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There are many things you can do to make your slot car fast. There are actually around 30 things you really have to doand the more of them you do, and the better you do them, the faster your car will be. Pretty straightforward stuff. They generally are broken down to the several components such as the body chassis, motor, gears, tires and axels. Much has been written on these subjects and a lot of good information can be found in the Tech Man right here on this website. Other good articles can be found in the Slot Car Bulletin and other publications. I will begin my discussion on the body. The basics are: Pick the right body for your track. Most often your raceway owner can tell you what the best handling bodies are for your track and the class you are racing. I personally will use a .10 thickness on a Nascar body if racing on an oval track because of the beating they will take when hit, or a .07 if racing Nascar on a road track. However, if racing any GTP, or road race car, I always choose a .07 thickness. The rest is all about set-up. I am not really familiar with wing bodies, so I can only speak to scale bodies. Again, I will only be covering the basics and you should seek professional advice if you don't find what you are looking for in this column. Once you have the right body picked out, carefully mounting it is the next important step. First find out what the rules allow at your track. Check carefully the height restrictions. Mounting lower is often the best way to go, but depending on the track and class you are running you may want to leave a bit more height, for example in some GTP racing. That being said, taking care to properly cut the body is critical. Some people like to mount the body while it is still clear so they can see the fit better. I personally like to paint the body first, because I can see it better to cut it. Personal preference reigns. I also use 1/8 inch masking tape to give myself a straight cut line from front to back. If the rules for the body you are cutting allow a 1/16 inch front bumper, then leave a smidge more than that to allow for a cutting, or mounting error. The tape will give you a clean and straight cutting edge and you won't ever over cut a body. I personally mount the body to the chassis and while the car is on a mounting block. Get the chassis and body mounted together and I hold the entire assembly up to a bright light. I then use a fine point marker to outline the tires and cut them out with a good pair of curved scissors. Make sure the body is straight on the chassis. This sounds obvious, but I can't tell you how many bodies I see that are crooked on the chassis. Also take a special notice to see that the body is not restricting any movement of the chassis. Next month we will cover a few more basics on finishing the body mounting. Until then have fun racing. See also: SlotSide's Wing Car Body Setup. Back to Racers Edge index Back to tech index |