controller and they often spare no expense to obtain the very best but we feel that throwing money at the latest equipment is not appropriate for beginners.  Our recommendation is to provide identical controllers for each lane, this way every racer utilizes the same controller. This makes for a level playing field and makes it more attainable for beginners.

The intent of this article is to help someone gain good throttle control of their 1/32 scale slot cars by actually comparing the throttle response of different slot cars with a wide selection of controller resistances.  This way we hope to provide practical information on this topic.  It is NOT intended to be the ultimate for competitive performance, nor is it intended to make any one particular car faster.  Instead, we hope this will help novices achieve good throttle control so that they may enjoy our hobby.

Addressing this topic was an enormous challenge; this was a huge undertaking in terms of time, resources and creativity. But it was worth the effort, as the results of the different interactions between cars, controllers and power supplies are enlightening and occasionally a bit surprising.   We even had to develop a method for evaluating throttle control.  We then performed extensive testing to evaluate various control systems. The Home Racing World recommendations are a result of thorough testing and extensive analysis.

There are a wide variety of controllers available. This comparison is only for traditional resistance type controllers as these are the most affordable type available, also they have been around over forty years and are very durable. There is a lot to this topic and this is just the first part of efforts to clarify what is really needed to enjoy our hobby. There are electronic controllers available but they are not included in this evaluation.  We hope to evaluate some of the electronic controllers at a later date. The power supply is also a critical part of the throttle control equation and we also hope to evaluate at least one variable voltage units in the future.

The importance of good throttle response can not be underestimated. It is throttle control that makes racing scale model cars entertaining and challenging – not speed as many people think.  With good throttle control a novice can enjoy the hobby and it will allow them to experience less crashes and have a lot more fun.
 

Methodology

This evaluation was performed as if we were new enthusiasts entering the hobby.  A new race set was evaluated with the cars and set being run just as they are received.  Most enthusiasts then purchase additional cars so we evaluated the throttle control of various cars.  Then all of these cars were evaluated with various aftermarket hand controllers and finally an aftermarket power supply was utilized.

First we had to develop a method for evaluating throttle control.  

We had to answer the question; “What do we want from a controller?”

Our answer is that we would like to see a controller that provides a constant change in speed of the car for a corresponding change in throttle position throughout the complete range of throttle movement.  Some would call this “linear” response; others talk about wanting the response to be “smooth”. To be more specific we divided this into three characteristics; launch, initial speed and response.  Each of these characteristics are rated good, marginal and poor, the ratings are also color coded with simple “traffic light” labeling; green for good, yellow for marginal and red for poor.  Listed below are each characteristic along with a definition of their ratings.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Launch - With the initial movement of the trigger (or thumb plunger) we want the car to start moving, we do NOT want to apply half throttle to get the car to move.

            G   = Good if the car moves before ¼ throttle is reached

M   = Marginal if the car starts moving after ¼ to ¾ throttle

P   = Poor over ¾ throttle (this is the “on/off” switch phenomenon)

Initial Speed - Once moving we would prefer to have a throttle position just off the closed position that allows the car to crawl around the track at a very low (& controllable) speed.

G   = Good; slow controllable speed, will go all the way around track

   without releasing the throttle

M   = Marginal; must let off to go around some corners

P   = Poor; fast, will need to constantly “blip” the throttle to negotiate

               any corners.

Response - We want throttle response to be proportional to position – a crawl or low speed at ¼ throttle, at half throttle we’d like to see a more speed, at three fourths throttles even more velocity is expected and at full throttle we’d like to have a noticeable increase over ¾ throttle position.

G   = Good; continuous change in speed with throttle position

M   = Marginal; flat response, some changes in throttle do not change

   speed

P   = Poor; one part throttle speed, which can be slow or fast, and full

   throttle.

_______________________________________________________________________________

This is a simple and repeatable evaluation.   You should be able to do this yourself on your own track and cars.    Please note that only subjective control was evaluated.   We are not concerned with such items as top speed and we did not measure lap times.   Don’t worry improved control will of course help with lowering lap times but it was not considered in this evaluation.   More importantly improved throttle control will help with lap to lap consistency.   In other words, this is not about making any particular car faster, that might be an indirect result, but it is not the main reason for this testing.    Cars were evaluated one at a time and not under side by side “racing” conditions.

There are also some characteristics that were not rated in our evaluation such as the feel of a controller; the weight, balance, ergonomics and other intangibles were not evaluated.   There are other factors such as long term durability which is way beyond the scope of this evaluation and we could not address.

Examples:

A) A car & controller combination that results in the car shooting away at the smallest movement of the throttle would be rated:

 Initial

Launch           Speed           Response

    G                     P                     P

This car could be driven around but only by giving the trigger short quick jabs of the throttle trigger and letting the car coast through the corners.   This is not really fun.

B) A car that moves before ¼ throttle and will creep along the track such that it will travel all the way around the track but has only a small increase in speed until full throttle is reached would be rated:

 Initial

Launch           Speed           Response

    G                     G                     P

This is the “on/off” switch type of response that many of us have experienced.

C) When your car does not move until half throttle, has enough speed that the throttle needs to be released to negotiate some turns but only has a linear response up to full throttle operation would be rated

Initial

Launch           Speed           Response

   M                     M                     G

This car could be driven around most tracks but would only be mildly satisfying to race with.

D) This car moves immediately with throttle movement and has an initial speed that is low enough to negotiate even the tightest turns, with more throttle movement the speed increases but at full throttle the car has a substantially more speed.

Initial

Launch           Speed          Response

    G                     G                    M

This is another car that can be raced but is not very rewarding because it is difficult to moderate the middle speed range.   This type of response can be good for a younger racer when a stop is installed to keep the trigger from reaching the full throttle position.

Equipment

Track

An Artin four lane race set was utilized for three reasons.  The first we already had a set to begin with and it saved us the expense of buying something.  Second it has a large quantity of high quality track included.  The third and most important; these sets provide the best introduction to the hobby because of the throttle control of the cars which are provided. These sets will allow one to quickly learn what the hobby should be about – having fun racing slot cars.

These sets are great when the Artin cars are utilized but when some of the other brands of cars are run the throttle control deteriorates, especially when cars with strong traction magnets are used.  When the various brand of track and cars are combined the performance may be marginal, this is a common issue of the hobby for all scales not just for 1/32 scale racing.

Cars

Five cars were used for this evaluation.  The cars were picked because we considered them “drivers” cars, cars that are fun to race. These cars are all different and they represent a good cross-section of the performance of 1/32 scale slot cars in use today.

The cars evaluated are:

• Artin Stocker – this affordable car has a motor with modest power and a chassis that provides good balance and traction even with a relatively weak traction magnet.  It is very fun to hang the tail out in a power slide & “drift” around corners.
• Ninco “Classic” Ferrari Testa Rosa – this car does not have a traction magnet, the NC-1 motor is responsive and with narrow tires it is very entertaining to drive vigorously around any track, it is a slightly faster version on an Artin car. 
• Carrera Ford Talladega – this is fast car with strong traction magnets which makes it like many current slot cars, but it is a big car that has a high center of gravity an with narrow tires must be driven with precision.
• FLY Viper – this is a very fast car with a very strong traction magnet which gives it tremendous road-holding capabilities.   Even with the strong traction magnet the throttle must be applied judiciously or the tail will swing wide when driven too aggressively.
• Vintage Monogram Ferrari 250 GTO – equipped with a classic 16D motor this car has plenty of power, the low slung brass chassis means a low center of gravity but with no magnet and narrow tires it is fun and challenging to drive quickly.

Power supply

Stock Artin power supply – 13.6 volts/ 0.3 amps

Samlex 1203 13.8 volts with 3.0 amps

Controllers

This testing covers the traditional type of controllers that utilize a variable resistor to modulate the velocity and acceleration of your slot car.

The following traditional controllers were evaluated:

• Stock Artin Controller (note: no brake feature)
• Parma Economy controllers with 7, 15, 25, 35, 45 & 60 Ohm resistance. The Parma controllers were evaluated with the brakes functioning; a short explanation of this dynamic braking feature is included at the end of this feature.

Installing these Parma controllers and the after market power supplies on the Artin race set was a “Do It Yourself” type of installation process.   We cut-off the plugs of the Artin controllers and power supply and used these plugs to connect to the Artin power base.  Some additional wiring was done to attach the brake wire from the Parma controllers to the power base.  This was not difficult and this information can be found elsewhere on Home Racing World.  Additionally some of the on-line slot car vendors can provide this as an extra cost service.

Results

We found that when all of the control characteristics are rated “good” (green) then racing slot cars is a lot of fun, even when alone.  Having the ability to precisely control the speed of a car through a tight turn or power sliding through long curves was challenging and fun.  We just didn’t want to stop when all three characteristics were rated green.  Not only was it more fun with all three characteristics green but we also noticed that crashes and de-slots were greatly reduced too.  We would reel off a number of laps when we were all “green”.

Stock Artin Power Supply & Controller

The stock Artin power supply and controller functioned very well with the Artin cars.  We found that we had good control of the speed of the Artin car and we could complete a lot of laps at a rapid pace without the car coming out of the slot.   It was very fun!   From experience we know it is easy to have side by side by side racing with these cars even with beginners.

Then we evaluated the other cars with the power supply and controller that was supplied with the set.  The NINCO Ferrari TR was very similar to the Artin car; it had good control and had just a bit more top speed, it was a great deal of fun.

The other three cars did not have the throttle response we would like to have.  The Carrera, FLY and Monogram cars all started moving with just the slightest throttle trigger movement with an initial speed that was very low and controllable.  But the throttle response left just a bit to be desired.  The slow and medium speeds control was adequate but the mid-range and up control was lacking.  The speed variation from ¼ to ¾ throttle positions did not quite have the change in speed we desired and then at full throttle the speed increased dramatically.  The cars could be driven around the track with decent control but it just a bit tricky to drive these three cars fast through long sweeping turns.  We rated this throttle response “marginal”.  These three cars were not as much fun as the Artin and NINCO cars.

There was a very noticeable difference in the top speed of each car. The FLY Viper was extremely fast. The top speed of the Carrera car seemed very fast too but it was not as fast as the FLY Viper.  The NINCO and Artin cars seemed to have a little lower top speed than the Carrera but were pretty even with the NINCO seeming to be just a bit quicker than the Artin car. The top speed of the vintage Monogram car seemed to be in about the middle of this group.

The cornering of each car was also vastly different.  The FLY Viper could take turns at a fantastic rate of speed without de-slotting or crashing, when over-driven the tail would swing wide but not de-slot.  The Carrera car was very different and needed a different driving style, it needed to be slowed down well before a turn, only then the throttle could be used to power it through a turn.  The Artin, NINCO and vintage Monogram cars had somewhat similar characteristics; as they could be driven in long power slides even on slow turns.

Our five cars drove quite different from each other.  What would it take to have a good level of control for all of the cars?  Or is this even possible?  So we tried a number of Parma controllers with a wide variation in resistance.  

Parma Controllers with Artin Power Supply

Overall the 60 ohm controller had response very similar to the Artin controller and we would surmise that the Artin is pretty close to a 60 ohm controller.   The Parma 60 ohm controller was good with the Artin and NINCO cars.  The response with the Carrera, FLY and vintage Monogram were rated marginal.  

The 45 Ohm controller was good for all of the cars.  All of the cars would start moving with very little throttle input and the initial speed was controllable.  The throttle response was good throughout the travel of the trigger.  The cars could be driven rather vigorously through the turns, some cars in power slides on the larger turns.  This is the throttle control we wanted to achieve.  It was fun to reel off a lot of laps with all five of the cars.

The 35 ohm controllers also provided good control for all cars tested.  The cars started moving almost immediately with the initial trigger movement and could be driven around the track with a lot of control at all speeds.  The response from ¼ to full throttle saw a linear change in speed with the movement of the trigger.  It was addicting to run any of the cars with this controller.

Both the 35 and 45 ohm controllers have ratings that are all “green”.  Are there differences between the 35 and 45 ohm controllers?  If we really looked for differences, yes, we could find some slight differences but they really were not significant enough to affect the ratings.  Both the 35 and the 45 ohm controllers are good choices.

With the 25 ohm controller we found that the initial speed of both the Artin and NINCO cars was a bit too fast to negotiate most turns. We found ourselves blipping the throttle to get through some of the turns with these two cars; therefore we rated the initial speed “marginal”. The vintage Monogram was really good with this controller and the Carrera and FLY cars are rated good for all three characteristics.  

With the 15 ohm controller we rated the throttle response of the Carrera and FLY cars “marginal” because it seemed like full throttle speed was reached just past ½ throttle position. The Artin and NINCO cars again exhibited high initial speed. The vintage Monogram seems to like this controller and was a lot of fun.

The 7 Ohm controller performed unacceptably for all cars in all three control categories; launch, initial speed and throttle response.   All of the cars seemed to receive full power as soon as the trigger was moved. They could only be driven around the track by giving the trigger short stabs.

Generally as the resistance of the controller is lowered the affect on our three characteristics were as follows:

• Launch is sooner, it will take less throttle travel for the car to start moving.
• The initial speed is usually higher.
• The throttle response was mixed as the resistance is lowered, it may or may not be improved, and it’s apparently one of those things that “it just depends”.

Note - The ‘brake’ feature was utilized for this testing (see the appendix for a brief discussion on brakes).  This did not affect the control that we were measuring but it was noticeable.  We found we could hold full throttle longer, in effect drive “harder” into the turns.  For more detail on this feature see the additional comments section at the end of this article.

After-Market Power Supply with Artin & Parma Controllers

The results were very similar to the Artin Power supply but this is deceiving.  The cars were not noticeably faster with this power supply, the voltage measured was almost identical to the Artin power supply.  The reason you would want this power supply is for the additional amperage.   In simple terms the Samlex has identical voltage to the stock Artin power supply but it has more amperage.  The higher amperage will maintain the voltage at a constant level.  The results were identical to the Artin power supply.  The evaluations summarized here are of cars being run individually.   The difference between the two power supplies is the amount of amperage that can be provided.  When the power supply can not provide the amperage demanded the voltage drops thus affecting the speed and control of the car.  This is not noticeable when racing the stock Artin cars but it is when using other cars with strong traction magnets (cars which need more amperage).  The insufficient amperage also means the electrical draw of one car can affect the car(s) in other lanes.  The cars are drawing more current (amperage) than the power supply is capable of supplying.  One car on the track runs fine but when a second one is added you may notice the cars slow down or are not responsive to throttle changes.  This can have a dramatic effect when one car stops or comes off of the track, then the car remaining on the track gets more power and ends up flying off the track too.

This is noticeable when racing the Carrera vintage stock cars on an Artin track with the stock power supply.  This issue can be resolved by increasing the amperage available.  Many people purchase two Artin race sets and the second stock Artin power supply can be utilized to resolve this condition.  We know because we tried it. Also, the additional amperage of the Samlex  power supplies also correct this condition.

Conclusions:

1) The testing and evaluation methodology was very successful and can be used to evaluate control systems.  When the control characteristics were all “good” or it was a great deal of fun running all of the cars (actually it was addicting!). 

2) Contrary to widely held beliefs a wide range of cars can have “good” control with one resistance controller.  The cars tested did NOT exhibit as large a difference as expected in their response due to the resistance of the controller.  Differences were noted, for example a visible difference in top speed, but the differences did not require different controller resistance to obtain good throttle control.

3) You can have good control with the stock power supply as long as the resistance of the controller is well matched to the cars you are using.  

Note: The interaction between cars can be eliminated by having at least

1-amp per car or an individual power supply for each lane.

4) Stock or “as received” cars operated very well.  We felt upgraded performance was NOT needed to have fun racing scale model slot cars.   This is another point that is counter to widely held beliefs.

5) Surprisingly, the cars could still be driven with one or more “marginal” characteristics.  Even with a “poor” rating the cars could negotiate the track.   So with rather mediocre control most cars would function, but it just was NOT as much fun as with “good” control.  Additionally, lap to lap driving consistency was compromised; more crashes resulted with even one control characteristic that was "marginal".  With one characteristic rated “poor” it was frustrating to drive.

7) It was found there was a negative effect on the control of the car if the cars braids were not clean and properly adjusted.  The effect of the cars braids not being clean and adjusted was much greater than the differences in controllers.

8) The 7 Ohm controller is not acceptable for any of the cars tested.

Recommendations

• Controller: 35 or 45 Ohm
• Power supply: 12 to 14 volt with at least 1 amp per car

These recommendations will allow your slot cars to run well with good control and will provide good racing with “as received” (stock) cars.   The controllers will cost approximately $25 each and the power supply $35.   For less than $150 a four lane track can be equipped with these and will provide very good control of your slot cars.

We recommend using a 12 volt power supply; the cars will be fast enough on 12 volts.  The voltage of the power supply has a huge affect on the top speed of your slot cars; a higher voltage will make your cars faster.  But we are not concerned with making cars faster, they are plenty fast already, we are trying to make them controllable.  In fact we often turn the voltage down, so it will often be less than 12 volts (but that’s another topic).

The amperage of the power supply is critical.  A good guideline is 2 amps per car with a minimum of at least 1 amp per car; don’t be concerned about having too many amps.  Typically, home race set power supplies have amperage which is too low.   When the amperage is not sufficient then this can cause poor control of your car.  When the power supply can not provide the current (amps) required then the voltage drops, the result is your cars do not have consistent voltage, causing erratic control, resulting in the speed to increase and decrease with the voltage.

The insufficient amperage also means the electrical draw of one car can affect the car(s) in other lanes.  The cars are drawing more current than the transformer is capable of supplying.  One car on the track runs fine but when a second one is added you may notice the cars slow down or are not responsive to throttle changes.  This can have a dramatic effect when one car stops or comes off of the track, then the car remaining on the track gets more power and ends up flying off the track too.

Not only is the amperage too low but often the voltage is higher than we feel is necessary.  The high voltage can result in a car that is very responsive; it may even seem a little bit too jumpy with small throttle movements.  It may sound like a good idea to have a car that is very responsive but it usually just makes it harder to control your car. Low amperage that will not sustain the high voltage results in poor control of the speed of your slot car. This is because the voltage is not consistent, it is fluctuating.  This needs to be addressed to gain control of your slot cars.
 

For reference a listing of 1/32 scale power supplies provided in common race sets is provided below:

*Vintage Strombecker           12 volts  

Power supply alternatives which are NOT recommended:

There are a number of enthusiasts that have solved the power supply issues with creative solutions such as using computer power supplies, batteries and additional race set supplied power supplies.  These solutions can be very economical and can perform fine but we feel they just are not worth the time and effort.

A second power supply identical to the one included in a race set can be added, this is not a bad solution but we do not think anyone should go purchase another power supply identical to the one that comes in a race set.  Typically these are priced rather high and a power supply with significantly more amperage can be found for less money.  However, we know many people purchase two race sets to get started and a second power supply does not need to be purchased.  In this case the second power supply is not an additional expense and should be utilized.

Deep cycle truck batteries are proposed by some as the ideal power source for your slot cars but we do not recommend this method.  There are a number of issues with this type if power supply.  The expense is high; batteries have a finite life and will eventually have to be replaced.  They require careful maintenance.   Contrary to what is commonly thought they do not provide constant voltage under load.  Plus there are some safety issues with batteries that need to be addressed, they do contain acid and precautions need to be taken; plus a battery is capable of providing a significant amount of current into a short, so batteries must be fused and the terminals protected from accidental contact with metallic objects to prevent an inadvertent short.  

Some suggest using computer power supplies or other surplus components.  Many have made their own for a very small investment and have achieved good results.   But we do not want to suggest that one must build their own power supply.  If you are handy with this sort of thing you can give it a try… more power to you!

Additional comments:

Do It Yourself

Many of these recommended upgrades are not plug and play installations they are a DIY (do it yourself), type of installation.  Wiring in new power supplies and controllers can be done quickly and easily by cutting off the connectors and soldering them onto the new components.   Wiring in the brakes is a separate item that is documented on Home Racing World.  Often there are vendors that supply these items with the additional work already performed, outside sources such as Professor Motor and BSR Hobbies often will provide this installation service for an additional fee.

Traction

Traction is a key element for having control of your slot cars.  Traction has traditionally has been a weak point of slot cars but we have seen significant improvement in recent years.  We have found that there is good traction with today’s products when both the track and car tires are clean.  Most of today’s 1/32 scale slot cars have one or sometimes more magnets on the bottom side of the chassis which are attracted to the metal power rails in the track, this provides additional traction.

Our approach for traction is very simple; it’s part of what we call “the basics”.  In this case it’s having a clean track and clean tires.  The track should be wiped down with a soft dry cloth before every usage to make sure the track is free of dust.  A cover to keep the track clean is a good idea (which is something we don’t practice ourselves but think it’s a great idea… we’ll eventually get around to it).  The tires can be cleaned by rolling them on the sticky side of any household tape.  The need for tire cleaning should diminish at any race event, as more time is spent on the track the track should get cleaner.

There are after market parts available to increase traction but we do not see a reason to pursue them.   Some replace the stock tires with after market silicone tires.  Initially these can show an improvement but will pick-up dust from the track very quickly causing them to become slippery and often require more frequent cleaning than the original tires.  Another alternative is to add stronger traction magnets or weight to cars, we do not recommend this as we have found this can have a negative effect on other aspects of control.  However, there are many enthusiasts that do enjoy this type of modifying or “tuning” of their slot cars.  It can be an enjoyable aspect of the hobby but we prefer to keep all of our car stock to maintain a certain level of performance parity.
 

Brakes

What are “brakes” on a slot car track and do I need them?   It is not easy to describe the braking feature of a slot car track.  Brakes, also know as the dynamic braking feature, are not necessarily required but we feel that they ad to the enjoyment of racing slot cars.  Stating the obvious this feature assists in slowing the slot car down, typically for a corner.  When the throttle of the controller is completely released the car slows more than if there were no brakes.  This allows one to keep on the throttle longer before letting off for a corner, some would say drive it harder into a corner.  

This is a topic that has created some confusion because this feature may or not be noticeable for various reasons.   Cars with very strong traction magnets slow down very quickly with or without brakes.  Other cars just don’t have a lot of braking capacity and they seem to coast a lot.   Plus many race sets do not have a long enough straight to notice this feature. YES, that’s right the design of your layout may prevent you from noticing the braking effect. It is a feature that will be appreciated most when you are running on a track with a straight section over eight feet long, any shorter and it may be difficult to discern the braking effect.

If your track and controller are wired for brakes every time you lift your finger completely off the controller the dynamic braking effect is present.   Our method of testing for brakes is to disconnect the brake wire and set the guide into slot of the track and with the wheels (usually the rear tires but some cars are four wheel drive) not making contact with the track pull the controller trigger so the cars is running in your hand.   Let off of the throttle completely.  The tires will take a few moments to stop spinning.  Reconnect the brake wire and redo the test; if the tires stop spinning instantly, then the brakes are functioning.

We like racing with brakes!  This feature seems to add to the excitement of side by side racing.  The dynamic braking feature let’s you run down the straight longer under full power, you won’t need to let off the throttle only half way down the straight, you can wait until you are almost to the corner and then at the last instant you lift off of the throttle.  There’s nothing like racing down a long straight side by side and waiting just that fraction of an instant later than the others to gain an advantage (or crash!). 

Conductivity

Poor electrical conductivity can have an enormous influence over the control of your slot car.   These conductivity issues must be resolved for you to gain control.  Most of these issues are straightforward to resolve and can be due to a number of causes.

First there should be good contact between each section of track.  One or two sections of track with just one poor connection can have an adverse effect on your control.  A noticeable loss of power can be due to loose, dirty or corroded contacts at the track joints.  These connections would need to be cleaned and possible adjusted to provide good electrical contact.

On tracks that are long, say over sixteen feet, there can be a noticeable reduction in speed of your car when it is the farthest from the power source, in this case a jumper harness may be required.   

The contact between the car and track can NOT be underestimated – it is critical.  Dirty and misadjusted braid is the most common source of problems for 1/32 scale home racers.  The braid on the car must be properly adjusted and clean in order for your slot cars to perform satisfactorily.   In addition the power rails in the track need to be clean too.   We found the affect of dirty or improperly adjusted braid and/or track can be much greater than any of the difference in the controllers tested in this evaluation.

For additional details on this and other topics check out some of the information elsewhere on the Home Racing World website.  Posting questions on the HRW message forums can also be a great assistance.   You’ll find that often your issue is not new and others have a quick and simple answer for you.
 

Wrap Up

It is sad that our hobby does not have a standard for power and control, and because of this, the topic of control will keep coming up over and over.  The topic of control is important but also it is a complex one, but one that Home Racing World felt had to be addressed. It may seem an insurmountable problem as there is a large selection of products on the market.  There are five track systems available along with at least ten major manufactures of slot cars, plus there is also a large selection of after-market components and a large population of vintage equipment still in use.  We could NOT test all of these items but we evaluated a cross section that should cover most situations and these results can be applied to your usage. 

This simple evaluation demonstrates the affect different controllers have on the throttle response of a representative cross-section of 1/32 scale home slot cars. Surprisingly this is the first time there has been an evaluation like this. This thorough evaluation allows us to give specific answers and explanations to the typical questions of our hobby: “What should I do to improve control?” or “What controller should I get?” We do not give the usual answer of: “It depends”.  Please note that the results of this evaluation apply to 1/32 scale home slot cars and they do NOT necessarily apply to HO sized, 1/43 scale and 1/24 scale slot cars.

If you follow our recommendations for new controllers and upgraded power supply you will be able to race any currently available car and have good throttle control.  Our experience has been that this is a revelation to many slot car enthusiasts.  Without good throttle control it is a very frustrating experience learning how to race a slot car and many are turned off by their first experience.

We understand that buying new controllers and a power supply seems like an additional and unnecessary expense but we feel it is well worth it.   This equipment will be used on every car that you use.  It can save you the time and effort of upgrading every single one of your cars; this could also save a considerable amount of expense too.  If you want to race a number of different types and brands of slot cars then we feel that our recommendations are worth the additional expense over what all race sets are supplied with.

This is NOT the final word on this topic. There are more aspects that were not covered such as power supplies with adjustable voltage and electronic controllers.  We would like to cover these in the future.

We hope this helps to clarify the topic of throttle control for your 1/32 scale model slot cars.  We have also included some additional comments on additional factors that affect the control of your slot cars.  We look forward to hearing your comments and about your experiences.

-Rich McMahon & Team HRW

As always feel free to contact us about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com.

Or better yet, drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!