Hi Folks,
Recently I have been working with 1:43/1:48 slot cars for use with trains. I don't think it is a fair test to run a Carrera GO car for 9 hours straight without frequent breaks and grease on the gears. Carrera makes an excellent product. The Carrera car is designed for speed and has the smallest motor (and pinion gear) of all 1:43 slot cars, to my knowledge. Artin cars have a bigger, snap-in motor. Gee, I never run anything for more than half an hour without a break. I wouldn't even think of running my old GE 44 Ton diesel for more than 20 minutes without a break. I have heard certain firehouses that operate public displays at Christmas run a loco for about 30 minutes then give it a break, and the equipment is frequently lubricated.
Many slot car hobbyists paint their track without the paint wearing off prematurely. It is really all about surface prep (Kilz). The track looks especially good when painted a medium gray because there is less contrast between the metal strips and the running surface. The same road weathering techniques used by model railroaders would look fantastic, making touch-ups for worn paint easy. But for a realistic-looking moving car/truck, the slot car rear wheels drift toward the inside of the curve like a real vehicle (provided there isn't a rear guide pin), but superstreet vehicles follow the track like a train and don't look realistic on turns, especially tight turns.
Artin cars are actually 1:48 scale and re-motoring them is a piece of cake. Carrera cars are a little more work to re-motor and require the addition of headlights. It is a common practice among slot car hobbyists to use a die-cast body over a 1:43/1:48 slot car chassis. Only more frequent lubrication is needed due to the extra load of the body's weight. For off-the-shelf cars, PWM (pulse-width modulation) is the key for slower speeds. And the Artin gears are inexpensive and easy to change. Really no argument for not using the slot cars.
Here is a short vid of one project that has since been refined to raise the body a fraction of an inch in the car's rear. These are -not- running on PWM and can go more slowly at a reduced voltage.
Search the Web for slot car projects and you'll find many fine examples of the technique for using a die-cast body over a slot car chassis, far better than my efforts!
Take care, Joe.