I am not a slot racer. I run the vast majority of my hotlaps alone; or run with family & friends a few times during the year where I'm mostly a spotter for the kids. I have really only ever used the SCXd controller and an SCX analog controller on my small SLOP tracks. The number of deslots on some of these trials reveal that I might not be as good as I like to think I am. However, after 800 laps with 4 cars I believe both controllers got a fair test.
The SCX Digital Controller has the look and feel of a toy, a solid were built toy, but still a toy. In the event of suspected breakage, the older version forced you to peal back the hand grip to get to the screws pretty much ruining the look of the controller. It was a big risk just to find out that the reason why your car wasn't changing lanes was related to a bad guide or chip. There are no adjustments that can be made to the tension of the trigger or to limit the throw (Is that a term?) of the trigger.
Digital Racing Solutions has created a racer quality controller. It has the look of a top end controller. It is clear so that you can see that the proper contact is being made. There are adjustments that can be made to the trigger's tension and throw. I did not have an allen that fit into the tension control but I could see the mechanism was of solid contruction. I didn't play with the screw that acted as a trigger stop. I didn't even consider that it was there to adjust the throw; acting as a governer - until Son#3 said that he liked that screw being there to slow down the cars. This is a great feature that could be used to equalized cars and provides much finer tuning of the top speed when you compare it to the SCXd Console Expert/Junior settings. The trigger that I used was a two finger style. I hear that a single finger trigger will also be available.
For the test, I ran hot laps on my Ravensring Road Course. The Ravensring is a combination Tri-oval with an inner road course. Using the road course forced me to not only speed up and slow down more than the oval, but also change lanes to drive the inner course.
Four cars were used:
Audi R10 #7, Chevy Corvette C6.R #4, SEAT Leon WTCC #18, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano - all SCX.
Each car was warmed up by holding the rear wheels of the track as the motor was run at full speed until the motor would sputter with the gas tank emptying.
Each car ran two 50 lap heats with each controller.
The order of which controller was used was switched up with each car.
The test tracked fast laps, total time, de-slots, wrong turns (the road course entrance was missed), and pit lane errors (The F599 would break the pit lane speed limit).
If a wrong turn was taken, the car would be stopped on the oval for at least a 3 count.
The numbers show that the SCXd controller won total time by almost 5 minutes. When you look at fast laps the winners were split even and close. The DRS RamJet-X suffered from excess deslots during the Corvette and Leon trials.
I wanted to say that the DRS RamJet-X cut seconds off my lap times but it didn't. This could be chalked up to me being more familiar with the SCXd controller.
One feature that was not included or considered (I asked) with the DRS RamJet-X that would have me buying one today would be a way to mimic SCX Digital's Safety Car Chip. A switch that would cause the car to randomly switch lanes when the throttle trigger was fixed to a given speed.
I love the feel of the DRS RamJet-X and its features. I really wish I had played with the screw behind the trigger limiting the throw and top speed. This could be a great equalizer when running races with different cars; and a great way to save cars when less experienced slotters want to play. I could really use this feature. This is a well made controller and a good substitute for the SCXd controller. If the price is right I'd buy at least one.
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