Planning A Time Trial Race System

I've noticed a tendency for me to resort to informal time trials when I race. Whether it's to see how fast the car is going lately or how fast the current track design might be, it's always a little different and interesting enough for me to track it. So here's how I'm going to do it:

1. Design a layout using my existing track pieces. Once happy with it, save it and make a track out of it. Take a photo of the finished track.

2. Make a spreadsheet, which will look something like this, although likely much more defined as I go:

This was a first draft, and I see where there are places to add information that is pertinent: SCP-1 controller usage and settings, recent tuneups, that sort of thing. I'll include track comments as well as a reminder of each.

I haven't decided length of time trial yet, as 5 minutes feels about right for a long race, where one minute time trials make for an interesting dash. I think longer is better, though, as it gives a better indication of how a car works over time as opposed to just how lucky you might be to keep a car on the track for the minute of mad scrambling. Also, since I'm using a much less than scientific method of keeping time [I have no lap counter and time to a stopwatch], it's easier to see the differences in cars over a 5 minute period, especially if one pulls more laps than the other.

This spreadsheet will also be able to be modified and improved upon as I get more cars. I'll be able to go back to the original layout and situations and compete against my other cars without having to re-run the entire thing each time. That makes this a potential long-term project, and it doesn't matter the design of the track or now many pieces is used. The information I can collect on my cars can help me know their strengths and weaknesses.
If I find a particular track that is more exciting to race on than another, I can use that track as a primary time trial track, yet still have the option to go back to previous tracks and add times with new cars whenever I desired.

I will also include a column that would have special tuning information, in case I was working on a particular car for whatever reason as opposed to just re-entering the same data. What I mean is, it would be entirely possible to see one car do three or four 5-minute time trials, if the intention was to tune the car in a particular way for a particular track, or otherwise change it to compete with a prior lap time. If I change motoring, gearing or tires, for example, I would denote those changes so I could more easily understand the data. Having a car run 85 laps for 5 minutes, then 87, 88 and 91 would need to have some sort of reason behind the speed improvement, so I'd make sure to put that information into the result comments. If I true the tires before a race, I'll note that.

New Controller, New Results

Now with the SCP-1 Controller, I have the option to control overall track speed, so I'll need to have a consistent attitude regarding tuning the controller [and the cars] to the given track to make it a fair time. This will require some "rules" for the controller to follow. Here's what I'll do.

1. Controller setting will be LIN off/off [the overall power setting....or "kid-friendly" setting].
2. Car will be put on the track, trigger in full position, and the blue MAX dial turned up until just before the point of de-slot....so the car can make it around the track at the fastest average "hammer-down" top speed. This takes the driver out of the equation and only tests the car under current conditions.
3. Once that top speed has been satisfactorily reached, the time trial will begin and run for whatever length of time it is set to. Laps run is the determining performance factor, and not lap time, as I don't have a lap counter and do it manually.

As long as I stick to those controller "rules" I should be able to make a respectable showing of my cars. We'll see what happens.

Slot.it SCP1 Controller

As per my previous post, here is the controller that I was so kindly gifted. The Slot.it SCP-1:

The Slot.it SCP-1 Controller

Before this time I had simply the controllers that came with the Carrera kit. They are passable for playtime, but they really don't convey all the subtleties needed when really wanting to burn up the track.

On first look the size is impressive. Scratch that; it's massive. From the base of the handle to the trigger alone is as large as a standard Carrera controller. In the first minute it feels a little bulky, but it quickly makes up for it in what it does. Cars run like butter now. So much control.

The SCP-1 easily dwarfs the stock Carrera controller in overall size, but that's mostly due to the electronics and dials. 

The SCP-1 has a host of functions, through dials, buttons, switches and dip switches. Almost every dial has more than one function, depending on the settings of the dip switches. Explain what each one does after only owning it for less than 48 hours is a bit tricky. Consider that each one controls some aspect of the power band and it's a bit easier to understand.

The LIN/CRV [Linear/Curve] Switch. Set to Linear, it will act like a standard slot car controller, with a pretty basic power band. Set it to Curve and you can control all aspects of the powerband parabolically. You can make it slow and steady up, or quick to mid-range, or hair-trigger, or whatever else you can come up with. 

These are just my findings on what each one does, from a not-totally-technical slotcar head:

The "Power Trim" [green] dial controls how much power goes into the car when you give throttle. Think about it like a traction control. All the way left and it's going to be a bit more gentle with the power distribution. All the way right and you're spinning your wheels.

The "Min Speed %" [yellow] dial controls how much power the car has from the time you first press the trigger. For example, you can set it so that when you give it the most gentle gas it is slowly rolling or going at a fast pace or anything in between. I suspect this would be a useful setting for racing on long tracks with a lot of straights [you'd probably set it quite a bit to the right for a long straightaway].
While driving, I noticed that setting the Min Speed to higher than 0% yielded good results. While being able to start from a dead stop to a crawl and then to full speed is a cool option, what's better is setting the Min Speed % to something like 15% or so. What this does is act as a bit of a neutral/coast. The deceleration isn't as drastic as when it is set to 0%, and it seems to allow for a better trigger flow.
This is important because it lets you set the amount of deceleration, so you can really get particular about how much lift you want to use in the corners. I found setting it at about 12 o'clock, with the Power dial set about the same produces a ride that is fast, on the edge, and easy on braking.

The "Brake" [red] dial is a two-step function, neither of which seem to have much effect on my Carrera cars. I suspect that has to do with the motor and built-in braking and all that, or maybe it's the polarity issue with the controller. On a proper car it would probably have to do with how much travel the car makes on its own after you let off the trigger. But that's just a guess.

The blue "Curve/Max" dial is a power cap. With the right switch/dip switch setting [linear/1off/2off] you can control the overall speed of the car. This is proving to be a great function. It's like regulating voltage; you can step the overall speed down so you don't wipe out in the curves. The rest of the controller functions just like it normally would otherwise. Great for kids and skittish racers who are off-track more than on.
I'm liking this Max option most of all, and have pretty much gone back to it every time. It's an electronic regulator. I can set it so the car is running it's fastest lap while the trigger is fully down, and work the settings backward from there. Once you get the top speed figured out, the rest falls into place. Settings like Brake and Min Speed% suddenly matter more and make the machine that much more flexible.

There are a few brake buttons, some of which control lane-change functions if you're running digital. Otherwise they're different brake styles of the 100% power-off variety. They would probably be pretty useful if you had your Brake dial set to a more wide-open setting.

There is also another valuable option, and that is Ghost Car Mode. This basically allows you to use the controller and set the speed of the car. This is great if you like to compete against yourself or just want more action on the field. Of course, the one drawback to doing that is now I have my good controller tied up as a ghost controller. So I doubt I'll do that much unless out of absolute boredom.

The dip switches are located on the top of the controller and are accessible with a pen or small screwdriver. Each setting corresponds to a part of the power curve you want to control. I experimented a bit with this and discovered that, while I can control the car's complete power range, it still is full power at the top, flying the car straight off the track. I'm sure over time I'll find the comfortable settings in Curve mode.

Dip Switches currently set at 1 and 2 OFF. That plus the selector switch set to the "lin" [linear] setting will allow you to control overall speed of the cars. Y'know....for kids.

This particular controller is the SCP01b, which has positive wiring, which is run on commercial tracks and is standard on handmade wood tracks. Carrera and other plastic track makers use negative wiring. This means that in order to run this controller on a Carrera track, you'll have to switch the polarity of the power plug. This will cause cars to only run counter-clockwise, and stutter if you try to run them the other direction [unless you flip the switch on the Carrera cars].
It's possible to buy a cartridge that would fit precisely to the Carrera track, but this one does just fine. Other cartridges are available for the various digital systems.

I wired 4mm banana plugs to the three wires and matched them black/black, red/red, yellow/blue. They then sit in the power track from left to right: yellow, red, black.

The controller is wired Yellow/Red/Black from left-right as you look at the track. Notice the reversal of polarity for the power plug. It needs to be that way to power the controller [positive wired]. The 4mm banana plugs fit snugly, but they fit. The "yellow" plug has a piece of yellow tape over it [I didn't have an actual yellow plug].

RESULTS:
Now I understand what I've been reading. This is one of the best upgrades you can make. There is no comparison between it and a Carrera controller.
This gives me more control over my car, a better flow and more understanding of my controller and what I can do. A quick adjustment and my Safety Car can compete with my R18. And suddenly my R18 is a breeze to drive, absolutely responsive and more like a shark than ever before.

It took a couple of sessions to get the hang of the controller and find a good comfortable start point. I ran a few time trials and not only were the speeds impressive, but the fact that there were no de-slots was even more interesting. I credit that absolutely to the controller. There is nothing else that can possibly explain it. From here on out I will be keeping my Carrera controllers in the box.

UPDATE: The SCP-1 certainly is faster and reacted very well to the settings given. I set up a stock Carrera controller as well to compare the two. The amount of throw on the finger trigger of the SCP-1 is longer than the throw on the Carrera thumbstick. The ability to make so many fine tuning adjustments to the SCP-1 made the Carrera controller feel primitive in comparison.
I keep coming back to one particular setting: Linear/1off/2off. This is what they call the safe setting for kids. The max power setting. It is, to me, the absolute best feature of this controller. I showed it to my wife a few minutes ago and she was actually excited that she made it around the track without crashing. Win/win.


BOTTOM LINE: Absolutely drop what you're doing and buy a good controller. I'm sure the SCP-2, the successor to this one, is likely very good, as are other controllers from DS and others. But it's the best piece of kit that I've gotten so far, and actually brings a smile to my face when I'm using it.


There is a newer version of the controller called the SCP-2, but I don't own that one, so I can't really comment on it. This one is about the old version, and since there doesn't seem to be that much info available online about it, maybe this little bit will help. 

The Generosity Of Others

I got in a conversation over at the SCI forum with a couple of people regarding controllers. My primary gripe has been that the ones I currently have are thumb controllers first and foremost, and I prefer the finger-trigger kind. Secondly, the stock Carrera controllers are very rough and not responsive at all. Naturally, wouldn't you know that there is a plethora of controllers on the market, with prices ranging from six bucks to hundreds.

As we were talking and I was asking questions, trying to keep them on the cheaper side of budget restrictions, we came to the conclusion that a Parma analog controller would probably be just fine, although if I really just wanted to get it done, I'd step up to one of the hundred dollar controllers, which have separate dials for tuning in the power, as well as interchangeable cartridges for running on different systems. I, being my ever thrifty self, pressed on until I was approached and offered a nice controller for about the price of a cheaper analog: A Slot.it SCP1. 30 bucks and it was mine.

Problem is, I don't have 30 bucks. But it was such a good deal, I had to at least tell my wife about it, in case she thought it was worth doing. I tried buttering her bread a little, but didn't quite get an answer from her. I wrote to the guy [who shall remain nameless for privacy reasons in case anyone comes across this] and told him that it was likely going to take awhile, and if he can remain patient, I'd love to do it eventually. It's pretty close to the holiday season, and I don't know about you, but there's an unwritten rule around my house that you don't go spending money on yourself around the holiday season. This is especially doubly important now as we just yesterday signed for the house we've been waiting on for over a year.

So a couple days roll by, and there's a message in my inbox. The guy writes and says, hey, why don't you send me your address and I'll send you the controller. Call it a housewarming gift.

I am amazed when people do that sort of thing. That controller new costs a hundred bucks. He didn't have to do that. It's a tremendous offer and I'm very thankful for it. He said he had upgraded to a better one and wasn't using it anymore.

I know it's just a hobby accessory, but it's not about that. It's more about the friendly, helpful people that are involved in slot car racing. I meet more and more of them each day, each with different ideas and opinions, but all completely hooked on the hobby.
And maybe it's because the hobby has such a particular clientele, one that knows that we're all in the same boat. Sure, guys have their racing secrets, but general, and often particular information is willingly given. I get contacted directly by people offering to help quite often, and it's a great feeling. I value that information, and it's all going to a good place.

Thanks Guy. I'll call you Guy for now. I really appreciate what you did. Thanks very much.

Time Trials

I took the Carrera Audi R18 and the Audi Safety Car, trued the tires, cleaned, oiled and greased the cars. As a test track I used a crossover-8 with extended straights.

All R-1 turns. The Straightaway is 6 pieces, the Overpass is 3 pieces and the Back Straight is 3 pieces. 

I don't have any form of a lap counter, so I had to improvise. I ran each car on the inside lane for two tests each; one 5-minutes and three 1-minute. I counted laps manually and used a clock timer counting down. Primitive, I know.

Results:
____________

R18 5 MINUTES
WEIGHT: 96.4gr

LAPS: 90

DE-SLOTS: 5

SAFETY CAR 5 MINUTES
WEIGHT: 90.5gr

LAPS: 90

DE-SLOTS: 3

By the way the cars ran, I never would have expected them to reach the exact same lap. The R18 went off a lot more, but was considerably faster on the track, so it made up for it. The Safety Car was running at its fastest the entire time, and while it has better braking, it wasn't enough to get it the win. WINNER: R18

____________

R18 1 MINUTE

LAPS: 20

DE-SLOTS: 0

LAPS: 19

DE-SLOTS: 1

LAPS: 21

DE-SLOTS: 0

____________

SAFETY CAR 1 MINUTE

LAPS: 15

DE-SLOTS: 3

LAPS: 17

DE-SLOTS: 2

LAPS:  19

DE-SLOTS: 2

This was more like I expected. I treated it as more of a sprint than the 5-minute marathon was, and while I didn't have to change my driving style much for the R18, the Safety Car clearly couldn't handle the extra push, although it made a noble attempt at the end. It's far too wiggly. Had it behaved and not gone off twice in the last 1 minute heat, it likely would have won. WINNER [by a country mile]: R18

UPDATE: I have since received a Slot.it SCP-1 controller, and will be doing all time trials from here on out with that. That renders this test now obsolete.

Finally!

It looks like my days as a rug racer are nearing an end. My wife and I have been waiting for over a year now to hear about this house we've been wanting to buy, and the paperwork is finally complete. Move in begins in January.

This means I will have a full attic to use for running cars. The agreement to turn it into a slotcar room was reached long ago, and it's all mine. The attic as A-frame style, kind of like what you'd expect in a German home, and the roof starts from the floor on either side. There is between 8-10 feet x 20 feet of standable non-head-bumping room, then the ceiling starts to slope. I have a grand total of one picture, and this is it:

A shot of a corner of the attic with a bit of the back wall. Obviously, the higher off the floor I want my track, the shallower it will have to be. And since this would be otherwise mostly unusable space unless for storage, I'm going to put some form of track in there. 

My plan is to make the bulk of the track design against the flat back wall, about waist-high. Since there are two sloped sides to deal with, I'm considering a U-shaped track, where the two angled walls will have essentially straightaways going out-and-back. Likely I'll have to make some form of height adjustment and actually lower the track to go along the angled walls. I think that would be kind of cool having the arms at knee-height. I could focus the back wall section to be more technical, and the two arms of the U would be where I could air out the cars and let 'em run. I might be able to get away with #4 banking at the ends. Plus I could design an extremely long track.

I can't find the exact dimensions of the attic, so I'll have to take detailed measurements next time I go out there. From the photo above I'd say from post to bottom corner it's about 6 feet. That's the width of #4 banking. But if I bring the two ends all the way to each side of the door [which is smack dab in the middle of the wall], I could raise the height.
My plan is to do the whole thing first in Carrera track on tabletops. That'll give me the opportunity to do multiple attempts at layouts until I'm satisfied with what I have. I might choose a simpler L-design as well so I can leave one side of the attic clear. Quite a bit of track will have to be purchased, but I can find that at reasonable prices these days.

It'll be analog. It'll be mostly for me, and I don't know how ready I am to get all-in with digital. I think I'll have to be talked into it. It's not that I don't like it, or trust it, as I think it's pretty cool. Aside from the price, it's partly due to the chipping thing. I'm not confident in getting that done right, and don't want to risk it at this stage. Besides, the cars that are coming are all analog to begin with, and I don't want to have to limit myself. Of course, being with Carrera means I can always upgrade it to digital at any time, which is a good feeling. And I can buy cars pre-chipped, even from third-parties who will do the chipping for me if I was so lame to go that route. I need cars and track. Once I get enough of those, I'll consider bells and whistles.

Slot Car Proxy Racing

I've been reading lately about slot car proxy racing. The idea is simple: people with home or commercial tracks host race events, and entrants mail their cars in to be raced on the track. Race is finished, car is mailed back to you, or in some cases, sent on a continuing circuit to other scheduled proxy races. Clubs are formed around this and it can be quite interesting to those people who want to see how fast their cars are in other conditions.

Various events hold races for specific classes of cars, and many of the same classes pop up frequently. Below is an example of an open race being held in Vancouver which features any representative cars that would have raced in the Targa Florio race in Italy, which was held annually from 1906 until 1973:

The Greater Vancouver Slot Car Club is presenting the Targa Florio Proxy. 

This is an open invitation to 1/32 scale slot racers around the world to enter a car in the Greater Vancouver Targa Florio Proxy. This is a club proxy, not limited to the participants from any particular club or forum. Everyone is welcome.
Format
The proxy will consist of two races on Luf's famous Targa track, one in each direction, as well
as at least four more races held on the tracks owned by other club members. The tracks are all non-magnetic routed wood with a 1⁄4 inch minimum slot depth. All cars will be shipped here, run in all the races and then shipped home again.
Cars
All cars will be reasonable 1/32 scale models of any car that actually ran in the original Targa
Florio, held in Sicily from 1906 to 1973. Car authentification will be according to the Targa Florio files shown on www.racingsportscars.com.
To qualify, the make and model must be listed in the results file as having run for any year of the race. Livery does not have to be the same, and fantasy liveries are allowed, but they should be period correct for the year of the race. Cars will be divided into two classes.
Class A
These cars must have a motor of less than 15000 rpm at 12v, as tested and listed in Robert
Livingston's motor list found here - http://slotcarnews.blogspot.ca/2007/02/slot-car-news-motor-list.html
Class B
These cars will have an open motor formula with unlimited rpm. Motors above 22000 rpm at
12v are not recommended. The class is determined only by the motor rpm, not the make or model of car chosen.
Rules
Cars may have any chassis type, made of any material. Chassis may have any motor
alignment, inline, sidewinder or anglewinder. Wheels may be of any type, but should look scale for the car being modelled. For example, no O-ring front tires, and front wheels must turn. For cars up to 1960 the maximum tire tread width should be about 1⁄4 inch. For cars 1961 to 1973 most should be 3/8 inch. Several cars from the late 60s and early 70s had wider rear tires, up to 1⁄2 inch width. Limits can be exceeded only with documentation for the real car.
Rear tires should be urethane, but rubber is also allowed. No sponge or silicone tires  will be allowed. No tire solutions are allowed. Tires will be cleaned with a damp sponge, only if necessary. Any gear ratio is allowed. Be advised that most of our tracks are quite technical, with short straights and lots of turns. None have extra long straights.
While not a rule, you should know that cars wider that 2.5 inches or longer than 5 inches will have difficulty on the Burnaby Grind Hill Climb event which has very tight corners and narrow areas where a larger car may hit the scenery.
Car clearance should be at least 1/16 inch to protect track surfaces. Spur gears may be closer but a car will be disallowed if the gear touches the track.
Entry
Participant are invited to enter one car in this event, either in class A or class B.
There will be a maximum number of entries of 30 per class or total of 60. This will be by time of entry, and a waiting list will be kept if the number exceeds 60.
Registration
Entry fees will be $10 for local participants, $25 for other Canadian and US participants, and
$35 for those from other countries, payable in Canadian dollars. All registration fees must be received by Sept 15, 2015. After that time invitations will go to entrants on the waiting list. Fees are mainly used for trackable insured return postage.
Cars must arrive by October 15, 2015, with the first event taking place about November 1, 2015. The plan would be to send cars home by Jan. 1, 2016.
Events
Races will be held on several of our club tracks, with two rounds on Luf's Targa and one on the
Burnaby Grind hill-climb. Other tracks are Perry's Rocket, Don's Attic track, Laguna Douga, and Roger's Coquitlam track. There may be others by the time of the races. We will aim for a minimum of six races.
Prizes
Prizes will be awarded to the winning car in each class, and a concours winner. It is hoped that
these prizes will be donated by slot car dealers. Participation items will be given to each contestant. A small award will be given to the participant whose car had to travel the furthest to compete.
Drivers
All events will be driven by local club members who are experienced drivers. In any event,
drivers will be assigned to one specific lane, and will drive all cars in turn on that lane. Drivers may be changed between classes.
Contact Us
Participants may enquire or register by contacting the race director.

It's pretty specific about racing requirements, yet does allow for experimentation [motors, chassis, gear ratios], while still maintaining scale appearance. So something like the Alfa Romeo 33/3 from Slot.it likely would fit right in almost right out of the box:

While entry fee exceeds what it would cost to actually buy the car new, it would be fun to occasionally compete in a proxy race. Larger proxy races offer prizes, as this one does. Sometimes the prizes come in the form of slot cars themselves. Either way, it would be interesting to see one of my cars racing on the other side of the world. I'd never expect it to get anything but dead last, but it would still be fun.

I've been looking at various proxy races and researching them to try to understand more about it. I've found that the best proxy races are the ones where the host takes the time to completely cover every aspect of the process, and not just run the cars and box 'em up. Over at /r/slotcars we started posting results of some of the more prominent proxy races happening now, and the results are varied. Some, like the event detailed above are outstanding in their coverage. They give us [the outsider] a look into the grass-roots organization of the hobby, along with a chance to see how others do things.
The best proxy race hosts also have a good handle on the rules, a good race offering, and the passion to pull it off, all the while not alienating people who might want to join in. I'm sure had I a car today I could send it off for entry in any of a half dozen proxy races around the world right now.

Proxy race hosts: please go into as much detail as you can in your reporting of races. Photos, descriptions, video, standings lists, spreadsheets, technical information on the entrants....all great thing that are in your arsenal. The more complete your coverage, the more interesting the event.

photo: Alfa Romeo 33/3 by Slot.it
For more info about the race, here is the original link.

Why I Chose 1:32 Scale for Slot Cars

I got my first track when I was six years old. It was a Tyco HO set. After a short stint I switched to AFX and kept building on it by asking for the same thing every year for xmas. Eventually I had a whole box of track and enough cars to do plenty of stuff with.
When I was twelve, I stayed the night at a friend's house, and we raced on his dad's track. I had never experienced it before, as the cars were much larger and more realistic than what I was used to. It took some time as these monsters would slip and slide all over the track with hardly any effort. They didn't go a million miles an hour, but you sure felt something when they got sideways in the curves.

Fast-forward to my late-20's. I was out one weekend, killing time, and I stepped into a hobby store. There was a Carrera Exclusive [1:24] track there which had, if I remember correctly, a bathtub Porsche as one of the cars. I couldn't take my eyes off it, and had the money out ready to buy it when I stopped myself. It was probably a smart decision at the time because I really couldn't afford to do it then.

And now present-day. I'm 52. I've been playing music all my adult life and have spent most of my fun money keeping my drums fresh. But now I teach more than I play in bands, so I don't need to constantly upkeep my kits anymore. Aside from that, I have purchased all I needed and then some, so money isn't a factor in it like it used to be.

In the back of my head it nags at me. Always there. Race cars. Build a track. Now's the time. I am in need of a hobby, and my wife not only likes the idea and has already okayed me taking up space for a track, but she has ordered a few cars for me as holiday gifts.

A few years ago, she bought me a Carrera GO set for xmas. I set it up with my nephew [9], and within 20 minutes both cars were broken. The scale speed was so fast it took everything I didn't like about HO and amplified it. These "F1" bullets flew off the track and shattered spectacularly. Wings, noses, wheels...they all broke off within minutes. The following Monday I took the kit back to the store and upgraded to a Carrera Evolution [analog] kit. I never looked back.

Everything is more expensive than GO, but then 1:32 is really where the meat of the hobby is. There are so many manufacturers of everything needed to completely immerse one's self into racing. A seeming endless array of parts, upgrades, systems and designs; not unlike real life. Add to that a rather large online fan base. Lots of information can be found, and it's mostly in a handful of forums online.

The Benefits:

• Availability. Easy to find and plentiful. Lots of parts from different manufacturers. Online purchases are easy, although there aren't as many brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. and UK like there used to be. In Germany, however, Carrera can be purchased at most well-stocked toy stores.
• Easier scale for maintenance. I found HO too small for my liking, and wanted something that would be a little easier to work with. 1:43 had potential, but still was not at the level I wanted for the sake of my enjoyment of the hobby.
• More realistic speed. There's nothing that screams "TOY" than an HO car going 800 scale MPH around a track. I can still jump on one and have fun, and can even see why guys would still want to race it, it's just not for me. 
• Quality and Workmanship. There are some beautiful cars and tracks out there. I think 1:32 scale provides a lot of possibilities for not only buying great cars, but making beautiful scenic track layouts. Not that you can't do this in HO or 1:43. I've seen great tracks there as well, but it just doesn't have the same feel, and there isn't the same variety of stuff available. 

The Drawbacks:

• Price. You can get started in the 1:32 hobby for around 100 bucks for a kit with track and two cars. Cars seem to go for between $30-$50 or so for the more standard cars up to $250 or so for the detailed, ready-to-race cars. Knowing that each car you buy will cost you around fifty bucks makes car purchases more than just "yeah, I'll take that." Add another $20 or so to make it competitive to race [or purchase the out-of-box competitive cars] and you're up to almost $70 for a chance at the podium....if that's your thing. [I've found Slot.it cars for 40 euro compared to NSR cars for 67 euro]
• Size. A benefit and a drawback? Yes, but only because the overall footprint of a 1:32 track is so large. HO has loads more room to work with in the same space. This means that there's always the possibility it will be difficult to find room to put a 1:32 track up. And with Carrera, it's actually a 1:24 track, so it's got an even bigger footprint than say a Ninco or Scalextric track. 
• With the good comes the bad. As with any hobby, especially one that's been around for so many years with so few technological changes, it's bound to get inundated with stuff to buy, and there is no lack of poorly designed and manufactured slot cars out there. At first every car seems like it would be so much fun [and many might]. But then I read reviews, opinions and see prices of used cars and understand...there are just a lot of lousy cars out there. There is also a lot of good, however, and it's easy to buy a reasonably priced slot car that is a mere tuneup away from setting great lap times. 

So 1:32 it is. Actually it's 1:24. Having that option is pretty great, as there are some cool, highly-detailed cars in that scale. And they'll fit and run on Carrera track [w/borders]. The compromise I have made to stay in 1:32 scale is to put a premium on car purchases. If they were 20 bucks it would be perfect. Since they're 40, I'll buy less, but be much more thorough in my research before purchasing. This will make me a bit more particular, at least at first, and I'm okay with that. I'll eventually step into the used market for purchasing, but right now new cars are at pretty good prices. This isn't a cheap hobby, and there's plenty to do. I've got time.