AAFX - See Aurora.
AJ's - A company that has survived since the 60's. Produces tires and other products for H.O. Cars. Originally founded by the late Maurice Wynn, it is now owned by Bob Haines, of R.E.H. Distributing. AMF - The company that bought out American tracks in the late '60's. They also bought the slot car portion of Cox through another holding of theirs called Leisure Dynamics. Although the reason is speculative, the fact is that they closed down both operations. They changed the name of all slot car tracks in stock to AMF and shipped them to Europe. Not one AMF track was ever located here in the U.S. Most all of the Cox equipment, cars and controllers, were hauled to the dump in Los Angeles. Because of the wholesale destruction of the product back then, Cox cars and controllers today are very hard to come by. An interesting side note to the AMF story. During the same time they were disposing of the number 1 slot car track company, the number 1 controller company, and the number 2 car company, they ran an article in the Wall Street Journal stating that their entry into the slot car racing industry was a big mistake. They stated that their slot related companies were losing money and they feared that slot racing was a bigger fad than hoola hoops, and would die a greater death. In doing so, they fulfilled their own prophesy. Aero - A slot car company in Florida owned by Rick Franchi, that is known for their great slot car body paint jobs, among other things. Acid core - A type of solder. Definately NOT recommeded for use on electrical wires. Slot related or not. Air brakes - Sorry, these don't exist in slot cars today, not that it hasen't been tried. In the 60's, classic had a car called the Stinger which had a large flap that sprang to a vertical position when the driver let off the controller. The idea was that this large flap would push air, helping to slow down the car. Right! Air gap - That space between the magnets and the poles of your armature. Too tight and your motor will not develope sufficient RPM, but have killer brakes. Too wide and your motor will not develope sufficient torque, and will roll from here to Dallas when the power goes off. Just right, and it will scream till it blows. What is just right...Ahhhh, that is for you to find out through many hours of testing, trial and error. But first, ask some of your fellow racers what their air gap is. If they answer with "uhhhh", ask somebody else. Air gap tool- A round, usually aluminum slug with an armature shaft through the middle. Used for checking and sizing the air gap in a slot car motor. Some have additional tooling to allow the installation of bearings and oilites in motors. See Armature slug. Air control - Thin plastic or mylar devices which when applied to the slot car help direct the air flowing over the body to cause extra weight to be applied to the rear tires. Air relief - Any cuts or removed portions in the air control devices that allow air to spill out, resulting in less downforce and less weight. Aligned - This is what, if you arm isn't, will cause it to go up in smoke! Alignment is the single most important thing you can do to a slot racing motor, car, etc. It is most important that everything spin freely, and most importantly, it must continue to spin freely even after taking a wall blast. Everything that moves on your car must be aligned properly to reduce the power robbing friction that will occur when things like your axle is in a bind, and not properly aligned. Motor brushes must also be aligned so that they will burn evenly and not hang up while sliding inside the hoods. Allen - Short for allen wrench. You need two sizes to work on a modern slot car. The larger one is for the motor, and the smaller one is for the wheels and gears. Alligator clips - Three are needed, and go on the end of each of the three wires coming from your controller. It is best if each clip has a boot on it. See boots. Alpha - A slot car company in Wisconsen that is known for their motors among otherthings. Owned by Paul Pfeiffer. Altech - A brand of slot car track that existed back in the '60's. The company was located in Florida, and used as their primary builder, Stan Engleman of Texas. Altered - A term given to a car which is no longer stock. Usually given to a particular class of drag race car. Amateur - The a ranking of a competitor. Usually, one given a beginner. More often than not, in slot racing, you have to be pretty professional to be able to compete with amateurs. American tracks - Originally started back in the '60's. Their concept was to start a sales staff marching from California across the U.S. selling slot tracks in every town they stopped in. The original factory was located in an unused movie studio in Hollywood, California. The banks were actually formed in a steam room, using steam machines formerly used to create special effects in the movies. Am-Slot - A true amateur organization, using "common sense" rules originated by John Ford for his own raceways back in the 60's and 70's. Operated like a franchise, rather than a standard club or orginazation, raceways hold competitions and send results in to be placed in the main computer bank. Racers are than ranked nationally on a top 100 amateur list. Anglewinder - Refers to the fact that the motor sits sideways, at an angle to the back axle. The theory of what angle to use is variable. If your motor sits with a greater angle, the weight is shifted towards the front. If it is sitting with a lessor angle, the weight is shifted towards the rear and closer to the rear axle. Determining which, and how much you need, will take some experimenting. It is totally reletive depending on the track banking and conditions of the track surface. The anglewinder is a derivitive of the full sidewinder chassis of the 60's. The motor is placed at an angle to get the gears closer together so that smaller gears can be used and therefore, smaller tires. The end result is acheiving a lower center of gravity. Answerman - While this term has been used in many different ways, slot racers may remember it best as a long running question and answer series that ran in Scale Auto Racing News. There never was an actual "answerman" and many different writers took a stab at the article. It is currently in re-run here in Scale Auto Racing On-Line's FAQ section. Arc - The actual name for those sparks that you see under your braid. Worn out tires will also cause the frame to arc out on the track braid. Aristocrat - The name given to a specific road course from American Model Car Raceways. Also known better as the "hillclimb". This track was one of the last to be designed by American, and took up much less floor space. It was never produced in the "premium" version, and had wood paneling on its sides. There were some released with seats, steering wheels, and foot pedals. These versions had the "T" slot, and today, this version is worth the least due to the great deterioation of the slot cause by the undercut that held the special "T" guides. Armature - This is the thing inside your motor that spins. You will find your pinion gear on one end, and occasionally, a comm. cooler on the other end. Its main components consist of the shaft, the comutator, the wires and the stacks. Arm - Commonly used slang or short term for Armature. Armature slug - Round piece of steel to put in between magnets in the set up. Used for magnetising. Also made from aluminum and mounted on a shaft for setting proper air gap in setups. Aurora - Also known as Aurora AFX. A company that is still around in the H.O. race car and track field. Even after several bankruptcies and sell outs. Their cars are considered to be the best available today, and the most collectible from the past. Axle - That part of your car that has two wheels attached to it. The back axle should also have a gear as well, or your car is not going to win any races. The back axle comes in two sizes. See 3/32 and 1/8. The front axle could be any number of combinations from small pieces of wire with a non functional wheel to a full 1/8 inch rolling axle. Which one you use depends on the class of car you are building. Axle relief - This term refers to the "cut out" portion of the "can" of your motor. This portion is located on the back side, or that portion that sits closest to the axle. This is also the position of the south pole magnet. This "cut out" portion makes room for the axle to nestle in allowing the motor position to be further back on the chassis. Axle tube - Though not widely used today, it is the brass tube located at the rear of the chassis that the axle oilites or bearings are located in, and the axle runs through. BB.S.C.R.A. - A long running group of slot racers in England. Stands for British Slot Car Racing Association. 1/32 scale cars is the choice to race.
B.S.R.T. - A manufacturer of H.O. related equipment. Located in Washing state. Owned by Gary Beedle. BZ - A company which made ready to run cars and equipment during the 60's. If anyone knows the name of the person who started this company and its original location, please email me and I will add that piece of information here. Bad air - Something you should never release at the drivers panel. Also, when several cars are running in a pack, turbulance occurrs between the cars. You should never approach and try to overtake a group of cars in the bank. The result is that your car will become unstable in the turbulance coming from the other cars, and most likely, your car will wind up going straight up the bank, over the side, and down to the floor. Back chute - Same as Back straight. Backlash - The amount of "slop" in your gears. See "slop". Back straight - This term referres to any long straight on the back side of a slot car track. On the King track, the back straight is located after the bank and before the deadman. Balance - A balanced armature will perform much better than an unbalanced arm. Vibrations rob power. The Wasp and Group 12 and Group 15 armatures originally came only in unbalanced versions, and eventually, the balanced versions were allowed in all phazes of compeition. Now, balanced arms are used in all classes with the exception of Group 10. Ballistic - Synonomous with "Beauford". Any racer who goes very fast, with very fast equipment. Ballistic can refer to either the driver or the equipment, or both. Balloon - A commutator failure where the segments "balloon" out under intense heat. Thanks to MG Brown for this. Bands - The graduated "steps" in a controller that allow increases or decreases of power from full-brake to full-power. Most often found on external resistor and transistor controllers. On standard resistors , each segment of the wire wound resistor is a "Band:". Bank - While there may be more than one bank on your track, the one usually referred to as the "bank" is the biggest one. Banked track - In reality, there are only two types of slot tracks. Flat tracks, and those with banked turns. A banked track is much faster, and easier to drive. Barrels - A term used in H.O. racing. The barrel holds the motor brushes on many brands of H.O. motors. Bat pans - Not what bats cook their guano soup in. See Pans. Battery - Located under the track to power your slot cars. Located in your stop watch to tell you how fast you went. In the 60's, one was located in a special box connected to the controller to ad additional braking to the car. In some cases, the car would actually back up when coming to a fully stopped position. B-can - The original Mabuchi motor used in slot racing was the 16-D. It was never called the A-can, but when a new design with a lower center of gravity came out, it was naturally called the B-can. It was a totally new design, and did not have any of the features of the 16D with the exception that a 16D sized armature was used. The B-can acheived success in competition, but never got fully in production before the "C" can came out. See C-can. Bearings - If you are a slot car racer, you probably have lost your bearings. At least a time or two. Bearings are used in the motor when allowed, and on the axle when allowed. The term "bearings" usually referres to "ball" bearings. Bushings, or Oilites are also bearings, bronze being the favorite material used in their manufacturer, but nylon and teflon bearings are also available from some sources. Belt drive - Most people give credit to the belt drive to Parma's Whisperjet. While this car is the most known belt drive car, there were other belt drive cars used back in the 60's. It is most commonly used in rental cars to keep from stripping out gears with beginner drivers. Bite Bar - (Thanks to Jim Allen for reminding me of this one. He is a regular at scratchbuilt.com.) The bite bar is what connects the two pans together towards the rear of the chassis. Moving the pans forward or backward on stamped steel chassis will move the point at which "air" weight is applied to the main chassis. On scratch built chassis, the bite bar is usually an 047 or 055 piece of piano wire which can itself be moved forward or backward, leaving the pans intact. The bite bar is an often overlooked tool for making a car handle. Move the bite bar forward to add less "air" weight to the rear wheels, and backward to add more. Black - Also known as the gutter lane. Counting down from red, the black lane is the #8 lane. Black ball - This is a term used to describe a condition of banishment. Such as when a racer has acted in a manner to be asked to leave the raceway. Things that will get you black balled from the raceway on the first offence would be fighting and stealing. Other infractions of the rules such as running, climbing on the track, cussing, acting unsportsmanlike, and in general being disrespectful of other peoples property or feelings will get you black balled after a few occurances. Black set - In order to save time during major races, a type of consi racing system can be used where the racer gets to run only on four lanes. The choice of lane to start on depends on the competitor's qualifying time. The black set of four lanes consists of black, yellow, orange, and white, and the rotational pattern follows in that order. See red set. Blue - The lane that used to be the favorite qualifying lane on the King tracks of the '60's. Today the favorite lane is the Orange lane. This shift in preference is probably caused by two factors. The increased speed of today's cars, and the fact that with the new 42 inch wide tracks, the position on the track is different now on every lane. Counting down from red, the blue lane is the #5 lane. Blueprint - What you would do to an item to make it perfect. Most commonly used term with motors which have been taken from their stock state and blueprinted. To do this one would perform alignment procedures on the armature and motor brushes. Adding shunt wires and spring insulation when allowable. Also see bullitproof. Blue spring steel - A material used in the construction of top of the line slot car chassis. Their origin came from scratch builders who would buy a plate of spring steel and cut the chassis out using a dremel. Some still do it this way. Body block - A common move used in the Street Fighter video game.... oh, that's another dictionary. For slot racing, this term referres to a wooden block three inches wide. These are different than set-up blocks in that they are 1 inch norrower. The narrow block allows easier mounting of bodies to chassis. The uncut body can slide down over the edge of the block. It is a good idea to mount the body while it is clear, cut it down, and then paint it. Then, you don't have to look through the paint for the holes! Body clip - A pre-bent wire used to hold on slot car bodies. Originally developed by Jim Russell and used on Russkit cars in the '60's. Used mostly in the stamped production chassis used in Group 10 racing. The same body clip is also used by the Parma Womp, and the Champion Thumper. Body pin - A straight pin used to hold on slot car bodies. Four required. The best pin is a "silk" pin, and can be obtained from your local raceway, or the local cloth outlet. Bondo - Of course it is used to fill dents in smashed up cars, but relating to slot cars, it is simply known as that goopy stuff used by most track builders to fill in areas which need filling. Personally I love the way it smells. While Bondo is used by many people, it is tough to take apart a track that has had the seams filled with it. Spackle is much easier to use, and better for the job. See Spackle. Boots - Usually comes in three colors. Red, White, and Black. Made of rubber and go on over your alligator clips. See alligator clips. Box - The original wooden slot car box was made by Hoffman's of California, and though it seemed to be specially constructed for slot cars, its true purpose was to have a floating fishing tackle box. Then, along came plastic. Although plastic tackle boxes can be bought anywhere, the wooden box is still the status symbol of the true slot racer, and many different craftsmen make them in many different styles and sizes. They can be purchased at your local raceway. Box plaques - An item given at some races. Sometimes as an award for winning a certain place, or sometimes just free to all participating racers. They are usually displayed in the inside of the box lid, but sometimes stuck to the outside of the box. Box stock - A lost class. It used to refer to the class run by the rank beginner. No modifications are allowed to the car. It must be run just as it comes out of the box. Am/Slot is one of only a small group of racers still running box stock classes. Box stock 15 - Something that no longer exists in its intended form. There are some groups that run a Box Stock 15 class, but so many changes are allowed that the term is meaningless. Brace - This term is used to describe a piece of wire bent to form a connection between the chassis and the motor. In this way, the motor will not move and the chassis will also be strengthened at the point where the brace is applied. A brace could re-inforce a chassis as well, especially when the chassis has been weakened through crashing during a race. Bracket - That part of a frame used to connect items together. Also a term meant to define a specific group of racing. For example, the lower bracket slot car chassis use a motor bracket to hold the motor to the frame. Bracket race - Refers to a race specifically designed for a particular type of car. Meaning that car fits a specific "bracket". Also in drag racing, a bracket racer uses a system called "dial in" to determine the car's handicap, thus allowing cars with unequal power to compete at an equal level. Braid - This term is used in three places in slot car racing. One is the braid on the track, referring to the electrical pick-ups phisically located on each side of the slot. Two is on the guide or pick-up on the car, one connected to each motor lead wire. Believe it or not, the largest manufacturer of slot car braid is Associated. They had the first braid machine, and kept it in production, even though they moved out of the slot racing field into the R/C market. Can you think of the third? Don't peek....Aw, you looked. The third braid used is on some shunt wires. Though it is not the most commonly used, there are brands of shunt wire that is braided. Braid juice - You'll find this located in the fridge, right next to the grape and apple. Oh, wait that is another dictionary. Braid juice is an electrically conductive, lubricating liquid dropped on your car's braid between heats. In some cases, a couple of drops are applied to the track braid at the beginning of each straight. This gives a good electrical contact for the car in the critical time when it is exiting the turns. Braid brush - A stiff wire brush used to comb out the guide braid. This process gives better electrical contact between the braid on the guide and the braid on the track. Braid recess - That portion of the track that is cut away on each side of the slot. This allows the braid to sit down on a ledge and remain flush or slightly below the track surface. Sometimes called the braid sholder. Braid sholder - See Braid recess. Braid roller - A device used to flatten out braid which is either being applied for the first time, or being glued back down during normal repairs. There are commercial versions available, and also useable is a roller used for repairing screen doors. Brakes - See Dynamic braking. Brake pot - A variable resistor, or potentiometer, (pot for short) that will allow the competitor to adjust the amount of dynamic braking available to the car. Brake switch - A switch connected to the brake wire allowing the competitor to turn the brakes on or off. Brass - Formerly the favorite building material used in slot cars. There was a time when Parma released what they called the Brass Kar. There are still some of them around, and they worked well because they were heavy in all the right places. Steel later became the favorite metal to use in the center section, and brass was still used for the pans. Brass tubing both round and square is still used for hinges, and other similar uses. Break - That part of a race where there is no racing. Also, if a part breaks on your car, there is no more racing. Break out - A drag racing term used when the competitor goes faster than his dial in thus losing the race. Exception is when both cars break out. Then the competitor breaking out the least is determined the winner. (Additional definition) - Theoretical lap time that no competitor should be able to achieve. This enables certain computer-controlled race director systems to detect a "rider" and not count the additional lap. Bridge - That portion of a slot car track which crosses over itself. Brushes - There are lots of brushes used on a slot car. There is the motor brush, which provides the electrical contact to the commutator. There is the braid brush that is used to comb out the braid. In slot cars, braid ain't brushes. In H.O. cars pick-ups ain't brushes. Some people use a dust brush to clean up their pits, occasionally your car will brush the wall, if you nerf the guy beside you, there might be a brush with death, and that's all the brushes I can think of. Brush hoods - Small brass components bent in a square u shape so when bolted down to the endbell, a square hole is created that holds the motor brushes in place. When properly aligned, the motor brushes should slide back in forth in the brush hoods easily and smoothly. Brush tool - A small square precision machined device used to align the brush hoods so that the motor brushes will run at 90 degrees to the commutator. Another type of brush tool is designed to radius the proper curve on the commutator end of the motor brush allowing quicker break in of the motor. Bucktrax - A brand of wood cnc routed H.O. tracks. Located in Oregon, and available through Scale Auto Mail Order. Building block - See building jig. Building jig - A special block, usually made of slate, which is used in the construction of a slot car chassis. Building rent - That's what your raceway owner will not be able to pay if you continue to buy parts via mail order. Bulletin - Paul's Meiers excellent magazine, known for covering mostly the high end of slot racing. Bullet proof - This is the process of making your car stronger in its weakest places. This will keep the car from bending in a crash. For instance, a brace across the uprights on a stamped steel chassis will keep the axle from binding after taking a rear hit into the wall. Burn out - This is accomplished with a slot car by holding the car while pulling the controller trigger. It can be performed on a drag strip or road course. This will create a lot of smoke, wear out your tires, burn out your motor, strip your gears, and generally cost you lots of money. I can't figure out any reason why a raceway owner would ban burn outs in his shop. Bushing - See bearings. Buss bar - Extensions on the motor electrical connections which put them in an area easier to get to. The lead wires are attached to the buss bars. Butt joint - A type of slot car track construction. Called so because the two peices of track butt together and bolt together. Originally developed by American in the 60's, it is still used by some track builders today. Butrate - Used by some to make slot car bodies. It is easy to paint with common enamel paints, but is brittel and easily broken in a crash. See Lexan & Mylar. Buy back - The next round after the first round in drag racing where those who are in the half of the field who are losers, have an opportunity to pay an additional fee and get back into a round of racing, thereby possibly having a chance to go on and be the overall winner. There is only one chance to buy back in a drag race. CC-15 - Another method of going fast with the gp.15 armature. Using small Gp.7 type set-ups without ball bearings, this class was invented by Craig Landry, the Zap chassis builder from Houston, Texas. Very fast, very easy to drive, much easier to build than the International 15. Lasts longer because of the cobalt magnets, the motor runs more efficient and much cooler.
C-64 - Short term for a Commodore 64 computer. A drag racing computer program for all scales of slot car drag tracks, R/C drag strips, pinewood derby tracks is available for the C-64 computer.. There is also a C-64 race director system for road courses. The system uses a Commodore 64 computer as the main platform, and sensors on the track to activate the computer. The C-64 system was developed by John Ford while owner of American Slot Car Tracks. It is still obtainable through the Ford Publishing offices. C-can - Developed by Mura's Bob Green. It obsoleted more motors than any other in the history of slot car racing. It is still in use today. Mura Group 10 motors with the two small holes is the original design C-can. It is also known as the "green" can because of its inventor. This design has broken more records than all the others combined. See green can. Calipers - A measuring tool used by machinests, and slot racers to make accurate measuriments. They come in three varieties. Vernier calipers are the old tried and true types which have markings like a slide rule. Much easier to read are the newer dial calipers which have a dial readout, and the newest calipers have a digital readout making them the easiest to read. Camen - A slot racing manufacutrer originated by Joel Montague and Joseph Cotten back in the early 70's. It has been reported that camen stands for Cotton and Montague enterprises. The two went their seperate ways, and Joel began promoting camen as Pooch products. A bull dog is still used in some promotional material. Purple is the company's color, and a visit to the Camen booth is always a purple adventure. Joel Montague and Camen is still around today, having weathered all the ups and downs of slot racing in the 70's. Camen can boast many National and World records held by its racers. The most noted Camen racer is Jon Laster. Can - A steel housing that holds the magnets. When fitted with an endbell and armature, it becomes a motor. Carrera - Manufacturer of 1/32 and 1/24 scale home race sets. The company was originaly founded in Firth/Nuremberg by Joseph Neuhier. The original focus was the production of high quality "Tin" toys. These original tin toys are a great favorite of collectors today. In 1963, the company expanded into 1/24 and 1/32 scale model road racing cars and track. As of 2002, this is still their main focus. Cement - The term cement usually means the glue that holds down the braid on the track. Contact cement is the choice. Center section - That part of the chassis that you put the axles in, and the motor on. Ceramic - Magnetic ferrious iron oxide powder is mixed and formed with ceramic to make the permanent magnets we use in slot car motors. See cobalt. Challenge - A fairly recent term for a major race or series. The term was coined by Parma with their "Parma Challenge Cup" series of races. Champion - One of the last remaining companies from the 60's. Originally formed by Bob Rule in Chamblee, Georgia, it is now owned by Carl Ford and operated out of his warehouse in Williamstown, New Jersey. Chassis - The complete chassis is made up of all the parts of the car except the body. Charger - Dodge had a Charger, but usually in slot racing the charger is what puts the amperage back into the battery that powers the slot car track. Chatter - This referrs to the sound coming from the tires. Usually upon takeoff, and in the corners. It is a condition caused by too much bite, too much flex in the chassis, a motor flexing back and forth, or any combination of all three. Checkered - The flag you want to see first. Choke - A choke is a device used to "trim" back the power on a high power race track. It originally was a hand wound device using 12 Gage wire wrapped around a toilet paper roll. There was taps in the "coil" at various footages to give the car more or less power. A choke is not needed with today's all electronic controllers. Christmas tree - In drag racing, the pole with all the lights on it in front of and between the two cars is called the christmas tree. So named because of all the pretty lights. Chute - Any part of the slot track that is straight with no turns. Classic - A company from the 60's that manufactured slot car ready to runs and parts. They developed many innovative slot cars including the lightest car of the day called the Asp. Their Manta Ray was the most produced slot car in its day, and is still the one they are most remembered for. Claiming rule - Some raceways allow claiming races. For instance if you are racing Group 10's with a retail price of approximately $35.00. A claiming race with a $40.00 limit could be run allowing any racer to buy any other racer's car for the $40.00 price tag. The idea is if someone consitantly beats you, you can buy his car. He will probably still beat you, because in these type of races, it is usually the driver, and not the car that is the reason for winning. Class A - Am/Slot recommends you set your racing program up in A & B fashion. Beginners in the "B" class and Advanced in the "A" class. Then, on race nite, if there are not enough racers to make up two seperate races, they can be run together and scored seperately. Awards to the top 3 should be handed out at the end of each series. Class B - See "Class A" Clear - The term used when a dangerous condition no longer exists on the track. For instance, someone may yell "lookout on red", and then when the problem is no longer there, the person would yell "clear red" to let the driver on red know he can again hammer down. See hammer down. Clearance - All cars, all classes, must have .063 (1/16) inch track clearance, at all points including gear. This is important as it is this clearance that protects your track surface. Post race inspections should show gear clearance of a minimum of .055. Some eurosports classes allow less clearance, but it is not recommended to have less than .063 no matter what class is run. This is due to the fact that the metal gears will bottom out and over time, ruin your racing surface. Clip - Magnet clips hold the magnets in the can. Wheel clips hold the wheels on the axles. Motor clips hold the motor to the chassis. Braid clips hold the lead wire into the guide. However, a clip to the car next to you during competiton does not hold his car in the slot! Club - This is a tiny device which when attached to your slot car steering wheel will make it virutually impossable to steal.....had you going didn't I. Actually, a club is what you use on the guy that nerf's you in the corner.... no wait, that's probably not right either. How about this..... Club racing today may be the hope of tomorrow. There are easily more club tracks in the World than there are commercial operations. Most are 1/32 scale because the smaller size will fit nice running tracks into a smaller area. Cobalt - The strongest magnets used in slot car racing motors. There are stronger magnets available, but they do not have a tolerance to the extreme heat put out by our motors. Cobalt magnets are not appreciably affected by the heat. Combo chassis - Craig Landry of Houston, Texas perfected this process back in the '70's, using both wire and steel to make his chassis. Craig has reached a mark in slot racing with Zap Chassis that few will dispute is the best of the best. Com - Slang for commutator. Com Cooler - A small round aluminum finned cooling device that fits on the armature shaft on the commutator end of the motor. Originally designed and marketed by John Thorp. Thorp is currently manufacturer of R/C car products. The design was picked up by Phil Hackett of Sonic Products, and is still available today. Com tab - The little tab, or knuckle that the armature windings are attached to. One tab to each of the three comm sections. Com vent - That little space or gap between each of the three sections on the commutator of the armature. Com lathe - Precision tool for making a worn commutator smooth again. Commutator - The little gold colored thing at one end of the armature. The wires of the armature are connected to each of the tabs (in most cases 3). Each motor brush makes contact with a section of the commutator passing current through the pole of the armature causing the pole to become magnetized and attracted to its opposite polarity permanent magnet. Repeat this process 200,000 time per minute for a Group 7 motor. Computer - A necessary item for the modern raceway. Computers are very cost effective for raceways these days, because the programs written for data collection, race lap counting, lap time keeping, and recording of results are not of the type that require an expensive computer. Perfect racing systems are available from a number of manufacturers from the Commodore 64's which cost under $200.00 and the older IBM clones which cost under $300.00. Consi - What you run in first at a big race when you qualify poorly. There are as many consie's as it takes to list all the racers into. Cooling hole - Some motors only have one. See Cooling holes. Cooling holes - Those holes in located in the motor can that let out all that nasty hot air. Controller - That thing you hold in your hand with the trigger on it. You have a resistor in your controller which, if 2 ohms, would have that amount of resistance when the wiper is on the first band. That would decrease to 0 when the trigger is pulled all the way. Lower class slot cars such as Gp.10 need a higher resistance such as 3 or 4 ohms, while the upper classes, like Gp.7 may only need .8 ohm resistance to work well. It all has to do with how fast your car goes when the wiper is on the first band. No matter whether you have a 20 dollar controller, or one of the new 200 dollar electronic versions, the principal is still the same. The resistance is raised or lowered, allowing the current to be increased or reduced, causing the motor to rev higher or lower. The controller has undergone many changes over the years, but the purpose remains the same. Copper tape - Sometimes used as the electrical contacts on slot car tracks. It takes the place of braid and works well on home tracks but is not recommend for commercial raceways. Color dots - Ever since the beginning of slot racing, the color dot system has been used to determine which lane a car belongs on during competition. The system developed by American Model Car Raceways in the 60's. Originally these were the colored round stickers purchased at office supply stores and furnished free by the raceway owners. Today, they are made by various slot car manufacturers and have an advertisement on them. They can be purchased at your local raceway. See lane sticker. Competition - A competiton in slot car racing is a race. You knew that! Commutator - The little gold round thing located at one end of your armature. It is divided in three sections, and each section is connected to the wires wrapped around each pole. The motor brushes apply current to the comutator when they come in contact with each section, and in turn, the wires of each pole receive their current via the wires which are attached to the com tab. Concours - Referres to the best looking car in any racing event. Usually this competition is judged prior to the competition. In some cases, the "concours" winner gets points, and / or other awards for the effort. Contact cement - See cement. Continous rail - A term used by H.O. racers. The electrical conductor on plastic tracks have a "broken" spot at each connection. The new wood cnc routed tracks have one long rail inserted on each side of the slot. This makes for very Corrosion - Usually caused by using acid core solder, or acid flux to aid soldering. To stop corrosion, use a baking soda and water solution to clean your chassis after soldering.smooth racing. Cox - John Cox had the most popular hand control of the 60's. It was lightweight, and fit the hand and thumb perfectly. Yes, we used our thumb, not our finger back then. Cox equipment is a good choice if you want to start a collection. In my own efforts at collecting slot cars of the past, I have fond Cox to be one of the hardest to find here in the U.S. I have always thought that it was because when they got out of slot racing and moved into the model airplaine business full time, they dumped the slot racing stuff to make room in the warehouse for the more bulky plains. For more on the Cox dumping, see AMF. Crash & Burn - While this name was given to a well known California raceway, it also referrs to a type of racing where turn marshalls are not used. If your car comes out, you are out of the race. There are three types of crash & burn races. One where you are out for the duration of the heat and your car remains on the track where it came off. One where either you or a marshall removes the car but you are still out for the duration of the heat, and one where the heat is broken up into one minute segments and you are only out for the duration of each one minute segment and can come back on after a short break between the segments. Example: A three minute heat would contain 3 one minute segments. Each deslotted car would be able to get back on where it came off before the start of each segment. Crawley - The Crawley's are distributors of slot racing equipment. Formerly located in New York and founded by Roy Crawley, the distributorship is now located in Florida and operated by son Pete. Their parts cross-reference book is the only one of its kind in the industry, and with its proper usage, a raceway owner can find anything they may want in the way of slot car parts. Crown - The gear attached to the axle used on "in-line" drive cars such as the Parms Womp, and Champion Thumper. DDadds tracks - A slot car track construction company owned by Chris Dadds. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Damm - Referring to an Air Damm. On a slot car it is located at the rear of the body. The term is also used in other ways, but it is spelled different, and will get you kicked out of the raceway. Daytona track - A generic tern given to many slot car oval tracks. Dead man - This is traditionally the first turn after coming out of the high speed bank or sweeper. Dead Strip - The part of the track which is connected to the lap counter. In most cases, there is no track power on this strip, hence the name...dead strip. De-slot - Term used when the car comes out of the slot. Detailing pen - Many slot car manufacturers offer a detailing pen for marking in the body lines on lexan slot car bodies. Another popular pen available universally is the "Sharpie" made by Sanford. Diaplane - A portion of the air control system on a slot car. That part made of very tough mylar and extending out in front of the body like a shovel. Dial-in - A specific elapsed time selected during bracket drag racing. Diameter - In slot racing, the diameter is nearly always associated with the armature. In most classes there is a minimum diameter it can be. The measurement is made with a set of calipers across the stacks. See stacks. Diode - Used in the manufacturer of some modern day controllers. A diode controller will only work on slot car tracks which are wired in the standard "positive gate" manner. Difalco - Jim Difalco manufacturers his Difaclco controllers in New York. Over the years, custom controller manufacturers have come and gone, but the Difalco controller is still around and better than ever. Doorslammer - A term given to a drag car with doors that open. Basically a street car. Of course in slot racing, the doors don't open, but here it would be a car body representing one that does. Donut - This referrs to a turn on the track which makes a complete circle. It does not have to be a full 360 degree turn, but must actually make a circle doubling back over itself with an over and under bridge section. Some donuts are not round, as is the case with original American Blacks and American Reds which had what is called a "D" shaped donut. The tires on your slot car are sometimes called donuts before they are mounted on the wheels. Down force - This is the pressure applied to the body, or air control, caused by the air rushing over the body. The proper air control allows greater downforce in the turns, and allows air to spill over the sides down the straight reducing the "drag" which slows the car down reletive to the amount of downforce that is present. Digest - The Slot Car Digest is a limited production booklet featuring how to articles that are no longer available. It is an archival source for these how to articles, and that is its only purpose, to keep these good articles from dissappearing all together. Directory - The slot car directory is a list of all the slot car tracks in operation today. It is very hard to put together an accurate directory of raceways due to the regular opening and closings. Drag - A type of racing with two lanes and no turns. In real racing, the track lengths are 1/4 mile and 1/8 mile. In slot racing, 55ft. is a 1/24th scale 1/4 mile. Half that is a 1/8th mile. Dragster - Term used to describe those cars which run on a drag strip. Drag strip - See Drag. Dremel - One of those things that every serious slot racer must have in his collection of tools. It is used for cutting, polishing, grinding, and many other things that are needed in the care and feeding of the average slot car. Driver - What you are if you are standing in the driver's station, holding a controller, pulling the trigger, watching a little car move around the track. In some countries you would be called a pilot. Just ask Gugu of Brazil. The driver is also the little guy inside your car. Your car does have a driver doesn't it? See interior. Driver classes - Driver's classifications are a method of seperating the drivers into various driving skills, and price ranges of cars. There are too many organizations, and methods of doing this to list here. Driver of the month - A recommdation from Am/Slot is to keep a running total of the points gained by your drivers and award the top point driver with a trophy which he much return at the end of the month to the one who beats him. Of course he can keep the trophy as long as he can remain on top. At the end of the year, there should be a competition between all those who have held the trophy to see who can keep it forever. An easy method for keeping points on a local level, is to award one point for every lap gained in compeition. This will keep a racer from pulling out if he has car trouble. He would want to fix the car and get back in the race to "make points". Durostick - This is a tool made by Sonic Products of California. It will tell you how soft your tires are allowing you to mix and match the tires in relation to the densness of their compound. Dynamic braking - In the beginning, slot cars did not have any method of braking. American Model Car Raceways commercially marketed a system called dynamic braking which has been used continually since then, and adopted by all major controller manufacturers as an industry standard. What causes the car to continue to roll when the power is shut off is the fact that the motor becomes a generator, and tries to actually run itself. This is called EMF, or electromotive force. Naturally, this condition doesn't last long, but long enough to cause a car to be hard to drive deep in the corners. Dynamic braking in effect, shorts out the leads to the motor. This causes the emf to dump into a giant dummy load, which robs all the power so that none of the generated current can be applied to running the motor. Then, the natural drag coefficient takes over, and the car will stop at varying rates depending on the strength of the magnets, and the friction of the moving components of the car. eEDM - A method of cutting the tempered steel used in high tech slot cars.
E-Mag - You call it emag, I call it imag, but it is all here in E-print. The www has many emags relating to slot racing. Check out the Scale Auto Racing On-Line Links page, and surf on. EMF - EMF stands for electromotive force. This is the current developed by a slot car motor (or any motor for that fact) which is turning without current being applied. If you take your slot car motor and attach the armature to a dremel tool, and turn it on, the rotating armature will generate a small amount of current. This can be read on a standard digital volt meter. You can also see the electromotive force in action by disconnecting your brake wire on your controller. Run full blast down the straight and let off the trigger. Oops? I forgot to tell you it won't stop! ERI - The del Rosario's have been in slot racing as long as slot racing has been in slot racing. ERI is their distributorship located in New York. ET - In drag racing and road course qualifying, et means the same thing. Elapsed time, meaning the amount of time taken to get from point A to point B, or in the case of road racing, from point A back to point A. Of course, if you get an exceptionally good ET, you would want to PHONE HOME and let someone know about it! Eagle - A slot racing distributor in Enid, Oklahoma, owned by Floyd Guernsey. Established in the early 80's to replace the late Lloyd Drews Broadway Hobbies distributorship. The passing of Mr. Drews left no distributor in the south central United States. Eagle has grown to be one of the largest with both slot and R/C products. Earring back - When soldered with the loops up, it makes a perfect wire loom on a slot car chassis. Eat It - To lose a race in a particularly humiliating manner. "I bent the chassis in the first segment so I totally ate it". Also the inspiration for Joel Montague's slot racing newsletter "Somebody's Got To Eat It" published in the 1970's Thankd to MG Brown for this. Elmsford - Established in the 60's by Lou del Rosario, Elmsford Raceway is one of only a handfull of raceways still operating in the same building since the beginning. Located on Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford, New York, it is a must visit if you are in the area. Entry Level - This type of racing is held exclusively for those racers who are "greenies" or "newbies" at the sport. If an experienced racer is allowed to race, it must be for the purpose of education, and his points are not counted in the series. Edge - Parma's new breed of stamped steel chassis, used in their latest offering to the drag racing market. Eldon - A manufacturer from the '60's which specialized in HO, 1/32, and 1/24 scale home race sets. They were just one of many companies like this that cropped up in California to take advantage of the "Slot Racing Craze". Elimination racing - The race is be divided into as many consi's and semi's as are needed to see that everyone has an equal opportunity to race. There are various ways of setting this up. The approved Am/Slot method places the top 8 qualifiers alternately into the A and B Semi's, (4 each) with the racer who turns the most laps and sections having his or her choice of lanes and so on down the line. The remaining competitors will be placed into as many consi's as are needed. The first consi will have eight racers. All other consi's will have at least six. Two will move up from the first consi to run the next one and so forth. Four will move up from the A semi and four from the B Semi to make up the 8-person Main in all races. Emperior - Only two of these tracks was ever built. One was built for Walt Disney's Bowling center in Denver, Colorado. I was told it was never raced on, and now resides in the storage building of a recluse gentleman west of town who has a large collection of oddities from the past. The other was in the warehouse when AMT bought the company, and it was labled with the AMT logo and shipped to France where it is still being raced on. It was the largest track designed by American Tracks, at 270 ft. New American Tracks designed a modern day version, but one was never built. Endbell - That little almost round thing that fits in the can. They can be any number of colors, white, red, green, black, etc. There are even aluminum endbells for the high end slot motors. Aluminum helps dissipate the heat from the commutator. Endbell heatsinks - Usually made of aluminum and located under the slider plates. Not often today, but in days past, a large aluminum heatsink was fitted and came back over the top of the motor. More effecient cooler running motors today make the need for this bulky hardware not necessary. Enduro - A race of longer than normal lengths. A two hour enduro would consist of 8 twelve minuteheats with three minute breaks between the heats. A four hour enduro would consist of eight 25 minute heats with five minutes between the heats, and can go on upward in like fashion as long as you would like them to go. Endplay - Refers to that movement of the armature inside the can between the bearings. Too much endplay is not good. Endplay too tight is not good. Can you figure out the rest? Engleman - Stan Engleman built a line of slot car tracks from his plant in El Paso, Texas. Today they are simply referred to an Englemans, but the actual name of the company was "Hi Speed Tracks". Stan also built a line of tracks for Alltech out of Florida, but a difference of opinion caused Stan to retire to the Dallas, Texas area and start up a cabinet shop. He still lives in the Dallas area, but no longer is interested in building tracks. Entrants - What you are if you enter a race. Entries - What all the racers are that enter a race. Entry fees - The amount of money charged for entering a race. The higher the total entry fee's, the higher the prize payout in raceways who offer race prizes as incentive for the racers. Usually 1/2 the total income from the race entry fees is set aside as race prizes, and handed out in the form of race bucks, or merchandise certificates. In this manner, the raceway owner is rewarding the racer for doing well, while not costing himself a single dime. The raceway owner already has the total raceway entry fees in his register. He must consider that half that amount can be rung in as track time, and the other half as merchandise purchases. With this system, the raceway owner makes 100% of half the entry fees, and 40% of the other half. It can be considered as simply pre-selling his parts. Epoxy - Epoxy could be the paint on the surface of a slot track, or the compound holding the wires down on your armature at 200 thousand rpm. Epoxy paint - See Epoxy. Erasure - What does an erasure have to do with slot racing? Lots. It will clean the rust off chassis, and the crud off a commutator. If you have a dremel, spinning the arm in it will greatly speed up the cleaning of the commutator and stacks. Be sure to clean out the comm vents with an exacto knife after cleaning with an erasure. Escargo Bros. - World famous Escargo Bros. are those two slot racing bozo's from Canada who continue to grace the pages of Scale Auto Racing News with their own style of great white north humor. The cartoon strip is penned by former slot racer Bob Shaw. Eurosport - A class of racing cars comprising both 1/24 and 1/32 cars. Both use very high powered motors with the latest technology, and non wing race cars. These cars look like real cars, but their speed is way out of scale. Euro Slot - A magazine published by millionair philantropist Dr. J.P. van Rossem of Belgium. He organized several World Championship races in the late 80's, both here in the U.S. and in Europe, but amid unwarrented criticism from some American Pro's, he pulled his support from the american breed of high speed cars which make such events so exciting. The magazine is still published on an irregular basis, and J.P. and his son Pikki still race slot cars in Antwerpen, Belgium. European rotation - Originally developed in Europe, and first adopted in the United States by Jim Honeycutt of San Antonio, Texas for use in the Texas Championship Series. This method of lane changing is currently adopted by nearly all racing orginazations. Using this method, the racer skips every other lane travelling down the track from red, to green, to blue, to purple, and then moving one lane over to black and back up the track to yellow, to blue, to white. Then, one lane over to red and repeat. No matter what lane you start on, you follow this rotational pattern until, after 8 rotations, you get back to where you started. The primary advantage of this rotational pattern is the fact that you do not race beside the same racer during the whole race. See staggered rotation. Exploded - What a group 7 motor does on a King track at 18 volts. See "grenade" fF-1 - Short for Formula one. A type of racing popular in Europe, and in some places here in the United States. If you have never seen one, they are small open wheeled cars that resemble the Indy cars. You have seen an Indy car haven't you?
Faas (GEFA) - The industry standard gears for many years. GEFA Instrument company of New York is the manufacturer. Gunter Faas, the man behind the company still races slot cars in the northeast. Feather - Early name of one of the new breed of very small motors. Many people claim to have invented the tiny motor set-up that fits the 16-D size arm, but Stuart Koford can easily be given credit for making it famous. Originally named because it's weight was so light, it felt like you were holding a..... you catch on fast! Fiberglass chassis - Only one fiberglass chassis was ever developed that I know of, and it was never fully put in production. The chassis was a shuttle design, and was first invented in the middle 80's by Barney Poyner of Front Line Products of California. Fiddlestick - Another invention of the former slot racing great John Thorp. The fiddlestick is now manufactured by Phil Hackett of Sonic Products. It is a spring loaded device which when used properly, can tell you the tension of your motor springs. The purpose of which is to use equal tension springs on each motor. Field - Magnets have fields, so do races. You can feel the field of your magnets by placing your motor next to a piece of metal. If you are discussing races, you and your fellow racers make up the field. Finger - This could mean that digit on the end of your hand you pull your trigger with, or it could mean that portion of the slot track which sticks out from the rest. Usually on the king, that portion of the track between the deadman and the 90. Finger chute - The straight portion on the finger leading into and out of the finger tip. Could be called either the front or back finger chute. Finger tip - The further most part of the finger, usually a 180 degree turn. Finish line - The other end of a drag strip. A road course does not have a finish line. Only a start line which in real racing doubles as the finish line only at the end of the race. This is non applicable in slots since all our racing is timed events. First round - Usually referres to the first heat in a road course race. Also known as the "Q" or bottom consi. In Drag racing, it is just what it says. The first round of racing, which when over in drag racing, eliminates half the field. Five oh tree - See four oh tree and make a guess. Flat - Could refer to the track, but for that defanition see "flat track". Some axels have a "flat", meaning a flat spot or section that the allen screw can fit down on. This helps the tire from rotating on the axle if the screw becomes loosened a little. If the screw becomes loosened a lot, nothing can help. Flat out fun - The long time slogan for Elmsford Raceway in New York. Flat track - Referres to any track without banks. Popular in Europe for road courses, and usually requires a greater degree of skill to drive. The most famous flat tracks are the MTT, made famous by Hasse Nilsson and designed by Michael Theomeaux of France, and the Odessa, made famous by New American Slot Car Tracks and designed by the original owner of the Odessa Grand Prix owned by "Doc" Gibbs of Odessa, Texas. Flex - Used to define the "bending" properties of a chassis before it becomes permently bent. See tweaked. Flexi - A term commonly used to refer to the Parma Flexi Kar. Float - Mostly refers to the body or the pans of a chassis. The movement is called the float. Floor plan - The design of a racing center, either commercial, or a club in your home, that should be made up before work on a slot car tracks should begin. With the properuse of a floor plan, you can be assured that the new slot car track can be built in a factory and will fit when it arrives. Floppy pan - Any pan, usually a side pan, or bat pan, that is hinged so it will move up and down from the outside edge. Flux - A cleaning agent, used to clean metal prior to or during the soldering process. Two basic types of flux are used, acid and rosen. Sometimes the flux is inside the solder itself, such as acid core, or rosen core. Flux magnet - Used on the bottom of some slot cars to collect the magnet attraction between the steel rails or braid and the magnet itself. Ford - I suppose I am referring to me, John Ford. I'm the dummy taking all this time to write this dictionary. Founded Scale Auto Racing News, the longest running model car racing magazine back in 1979. Began racing in 1957 on a "rail" track. (see rail track) Opened the first of a Texas based chain of 9 raceways in 1965 at the age of 21. Still winning races as much today as anytime in the past. Read that as "not much". Four oh tree - In drag racing a tree using .40 second count down lights is called a four oh tree. Four wheel drive - Ever since the 60's man has been searching for a better way to get the power to the ground on a slot car. Naturally, four wheels turning at the same time would give better traction. So far no one has been able to make a four wheeled drive car work as well as a two wheel drive car. Russkit had the most successful in the late 60's. It had two motors, and the extra weight helped hold it down. The problem was getting the two motors in sync. In later years, Parma introduced a four wheeled drive pick-up. It used a pully on the front and rear axles and a belt connecting the two. Actually, this works quite well, with the only problem being that the extra friction robs power from a stock motor. Frame - The frame is the same thing as the chassis before you put all the stuff on it. After it has all the tires, wheels, axles, motor, etc. it becomes a chassis. Friction - This is what robbs the power from your car. To eliminate friction in all the moving parts, make sure your car is properly aligned and well oiled. Front axle - That item which holds your front tires. With one exception, you get one front axle per car. To the best of my knowledge, there was only one car with more than one front axle. That was the ELF / Tyrell Ford which had two front wheels per side for a total of 6 tires and wheels overall. Front axle brace - Two possibilities for this term. One is just what it says, a brace soldered from the chassis to the front axle that would re-inforce the front axle, and two, there are some that call the upright from the chassis that the axle goes through the brace. Actually, that upright could also be called a pillow block, or support. Take your choice, as it is not a commonly used term anyway. Front Line - California based supplier of slot racing magnets and parts. Founded by Barney Poyner. Fronts - Short term for front wheels. Commonly used on tech sheets. Funny car - Usually a drag racing term referring to a specific body style and class of racing. Came into use because the factory body has been stretched out of proportion so as to look "funny". gG+ - A H.O. slot car made by Aurora / AFX
GEFA - See Faas. Gp7 - Originally named for the 1 to 1 scale Can-Am Group 7 class which no longer exists, but was for total unlimited cars. An awesome display of mega motors and road hugging sportscars. The 1 to1 scale was abandoned shortly after the supposed gas crisis. Group 7 slot cars has remained as the showcase of our industry. They are to slot racing what Indy cars are to 1 to 1 scale racing. Gp10 - A term coined by John Ford to describe the type of racing being done with box stock cars using the 16D type motor. The term being used freely was "flexi" racing which was a name copywrited by Parma. By giving them a group designation, these races could be reported on in magazine articles without reference to a copywrited name. Unlike its peers, there never was a $10.00 Gp.10. Gp12 - Originally named for its cost. A Gp.12 had to cost under $12.00 ready to run out of the box. Today it is a stamped mass production chassis with Group 12 motors. This class has been around since the early 70's. Gp15 - Originally named for its cost. A Gp.15 had to cost under $15.00 ready to run out of the box. The original concept of this box stock class is no longer around in USRA racing. It has melded into a new calass of car that remotely resembles its predicessor. The only thing that remains the same is the armature which still retains 29 wraps of 29 guage wire. More or less. Remember boys and girls. Every car is legal until it is proven illegal. Gp20 - Originally name for its cost. A Gp. 20 had to cost uner $20.00 ready to run out of the box. An almost non-existant class today. It never was very popular. In its beginning stages, the lack of popularity was because of the rigid rules placed on the chassis. A car with the speed of a group 20 was held back in its progress by a chassis barely sutable for group 12 racing. In Texas, Jim Honeycutt is credited with solving the problem by forming a local class using group 20 motors and group 7 chassis. See Gp.27. Gp22 - In the early 70's the Group 20 motor was popular due to its high speed and low cost. There was quite a movement to take this motor and make it more efficient. Hand wound versions of the gp.20 armature were made by Thorp and Steube from California. To tell them apart, they had tags marked 22, mearly a number to show it was a hand wound 20. If you come across any of these 22 tagged arms today, they are quite rare. Hang on it it. Gp27 - The hand wound Group 22 arms were becoming quite popular, and in Texas especially in the local Group 20/7 hybred class originated by Jim Honeycutt of San Antonio. The popularity of this hybred class grew to the point that it actually became a class, and the hand wound group 20 arms began to carry the tag 27. The rest, as they say is history. GTP - A popular road racing car in 1 to 1 scale. A sports car coupe body style popular with the racers who like to race scale appearing bodies. GTO - A very neat Pontiac from days gone by. I used to have this killer 389 tri-power 4 speed 65 GTO, but that is another story. In slot cars, its a company based in the northeast manfucturing high tech slot car equipment. Galling - The motor brushes become galled when a glaze formes over the side of the brush that fits against the armature. The motor will slow down, but is not ruined if it is taken out of service right away. The glaze must be sanded off the brushes, and the armature must be cleaned before it is re-assembled. See erasure. (Note: Thanks to reader John Cahill who pointed out the mis-spelling I had here before "Gauld" and pointed me to the Wikipidia definition of the proper word. While Galling does not exactly fit the glazing process as it relates to slot car brushes, it is the word which has been used to describe the condition. See Wikipedia link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galling ...jf) Gauss - A unit of measurement, used when measuring the strength of magnets. Gauss meter - An electronic device used to measure the magnetic field strength of your magnets. An early way to measure magnetic strength was to use small washers and see how many each magnet could pick up. The object is to use two magnets that pick up an equal amount of washers proving that the 2 magnets are matched. Garvic - A brand of slot cars and compenents back in the 60's. The term "thingies" was created to describe many of the wild, far out body styles offered by Garvic. Their "Firebird" a double cockpit open wheeled wedge was their most famous design. Gear - All the stuff you carry in your box could be called your slot racing gear, but most commonly, the gear referrs to the two drive gears on your car. See Pinion, Spur, and Crown gear. Gear press - A specialized tool used for pressing on pinions to the armature shaft. Much safer than a hammer. Gear puller - A specialized tool used for pulling press on pinions off the armature shaft. Girl thang - I don't know what this means. If you ever get to meet Sherri Pedersen, ask her. She knows! Glue - In the construction of a slot track, the glue refers to the wood glu that holds the track togeather. In racing, glu is the term commonly given to the sticky substance placed on the tires of your car, or just in front of each turn to both give the car extra brakes where it needs it and traction as well. Glue roller - Some people are using a screen door repair roller to roll out their glue in the glue zones during high speed compeitions. Very messy, but it works. Glue Monkey (or Lane Monkey) - A person not participating in the race who grooms the lane for a driver between segments by cleaning braid, removing residue from straight aways, wiping turns, gluing or any combination of these.Thanks to MG Brown for this. Golf cart batteries - Most commonly recommended as power for slot car tracks. Popular beacuse their deep cycle power and deep acid resevoir make them the longest lasting power plant for slot racing. Goodie bag- This is the best part of racing. When you win and are presented with a bag of merchandise for your prize. Gonsalves- A long time hobby distributor on the east coast. Grams- The common weight slot cars areweighed in. Used instead of ounces because a more accurate of smaller increments can be used. Graphite- An extremely tough material some guides and other small parts on modern slot cars are made of. Experimenting with graphite chassis has been done, but so far, none successfully. Green- The color you seldom see a race car painted. Also the color of the third lane down on a slot car track. Green arm - There was a time when Aurora had a factory "muscle car" program. Their "Green" arm was the #2 favorite hop up arm available from the factory. Green can- Better known as the "C" can. Developed by Bob Green while he was with Mura of California. Bob Green invented many innovations that are still used today in slot car motors. Bob is retired now but can occasionally be seen at major slot racing events in the Southern California area. Grenade- What a group 7 motor does on a King track at 18 volts. See explode. Group- A class of racing. Called group rather than class because during the 60's can-am racing, the 1to1 scale mentor of slot racing used the term group. Commonly used describing the following recognized classes. Group 10, 12, 15, 20, 27, & 7. Guage- The most commonly used guage in slot racing is the "tech check". It is used to "guage" the size of tires, wideth of chassis, etc. See tech check. Guard rail- Usually the term guard rail is used in H.O. racing and referrs to that little plastic clip on rail that is installed in the turns of the track. On original American tracks, a guard rail was used on the cross over portion of the bridge. Today, the term guard rail is seldom used. Guide- Since we don't race slot cars in jungles, the guide referrs to that little plastic or graphite thing on the bottom front of your car that fits in the slot. Early "T" slot rental cars had a guide both in the front and back. Not legal today. Guide clips- These are the small clips usually made of brass that the lead wires are soldered to. They fit into the braid housing and are held in place by the tight fitting braid. See braid clips. Guide collar- This is what was used to hold the guide on before the guide nut was invented. Guide height- The guide height is one of the most important things on a slot car. See guide weight. Guide hole- At the futhermost point of the chassis up front, there is a hole. This is where the guide post goes. One or more guide washer s should be placed between the guide and the chassis, and one between the chassis and the guide nut. Guidelines- Some raceways prefer to post guidelines rather than strict rules to their racing programs. Guidelines are broader in scope, and will allow the raceway owner or race director to quickly ferret out those with a propensity to bend the rules. It is a much happier racing atmosphere when racers cheerfully adhere to simple guidelines, and are not forced to follow strict rules. Guide nut- This is the nut that that was invented to hold the guide on so we didn't have to use those bulky collars any more. Guide Pin- In H.O. racing, many slot cars have a small pin that sticks down into the slot. Some H.O. cars had a guide pin located in both the front and rear. Not legal today. Guide post- That round thing that sticks up from the top of the guide, and goes through the guide hole in the chassis. It is this post that the guide nut is screwed down on. Guide screw- Another method of holding the guide on before the nut became used universally. Sometimes, a guide screw can be melted down into the guide and help hold on the nut if you are truly paranoid. Guide tongue- It never looked like a tounge to me, so I don't know why they ever called it that. Still, today, it is simply called the guide. Guide weight- This term could refer to an actual weight placed on the guide. In the 60's some guide collars were quite thick and heavy. Also, all slot cars need to carry "full guide weight". Meaning that spacers need to be placed on the guide post between the guide and the chassis. This spacing affects the guide height. Lowering the guide on the chassis, allows the full weight of the car to be placed on the braid. This gives better electrical contact. Spacers should be added until the front wheels begin to come off the track, and then one removed. Teflon spacers come in various thicknesses so the proper height can be acheived easily. Gutter lane - See Black lane. hH.O. - The term "H.O." comes from the model train hobby and was coined in England before WWII. If "O" gauge trains are 1/43 scale, then "H.O." is meant to mean "1/2 of 'O'", or 1/87 scale. Then, when Tyco introduced their Tyco Pro cars in 1970 as scaled down 1/24 scale equivalents (complete with guide flag and floating pans). The finished product was closer to the 1/64 scale in universal use today. This larger size was adopted because it was easier to drive and create components for. Dynamic even used the larger size to create the only anglewinder HO ever mass produced. The confusion exists primarily because even though the entire "H.O." industry adopted 1/64 scale as the standard over 25 years ago, they still don't even mention it in their advertising to this day! 1/64 scale is "S" gauge in train language.
H.O.P.R.A. - The H.O. Professional Racing Association, one of several H.O. orginazations. Which one is the official one depends on who you are talking to. H.O.R.N. - Activated by pressing on the little tiny button in the center of the slot car steering wheel. Actually, the H.O. Racing News, a long running newsletter edited by John Warren. Hammer down - The term used when a racer is driving at his fullest capabilities. Handling - Referrs to how your car works. If it works well, it "handles" well. Handout - A type of racing where the racer furnishes the car and the race director furnishes the motor. While not perfect, it is a way to keep the racing equal as far as horsepower goes. Hand wound - A term given to armatures where the wire is actually wound by hand. These are more expensive for obvious reasons, but are also better than machine wound arms because the count on the windings are more accurate, and optimized for the lowest number of windings allowed, and the wire is wound tighter which is better. Hardbody - Hard plastic bodies from plastic kits must be used for this class. Be sure spectators are not close to the track at or near the finish line. A hard plastic body carries a lot of momentum when it launches off the track, and a spectator standing close could be hurt. Parma also makes a clear lexan hard body, but it is mostly used for rental cars. Hardshell - See hardbody above. Hardware - In slot racing, this term most often refers to the metal components of the endbell. Comprising 2 brush hoods, 2 slider plates, 2 heat sinks, 2 sprint posts and 4 screws. Hansen Pans - A popular style used in the late 70's. To make them, simply cut the front 1/3 of your bat pans off and attached the smaller part to the hinged wire holding the front wheels. This allowed this portion of the pan to move up and down with the front wheels. The remaining portion of the pans could be hinged to become a "floppy" pan, or simply soldered to the plumber rail to become a static pan. Heat - While the motor certainly contains heat, the most active usage of the word heat referers to the segments of a race. If you race on an 8 lane track, it takes 8 heats to make a complete race. Heats are timed segments of a race. Heads-up - A drag racing term for when two cars race together with no advantage given to either car. Hemi-wound - This is a term for armatures which are wound "backwards" to the normal. Most all armatures spin fastest counter clockwise because they are wound counter clockwise. Hemi-wound armatures are wound clockwise and spin fastest in that direction. The argument is that an armature spinning clockwise exerts a downward force on the guide which should help the car stay on the track better. It is not a proven argument, because most all major titles have been won with counter clockwise "standard" wired armatures. Thanks to: Gerhard Nennstiel for reminding me that this definition was not in the original version....jf Hillclimb - The slang name given to the American Aristocrat slot car track. So named because of its over and under straights and "hillclimb" from one to the other. See Aristocrat. Hinge - In controllers, the hinge allows the wiper to be spring loaded giving extremely smooth operation. On chassis, the hinge is that part of the frame that allows another part of the frame to move up and down. Much the same as a door hinge allows a door to swing back and forth. Hollow axles - While many people make the hollow axle today, the Shamega version was the first. Used primarily for qualifying, these axles greatly reduce rotating mass, but are considered to be too easily bent to be used in competition. See Holloweenie. Hollow axles only come in the 3/32 size. Hollow set screws - Of course set screws are hollow, or there would be no place to put the allen wrench. Hollow set screws referrs to those which have been cut in half allowing you to be able to see all the way through. This elliminates the solid chunk of metal on the end, greatly reducing the weight, and increases the balance of the wheel. Holloweenie - The first hollow axle for qualifying marketed by Shamega. Home Set - While it could refer to many things, it is in our book a model car racing set you could use in your home. There are many different "home sets" available in all scales. The most popular is the HO scale because of it's small size and ready availability at most toy stores. Today, 1/32 scale is the fastest growing segment of the slot racing industry because it too is small, can be raced in your home, and is available in many toy stores around the world. Hot Tips - This could mean an occasional article in Scale Auto Racing News, or it could refer to the 1000 degrees given off by a #4033 soldering iron tip on a Ungar soldering iron. Hone - Term used for precision grinding the magnets to fit a specific air gap. Hood - See Brush Hoods. Hook up - You hook your controller up to the track. Also, your tires "hook up" if they have good traction. Horseshoe brace - Referrs to a piano wire "U" or horseshoe shaped brace that goes from the motor to the chassis, either in the front or back. Hot wing - From Parma, this is a stamped steel piece that is designed to be added to a group 10 chassis in the front. This re-distributes the weight and adds bumpers to the car. Most popularly used on the original Parma Flexi chassis. Hot melt glue - Formerly the most popular way to hold down track braid. Today, most track builders use contact cement. Hub - Also known as the wheel. iI-15 - International 15. This is what Group 15 migrated to. This might be called a professional version of Group 15. It uses the same arms, but in a highly modified set-up. The chassis is limited, but not much. Very fast, very hard to build, very expensive to be a 15, and still it is considered a novice class. Go figure?
I.M.C.A. - The International Model Car Association. Founded by, Dr. J.P. van Rossem of Belgium Idler gear - This would be a gear placed between the pinion and spur. While used in several versions in the 60's, it is not used at all today. Imperial - The name given by American Slot Car Tracks to a King designed track. It had red sides, a tighter bank, and a square donut. Its most infamous design was the rolling hills in the main straight. Very few of these 1960's favorites exist today. i-mag - Internet Magazines. See E-mag. Independant fronts - A term given to front wheels which roll independantly to each other. Indy car - Open wheeled slot car bodies moulded to resemble the popular 1to1 scale open wheeled cars. Never gained much popularity in racing due to the weakness in the body caused by cutting out the front wheels and wing. A newer design by Parma allows you to leave all this untrimmed and simply leave the "open" areas clear. Interior - Known simply as the "driver". Most interior's do not have any more than just the driver trimmed down as much as possible to reduce height and weight. The papar driver originally penned by San Antonio artist Kevin Stevens and still available in the first edition of the Slot Car Digest gained a great deal of popularity, leading to plastic versions with very flat heads on very flat drivers. Inline - The term given to cars whose motor is mounted "in-line" from front to rear rather than sideways on the chassis. 1/24th scale in line cars are almost non existant. The Parma Womp, and Champion Thumper are both inline cars. Iso chassis - A very complicated chassis design utilizing an "iso fulcrum" design. Pans are hinged at the front, and at their inside edge. The main rails were also hinged in the middle, allowing an up and down movement at the rear of the car without the front of the car moving. This is what constituted the "iso" movement. jJK - Jerry Kulich is the creator of JK products. Startin small in Jerry's JK Raceway in Chicago, Illinois, this product line has grown to include spare parts and ready to run cars that are second to none.
Jam nut - In the good old 60' the axles were threaded and the wheels were held on by jam nuts. Wouldn't you like to go back to that system? Jet - The product line of multiple National and World Champion P.A. Watson. Jet's feature product is tires which are precision trued in a shop in the back of P.A.'s Pasadena Slot Car Raceway, Houston, Texas. Jet guide - The original guide, moulded by Associated of California. Associated turned their back on slot racing in the late early 70's and devoted all their time to R/C racing. Jig - A flat building block, ususally made of slate with pins placed in it to help with the construction of a chassis. Junior racing - A good way to keep us old folks from getting our butts beaten by the younger set with quicker reflexes. Good idea. Keep 'em down in their own class where they belong! kK&B - A slot car ready to run and component company no longer in our industry, and marginally successful during the 60's.
K&S - The most popular hobby hardware company. Featuring brass tubing and piano wire used in the construction of slot car frames since the beginning of the sport. K2K - A controversial Swoopy King track built by Hasse Nilsson of Sweden for P.A. Watson's Pasadena Raceway located in South Houston. The track was a radical departure from the normal King design due to its oversized turns and shorter than normal straights. Killer - Anything in slot racing that is killer is top notch. Very fast. Handling great. Looking great. etc. A duo purpose term, due to the fact that having a very bad day can also be a killer! Killer Slot Car - A cartoon strip short lived in Scale Auto Racing News. Short lived due to the fact that an artist could never be found that was able to capture the true image of a cute little slot car with a monster attitude. The material for macabe humor is endless, but the killer slot car's true personality has never been captured on paper. Killer King - A very high banked version of the original 155ft. American King track. See Swoopy. King - The most popular slot car track ever. There is a page on this site which pays homage to the King. Originally designed by American Model Car Raceways back in 1963. This track has become the industry standard for major national and world competitions, especially the U.S.R.A. classes. To find out more about the King track, go to the king page, located in the 1/24 section of Scale Auto Racing On-Line .. Magazine Kingleman - A name of a new design slot track. The first one was built in a Hobby Box location in Florida by Hasse Nilsson. The design actually came about due to the fact that the owner wanted to have the longer straights and bigger bank of an Engleman type design, but didn't have room in his building. In order to fit the building, a king type donut was attached to one end, and an Engleman type bank at the other. John Ford gave the track its logical name giving credit to the two types of track designs used to make the hybred track. It has since gone on to become a favorite for both scale racers and wing racers alike. Kits - Almost non existant today, the kit was the most popular choice of the beginner back in the 60's. The opportunity to actually build your own car was a very neat aspect of the sport back then. Today, due to the costs of production and packaging, it is actually more cost effective to build the car into a ready to run rather than dump the parts in a bag and charge less retail. Koford - Founded by Stuart Koford as an effort to help defray the costs of keeping his hobby alive while in college. For many years, the mainstay of Stuart's fledgling company was the only reliable 36D brush hood alignment tool. Then, in the early '80's, Stu showed up at races with a tiny little square motor with cobalt magnets. He called it the feather, and his company's rise to prominence has been phenomenal. See feather. lLapboard - A type of slot track construction that is perfect in its simplicity. The name comes from the board under the track surface used to connect the surfaces of two track pieces together. It is screwed down to the surface piece with half lapping out to provide a resting place for another track piece which is attached the same way.
Line loss - Power robbing , line loss is caused by bad connections. Wire too small. Not enough power taps. Worn or dirty braid, etc. Lane sticker - A colored sticker applied to the car that correspondes with the lane color the car is racing on. By looking at the lane sticker, the marshall can tell what lane to put it on when it becomes deslotted. See color dot. Legs - On a slot track, there used to be many ways to create legs. From wood, to metal, to simply concrete blocks. This all changed when the triangle legs were designed by Csaba (chubba) Zeklihidi of Chicago. Hasse Nilsson was building his first king track for Jerry Kulich's JK Raceway, when Chubba came up with the idea. It was never copywrited, and now all track builders have adopted the triangle leg as the industry standard. Material used and size of triangle varies. Leg extensions - This is any peice of wood between two triangles that allow the triangles to be placed further apart, allowing for the track to be higher off the floor. Most commonly used in tracks with high banks, and the upper straights of hillclimbs. Laminations - This term is most commonly used in reference to the many little pieces of metal that are stacked togeather to make up the poles of the armature. This is the part of the arm that the wires are wrapped around. They are also called simply "stacks", and when energized by the current flowing throught the wires, becomes a magnet that is attracted to the permanent magnet inside the motor. Lane Changes - At the end of each heat each driver should first move his or her hand control to the next appropriate control panel, then place their lane change card in the slot where his or her car has stopped. Only then is the racer allowed to pick up the car, change the colored lane sticker and service the car for the next heat. There are two accepted ways to change lanes. See staggered. See straight. Lane Change Card - An approximately file-card sized laminated marker that is put in the slot where a slot car stops at the end of a segment. The lane card helps the racer or pit man remember where the car should be placed for the beginning of the next segment. Lane Master - The brand name of a computer lap counting system. Lap - In all forms of racing, a car's performance is based on how many laps is gotten in a race, and how fast one lap can be made. On all race tracks, one lap consists of the car travelling from the start line, around the track back to the start line again. Lap Counter - Used to count laps in slot car racing. In the 60's mechanical counters were used made from older style pinball wheels. Today, computers do all the work, both of lap counting, and race directing. With the old style mechanical lap counters, it was not uncommon to hand count one or more lanes when the pinball wheels would burn out. Most lap counters are activated when the car crosses over a "dead strip". Lap time - Referres to the time needed to make one lap. The quickest lap time gets the pole position. See pole position. Laser cut - A method of cutting out modern day slot car chassis. A good way to do a large quantity of chassis at the same time. Late entry - Any racer that arrives too late for sign up and tech in must be approved by the race director before being allowed to compete. Any racer that arrives too late to qualify must be approved by all racers entered prior to race. If the late entry comes in after qualifying, he must run scratch, and not be allowed to qualify. Latex paint - Commonly used to paint the surface of slot tracks. An outdoor quality latex emamil paint is strong enough to hold up to the punishment of slot racing. Since latex or rubber tires are used on slot cars, it is logical to use a latex or rubber fortified paint to run the tires on. Traction is exceptional and all the cleaning fluids commonly used in slot racing, such as lighter fluid has no effect on the latex paints. Launch - Term that is used when your car flies off the track. Layout - Generally referring to the design of a track, or the whole raceway. Lead - This is one of those words that drives me nuts. It could be lead such as "I am in first place, therefore I am in the lead." Pronounced leed. In this case, you would be leading the race. In this same context, it could be short for your motor's lead wire. However, if it is pronounced "led", it would be referring to a soft heavy metal used to add weight to your slot car. Go ask your english teacher why they are both spelled the same and pronounced differently. Lead-on - The turn on a slot track that "leads on" to the main straight. Lead wire - Usually made of silicone coated finely stranded wire that connects from the motor and guide on a slot car. Leagues - A form of racing used since the 60's to create a more even platform for slot racing. It allows through a complicated curve system a racing program where all classes of cars can compete evenly over a series of races. Lexan - Slot car bodies are made of this material. Lexan is unbreakable, and is the copywrited name given to G.E. 's brand of polycarbonate. The copywrite should keep the name lexan from being used so much, but it is just so much easier to say than "polycarbonate". Lift - To purposely slow down on the drag strip to keep from "breaking out" and losing the race. Only applies in bracket racing. Lights - In drag racing, the "lights" are specific points on the track that have specific meanings. Break the lights on the starting line before the green light and you lose. When your car goes through the finish line, it is said to have gone through the lights. Locked down - This condition occurrs in motors which have blown up. See grenade. Could also be used to describe a car that is handelling quite well. Lock nut - See Jam nut. Lone railer - A shuttle type of chassis developed by Ernie Mossetti. See shuttle. Loop tracks - Only a handfull in existance. Hasse Nilsson is credited with building the first loop track with one large loop on a standard oval track. John Ford designed and American Tracks built the first double loop track, using two loops with four lanes each located on the back side of a standard oval track. In Austrailia, an enormous two lane drag loop actually goes across the floor, up the wall, across the ceiling, connecting back to itself creating the largest loop in the world. It is reported that a wing car will actually run across the ceiling without falling off. Lubrication - Oil. Everyone has their own favorite oil to lubricate their slot car. Some racers use a different type of oil for motors, ball bearings, and oilites. Experimentation will tell you which type of lubrication is best for your car. mMRC - Another slot racing company from the 60's. They had the second most popular controller on the market. It like the Cox controller was thumb activated. It worked well, and had features that many people liked, but did not fit the hand as well. It was common to take the best parts of a MRC controller and put them in a Cox handle.
Magnatech - A name coined by Jim Honeycutt and Brian Gailey of San Antonio. They were the two who invented magnetic steel braid. Using magnetism for downforce has never really caught on for the larger scale cars, but the steel braid has a positive side effect. It lasts almost five times longer than the traditional copper braid. Magnet - Just one of the two needed to make your motor work. Located inside the can and around the armature. One is south, one is north. They have flux and gauss at the same time. While they are permanent, they have been known to lose their strength. They are made of powdered ferrious materials mixed with ceramic. They can also be cobalt, and neo-dyndem. The latter of which is only used in H.O. cars because it weakens quickly with heat. The magnet is used to generate the field inside the motor. I could go on but you are probably bored by now. Magnet clip - This is the small piece of "U" shaped piano wire that holds your magnets in place, and stops them from clamping down on your arm. Magnetron - Ralph Klose of Germany is the man behind Magnetron. He has invented many useful tools for the high end slot racer, including the original timing tool, and a digital gauss meter. Magnets - It takes two, a north and a south magnet inside your motor to make the armature spin. The south magnet always goes to the rear of the car. See poles. Mail order - The notorious no-no of slot racing. Mail order takes the money out of the local raceway owner's pocketts. Your local raceway owner must pay the high rent to house the tracks, and needs to keep all his sales coming fron his own counter to be able to pay the bills. The only mail order you can find in slot racing is at retail prices, from bonifide raceways, selling to those who do not live near a commercial racing center. Main chute - Same as Main straight. Main straight - Usually the straight section holding the drivers. Marshal - The person located in each of the turns of a track who'se job it is to replace deslotted cars. When you enter into a race, you are promising to perform marshaling chores for others who do the job for you during your race. Mask - Used to cover up the windows of a slot car for painting. Sometimes a liquid or gel, and sometimes tape. Masking tape - Used to cover portions of a slot body for painting. Vinyl tape is sometimes preferred over masking tape. Merchandise certificates - A form of race prize handed out to the winners in a racing event. The higher the total entry fee's, the higher the prize payout in raceways who offer race prizes as incentive for the racers. Usually 1/2 the total income from the race entry fees is set aside as race prizes, and handed out in the form of race bucks, or merchandise certificates. In this manner, the raceway owner is rewarding the racer for doing well, while not costing himself a single dime. The raceway owner already has the total raceway entry fees in his register. He must consider that half that amount can be rung in as track time, and the other half as merchandise purchases. With this system, the raceway owner makes 100% of half the entry fees, and 40% of the other half. The raceway owner should consider this as simply pre-selling his parts. Mesh - This term referrs to the gears. The proper mesh can be acheived by placing a normal piece of notebook paper between the pinion and spur. Shove the spur tight against the pinion, and solder or screw the motor in place. Then remove the paper. It has been said that a proper gear mesh is tight but not tight, and loose but not loose. Are we clear on this? Micro - When used singlely like this, it usually is referring to a controller containing micro switches. Such as "my controller is a micro". Mid mount - Many interesting motor mounting designs came out of the 60's. Putting a motor in the middle of the chassis and connecting the gears with the addition of an idler gear was one concept. It was interesting and fun, but before any serious study could be put to this design, the anglewinder design took over, and exists as the choice today. Micro switch - A small switch inside the controller connected to the full on power and full off brake. Gives positive contact, and eliminates the resistor from the circuit. A very efficient way of handling power, even in the newer electronic controllers. Monarch - Also known as the "Orange". American made a 100 foot track that was very popular due to its small footprint and high speed racing. This track was most noted for its violent esses just after crossing over the bridge and just before entering the lead-on. Monogram - A slot car ready to run and component manufacturer back in the 60's. They abandoned the slot car market in the late 60's and today are known for their exceptional injection moulded plastic kits. Motor - Without this, you will have to tie a string to your guide and pull your car around the track. Slot racing is truely the world's fastest motor sport, since real race cars no matter how fast use engines, not motors. Motor bracket - That part of a frame which holds the motor. Motor tab - On some older Mabuchi motors, a small tab was folded down into a recess of the endbell, holding the two together. The tab often broke, making it necessary to drill and screw the two together. Eventually, the tab was completely eliminated for screws. Mura - Originally started by Ron Mura, the famous U.S. slot car motor factory is now owned by Woody Paisley, and located in southern California. Music wire - See piano wire. Mush Button - Controller button that when held down, temporarily sets the controller to minimum sensitivity. The use of the mush button helps the car pull better through glue on restarts. Thanks to MG Brown for this. Mylar - Slot car bodies used to be vaccuum formed from mylar clear plastic. This material was easy to paint with no special paint needed, but their main drawback was that mylar is brittel and was easily broken. Today nearly all slot bodies are made of Lexan. Butrate was also used for slot bodies, but it had the same bad properties of mylar. Mylar is used today for the side dams and rear spoilers on the high speed wing cars. |
nN.A.S.C.A.R. - A popular class of racing, both in 1 to 1 scale and all scales of slot racing. The acronym stands for National Association of Stock Car Automobile Racers. In slot racing, the most popular class is the 4.5 inch wheelbase 1/24th scale.
NASTRUCK - New class of racing trucks sanctioned by NASCAR in 1 to 1 scale. In slot racing the most popular version is the 4.5 inch wheelbase 1/24th scale N.O.S. - Sounds a bit like a nitros oxide brand, but in slot racing and other circles, n.o.s. stands for "new old stock". A popular way to get a car from the 60's is to build it from newly manufactured parts made just like the original. I have seen this concept advertised as "NOS". When you see this term used, you should ask, because NOS can also mean old stock from the past which has never been sold, so is still in the original packaging and still "new". Nats - Short term for any national racing event. Usually referrs to the U.S.R.A. Nationals. Negative - The type of attitude you keep out of the raceway. Also, 1/2 of all the electrical current in the slot car track. The left side of the braid in the direction of travel of the car is always negative. Naturally it follows that the left side of the braid on your car is always negative. The back of the motor as it sits in the car is always negetive, and the south magnet is always on the negetive side. And i'm positive that's all there is about negative. Negative gate - This term came up recently when an article was published in the T.O.A. about proper track wiring. The person writing the article was fairly new to slot racing, though well acquainted with electrical properties. This person suggested that slot tracks should be wired with a negative gate. This is opposite of the accepted method, and has since had a retraction printed in the TOA book. Unfortunately, the damage had been done, and many tracks were wired backward. A slot track uses relay's to transfer power from the batteries to the track. This is so the raceway owner can turn on and off each lane from behind the counter. A negative gate system defines on which circuit the relay is located. This term is a new way of explaining an old method. The gate referres to the contacts on the relay which allow the current to pass through when closed, and not when open. Calling this electrical function a gate seems a bit silly to me, since a gate allows something to pass through when open, not when closed. A slot car track should always have the relays located on the positive side of the circuit. This allows the current to pass directly from the battery to the car, then through the relay, and the controller, and back to the battery. DC current flows from negative to positive. See Positive gate for more explination. Neo-dyndium - An extremely high strength magnet. Not used in motors, due to its low tolerance to the high heat generated by the slot car motor. These magnets are best used for downforce magnets on the larger scales. They do work fine for H.O. scale motors, because these motors do not generate the heat of their 1/24th scale cousins. Nerf - A slot car is not a nerf mobile, but you can't tell that to some racers. Technically speaking, a nerf is when one car, usually the one on the inside lane, slides up into the lane next to it and causes the car in that lane to de-slot. With just a little practice, an accomplished "nerfer" can perform this function at just the right place and time. I have been asked many times of the origin of the word NERF, and after extensive study have found it to be derived from a Greek word meaning "Steersman". Which is most likely why Princess Lea called Hans Solo a NERF HERDER in the Empire Strikes Back. The Greek word is it's origin, but in modern computer gaming, the term means to take away someone's power. This definition has it's derivation from the Nerf Ball and Nerf Gun, where something with power was made less powerful. I think either definition could apply to the Slot Racing World since when you "Nerf" someone, you are both "Steering" them in a different direction, and removing their power to win the race. Newsletter - Many raceways use a locally produced newsletter to help promote their raceway. Even if you do not have the ability to produce a professional newsletter, you will find your raceway will profit from a monthly mailing to each racer. Nichrome - A metal with high resistance properties. Nichrome wire is used in making the Parma controller resistors. Nichrome strips are used in the making of the Koford Planer controller resistor. Nilsson tracks - Hasse Nilsson came to the United States from Sweden in 1982. He has been here ever since building what many have called the best slot car tracks in the World. While there are many other excellent track builders, Nilsson tracks hold more records than any of the others. Ninety - This referrs to any turn on a slot track that makes a perfect ninety degree turn. On the King track, this is the turn just before going under the bridge. Novice - The ranking in slot racing just before Amateur. In USRA racing it is the Group 15 class. Many people feel the ranking of novice is absurd to use in reference to group 15 racing due to the complexity of construction techniques needed to build the gp.15 car. Nose - Referrs to the front of the car. Nylon - A commonly used material in slot racing. The trigger on your controller, the guide on the car, the endbell on the motor, among other things are most likely made of nylon. Nylon endbell screw - Also called plastic screws. Used to hold the endbell together when the builder is trying to reduce weight on the car. oO-ring - O-rings play an important part in slot racing today. They are used as the front tires of some cars and also as the tires on dragster wheelie wheels. An o-ring is also used as a drive belt for Parma Whisperjet Rental cars.
Ogilvie - A track builder in Canada. Ohms - A unit of electrical resistance is an ohm. Your slot car controller resistor, just like all other resistors is rated in ohms. The higher the number, the slower the car will go when the wiper is placed on the first band. The opposite is true for a smaller number. A sensitive ohm meter can read the resistance present in the wires of your armature. If you have an ohm meter, you can measure each pole individually at the commutator. All readings should be the same. If they are not, the arm will not perform at its optimum. Oil - Used to lubricate any moving part on a slot car. Oilites - A bearing, usually made of bronze, and located at the rear of the slot car. Also located at each end of the slot car motor. On rails - A term used to describe a car that is handling quite well. Open - Could be the sign in the window of your favorite slot car raceway that tells you it's ok to come in. Most likely referrs to the class of car called Group 7, which is an "open" class, meaning there are very little restrictions placed on this class. Open 12 - A class of car with a narrow interest level. Allowing many liberties in the chassis and body departments, but still using the Group 12 armature. See World 12. Orange - See Monarch. Also the fourth lane down from the drivers panel on the slot track. Outisight - Frank Correia of California is the current owner of the World's winningest slot car bodies. Injection moulded bodies made of lexan are the primary product of Outisight Designs. The Outisight Ferrari, though not used much today, racked up so much wins when it was the popular style, that it is still the body with the most wins ever in slot racing. Oval - A popular style of racing. Usually for NASCAR or NASTRUCK classis. It is a style of track used in all scales of slot cars, from H.O. to 1/24th. Overhead - It is because of overhead that the raceway owner must charge you to run on the slot track. It referres to all the bills that must be paid, or there will be no more roof overhead. pP.S.E. - A side line of Parma. Most PSE parts are designed for the more professional racers.
Pactra - While they were in the business of making slot car ready to run's back in the 60's, they like many others abandoned the slot car market and are today only in the business of making paint for models in general. Paint - Do I really need to define this word? In slot racing, it is critical as to what type of paint the track surface is painted with. See Latex, polyeuerethane, & epoxy. In body painting, it is also critical to your slot racing body. Butrate and Mylar bodies can be painted with emamel paints, but Polycarbonate or Lexan bodies must be painted with a special paint made especially for that material. Pans - Usually referring to two flat pieces located either side of the main rails and hinged at the front. Sometimes also hinged at the inside edge as well. Technology of this type was used until the late 80's when newer smoother tracks caused there to be no need for these bump dampening types of chassis designs. Paper driver - This driver got lots of attention, and though when folded properly, fit all the current USRA rules, was disqualified for a period of time simply because it wasn't plastic. The rules do not specify plastic. This disqualification was later deemed as unreasonable, and the paper driver was allowed to compete again. Plastic versions of flat drivers are now available, but the ability to color the paper driver with marking pens makes it still a favorite in some circles. The design can be found in the first edition of the Slot Car Digest, and was originally conceived by John Ford and drawn by Kevin Stevens, of San Antonio. Parimeter - A design of chassis which gained in popularity in the early 80's. So named because it is a frame which has a piece of steel completely surrounding the outside parimeter of the chassis. Parma - Owned by Ken MacDowell of Ohio. Parma began as Parma International Raceway, and when slot racing was in its death throws, Mr. MacDowell bought out Jim Russel's Ruskit company, and began making the now famous Parma trigger controller. Since nearly all the Cox controllers were taken to the dump, and most people did not like the feel of the MRC controller, the trigger controller was the only other choice. Except for a few die hards, most slot racers quickly adapted and the rest is as we have said before, history. Parts - Simply referres to all the stuff that goes into making up a slot car, controller, etc. You'll find them hanging usually on the pegboard behind your local raceway counter. Pass - To make a "run" on the drag strip is to make a "pass" Peanut motor - Orignially developed in Europe to make a smaller motor faster. Using a useless tiny mabuchi motor, fitted with polymer cobalt magnets and a group 7 armature, this set-up was fast IF it could be put together right. Before this design could catch on, a more reliable motor using standard cobalts was invented by Stuart Koford. See feather. Pegboard - That wall behind the counter with all the holes in it, and holding all those wonderful toys. Perfect light - Usually used in drag racing, meaning the driver pulled the trigger at the precise moment that the green light came on. on a .40 tree, a perfect light would be a .40 etc. Perfect run - Usually used in drag racing, meaning the car performed perfectly, usually resulting in a win. Phenolic - A washer or spacer that is used on the armature. It is named for the material it is made of. In low power motors, it is installed inside the set-up against the commutator. On high power motors, it is installed outside the set-up up against the ball bearing on the endbell side of the arm. The purpose in both instances is to cause oil to spin off the washer, and not continue down the shaft to get on the commutator. Piano wire - A tough, hard to bend wire used to build slot car chassis. Most commonly comes from K&S and used in the most common of varying sizes from .032 to .062. Pick-ups - In H.O. racing, the pick-ups are located on each side of the guide pin. They are called such because they "pick up" the current from the rails and transfer it to the motor. Pieces - What you pick up after taking a horrible wall blast with your car. Pigtail - See pre-shunted motor brushes. Pillow blocks - The portions of the frame that stick up, usually in the rear, and hold the bearings or oilites for the axle. On a stamped chassis, these are simply called up-rights. If they come seperately, and are soldered in place, they are called pillow blocks. Pinched oval - A type of oval track design with one end smaller than the other. Pinion - The small gear that fits on your armature shaft. Pin- Straight pins are used to hold most slot car bodies on the chassis. Of course in order for them to work, they must be bent slightly so they are no longer straight. Pin stripe tool - A small device with a bottle, wheel, and guide, used to roll paint stripes on each side of the slot. Pin tubes - Referrs to the small brass tubes that are attached to the chassis for the purpose of sliding a straight pin through. The straight pin goes through the body and then into the tube, holding the body to the chassis. Pitch - Could refer to the angle of the motor in the chassis, but most commonly referrs to the amount and size of teeth on a gear. Most cars come out of the box with 48 pitch gears, and most high speed slot cars use 64 pitch gears. In modern times, there has been some success using 72 pitch gears. The smaller the gear, the higher the pitch. Pits - The place where you work on your slot car at the raceway. In your home, it is called the kitchen. Pit-Man - A person generally not participating in the race who performs maintenenance work on the race car for the driver. A pit man may do such things as change braid, lane stickers, motors, tires or any general repairs allowed within the rules. Thanks to MG Brown for this. Planer - A type of resistor developed by Stu Koford of Koford Engeneering. It utilizes small strips of nichrome material sandwiched between aluminum heat sinks. This resistor comes in the Koford controller, and represents the first major change in the resistor system used in controllers since the refinement of the Russkit controller by Parma International in the early 70's. Plumber - A type of hinge, usually near the front of the chassis, on either side, and used to hinge the pans, causing them to be able to lift from the rear. The amount of travel is limited by an up-stop located on the main rails coming in contact with a cross bar attaching each pan at the rear. Plumber rail - A piece of piano wire fitted into the plumber hinge and bent to run parallel with the main rails. The pans were attached to the plumber rails either with hinges or static. Pole - When used by itself, usually referring to that part of the armature with the wires around it. See Laminations. See stacks. Pole position - In 1 to1 scale racing it is the front row inside lane. In slot racing, the driver on the pole gets his or her choice of lanes to start on. In both cases, the pole is awarded to the driver with the quickest time in qualifying. Polistil - A manufacturer of 1/32 scale road race sets and cars from Italy. Very popular in the 70's all over Europe. A few sets made it to the U.S. and are still operational. Some of the sets and cars are still available from various sources on the internet. Polyeurethane paint - Commonly used to paint slot car tracks. Popular because a clear coat can be painted over most any other type of paint and give a good luster, or look to the finished job. Poly-oval - A relatively new term given to the new breed of ultra swoopy tracks. Meaning they drive like an oval, but have many left and right turns on them. Positive - The side of the battery with the + sign on it. Also, the right side of the braid on the slot track in the direction of travel of the car. On the motor, the positive side is always the side located to the front of the car. Positive gate - The proper way to wire your slot car track. The current of the battery should go to the negative side of the braid straight from the battery. This allows the car to get the current first. This is the most efficient method since all the "line loss" is on the back side of the circuit. This method also causes the controller to run at its coolest and most efficient rate. The positive gate referrs to the switches in the circuit. Both the relay and the controller is a switch in the circuit, and a positive gate system would have these components in the positive line going to the battery. DC current flows from negative to positive. See Negative gate. Power supply - In the beginning of slot racing, most all tracks were powered by a transformer. Later, as the cars began drawing more power, they began to be powered by batteries. Most low power slot cars, like H.O. are still powered by transformers which provide the current to the track. Power to weight - Referres to the amount of horsepower generated by the motor in relationship to the overall weight of the car. To go fast, you should have a very high power to weight ratio. Practice = Prior to sign up there should be at least 15 min. of practice in order that all lanes on the track may be adequately prepared for qualifications and racing. In some cases, cars entered in the competition are placed in impound, so practice is done with a spare car. This practice eliminates the possibility of a race car being damaged before competition begins. All lanes should be run so that it can be determined if any application of tire traction substances is required. Pre-shunted motor brushes - These motor brushes come with a pigtail, or shunt wire attached. Though not popular today, it is still the best way for a beginner to learn how to apply shunt wire to his motor. See shunt wire. Press on - Referrs to a type of pinion that does not need to be soldered on the armature shaft. It is designed so that it can be pressed down on the shaft, and will not come off even with the abuse of slot racing. Pre-stage - The first light on a drag strip is the pre stage light. Prince - Resembling a small King track, but only 110 ft. in length. Princess - Resembling a small Queen track, but only 110 ft. in length. Prize certificates - A popular way to award prizes to the non pro racers in any slot car racing competition. Pro - The top of the line racing. Reserved for those who race the unlimited cars for cash. Production - Sometimes this term is used to denote a stock class, meaning it is just as it came off the production line at the factory. Pro-Slot - Dan DeBella of Grand Rapids, Michigan is the owner of this slot car company. Starting out as just motors, and always known as one of the big three motor manufacturers for professional slot racing. Pro-Slot today serves a wide range of slot car interests. Pro-Track - A slot car tire company from California. Most noted for their drag tires. Purple - See Soverign. Also, the seventh lane down on the track, located right next to the gutter lane. Purple mile - See Soverign Purse - Meaning the total amount of money and prizes to be given away as prizes in a race. qQuad - A type of magnet made up of two magnets glued together on each side. Very strong, and not legal in lower class racing below Gp.15.
Qualifying - Qualifying is a very important part of racing, and should be used in some form for every race. It gives the racer the opportunity to be on the track by himself, and teaches the other racers the important skills of marshalling as they all get an opportunity to be a marshall for the person qualifying. The first person up to qualify gets one extra minute if they wish to determine the condition of the qualifying lane. Lap times during this "warm-up" period do not count as qualifying times. A racer will have the opportunity to completely re-qualify his car if a problem occurs with the track causing his qualifying attempt to be aborted. (There are three ways to perform the qualifying segment of racing.) #1 - For larger events and especially in the upper brackets of racing, the "Bye" system is recommended. With this system, two minutes on the clock is allowed for each racer to turn the fastest possible lap. Each racer has the opportunity to call a "bye". If the racer wants to have a bye for any reason, he may remove his car from the track, take it back to the pits and work on it. His name is placed at the end of the list to be called back in order. He also loses 30 seconds of his original 2 minutes qualifying time, and the car is re-checked to make sure it is still legal. #2 - For most weekly racing, and any time deemed appropriate by the race director, the "One minute, no bye" system can be used. With this system, each racer has one minute on the clock to turn the fastest possible lap. There is no opportunity to call a bye, and power will not be turned off during the qualifying attempt for any reason other than problems with the track. Using this method, a complete field of 8 racers can be qualified in about than 15 minutes. #3 - The "Total Lap" system places an emphasis on driving skill. Each racer is given one minute to turn as many laps as possible. Naturally, the turn marshalls role is greatly enhanced during this system. Quadra - A "spec" track that was never completed by American tracks in the mid 80's. It got it's name because it was 400 ft. running length. Qualifying set-up - It is common for a slot car racer to have more than one type of motor set-up in his box. One type might be built for racing and another type for qualifying. A qualifying set-up is built for all out speed at very high voltages. It might not last long, but it goes fast when it's going. See race set-up. Quadralam - There was a time when Aurora had a factory "muscle car" program. This arm was the #1 HOT arm from the factory. Queen - The orignial American Queen was a green sided figure 8 track. The New American version created a track similar in stature to the King at 150 ft, and when added to the Prince and Princess, constituted the Royal Family of slot car tracks. Q-consi A term usually meaning the "bottom" consi. If you say you made the "Q" consi, it means you qualified really poorly. rR.E.H. - One of the oldest hobby distribution companies. Located in Cincinatti, Ohio, and owned by Bob Haines. The REH stands for the owners initials.
R.J.R. - A reletavely new player in the slot racing game, with products including both motors, and ready to runs. The RJR stands for the initials of the company owner, Robert J. Root. R.T.R. - Short for ready to run, which is how most slot cars are sold. Race - Any competition where two or more cars (or anything else for that matter) compete against each other. Race director - The boss of the race. Usually the raceway owner, but not always. Sometimes different organizations have their own race director to take care of the chores of running the race. With the advent of computers to do all the work, the race director has become more of a race announcer than anything else. Race night - Most slot car raceways are run as just that, a raceway, with race nights many times during the week. Some raceways are run mostly as entertainment centers with only one race night per week. Either way, the avid slot racer looks forward to race night more than any other at the local raceway. Race Pace - Former USRA President Bill Pinch is the owner of Race Pace products, a company located in Florida that manufacturers components for slot car racing. Race prize - Those items, either cash or merchandise, that is won in competition. It is good for the raceway owner to offer race prizes in the form of merchandise certificates. Usually 1/2 the total income from the race entry fees. In this manner, the raceway owner is rewarding the racer for doing well, while not costing himself a single dime. The raceway owner already has the total raceway entry fees in his register. He must consider that half that amount can be rung in as track time, and the other half as merchandise purchases. With this system, the raceway owner makes 100% of half the entry fees, and 40% of the other half. It can be considered as simply pre-selling his parts. Racer Products - This company rose to prominance in the early 80's. Through proper promotion and publicity, coupled with a good product, their popularity grew to make them the #3 RTR manufacturer. The company was sold while at its peak, and the new owners were not successful in keeping the product line going. Race set-up - It is normal for a slot car racer to have more than one type of motor. One for qualifying, and one for racing. The race set-up is designed for a little less speed, and greater reliability. See qualifying set-up. Radius - Equal to 1/2 the total diameter of a turn. Rail track - The original slot cars actually had a slot in the car, and ran on a raised rail track. My earliest memories of slot racing was in the mid '50's when I ripped apart my Lionel train set to use the motor in a home made car, and one of the rails to make a race track for it to follow. This method dates back to pre World War II days. It was common to carve out a balsa wood car, powered by a small electric motor, and guided along the rail by a slot running along the bottom side of the car. Rail - In H.O. racing the electrical pick-up located in the track is called the rail. Also in drag racing, a common term for a dragster is "rail", or "rail job". Ratio - The numerical ratio of your gears is arrived at by dividing the number of teeth on the spur or crown by the number of teeth on the pinion. Reaction time - In drag racing, it is the amount of time that has elapsed between the time the green light comes on and you pull the trigger on your controller causing the car to leave the line. Re-Balance - When your armature comes from the factory, it has small holes in the poles. The process of balancing is to remove material from a heavy pole until it weighs the same as all the others. After you run your motor for a while, the epoxy heats up and the wires shift. This causes the arm to become unbalanced. For a small fee, there are companies that will take the arm and put it back in balance again. Hence the term re-balance. An armature should have its commutator re-trued and be rebalanced each time you replace motor brushes. Record - A goal we all hope of reaching at one time or another. Whether it's the local track record for Group 10, or a Group 7 world record, the feeling of pride in the acheivement is just as great. Red - What you'll see if you get nerfed. Also, the first lane on a slot car track. Also, the nickname for the American Imperial 150ft. slot car track. So called because of its red formica sides. Red light - In drag racing, you'll get the "red light" and lose if you pull the trigger before the green light comes on. Red set - In order to save time during major races, a type of consi racing system can be used where the racer gets to run only on four lanes. The choice of lane to start on depends on the competitor's qualifying time. The red set of four lanes consists of red, green, blue, and purple, and the rotational pattern follows in that order. See black set. RehCo. - Back in a time when there was very few manufacturers, the distributors began making their own products and releasing them in a different brand name. Many of these products are still around. RehCo is the product line for REH Distributing. Relay - An electronic switch used to transfer power from the batteries to the track. Each time you pay the raceway owner to buy some track time, he turns a switch which applies current to the coil of the relay, which closes the contacts of the relay, allowing the current to pass from the battery to your car. Replica - Any item that is a copy of an original item is a replica of that item. Resistance - As it applies to slot car racing, resistance directly affects the current flow from the batteries to your car. Everything in slot car racing has to do with resistance. You have a resistor in your controller which, if 2 ohms, would have that amount of resistance when the wiper is on the first band. That would decrease to 0 when the trigger is pulled all the way. The wiring on a slot track has resistance. The larger the wire that is used to connect the batteries to the track, the less resistance there will be. The resistance increases at every connection. When it comes to the DC current used in slot racing, a clean tightly twisted connection is better than a soldered connection. This is caused by the fact that DC current travells over the outside edge of the wire, and a soldered connection takes the many strands of wire and turns it into a solid lump. In high amp draw applications, heat is actually generated at the soldered joint. So anywhere where high amp travel is present, clean twisted connections are more preferable to a soldered joint. Retainer - Also called clips as in magnet retainer, wheel retainer, body retainer, etc. Revell - Today, Revell is known for their plastic models, but in the 60's they were one of the top slot car ready to run manufacturers. Ribbons - A common race prize, popular because they can be displayed in the common slot car box. Ride height - The distance between the track surface and the bottom of your chassis. Rider - A term used when one car is deslotted and lands in another car's lane. To alert the driver of the other car, a racer can yell out "Rider on red" for example if the deslotted car has landed in the red lane. The race director at his discretion may kill the power to keep a car from being wall blasted. Rims - In slot racing, we usually just refer to these as wheels. Road Runner Tracks - When American Tracks was sold to Baldemar Balderas, and moved to Mexico, one of the employees, Joe Feliciano, left to form his own track building company. While in the employ of American Tracks, Joe was responsible for more than a hundred slot car tracks construction and installation. His new company is based out of Midland, Texas. Roadster - Any car with seats for only two and no top. Rolf Lundberg - Rolf is from Europe, and is the designer of many innovations in slot racing, from frame designs to motors. When you see the RL symbol on a tech sheet, you can be sure Rolf played a part in that car's winning. Roller bearings - Not used today, but a type of bearing using small rollers rather than balls that was popular in the 60's due to its increased effeciency and low cost. Roll out - In drag racing, roll out is a calculated distance based on the size of the rear tire. Also known as that period of time where you can pull the trigger of your controller before the green light comes on without tripping the red light. Rosen core - A type of cleaning flux allowing better soldering by mixing with the molten solder and by cleaning the metal, allows the molten solder to stick better. Some solder has no core, and the cleaning flux must be applied seperately. Rotation - There are two primary rotational patterns. See staggered. See straight. Round robin - A type of racing program where more than 8 people can race. Sometimes called "sit-out" racing because the racers in excess of 8 sit out during the time they are not racing. If there are 9 racers, there is only one sit-out, if there are 10 racers there are 2, etc. It is a normal requirement for those sitting out to perform marshall duties. See sit-out. Rout - A method of cutting wood. Using a router, the slot and later the braid recess is cut in a slot car track. Rules - A set of guidelines used to keep racing fair between competitors. Run - In drag racing, making a pass down the drag strip is the same thing as making a "run". Ruskit - Formerly owned by Jim Russell, this slot car company of the 60's, was purchased by Ken MacDowell of Parma International. And the rest is as they say history. sS.A.R.N. - Scale Auto Racing News. The model car racing magazine that has been around longer than any other ever in the history of the world. The originator of the magazine John Ford's favorite form of racing was the high speed wing cars like the ones used in U.S.R.A. competiton, but named his magazine Scale Auto Racing News so it would be a constant reminder that the bulk of the model car racing enthusiasts were interested in Scale racing cars, and only a small percentage of the racers really liked the wing cars as he did. Since the beginning, the magazine has been a complete cross reference of all types of slot car racing, from H.O. to Scale, to wing cars.
S.D.R.A. - The Scale Drag Racing Association. A group of slot drag racers headed up by Bob and Brenda Herrick of Dallas, Texas. S.R.T. - A company that manufacturers ibm computer operated lap counting systems. Scale - Referrs to any item reduced in size to a particular scale. The most popular commercial slot racing scale is 1/24 while club racing is split between1/64 (HO)and 1/32 scale. A scale is also used to weigh your car and stuff. Scalextric - A popular 1/32 scale brand of car that has been found mostly in Europe untill the middle 90's when it became known as popular in the U.S. as well. Screw - There are lots of them in your slot car. Allen screws in the wheels, gears, motors, frame, etc. In the 60's standard slotted screws were used in abundance, but after millions were dropped on the floor, someone came up with the idea to use allen head screws instead. Sealed motor - Any motor which has been sealed at the factory, or by a race director that cannot be opened without disqualifying the competitor. Sebring - The name of a popular Parma controller designed for the beginning slot racer. Second place - There are two ways to look at second place. It is the first of the losers, and it is also first place for all the rest. Take your choice. Segments - Also known as heats. In slot car racing, it usually takes 8 timed segments to make up one complete race, allowing each racer to compete once on each of the 8 lanes. Semi-main - There are ususally two of these, made up of the 16 top competitiors. The top four from each semi move up and make the main event. Semi-pro - The class of group 7 racing just below the professional class. In many cases, these racers are just as good as the pro's, but prefer to run for merchandise rather than cash. Series - Any group of races that when combined together, produce an overall winner for the total of races run. Many times a series will last for an 8 week period, then, the worst two weeks can be dropped for a 6 week series total. Any other variation on this theme is possible. Set screw - The small allen screw used to hold the tires and gears on the axle. See allen screw. Set-up - The set-up is comprised of the can, magnets, and endbell of your motor. While you could set up your car, this term is most often in slot racing referring to the motor set-up. Shaft - That portion of the armature that everything is fitted down on. Or, that small round piece of metal sticking through the middie of all the parts of an armature. Shamiga - A small but still operating company that got its start by manufacturing the first hollow axle, designed to reduce spinning weight or rotating mass in order to go quicker in qualifying. Shopper - In Scale Auto Racing News, the shopper is the classified ads section. Short chute - Any short straight can be called a short chute. See chute. Shunt - A small piece of wire connecting from the buss bar to the motor brush. Shunt wires are recommend because it directs the current flow directly from the motor lead wire to the back of the motor brush. Other wise, the motor brush must get its power from the spring, hood and slider plate. Shuttle - A style of chassis popular in the 70's. This chassis is identified by the fact that it is centered around one main rail down the center of the chassis, with the body mounts extending out to the edge of the body at the front and rear. Sidewinder - In the 60's there was only two types of chassis design. In-line and sidewinder. The sidewinder places the motor fully sideways in the back of the chassis. A derivitive of this design is used today with the motor placed at an angle in the back of the chassis. See anglewinder. Sign up - Tech inspection takes place when the racer signs up for the race. Clearance, tire width, side dam height, etc. may be checked using any method the race director feels comfortable with. For instance, a piece of .063 piano wire to check track clearance and calipers to check heights and widths, or simply an approved "flat" tech tool which has all the dimensions needed. The tech inspector needs to give a 30 minute and 15 minute warning before closing inspection. See Tech in. Sign up sheet - A method used from the beginning of making a list of those who are entering a racing event. Today, the sign up sheet is obsolete as the computer has come into prominance as the primary data keeping device. Computers are so cost effective for raceways, because the programs written for data collection, race lap counting, lap time keeping, and recording of results are not of the type that require an expensive computer. Perfect racing systems are available from a number of manufacturers for Commodore 64 computers which cost under $200.00 and the older IBM clones which cost under $300.00. Silicone - A substance used for slot car tires of the 60's. When the motors became so fast, the silicone began to explode on the rims, different substances had to be used that would hold up under the high rpm's. Silicone tires are still used in the HO scale slot cars. Silky tracks - Jim Silknatter is the builder of Slilkie tracks. Jim is a retired railroad worker that has had building tracks as a hobby for many years. Silver solder - A favorite type of solder used by chassis manufacturers. There is solid silver and variations in blend. Sit-out - When there are more than 8 racers, it is possible to run a round robin or sit out race where one or more racers are rotated off and then back on the track untill all racers have had a chance to run on all 8 lanes. Sit-out racing can be done easily with up to 12 racers, but is not recommended for more than 14 racers. Sit-Out racing is easily programmable on most computer systems available today, but if you don't have one of these systems, it is simple to set up. After qualifying, the racers pick their lanes as normal except that they now have a sit-out position to choose as well as any of the 8 lanes. The sit-out positions should be numbered and chosen by number so as to determine when the racer sitting out would come into the normal 8 lanes of rotation. (i.e., Choosing the 1st sit-out means the racer would sit out the first heat and come in on the second.) Racers sit out after racing on Black lane, and come in after their sit-out on the Yellow lane. The up-side to sit-out racing is that it takes less time than normal elimination races. The down-side is that you can never really tell who is in the lead until the beginning of the last heat. Slick 7 - One of the top suppliers of slot racing equipment, especially those items used in the high end classes of racing. Rudy Garriga is the owner of this Northern California based company. Slick 7 has been the recipient of many world record breaking records. Slide guide - A type of plastic guide used on HO cars that allow the cars to slide in the corners and allows the cars to run on small tracks built like a 1/32 scale home track with no magnetraction allowed. Slider Plates - That portion of the endbell hardware that the motor brush rests and "slides" on. The brush hoods rest on the slider plates. Better electrical contact can be acheived by soldering the slider plates to the brush hoods. Slop - The amount of "backlash" in your gears. See "backlash". Slot - Originally, a slot car had the slot in the bottom of the car and the car followed a rail. Later, this system was modified by placing the slot in the track and installing a guide on the car to fit down into the slot. Slot Car · The original patent for a slot car was taken out in 1938 by Albert Cullen of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Mr. Cullen was offerd a small sum of money for his patent but held out for a better offer. It never came, and he never made any money on his patent. Slot-jocks - Just as in any sporting event, there are those competitors who take things very seriously, and are very vocal about it, especially in a positive way. In slot racing, the clear cut definition of a slot jock is Paul "Bueford" Pederson. Watching him compete makes you glad you are involved in the same sport. Slug- Slang term used for an air gap tool. Smoking - Caution, smoking can be hazadardous to your slot car motor. However, it is also a term used to imply that your car was moving way fast. Soft Walls (sometimes tongue in cheek referred to as "Soft Wall Technology") - Use of flexible plastic material for track retaining walls instead of traditional wood or other hard materials. The advantage is that a slot car can survive a crash into a soft wall that would leave the car totally destroyed if crashed into a wooden wall. Thanks to MG Brown for this. Solder - The choice method of attaching metal to metal for slot cars. Good soldering techniques should be learned by every racer no matter what their age. Solder on - A term used referring to the type of pinion gear that must be soldered on the armature shaft. Sonic - Phil Hackett is the originator of this company. Sonic has always had a name for their tires and specialized tools, but what most people don't know is that Sonic makes many different slot car parts for many different companies who then take the parts and put their name on them. They do this for so many companies that it would be hard for you to be involved in slot racing at all without using an item with the Sonic touch. Sovereign - The name given to the 220 ft. American slot car track. More commonly, this track was called the "purple mile" because of its side color and the fact that 220ft is a 1/24th scale mile. Spacer - Anything that takes up space. On a slot car, it could be used on the axle, or on the motor, it could be used on the armature shaft. Made from aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, steel, plastic and phenolic. Spackle - A woodworking filler used to fill small scratches to large cracks in a slot car track before painting or re-painting. Spackle is preferred over bondo, because it sands easier, and when the time comes to take the track apart, it is easier to remove from the seams. See Bondo. Speed Sport - Originated by the late Ron Granlee, this Southern California based slot car distributorship has been around since the 60's and started out as Speed Sport Raceway before expanding into one of the most respected distributor of slot racing supplies around. Spoiler - On a modern day U.S.R.A. slot car this term has come to refer to the front plastic piece added for strength to wing cars, whereas the rear spoiler is more likely to be called the air dam. This is not the case on non-wing cars, where any air control device added to the rear of the car is the spoiler. Sponge - This is the racer that is always borrowing from you? No, most likely it is filled with water, and used to properly clean your soldering iron tip. Sponges - An old term no longer in use that referred to the rear tires on a slot car. This distinction was needed because there was three different types of rubber used for slot car tires of the 60's. Sponge, silicone, and standard rubber. Spray glue - A mixture of your favorite brand of tire glue is diluted with coleman fuel, or pure naptha. The mixture varies with the brand of glue used. For Camen's Brown Stick-it, one ounce to one pint of naptha is the correct mixture. This is then sprayed on the track prior to the race and only around the turns. When the naptha evaporates, it leaves the thin layer of stick-it on the track. Much the same as if you laid down a layer of double stick tape. Then, glue is not necessary during the race. This is the perfect solution if your racers want to go fast, but you don't want them to apply glue directly to your track. Spring cup - This term is used define that shallow cut in the motor brush that holds the motor brush spring centered in the back of the brush. Spring post - That small post on your endbell that keeps the motor spring from falling off. The coils of the motor spring fit over the spring post. Spring post insulator - Not used often, but in aluminum endbells, there must be an insulator between the endbell and the spring post or the current would pass from the spring to the endbell causing a short. Springs - In slot racing, the only springs used today are those holding in the motor brushes. They come in many various strengths and sizes. Which one is best can only be known by experimenting on your own track's power and racing conditions. Spring Steel - A very high tensil strength steel used in the manufacturer of some slot car chassis. Spring tab - A small tab either attached to the motor brush hood, or slider plate that holds the long end of the motor brush spring, allowing the tension or pressure to be applied to the motor brush. Spur - The gear that fits on the axle and properly aligns with the pinion gear on the motor when the motor is placed cross ways on the chassis. Usually at some degree of angle. Spudger - A purpose built tool to evenly apply or redistribute glue on the race track. Thanks to MG Brown for this. Square bushing - A new item invented by Parma International. This rear axle bushing or oilite fits inside a square hole and no soldering is needed to keep it from rotating. Off center axle holes also allow the builder to make the wheelbase minutely shorter or longer depending on where they are centered. Square can - An early Koford Group 7 motor was square, and the design caught on for a while. There are still some of these little wonders around. Mostly used today on drag strips. Squeaker - Any race which is won or lost by a small margin. Stacks - Sometimes called plates, these are small laminations of metal that when "stacked" together and wrapped with wire, make up the poles of your armature. Stage - When you stage your drag car, you are placing it in the right spot to light both staging lights in preperation for a "run". Staging area - The area directly behind the christmas tree in drag racing is called the "staging area" Staggered rotation - Originally developed in Europe, and first adopted in the United States by Jim Honeycutt of San Antonio, Texas for use in the Texas Championship Series. This method of lane changing is currently adopted by nearly all racing orginazations. Using this method, the racer skips every other lane travelling down the track from red, to green, to blue, to purple, and then moving one lane over to black and back up the track to yellow, to blue, to white. Then, one lane over to red and repeat. No matter what lane you start on, you follow this rotational pattern until, after 8 rotations, you get back to where you started. The primary advantage of this rotational pattern is the fact that you do not race beside the same racer during the whole race. See European rotation. Stamped steel - This refers to a mass production type of chassis used in the lower classes of racing. An inexpensive production method of taking lower tensile strength steel and stamping the design out in quantity. Standard colors - This referes to the 8 lane colors. The standard is from the drivers out, red, white, green, orange, blue, yellow, purple, and black. Start line - I'm not sure.... could this be the place where all the cars start from in a race? Interstingly enough, in slot racing, since most races are timed events, there is no finish line. Starter kit - Various manufacturers offer these kits. They are comprised of a carrying box, a car, controller, spare parts, and in general all the little things you will need to get started in slot racing. Static pan - A bat pan that is attached either directly to the main rails, or to a plumber rail, with no hinges. Steel - The choice material for all slot cars. In the past, aluminum and brass have both been used, but modern slot cars are nearly all made of steel of varying tensil strengths. Straight - The section of the track with no turns involved. The Main straight is that section where the drivers stand. Straight rotation - The original method of moving from lane to lane during competition. With this method, you move one one lane over to your right until you get to black and then go to red, continuing to move one lane over to your right for 8 segments until you get back where you started. The primary disadvantage of this system is that you must race beside the same person through all 8 heats. If they are an unskilled, or inconsiderate driver, it can hinder your chances of finishing well. Still used today in some areas where the race director hasen't totally gotten the hang of the universally adopted staggered rotational pattern. Straight up - This is a reference used to define many conditions that is usually negative in its terminology. For instance, if your car goes straight up the bank, it is not in the slot which is not good. If you car hits the glue zone and goes straight up it is not in the slot which is not good. Another use for the term is when you are running group 7 and disconnect your choke to run the power "straight up". Usually this condition will cause your car to leave the slot which is not good, or it will cause smoke to pour straight up out of a car sitting very still but still in the slot. You guessed it, a condition which is not good. Strap - A term referring to a type of enclosure for magnets, developed in the early '80's as a method of making the group 7 motors even lighter than the newly developed "Feather". Rather than a complete "can" enclosure, there was simply a strap of "U" shaped metal that connected to the endbell on either side. See Feather. Strombecker - Thanks to Wayne Mc Dowell for noticing that I had left out this listing. Strombecker was a major player in the slot racing industry of the '60's. They had many of the same cars as Cox, Revell, etc. in both 1/32 and 1/24 scales. They also made complete race sets with track and cars as well. Popular body styles were the Chapparel and the little red Midgets which were 1/24 in size but looked more like 1/32 beside a regular 1/24 car. Strombecker cars sold originally for undr $5.00 but a mint condition model today will bring you well over $100.00. Subscription - This is what you get when you get the magazine at your home. Usually, magazine subscriptions are sold in 12 issue blocks. Super 16D - A type of imported motor with higher density magnets and a faster armature than an original 16D. Super II - Back in the days of the "Big" H.O. manufacturers, this was Aurora's H.O. factory muscle car. Hot right out of the box. Sweeper - A large banked turn is called a bank, a large flat turn is called a sweeper. Swoopy track - A rather new term first used to describe a track built for Garry Johnson of Sydney, Australia by John Ford of American Tracks. This track was quite radical at the time it was built and was given its name because the track swooped down out of each turn, and up into the next turn. The banking was quite high. Garry Johnson used the knowledge gained and went on to become one of Australia's premier track builders. Reggie Coram, professional slot racer from St. Marteen, the Netherlands, was the first person to break the 2 second barrier on the Australian swoopy king. About 6 of these "Killer Kings" were built by American through the endof 1998. No other track builders have tackled the high banked technology except Hasse Nilsson who built a somewhat radical version with oversized turns. See K2K. tT.O.A. - Formerly known as the T.O.A.A., this orginazation has lost one A which stood for America, and now is simply known as the Track Owners Association. This group offers a montly newsletter and a yearly convention for slot car raceway owners.
T.Q. - Short for top qualifier, the fastest car or driver on the track. "T" slot - One of the neatest ideas to come along back in the '60's was the "T" slot concept. These tracks had a special undercut slot that a special "T" shaped guide was fitted into. The guide would only fit in the slot in front of the drivers, and literally would not come out of the slot any where else on the track. To go along with this slot system, was the chairs, steering wheels, and foot pedals. You made the car go by pressing the pedal with your foot. When your car came to a corner, you had to turn the wheel in the direction of the turn, or your car would lose power. So in order to turn a fast lap, you would have to get the proper combination of turning the wheel in the proper direction of each turn while pounding the pedal on and off with your foot. Sounds easy right? Rental cars on this type of track had another "T" type guide in the rear which meant this car could not be driven off the track under any circumstances. Definately not legal today. T-Jet - Short for Thunder Jet, a type of H.O. slot car produced by Aurora duringthe 60's. Now considered a collectors item. Tag - The tag is epoxy'd to the armature and tells what class the armature will run in when it is placed in a motor. Tapered axle - Another method of holding the tires on in the 60's. The axle was tapered down smaller on the end and the hub of the tire wedged into place and was held on by a jam nut. Tech - That inspection process each car has to go through before being allowed to compete. The rules that apply change depending on which class you are racing. Tech block - Usually made of wood or slate and used to hold the car while looking at it. Tech check - When used in this manner, it usually referrs to the guage used to measure the chassis width, tire diameter, etc. Many different manufacturers make a multi-functional tech tool. Tech inspector - The person in charge of the tech tool. Tech sheet - That piece of paper you fill out that tells what components are used on your car. These statistics are usually then sent to magazines for publications. Tech tool - A specially made tool for measuring all the dimensions that are critical for a car to pass technical inspection before allowed to compete. Teflon spacer - Usually fitted above and below the guide post on the chassis. Teflon is used rather than metal, because it will allow the guide to move about more freely with almost no chance of binding. Threaded axle - Fortunately, this is one thing that was left by the wayside from the 60's. We now hold our wheels on with allen screws. Of course if enough of you asked for it, we could go back to the threaded axles.... I didn't think so. Thingies - All racers who are into the truly scale appearing slot cars call any car that does not look purely scale a "thingie". Thingie's have been a popular design since the beginning of slot racing. In fact, I guess you could call a 1to1 scale Indy car a "thingie" since it has no resemblance to a real car. Thumb - What you used to apply power to your car during the 60's. Thumper - A popular 1/32 scale slot car manufactured by Carl Ford of Champion Slot Car Products. Timers - While a timer is used to time your car during competition, the timers in a raceway usually refer to those switches located behind the counter used to turn the lanes on and off when selling track time. Time trials - That portion of a race where the fastest racer is found. Usually the racer with the quickest time gets his or her choice of lanes to start the race on. Timed event - Nearly all slot races are timed events, meaning that all competitors are racing against the clock and not to a finish line. Timing - The timing on your armature is changed by turning the commutator on the shaft. Don't try this without studing the process completely. If your comm tab is located directly between two poles it has 0 degrees of timing. Advancing your timing will improve performance, but it only takes a little. Be prepared to ruin some arms before you get this trick down. Tinned - This is a term that referrs to the coating of your new soldering iron tip with solder. By plugging in the iron, and melting solder on the tip, you should completely cover the tip with the molten solder. Then unplug the iron, and clean it on a wet sponge. This tinning process should be performed on all new soldering iron tips when they are new, and before they are used for soldering. Tires - Commonly referring to the rears wheels and tires on a slot car. Since the fronts on a slot car today rarely posses a tire, and the majority of the rubber on a modern slot car is on the rear, tires has come to refer to the rears on tech sheets and other places of definition. Tire truer - A precision machine used to make the rear tires perfectly flat, increasing the contact patch and giving greater traction. Tongue & groove - A type of slot car track construction that allows the sections to be fitted together at the joint. There is a big difference of opinion as to whether this connection is best or not. Those who use it claim it makes the joint fit better, which it does. Those who do not use it claim that a track with this type of joint which sits in storage for an extended period of time will warp, causing extreme problems with re-assembly. Track - Most commonly heard in competition when someone wants the power cut off. I don't need to tell you that it is also that thing you race your car on do I? Track call - When "track" is called out by one of the racers, or marshall's, the power is cut off and whatever condition caused the track call is rectified, then the power is cut back on and the racing resumed. Tracks - In 1 to1 scale racing, there is the argument that dirt is for racing on and asphault is for getting there. In slot racing, we say wood is for racing on, asphault is for getting there, and dirt is for farming. Traditional track - A term used to describe a track that retains the traditional dimensions of the original design from the 60's. Tree - Shortened term for the christmas tree in drag racing. Triangles - A simple shape that has become the standard for slot car track legs. Two triangles placed peak to peak and connected together make up the platform that fits under the surface, and on the floor. Trigger - That part of the controller you pull to make the car go. If this was the 60's, you would pull the trigger with your thumb? Trik-Trax - John Sojack and Sarah Shedd are the originators of this company. Though they make many items for slot racers including a magnet zapper, they are most noted for their drag racing system. Tri-oval - An oval track with three left turns. Tripod - A design of frame used in the upper classes of slot racing. I don't know who was the first person credited with the use of this triangle shaped frame, but Craig Landry made it famous with his combination wire steel versions. Trophy - A type of award given out tothe winners. Trophy's are usually reserved as awards of major events. Tub Track - A name given by some to the commercial Aurora H.O. track. The name was because it looked like a tub when upside down. It was a one piece fiberglass unit with the standard Aurora plastic track as a roadbed. Tunkel tracks - The name brand for tracks built by Ed and Carol Tunkel of Tennessee. Turn marshal - That thing you try to get out of doing. Each race is comprised of two portions. That in which you compete with your car on the track, and that portion in which you take a spell at re-slotting de-slotted cars. Turbo - Parma International came up with this type of controller that is most commonly used by slot car racers. It is made up of a double barrel resistor & plastic trigger assembly mounted on an annodized aluminum frame. Tyres - Same as above, but spelled the British and some European's do it. Tyco - A brand of H.O. car. Produced by Mattel, the toy people. Tweak - Sometimes your chassis is tweaked, or bent, when it hits the wall. Sometimes, it is intentionally tweaked to make it handle better. Much the same as weight jacking on a 1 to 1 scale race car. uU.S.R.A. - The United Slot Racers Association. Formed back in the 70's to take the place of the NCC. The racers that formed the USRA felt that the NCC had been controlled by the manufacturers and a new group should be formed that would cater to the needs of the racers. Not suprisingly, most of those racers who stayed with the orginazation wound up becoming a manufacturer themselves, therefore defeating their own original purpose. The USRA is made up of one national chapter, and many local chapters which have each been individually formed in areas with a strong racing program. The national chapter is primarily responsible for setting the rules, planning and executing one main race each year, and picking the site of next year's race.
U-brace - Any brace, usually made of piano wire, that is shaped in a "u" shape. Usually intended to go from the chassis up to the motor, either front or back, and back down to the chassis again. Under - Exactly the same definition as "up top" except applied to that portion of the track which is under the bridge. Ungar - From the beginning, the Ungar has been the soldering iron of choice for slot car racers. Because of its high temperature, small size, and long life. Uprights - When a stamped steel chassis has portions of the metal folded up ward to make a place for the axle and bearing to fit, it is called an upright. When these same pieces are seperate and soldered in place, they are called pillow blocks. Up-stop - An item used to limit the travel on moving portions of a slot car chassis. Up top - This term referres to that portion of the slot car track that is the top of the bridge. If a car deslotted exiting the donut and landed on the bridge, the proper term to alert others that there was a stopped car there would be to say "lookout up top". vVideo visits - When people take their video camera to a race, or even just a raceway and make a video report, they are used in the Scale Auto Racing Video News magazines. Sometimes, the length and quality of the video qualifies it to become a seperate tape by itself. These are called "Video Visits", and usually sell for $14.95 or less.
Vintage - Referring to any slot car in any scale that is over 20 years old. wWall shot - You could tweak your chassis doing this. See tweak.
Weight - The main weight used on a slot car is a small thin strip of lead with double stick tape on it. This allows the racer to cut the exact amount of weight wanted and with the tape, apply it to exactly the spot on the chassis it is needed. Wheelie wheels - In drag slot racing, these small wheels located far to the rear on an extended piece of steel, are for the sole purpose of stopping the high powered slot drag car from flipping over on its roof. Wheel base- The distance from center between the front and rear axles on your car. In a slot car, you could measure the wheel base from the center of the guide hole to the center of the rear axle. Wheels - Commonly referring to the fronts on a slot car. Since the modern slot car does not have "tires" on the front, the fronts are simply called wheels. Wheel retainer - Any object used to hold the wheels on. Usually on the front, and soldered in place. A small spring clip is used on the front wheels when you don't want to solder one on. Wheel wrench - In the '60's the wheels were held on a threaded axle with a lock nut. The wheel wrench was used to loosen and tighten this nut. Whisperjet - A rental car offered by Parma International. It uses a belt drive rather than gears, which makes the car run very quiet, hence the name. Wickerbill (or Gurney Flap ) - A vertical extension to the back edge of a full-scale racecar wing invented by racing legend Dan Gurney to generate more downforce, especially at higher angles of attack. Wing car racers bend the trailing edge of the rear spoiler forward to achieve the same effect. Wind - Don't you love the english language? You could read this as wind, that stuff that rushes over your car and is controlled by the wings. Or you could read this wind, what is done with the wires when they are wound around the poles on your armature. Take your choice, I don't even know why I put it in this dictionary in the first place. Window mask - Parma and other companies provide you with pre cut vinyl material that will fit inside the slot car and cover up the window. Whether you use the pre cut version, cut your own, or use a liquid, it is all the window mask. Windsor - The name of a 60's version of slot car track made by American. Yellow in side color, and only 80 ft in length, this track was a favorite rental track due to its small footprint. Wing car - Any car with a full compliment of wings, including front spoiler, side dams, and rear dam. Usually the wings are attached to a wedge body. Wing nut - In the days when threaded axles were still being used, a wing nut or "knock off" was used on the outside of the wheel as a jamb nut. This added beauty and functionality to the car. Wings - In the classes where they are allowed, these are thin plastic sheets attached to each side of the slot car. They direct the air over the top of the wedge body and over the back air dam as the car goes around the turns. At high speed, the thin plastic blows down and outward allowing the air to spill out the sides reducing drag in the straights. Winner - That's the guy that is in the lead when the power shuts off at the end of the race. Wiper - Not that little plastic bulge moulded on scale car winshields. The only wiper in slot racing is located on the trigger of the controller. It is that small brass piece between the plastic trigger and the button that wipes across the resistor. Wire - Lots of wire in slot racing. Under the track, in the controller, connecting the guide to the motor, and wrapped around the arm. 12 or 10 guage is used under the track, always stranded. D.C. current travells along the outside surface of the wire, and because of that, all wire used in slot racing except for that wrapped around the armature is stranded. This gives the current many different outside surfaces to travell along, increasing effeciency. Wizzard - If it's spelled with two z's it is Bob Lincoln and his Wizzard H.O. slot racing business, with complete cars to all types of parts. They have become well known in the H.O. circles. Womp - The car that saved slot racing. In the early 70's there was no manufacturer of beginner slot cars, especially in the 1/32 bracket. Ken MacDowell of Parma came out with his little VW Bug. Out of scale, but cute with its fat tires. It became an instant success, and is still around today with the addition of many different bodies besides the original VW. Working wing - In the 60's there were several slot cars that had working wings. The most notible two was the pure scale Cox's Chaparrall, and the Classic Stinger which was a wedge shaped thingie body with a large flap in the back that came up when the car slowed down for the turns. World 12 - A small group of raceways run this class. It is in short, a group 15 with a group 12 motor allowed. I have seen at least three variations on what is legal in this class, so it is recommended to check local conditions before deciding to race World 12. World's - Sometimes used as a short term for World Championships, much in the same way Nats is to the Nationals. Wrench - Could refer to a wheel wrench used on cars from the '60's, or an allen wrench used from the '60's to today. x y zX-12 - The armature inside most group 12 motors has a small tag with X12 on it. This tag means this arm is legal in any competition that allows group 12 motors. There was a push to start a class of cars called X12, but it never caught on. The World 12 class grew out of this effort in some areas.
X-acto - The knife used to trim bodies, cut out window masks, and fingers if you aren't careful. The #11 and #14 blades from Xacto are the most commonly used by slot car hobbiests. Yellow - A short term for the Windsor slot car track due to the color of the sides of the track. Also, the 6th lane down from the drivers position on the slot car track. Yeti - The brand name used by a slot car chassis builder. Zap - Craig Landry of Houston, Texas is the man behind Zap Chassis. Credited with many world and national records, Zap chassis and Craig have both earned their place at the top of the heap for hand crafted slot car chassis. The packaging of each of Craig's chassis tells it all. Zap chassis, the best there is, do not bend! Zap also refers to the term used when recharging your slot car magnets. Zero - Just like shooting 18 on a golf course, this is the impossible lap time we are all chasing, and only 1 & 1/2 seconds away from reaching. This number also represents the total of all I have to add to finish this dictionary. John Ford's Scale Auto Racing News had a Slot Car Dictionaryhttps://web.archive.org/web/20061229202939/http://www.scaleautoracing.com/slotfaqs/g1.html
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