I'd like to run a 1/43 slot set around the perimeter of my 4x8 O gauge layout to add some additional interactivity for the kids (and me, heh heh). I'm still in the planning stages, so there is no existing O track to worry about. 1/43 matches perfectly with the MTH auto transports I run and ton of die cast cars I already have for layout decoration. I see that slots sets have made leaps and bounds in technology. Anyone have experience with analog vs digital? Manufacturer recommendation? 2 lane or 4? I realize the inner slot path is shorter than the outer path skewing the race results, but that's of minimal concern. Thanks for any insight.
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I have SCX brand slot cars.....I do not mix with my trains but set them up in a temp layout at times.
Mine are all analog as I am a conventional guy in trains! The digital is a DCC type system that is very basic but works OK. To keep it simple I'd go with 2 lane set....4 lanes will tend to dominate a 4x8 layout....it will be a slot layout with a few trains!
Carrera Go! Sets are excellent. There are tons of them on the bay. We always set up our analog set around the holidays and run them for hours, but I admit the digital passing features look pretty appealing. To eliminate the inside/outside lane advantages, you could put two crossover tracks so each car has half a lap on the inside, half on the outside.
Not the scale you are considering, but I have the Carrera Digital132 cars (Not around my trains). They are fun to race and control and I love the xenon headlights and operating brake lights. The cars are nicely detailed, like this Corvette.
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Thanks, guys. Looks like 1/43 analog two lane is what I'm looking for. Would LOVE to get into the 1/32 digital, but I'm already way too deep into trains to take an another $$$$ hobby.
I had the Carrera GO! (non-digital) slot cars on my layout for a while before going to 'Streets. They were good and a lot of fun although, even with a toy-train rather than Carrera controller, I could not get them to cruise at scale legal speeds when I just wanted cars cruising on the layout, not racing - about 80 mph was a slow as they would go. If you want to race them putting a loop of theym around the layout would be a super idea though.
Carrera Go sets, we sell the line on our web site too!