Pros and Cons of Digital Slot Car Racing
After 40 Years on the Tracks, This Hobby Goes Digital
Sep 10, 2009
When they first came out, slot cars were a mere accessory to model train sets. Today’s slot cars still look very much like the slot cars of forty years ago. Digital slot cars are changing all that.
What are Digital Slot Cars?
Typically, each slot on a track services one car. On a digital track, up to eight slot cars can race on two slots. The drivers use special controllers to steer their cars into other slots at special lane-changing track sections, and this allows cars to pass other cars.
The Pros of Digital Slot Cars
Digital slot car racing is wildly different than typical (or what is now being referred to as “analog”) racing, but there is no agreement on if this is an improvement on slot car racing or simply another genre of model racing all together.
Most slot car enthusiasts agree to these statements:
- Digital slot car racing takes up less space. Instead of requiring massive 8-slot-wide tracks, special two-slot tracks are used.
- Digital slot car racing emulates real-world racing.
- Digital slot car racing adds an extra layer of skill and strategy to the game.
- Many existing tracks can be converted to digital with an adapter piece.
- Some companies are making digital tracks that allow analog cars to run on them.
While many slot car owners find these details to be exciting, not everyone does. And that’s not all. There are some very definite draw backs to digital slot car racing.
The Downside of Digital Slot Cars
Most of the drawbacks to digital slot cars will affect long-time slot car enthusiasts who have built up a large collection of cars and equipment. Those that are just discovering slot cars and digital slot cars at the same time have more freedom in their choices because they have less invested.
These are things to consider when looking into digital slot car racing:
- Equipment for digital slot car racing costs more than analog slot car equipment.
- Many digital slot car tracks are exclusive. Each brand has its limitations to which cars can run which tracks, so a buyer has to research carefully before investing.
- Those hobbyists who have a wide variety of cars don’t want to be confined to one brand or another.
- Long-time enthusiasts who have invested in expensive accessories such as modified controllers or lap counters will find their equipment totally unusable with the new systems.
As with any technology growth, there will be growing pains. Analog racing certainly is not dying out yet, and analog slot car clubs will always be around as long as the slot car owners still have the love and passion for their cars. Digital is here to stay as well, whether or not it is a new genre of slot car racing or the eventual future of it.
Hobbyists can also check out related articles covering slot car modification, slot car repair, and slot car brands and scales.
Digital slot car racing is certainly a shift in slot car technology. But, according to the LA Times, more advances are on the horizon. The future of transportation may well involve life-size slot cars powered by nationwide electric rails. Could tomorrow be a day when slot car racing is more than just a hobby?
BNC101
Some information in this article from Slot Car Academy.
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