Slot Car Track
The first sectional slot tracks from Scalextric and VIP were molded rubber and folded metal, respectively, but modern slot tracks fall into two main categories: plastic tracks and routed tracks.
Plastic Tracks are made from the molded plastic commercial track sections. Sectional track is inexpensive and easy to work with and the design of the course can be easily changed. The joints between the sections, however, make a rough running surface, prompting the derisive term "clickety-clack track." The many electrical connections cause voltage drop and contribute to more frequent electrical problems. For a permanent setup, the joints can be filled and smoothed, and the power rails soldered together or even replaced with continuous strips, but the surface is seldom as smooth as a good routed track.
Routed Tracks have the entire racecourse made from one or a few pieces of sheet material (traditionally chipboard or MDF, but sometimes polymer materials) with the guide-slots and the grooves for the power strips cut directly into the base material using a router or CNC machining. This provides a smooth and consistent surface, which is generally preferred for serious competition.
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Famous quotes containing the words slot, car and/or track:
“Some are able and humane men and some are low-grade individuals with the morals of a goat, the artistic integrity of a slot machine, and the manners of a floorwalker with delusions of grandeur.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“One way to do it might be by making the scenery penetrate the automobile. A polished black sedan was a good subject, especially if parked at the intersection of a tree-bordered street and one of those heavyish spring skies whose bloated gray clouds and amoeba-shaped blotches of blue seem more physical than the reticent elms and effusive pavement. Now break the body of the car into separate curves and panels; then put it together in terms of reflections.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“What is the use of going right over the old track again? There is an adder in the path which your own feet have worn. You must make tracks into the Unknown.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)