Building the FASTEST Slot Car

[@Maxlovesplanes]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="78">1:18</a> The formula for speed is not distance x time, it's distance/time Don't want to mislead someone and especially don't want to hate, your videos are amazing keep it up😊😊😊

[@sourcelocation]

Almost had a stroke there

[@ivojansen7625]

typing error, later in the video, they have it right.

[@akiraekman4493]

i was thinking that i was stupid lol

[@tompw3141]

"... which you might have learned at school". Emphasis on "might" here :-)

[@billynomates920]

that's impulse or something isn't it?

[@stompmaster]

I can't believe how crooked you laid out that track! 🤪

[@vincentdesjardins1354]

That puzzled me as well : Al this fine work on cars and power supply butchered by not straightening the tracks lay out (just a wire string as a guide would have been enough)

[@BarkerVancity]

i think its because after he laid them out, he pushed the whole track in a little bit from the ends, for a better connection between tiles. doing so he kinked it a bit. also he may have been using the flatest line, not straightest.

[@Scoots1994]

When I was a kid I worked at a place called Hot Laps that had 8 lane race tracks including a 12' loop on one track, and one track with a scale quarter mile with timing lights. It also had off-road and on-road RC race tracks, a 1/4 scale 1/4 mile drag strip/air strip, and a lake for RC boats. It was the greatest job.

[@HanYan-yb2vj]

projectair's solution to get anything going fast: slap a comically large rocket motor onto it and call it a day

[@Six_Gorillion]

If it works every time why change the recipe

[@DanielCook-h6r]

Okay, so now build a gearbox with bearings, do some aerodynamic tests in a DIY wind tunnel, get some slow-mo for analysis, and see if you can break 40mph! It's one thing to break a record, it's another entirely to set a whole new bar of performance.

[@Lewis-kf2pj]

No records were broken here, or anywhere on this channel. Ever. He doesn’t understand what ‘fastest’ means. He just tapes rockets to crap vehicles and claims them to be fastest. He strikes me as one of those KZbin thoroughbred dunces that use titles like “5 Things YOU DON’T KNOW About Rockets.” then makes a video of the most basic rocket information that children of 6 know.

[@HankHillspimphand]

@@Lewis-kf2pj mate you kinda right.....but its youtube. maybe hes a bit clickbait but hes having fun and im betting get kids hyped about RC stuff. i prefer a more deep video instead of just sticking a powerful drone motor and some 3d prinited gears and "fastest slot car!!!". but to be honest whocares. i do hope he tries more in-depth stuff. maybe the videos isnt made for you?

[@5peciesunkn0wn]

@@Lewis-kf2pj boohoohoo

[@braam828]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="720">12:00</a> I have 2 tips to make the rocket car better. 1. Try to have the rocket engine Pointing to the center of mass so it doesn’t spin out of control.(this isn’t just for the car but for any rocket powered vehicle) 2. If you point the rocket engine down a bit it will push the slot car into the track and force it to stay on the ground.

[@niil047]

also, since it doesnt have a nozzle, the thrust direction might not be consistent. both of your tips can be easily achieved by just tilting the rocket a bit downwards

[@BarkerVancity]

the rocket is just way to big for the weight of the car. angling the nozzle wont do anything. its like a fire hose, just gonna whip around if you dont hold it down.

[@chadfli]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="78">1:18</a> speed=distance/time.

[@dosgaming4100]

Was about to comment this

[@ZirothTech]

I remember that Gadget Show episode well, and the fantastic episode of James May's Toy Stories on Scalextric! Great video, it reminded me of tinkering with these toys for hours as a kid.

[@Project-Air]

Glad you enjoyed it - and same same!

[@htomerif]

Now all you have to do is pay Guinness $100k and they might put you in their official records.

[@dutchfpv9254]

I hate commenting on youtube but i saw some negativity you dont deserve. It was a pleasure to watch and i love to see you gaining video and editing skills. I think its partly done by that beautiful woman. You 2 are a great team! Im so happy you keep doing what you want to do. There are not many youtubers pleasuring us they only think about their wallets. Man and women, thanks for the video. This is why i still got my premium account.

[@joshsabine219]

Why does everyone call it Scalectrix??? It's Scalextric!!

[@stevevanness4195]

When I was a kid, I hacksawed the back of an Aurora HO slot car & epoxied the motor from a HotWheels Sizzler rechargeable car on the back. It made an incredibly fast drag car, but flew off the track on corners.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

You could bed the track on plywood ripped down to 6" wide strips. Each sheet will give you 64' of track surface.

[@vincentdesjardins1354]

6" wide plywood strip will probably warp quite a lot (especially in moist conditions) ... But the general idea is the right one: bed the tracks with a flat support surface. Just need to refine material choice.

[@bradley3549]

Agreed. Definitely need something to average the undulations of the ground surface as much as possible.

[@simitarknut2201]

We used to roll the tires on the sticky side of packing tape. This would help them stick to the track and improve traction.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

You track has a curve that was kicking you car off. Try a string pilled tight for a guide. A laser and a wood block with a target or use a long straight edge like a level or bored. Doesn't look like much, but when scaled for speed. 16 becomes 512. Anyway I think the straighter the better.

[@etomike_56]

Next: how fast can an rc car go with a raptor engine strapped to it.

[@MisterZealot]

I see the main problem here. You didn't paint it red. Everyone knows that's how you get the ultimate speed

[@Hari-h8w]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="762">12:42</a> very long plank will help the bumpy track problem

[@michiganengineer8621]

I remember many years ago I had an HO scale slot car set. The slots in the track were actually a "T" shape as were the pegs on the car. Unless something actually BROKE the car wouldn't just "bounce" off the track.

[@its_generik]

DUDE. You are creative as hell and all your videos are bangers. Top work!!

[@Hari-h8w]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="518">8:38</a> it isn’t a slot car anymore tho

[@sam1812seal]

For electric slot cars one of the major limitations is keeping the braid pack in contact with the track. Magnets help but too many induces too much friction, while too few induces take off. I’ve been wanting to have another try at this for a while because I’m sure speeds even faster than your new record/target are possible, but a lot of work needs to go into overcoming the problems inherent in the road surface and power pickups.

[@baddestmofoalive]

This was dope. Good work 👍

[@paulEG6]

It’s scalextric btw, not scalectrix

[@user-py9iq9fh7v]

Haven’t seen you on the Flite test forum in a while.🧐

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

This brings me back. I remember my Scalextric days in my childhood. I got a car as a birthday present, but it wasn't really Scalextric kind. Instead my mother had gone to a hobby shop and bought the car they recommended. It was a slot car, but the kind used when competing. The first time I used it the Scalextric hand control started burning. So my mother went back and got a new control that could handle the current. That car was just insane to try to run at a standard Scalextric track. I have no idea how fast it was as even at half speed it would launch off the track like a missile when encountering the most careful attempt at building a corner. I also had a pair of minis and something else from Scalextric and they were just so simple and slow when compared. Getting the electricity to work over the entire track was always a problem. After plugging those tracks up enough times they started to glitch more and more. I wonder where it is now. I think my parents gave all of it to my sisters son when he was eight years old, but I don't know. But I do know that car I had was insanely fast, at least compared to the standard track cars. Oh and the chassis was interesting having several different parts that could articulate just slightly. Supposedly that was to optimize grip when racing for real. Many many decades later they built a track car racing track in the pub I spent way to much time in. Once a week there were competitions and boy did I suck! I could perhaps have something to do with the number of beers I'd inhale before the races, but I doubt it. A friend who were severely intoxicated beat me without trouble when I was just one beer in, so no, I just sucked at driving those slot cars. Again this wasn't using Scalextric cars, but real slot competition cars. They were fast...

[@Northerner_Transport_Hub]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="255">4:15</a> Weyy model train cameo 🎉 And another one <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="979">16:19</a>

[@kaomie_]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="103">1:43</a> freaky axle lmao

[@projectbumblejeep4190]

Don't remember who makes it, but years ago we found a "T" slot track that made it very difficult for the cars to fly off. The inverted "T" slot cars really can't "de-rail" Hope this helps. We also mounted a pin on the back of the car to help it hold better in the curved sections of the track. That only works to a point, at which time mass + centrifugal force overcomes friction.

[@Big_Un]

Great content, thank you! Glad to see that you got access to a facility that would sponsor your test with a level surface. For your home testing, maybe try laying your track on strips of Rigid Foam Board Insulation or something similar? It might help with leveling to keep the major bumps out of the track in addition to giving a reference to keep the track straight. Just a thought.

[@Scot-p1v]

Growing up on the other side of the pond, I had AFX, not Scalextric. That said, I salute you for putting rocket motors on them. I did it on Cold Power cars (a 70s thing), but never scaled down that far. Well done!

[@Scot-p1v]

The first rocket run you did shows exactly why the Cold Power cars were meant to be tethered by concrete nails at each end of the run and be guided by the string in between. Of course, we didn’t do that and had quite a long listen to a very red-faced officer. -thanks for bringing those memories back! 😊

[@LuckyColt2005]

I’m very surprised he didn’t mention 1/24 scale slot car drag racing they go up to 100 mile an hour with a 50 foot track

[@williamstrachan]

Sorta covered it at the end, tbh trying to break the Scalextric record is probably the sane approach for a channel that isn't specialising in purely slot car speed challenges. It's tricky enough to achieve, without needing to become a masterclass in precision engineering and trying to outdo what some people have been working on since the '60's 😅

[@charlieshobbies4852]

speed = distance / time

[@lucromel]

Does the track need to be straight and flat? Build a circular track with banked (or vertical) curves. It probably won't go flying off, you'll get extra traction from the centripetal force, and you can accelerate for as long as possible.

[@The123Smoke123]

Obvious clickbait with the rocket motor, but ok

[@Carrot_eater1205]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="720">12:00</a> car :❌️ Rocket:✅️

[@Kombivar]

Great vid, as always! For bit of extra push, I suggest some aggressive aero package or suction fan like in the maze solving robots competition - I saw it on Veritasium.

[@Hari-h8w]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="721">12:01</a> rocket no car

[@daveatwinterslane]

Great video, reminds me of a time many years ago when I strapped a "Jetex" motor to a Hornby model railway wagon, and laid out all the straight pieces of track that I had. The result was the same as your rocket car. Dave Nap in <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="84">1:24</a> scale slot drag racing has reached 140 actual miles per hour at the end of a scale 1/4 mile. eg 55 feet. , With an elapsed time of 0.391 seconds.

[@Wannabearborist]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="422">7:02</a> it’s just powered rail… nothing complicated about it, just put a redstone torch every so often…

[@PMcDFPV]

That look like so much fun. One of the things I was thinking for your outside testing is maybe just using some 2x4s or 4x4s to smooth out the path. Also if you could get milled aluminum body that would be really neat. 🙂 Thanks for all the effort you put into these

[@rexcadral3468]

Pretty sure there are much, much faster cars in the slot car drag racing hobby....

[@hermannalberts6038]

SI speed = m/s, what are mph? middle age engineering?

[@matthewmcevoy]

I would love to see you take this even further. I wonder what effect reducing frontal area by making the "useless" front wheels and tyres very narrow would have?

[@jackmanning7370]

Best place would be a gym/sports hall. Perfect floor and lots of space. Multiple power supplys linked throught the trac sections to keep power and ditch the magnets

[@adamrodrigues9504]

If you’re going to be printing loads of gears you should definitely invest in a 0.2mm nozzle. Makes a world of difference for small gears meshing!

[@domramsey]

I think if I hear you say "Scalectrix" one more time my brain may explode!

[@warungbule]

Indeed - It’s Scalextric! Otherwise, I love the video.

[@RegisMichelLeclerc]

Good job! Considering the constraints cannot be changed, such as voltage, no external thrust (I'd consider the rocket was a cheat) and an imposed scale of an existing car (removing the body is definitely a cheat unless it's buggy-shaped), maybe you could work on the aerodynamics and add ailerons at the back and the front so your car is more efficient in transferring the power from the motor without shredding the tyres?

[@jugheadjones5458]

For the rocket car, I’ll bet you could take advantage of the voltage in the track to ignite the engine.

[@velocityfpv5231]

i'm feeling like this has been slightly overvolted for the record, or they just didn't try very hard on the previous record

[@LemonJuice_]

that ending shot was so fire

[@CenReaper.]

Isn't slot car record 140mph or are there different categories with different records.

[@JohnRobinsonRC]

Congratulations! Well done. I cannot wait to see that longer track run! 😊👍👌

[@AndrewduToit]

I would like to see you push this even further. Make the record unbreakable and official.

[@DanBowkley]

Try using a shooting chronograph for speed measurement. They're designed to read bullets and arrows but I don't see why they couldn't go this slow.

[@devnitrate]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="457">7:37</a> THE ONE PIECE IS REEEEAAAAALLL !

[@Simonize41]

Add a loop the loop next time. Just for the giggles of course. Excellent video btw, and as you say you could do with a much bigger/longer floor space. Surely someone out there could help.🤔

[@scottnation5685]

I really like slot car experiments , this channel is awesome 👌

[@Sapper21b10]

Should have painted them red. Everyone knows red ones go faster!

[@Project-Air]

I made such an obvious mistake! 😆

[@22hilding]

@@Project-Air I don't think Failrace(Alex) agrees with you on that! ;-)

[@linecraftman3907]

Banger build as always 👍👍👍i kinda suspected the rocket car wont work but I didn't expect how much less it would be a car than a rocket

[@MeriaDuck]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="9">0:09</a> Go mini! ❤😂

[@970357ers]

Fit skinny front wheels, simplify the shape (think pebble-shaped), solder the track sections together). If adventurous, put it in a tube under vacuum or filled with helium.

[@charlottelanvin7095]

the vacuum idea has already been tried but yeah, the Helium idea is a brainwave. how much money have you got?

[@RanmaSyaoranSaotome]

A club I once went to made one of these from CNC'd out of balsa wood. It was powered by a CO2 cannister which was punctured at launch!

[@terryturner5360]

G'day from Australia, you need a long straight line? I think I can help. An old school builder's chalk string will give you a Roman road.

[@t_broek]

THE REFERENCE BOARD! You are a mythbuster now, basically

[@kurtisam]

how is james the only engineering creator with a solidworks sponsorship?

[@charlottelanvin7095]

James' girlfriends' Dad owns Solidworks?

[@Ammarkhan-tx2ub]

"powered by honda" the honda in question 🚀

[@stuartrockin]

I had the Sonic and Tails scalextric set as a kid. i was convinced the sonic car went slightly faster.

[@txwombat7826]

sounds like you need a large banked (90 degree) / circular track

[@bob_._.]

Now all you need to do is do it again with official observers, otherwise your record isn't a record. Your front tires (tyres, sorry) may well be slowing you down; try hard o-rings (such as in plumbing valves) to lower the friction/rolling resistance as much as possible. And I'm wondering, with all the parts you've replaced, at what point does it cease being a Scalextric car and become a custom creation?

[@Pscribbled]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="78">1:18</a> I feel like you got the super basic formula wrong

[@bblix]

Maybe you should have checked out the speed and engineering of slot drag racing in USA? Just for reference to the toy stuff ;-)

[@patrikknoerr9777]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="715">11:55</a> That was worthy of a SPACEX performance badge :)

[@tankerboysabot]

If you build a 1/32 scale version of Thrust you might have a good candidate.

[@Sodriono_]

hes doing more ground projects then air projects

[@ryanwatson263]

There HAS to be a way to take advantage of ground effect.

[@dvrs-e6t]

Tips: 1. Level track and striaghten it. Maybe on flat turf grass. 2. Foam tyres. Glue on foam tyres to the. They'll be less likely to come away from the rim and less likely to expand the same way rubber ones do. 3. Add weights. Adding weights to the car will give it better traction, allowing the wheels to actually put down the power.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

The lack of adhesion to the track is his biggest problem.

[@HasbinBouble]

Need more redstone repeaters

[@danielharrison2860]

Put your measurements in metric. It’s what the rest of the (civilised) world uses.

[@WarriorRedX17]

What the hell is a kilometer

[@john3Lee]

Always interesting stuff thanks a lot for posting

[@Lewis-kf2pj]

You must be a Lady Manners dropout because you gain to understand the word “Fastest”. If this did not travel speeds in excess of 985kmh it is NOT the fastest anything. The word ‘fastest’ has a meaning and YOU need to learn it.

[@1cityslotsracing]

You need to down to the London Sclaxtric club in north London We will show you what a fast slot car is

[@johnwhauserman]

Snap a chalk line and make the track strait.

[@anthonyanglim7147]

Part 2 !!! >>>FASTER>>> !!! Great Job!

[@autonoob]

Make the track into a tight loop 👍

[@jacobe2995]

Aren't you supposed to mark sponsored videos?

[@DavideRigamonti-de7xd]

Are you solid works it’s the best

[@J.P_Sullivan]

A very small cvt would be great

[@danboy12342]

One day we'll get him to launch a rocket vertically

[@AymaanArzoon]

Hi you really inspire me to really build something ☺️ 😊. Love your videos brother.

[@shaunodriscoll]

Loved the rocket car 😂😂😂

[@grahammcnally4799]

Banked circular hadron collider track.

[@lws9417]

Get a bus and put bigger moters bigger gears and put the booster inside it for extra umpfh😂

[@mikesudd]

I did this with my Pinewood Derby car!

[@mectronicTV]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="128">2:08</a> IS THAT A KART WITH A JET????????????

[@Zanzubaa]

Out of interest, are you aloud to put the track in a sealed tube with less pressure to reduce air resistence?

[@hiptip27]

FYI looks like you forgot to put your end card on the video

[@andriessalm]

When you watch veritasium's video on mouse robots, you will learn that they use fans to suck the car to the racetrack. Would this be a method to get better traction and thus more speed.

[@spoonraker]

This channel is starting to lose my interest because there's such a huge difference between expectation and reality in terms of the end result and it's always caused by some pretty bumbling errors that I'm sure a lot of viewers can see coming a mile away. For instance, how on earth did you lay that track outside and look at it for 2 seconds without realizing that the cars are obviously going to yeet themselves off that track and break? It wasn't even remotely close to straight and the undulations in elevation were incredibly obvious too. Why even include footage of this? Was this even a serious attempt? Are we actually supposed to believe you didn't know this was going to happen with the funhouse mirror track setup? And then the car breaking because your idea to slow it down was to place your hoodie at the end of the track. Again, are we supposed to believe you're that stupid or are we supposed to think you're a competent engineer solving real problems and letting us come along for the ride? Same thing with the rocket strapped to the car. Again, did you really think that would work and are we really supposed to believe you thought it would work? I'm all about watching engineers tackle problems. That's my favorite type of content. But these engineering challenges are obviously contrived. It's so disaatisfying to see so many cool concepts wind up going nowhere even though it seems like you spend a lot of time on these videos. It's a weird combination of obvious time effort and expense being used, but then total amateur hour bungles implementation and incomplete storylines because you abandon projects before a satisfying result. If your video is going to be about breaking a speed record and you've shown the potential to absolutely smash that record, it's a huge let down to see the video conclude with you limping a car across the line barely edging out the record while completely bumbling basic things like using a straight and flat track and thinking about how to stop the cars.

[@DRB-Octane]

try a mura 20 motor, and a wing slot car, koford was a maker