NYC’s competitive slotcar racing scene (2019) | Hacker News Reader

NYC’s competitive slotcar racing scene (2019)

arstechnica.com

60 pointsTomte22 comments

When I was at boarding school in the 1960s, four or five of us brought all our Scalextric track, cars and other stuff to school, and every weekend we would build a giant layout in one of the classrooms (this used to really piss of the people who's form-room it was, because we didn't always put the desks and tables back). We didn't just use Scalextric cars, but Revel, (I had a Strombecker, which was crap, which my dad picked up in Singapore) and very popularly Airfix Mini-Coopers, which were cheap, and went fast if you fiddled with track brushes and the motor commutator.

Oh, happy days - when you weren't being bullied and being sent out to play "rugger" in the rain and mud.

In the early 90's we had a Scalextric set, with several cars that my brothers and I raced against each-other. I later bought myself a really cool Lancer Evo V car, that had a 4WD system and 'grippy' tyres.

I soon binned the 4Wd and standard motor in it, and replaced it with a high (high!) speed brushless motor that spun to some 25k rpm, got some 'competition' sticky tyres for it, and added a neodymium magnet to the nose to 'try' and keep it on the track.

There's still a Mitsubishi lancer shaped dent in the back wall of my Dad's shed, haha.

A friend of mine had a 4WD grand prix slot car - I can't remember what it was, but I do remember it was slow because it had steerable front wheels with the power being applied to them via universal joints, which was way over-engineered. It looked beautiful, though.

I also used to smash cars into walls - I had a Scalextric AC Cobra, that was basically just a flexible plastic shell with a big motor inside - couldn't corner worth a damn, but the fastest thing we had in a straight line. We set up a drag strip and fired it and others off the end.

A video from Ars from the same time that explains the race/regulations much better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZZL5i8vOXM

Brings back memories for me, though not NYC. I was recently looking to introduce my kids to some of the hobby things I did as a kid before video games could basically simulate every interesting thing

Slot car racing was something I loved doing. It was easy to learn, fun to play and relatively inexpensive to get into. There were two places nearby who had excellent tracks, rented reasonable cars and, of course, let you race your own. Unfortunately, there's only one of these sort of hobby shops around (incidentally, the biggest one from my childhood, which moved to an even bigger building), and they only have RC tracks.

Would love to see slot car racing return to my area.

I used to love slot car racing when I was a kid. Just reading this article brought back that smell - if you ever played with slot cars, you know the one I'm talking about.

that burnt rubber smell in my childhood basement :) so true!

And ozone from the sparking contacts!

And squishing the foamy little tires after you've squirted oil on the gears

If you ever get the chance to see "Spotswood", a real niche Indie movie starring Anthony Hopkins as a man with a cold heart who discovers his own humanity through the power of slot car racing (yes way), take it.

Apparently renamed to “The Efficiency Expert”: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102969/

Probably a regional / marketing thing. Certainly it was "Spotswood" in Australia and New Zealand at the time of release. Spotswood is the name the Melbourne suburb where the film is set. I don't think I've ever been to Spotswood, but I have been to neighbouring Williamstown and I recall there was a commercial slot car racing layout in a retail location above a shop. This was 15 years ago so probably long gone. I remember wondering whether there was a connection to the movie, some kind of local slot car culture of some kind.

Are these slot cars? I don't see the "slot" and the implication that there is 0 control isn't my experience with them.

EDIT: Yeah this is "Mini 4WD" and not exactly "slotcars."

Still a very cool article/video though!

It's both. Just in different sections of the article.

This is the first I've learned about Tamiya 4WD. Pretty neat stuff.

Anyone else immediately get the urge to try to adopt a micromouse style robot into one of these? Like put a computer into it that can complete the track at a safe speed then remember where the straightaways are so it knows how fast to accelerate.

We used to get the Tamiya 4WD kits when we were kids, and they were great fun, particularly when making huge outdoor tracks and trying to race each-others cars on foot

The Rui Yong Hobby store mentioned in the article closed sometime last year and has moved to online only.

And Buzz a Rama stays closed summers (mid-June to mid-September).

Interesting.. Just got into building Tamiya RC a month ago. Not really interested in slot, and Tamiya seems very niche and in the USA in particular.

Kids are all about Traxxas, Arrma, ready to run, bashing, and crawling.

> Just got into building Tamiya RC a month ago. Not really interested in slot, and Tamiya seems very niche and in the USA in particular.

Surprised to hear Tamiya being referenced in this context. Not sure if it is the same Tamiya I am thinking about, but the one I remember is the one that makes all sorts of tools and paints and other stuff for building plastic models (e.g., gunpla models).

Feels like it could easily be the same, given the exact same name and being in a somewhat adjacent industry. Interesting how it all works.

In the 1980's, Tamiya was huge in radio controlled cars. Their Grasshopper car was especially popular and was how a lot of people got into the hobby. I had a Tamiya Hornet and it was one of my favorite toys for a long time.

Tamiya makes quite a selection of RC cars. They also make the 4WD racers referenced in the article.

Same company.

I live near buzzarama, had a kid birthday party there. Love it, hope survives covid :/

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