I finally got a couple of cars out on a track to see how they ran. I took my Scalextric Audi TT and my Ninco Porsche 911 GT1 to a commercial track to get some time in and see how they performed.
The Audi was fine.
A nice little screamer. There was another Scalextric Audi at the track... modified with a faster motor. I found that I wasn't that far behind with the stock motor. And I haven't raced a slot car in decades! The modified Audi kept flying off the track because it was driven too fast.
On to the problem... the Ninco Porsche. It seems horribly underpowered. Acceleration is abysmal. The magnet is located near the front of the car and the back end kicks out easily. This would be fine and maybe kind of fun... except it de-slots like crazy.
The commercial track was Scalextric. I don't know if the Ninco guide was too long or what. I couldn't get to the track to really examine it. When I asked the track marshall, he looked at it and said that the guide looked fine in the slot. Don't know from personal observation whether it was or not.
The personnel at the track said that they could see the front of the car jumping and lifting on the straight... that it needed some lead weight in the front and a magnet toward the rear. There is no provision for moving the magnet back in a stock fashion. So, I'm going to try a button magnet to try to hold the rear down a bit.
Could the jump and lift be due to out of round tires? This was run straight out of the box. No trueing of tires or anything.
And what motor should replace the one that is in it? I can't believe that it is that slow.
It was clear that if the rearend gets out too far it pulls the guide out. But this thing also deslotted just about anyplace on the track. I don't think I got a lap in without deslotting at least 3 times. And it's not like it's fast!
Anyone else have this car? What is your experience like? It was inexpensive and I suppose I can't complain overmuch... but the Scalextric was priced nicely too and I felt it performed well. I did notice that the other Ninco cars in the sales case seemed to even look better. Better finish, etc. So, I'll try not to judge all Ninco cars by this first experience. Maybe this is Ninco's low cost entry car. But it is frustrating even for that purpose.
Thanks for advice or comments.
Mike
The Audi was fine.

On to the problem... the Ninco Porsche. It seems horribly underpowered. Acceleration is abysmal. The magnet is located near the front of the car and the back end kicks out easily. This would be fine and maybe kind of fun... except it de-slots like crazy.
The commercial track was Scalextric. I don't know if the Ninco guide was too long or what. I couldn't get to the track to really examine it. When I asked the track marshall, he looked at it and said that the guide looked fine in the slot. Don't know from personal observation whether it was or not.
The personnel at the track said that they could see the front of the car jumping and lifting on the straight... that it needed some lead weight in the front and a magnet toward the rear. There is no provision for moving the magnet back in a stock fashion. So, I'm going to try a button magnet to try to hold the rear down a bit.
Could the jump and lift be due to out of round tires? This was run straight out of the box. No trueing of tires or anything.
And what motor should replace the one that is in it? I can't believe that it is that slow.
It was clear that if the rearend gets out too far it pulls the guide out. But this thing also deslotted just about anyplace on the track. I don't think I got a lap in without deslotting at least 3 times. And it's not like it's fast!
Anyone else have this car? What is your experience like? It was inexpensive and I suppose I can't complain overmuch... but the Scalextric was priced nicely too and I felt it performed well. I did notice that the other Ninco cars in the sales case seemed to even look better. Better finish, etc. So, I'll try not to judge all Ninco cars by this first experience. Maybe this is Ninco's low cost entry car. But it is frustrating even for that purpose.
Thanks for advice or comments.

Mike