Originally posted by HOguy_56
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We have now moved SCI to vBulletin Cloud! This should result in a much better experience for everyone! Enjoy the updated site!
Why Can't Kids Drive?
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Obviously, it depends on the kid(s). Some will want to get better and try harder. Some will just "do it" and get mad when the car keeps crashing. Some kids will get better faster in a competition, some kids will get frustrated and quit faster in competition.
From my experience setting up tracks for parties over the years, most kids figure it out within the couple hours I'm running crash and burn races. When they get to that point, I reveal that they've only had half power the whole time, which usually leads to showing them what more power looks like, and letting the better kids try it at more power (though not full). Sometimes I'll show them 100% power with a slot.it or some other "better" car. The big kids (e.g. dads) usually start to get interested then. ;-)
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I have never tolerated kids crashing my cars deliberately. I make it plain these are MY toys, and if they don't take care of them I won't let them play.
My grandkids will sometimes be happy only turning laps, switching among different cars just to try them. But just as often they'll want to run a 100-lap race. Crashes do happen, but they are very aware that they'll lose laps that way, and try to run 'clean'.
Even though they aren't really driving the cars, they're ecstatic when they 'win' and really bummed when they 'lose'. Lots of trash talk and crowing goes on during the race.
I have given the grandkids their own cars -- one each. Both 1/32nd Carrera Lamborghini's. I have personalized each car with their names, and they are very proud of them. Though the kids enjoy racing a selection of my cars, I make sure they run their own cars too.
Going back to comment on an earlier post, at one of Bob Beers' shows a young girl cleaned up on my oval by racing on the outside 'red' lane, holding her car at a constant speed, taking advantage of the wide radius of the turns to keep her speed up. She put to shame the boys spinning and crashing on the inner lanes.
But I also remember a number of kids who simply could not find a clue. I would tell them, "If your car is coming off twice a lap (on an oval!) that is God telling you to slow down."
And then there were the kids who in frustration would declare, "I could win if I could just stay on the track!"
Ed BianchiLast edited by HO RacePro; 08-01-2020, 08:46 AM.
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We're pretty much a product of our environment.
If you had people around you as a kid that played the violin, the first thing that would come to your mind when someone was taking about "Ferrari" would likely be "Domenico"...not "Enzo".
IMHO.Last edited by Silberpfeil; 11-29-2020, 08:38 AM.
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Ntxslotcars,
Here is a picture of my 4 x 12 foot 4-lane high-banked oval. It was designed to be portable and comes apart in three 4 x 4 foot sections with folding legs. I used to take it apart, throw it into the back of my mini-van and take it to Bob Beer's Superbowl Sunday slot shows, where I would set it up and let kids run on it, to try out slot racing. It was always busy.
Later it was on the rotation of HOCOC racing events. Now it is primarily used for testing both HO and 1/32nd cars, and for the above-mentioned grandkids to play on.
There is no magnetic traction -- the power conductors are tin-plated copper braid. The banking is about 20 degrees at the middle of each curve. A doggy car can make a lap in 3 seconds. A decent car makes it 2.5 seconds. Hot competitive cars lap at 1.8 seconds. A miracle lap is somewhere south of 1.6 seconds.
Passing can be very tricky. If you can't get it done on the straights you can easily get blocked -- or nerfed -- in the curves. The short lap length makes for a lot of passing, or at least passing attempts, and exciting racing.
Ed Bianchi
IMG_1846.jpgLast edited by HO RacePro; 11-28-2020, 11:20 AM.
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Originally posted by HO RacePro View Post
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Another posting I just spotted and will weigh in on, as I race with my grandson when he visits........
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Ed; but NOBODY "drives" slot cars. That implies the ability to "change direction" independent of the track itself. That is done with : Radio control; video race games; real cars, that come to mind. Slot cars change direction due to the slot in the track; hence no "driving", just controlling the velocity.one uses, and THAT is actually your "bone of contention" with the youth of today, who probably played with video race games prior to ever seeing/using a slot car track/car/controller.....
My Grandson was age six when I set up my first small 2-lane layout for him on our dining room table. I used the lowest voltage setting (yes, he still crashed), and explained to him that if he wanted to ENJOY the cars more, he had to learn to "slow for the curves/speed up for the straights". I remember the joy on his face when he was able to make it all around the track, lap after lap. without crashing. And I would race him, getting him used to the cars running together, learning to pass, and when to hold back, so he did not get "knocked off" in a turn......
IMG_4401.jpg IMG_4402.jpg
Now age 12, he has "control" and can race at the high voltage setting on my current "Loft Layout" and is competitive. Yes, he does play video games (some are racing games), but he has acquired the skills to control the characteristics of both without confusion.....
image000001.jpg
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image000005.jpg
And, his FAVORITE CARS are the AFX "Formula N" because of their modern-looking design. He will run ALL of my cars, but considers MY favorites (Ford GT Mk.II & IV, Ferrari P4s,Lolas & Chaparrals) as "old fashioned" (talk about driving a stake through my heart)........
In summary, it just comes down to the kid, and how interested they are in acquiring the skill......
One last point on the title of "driver". IF my view of "driver definition" makes sense, then we should be called something else. Operator, perhaps?
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Originally posted by Speedhoppy View PostAnother posting I just spotted and will weigh in on, as I race with my grandson when he visits........
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Ed; but NOBODY "drives" slot cars. That implies the ability to "change direction" independent of the track itself. That is done with : Radio control; video race games; real cars, that come to mind. Slot cars change direction due to the slot in the track; hence no "driving", just controlling the velocity.one uses, and THAT is actually your "bone of contention" with the youth of today, who probably played with video race games prior to ever seeing/using a slot car track/car/controller.....
My Grandson was age six when I set up my first small 2-lane layout for him on our dining room table. I used the lowest voltage setting (yes, he still crashed), and explained to him that if he wanted to ENJOY the cars more, he had to learn to "slow for the curves/speed up for the straights". I remember the joy on his face when he was able to make it all around the track, lap after lap. without crashing. And I would race him, getting him used to the cars running together, learning to pass, and when to hold back, so he did not get "knocked off" in a turn......
IMG_4401.jpg IMG_4402.jpg
Now age 12, he has "control" and can race at the high voltage setting on my current "Loft Layout" and is competitive. Yes, he does play video games (some are racing games), but he has acquired the skills to control the characteristics of both without confusion.....
image000001.jpg
image000003.jpg
image000005.jpg
And, his FAVORITE CARS are the AFX "Formula N" because of their modern-looking design. He will run ALL of my cars, but considers MY favorites (Ford GT Mk.II & IV, Ferrari P4s,Lolas & Chaparrals) as "old fashioned" (talk about driving a stake through my heart)........
In summary, it just comes down to the kid, and how interested they are in acquiring the skill......
One last point on the title of "driver". IF my view of "driver definition" makes sense, then we should be called something else. Operator, perhaps?
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Originally posted by OldmanHOslot View Post
I will have to agree with all of this. My 7 and 10yo grands love controlling their cars on the giant layout, and the 4 lane. They gained the skills to even run at full power. Sometimes I’ll toss the old non-magnetic cars on the track so they can learn and remember how to control their speed into and out of corners. Never have I cared if they crash cars. They each have about 12 or so of their own from non-mag, magnatraction, G+, AW T-jets, Xtraction, mega G+, Super 7 HCS, and to Viper V1. Each car they race, they race equal unless we do open class, under HCS/Viper. They have a blast, and that’s the fun.
One thing I have not introduced him to yet, is painting bodies. That is coming shortly........
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Originally posted by Speedhoppy View Post
While I have a number of Magna Traction chassis and older in lines (such as the G-PLUS), which I make available to him, But, my Grandson likes the speed; and as he has learned, those "magnet cars" come off just as easily at higher voltage settings (some violently); but it has made his reactions that much quicker when he is "operating" the controller......
One thing I have not introduced him to yet, is painting bodies. That is coming shortly........
thought the in-line G+ was fast, WOW…
both grands know if they break those cars, they have to buy the repairs and/or new.
So far I’ve let them pick out colors for the Willies Gasser kits and I painted most, and they did a little detail work.
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