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What the heck is a slot car anyway?

A slot car (sometimes, slotcar) is a powered miniature auto or other vehicle that is guided by a groove or slot in the track on which it runs. A pin or blade extends from the bottom of the car into the slot. Though some slot cars are used to model highway traffic on scenic layouts, the great majority are used in the competitive hobby of slot car racing or slot racing.

Slot cars are usually models of actual automobiles, though some have bodies purpose-designed for miniature racing. Most enthusiasts use commercially-available slot cars (often modified for better performance), others motorize static models, and some "scratch-build," creating their own mechanisms and bodies from basic parts and materials.

Drivers generally use a hand-held controller to regulate a low-voltage electric motor hidden within the car. Traditionally, each car runs on a separate lane with its own guide-slot (though recently-developed digital technology can allow cars to share a lane). The challenge in racing slot cars comes in taking curves and other obstacles at the highest speed that will not cause the car to lose its grip and spin sideways, or to 'deslot', leaving the track altogether.

Some enthusiasts, much as in model railroading, build elaborate tracks, sculpted to have the appearance of a real-life racecourse, including miniature buildings, trees and people. Hobbyists whose main goal is competition often prefer a track unobstructed by scenery.

Model motorcycles, trucks and other vehicles that use the guide-slot system are also generally included under the loose classification of "slot car."

Now for a little history : ( well history anyway )

he first commercial slot cars were made by Lionel (USA) and appeared in their catalogues from 1912, drawing power from a toy train rail sunk in a trough or wide slot between the rails. They were surprisingly similar to modern slot cars, but independent speed control was available only as an optional extra. Production was discontinued after 1915. Sporadically over the next forty years, several other electrically powered commercial products came and went. Although a patent was registered as far back as March 1936 for a slot car, until the late 1950s, nearly all powered toy vehicles were guided by raised rails, either at the wheels (railroad-style), or at the lane center, or edge.

By the late 1930s, serious craftsmen/hobbyists were racing relatively large (1:16 - 1:18 scale) model cars powered by small internal combustion engines, originally with spark-ignition, later with glow plug engines. For guidance, the cars were clamped to a single center rail, or tethered from the center of a circular track, then they were started and let go for timed runs. There was no driver control of either the speed or steering, so "gas car" racing was largely a mechanic's hobby. In the 1940s hobbyists in Britain began to experiment with controllable electric cars using handbuilt motors, and in the 1950s using the small model train motors that had become available. In 1954, the Southport Model Engineering Society in the U.K. was challenged by a patent-holder for using rail-guided gas-car exhibitions to raise funds, so, as a replacement, the members constructed an electric racecourse, a groundbreaking 6-lane layout nearly 60 feet long, for 1:32 rail-guided cars, which is widely considered to be progenitor of electric rail- and slot-racing. In 1955-56, several clubs in the U.K. and U.S., inspired by the Southport layout, were also racing electric cars guided by center rails, and soon after, by slots in the track surface. The term "slot car" was coined to differentiate these from the earlier "rail cars". As the member-built club layouts proliferated, the relative advantages of rail and slot were debated for several years, but the obtrusive appearance of the rails and their blocking of the car's rear wheels when sliding through corners were powerful disadvantages. New clubs increasingly chose the slot system. By 1963, even the pioneer rail-racing clubs had begun to switch to slots.

How it works:

The diagram at right shows the wiring of a typical 1:24 or 1:32 slot car setup. Power for the car's motor is carried by metal strips next to the slot, and is picked up by contacts alongside the guide flag (a swiveling blade) under the front of the slot car. The voltage is varied by a resistor in the hand controller. This is a basic circuit, and optional features such as braking elements or electronic control devices are not shown. Likewise, the car's frame or chassis has been omitted for clarity.

HO slot cars work on a similar principle, but the current is carried by thin metal rails that project barely above the track surface and are set farther out from the slot. The car's electrical contacts, called "pickup shoes", are generally fixed directly to the chassis, and a round guide pin is often used instead of a swiveling flag.

Today, in all scales, traction magnets are often used to provide downforce to help hold the car to the track at higher speeds, though some enthusiasts believe magnet-free racing provides greater challenge and enjoyment and allows the back of the car to slide or "drift" outward for visual realism.