Retail, FTE/NPA clarification

Mike70 Friday, 1/22/2021

Please excuse me if I'm asking about the obvious, and making something simple complicated, but I'm thinking about starting to mod, race and do mail in events so I want to be sure I understand the rules for any given event. What exactly is meant by "retail axles and tires" Is it only the parts that came with the casting or does it include pieces purchased on ebay or Amazon etc? If an event for modified cars doesn't allow FTE/NPA parts does that then eliminate whole groups of castings from the get go? It seems that there is a stock set of rules that are copied from some master set (Redline Derby?) then modified by the event sponsor to suit their event parameters that at times, seem a bit unclear. I'm also curious as to why "stock" cars are allowed heavier weights than "modified" cars? I came to this site, like many others have, via exposure to 3D botmaker and I find the friendly and helpful nature of those on the site refreshing!

So let me again apologize for my lack of knowledge in the basics of diecast racing and I hope some enlightenment wil be sent my way!

Sincerely, Mike70


Discussion

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DXPRacing 1/22/21

Welcome Mike, to answer some of your question, FTE axles are nickel plated and are out of the package generally faster than regular mainline cars.  Some do not allow for these due to the less workmanship that the modder has to do to make them run fast.  FTE cars were sold back in the early 2000's and then reintroduced around 2010 or 2011 and are not produced currently.  The color shifters also have nickel plated axles due to the water aspect of the casting but generally they run slower.  Having the rules that way makes the modder truly have to put in the work to get the cars faster.  Good luck 


  • Thanks DXP for the info. I knew about the nickel plating aspect of FTE/NPA and I can appreciate the workmanship factor in honing ones skills. Thanks! — Mike70
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Uncle_Elvis 1/22/21

Stock cars are allowed to be heavier to, theoretically, be on an even playing field with lighter, modified cars.  A stock car has its weight distributed as made.  A modified car can have its weight distributed closer to the rear, front, or wherever the builder decides.  

That said, usually my mods are slower than they were as stocks, so what do I know?  


  • Thanks, that makes sense to me. placement of the weight would make a difference. — Mike70

Hello Mike70!  Welcome to the hobby!  :D

I was asking the exact same questions you are four months ago when I started modding cars for the first time!  Now I'm entering nearly every mail-in tournament there is! Lol!

If a tournament doesn't allow Faster Than Ever (FTE) wheels or Nickel Plated Axles (NPA) you can still use the car body, just do a wheel swap with another car.  Likewise, if you like or need to use a specific car casting, but it does not have FTE wheels, then you can do a wheel swap with FTEs if the tournament allows it.  I rarely use the same wheels that were on the original car.  FTEs or not.

Also, my understanding of using "retail axles and tires" is only being allowed to use what comes on a car in the package you buy at the store.  You can still do wheel swaps, but you cannot create your own axles with axle tubes or make your own set of wheels.  Someone can correct me if I'm wrong...


  • Spot on! Keep building and getting faster!! — DXPRacing
  • Often you can use axle tubes in conjunction with retail axles, too. A non-retail axle would be something like a #17 sewing pin, which are nickel plated, or guitar strings, or something else, like a bearing wheel. — GenX_VintageRacing
  • Thanks G4, glad to know I wasn't alone in my lack of knowledge! — Mike70
  • A #20 pin is the same size as a Hot Wheels axle. The #17's are just a tiny bit smaller, allowing for a little wiggle room. — SpyDude
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redlinederby 1/22/21
Site manager

Hi Mike, welcome to the fold. Like others have mentioned, the NPA/FTE axles were a "special" axle that was made available in some older cars that (theoretically) help reduce friction and thus can go a little faster when used. (Although anyone that has raced will tell you FTE cars don't always go faster).

You can read this article, What is Faster Than Ever?, to learn more about the axles and all that means. Here's also a glossary that could help with some of the other jargon you might run into.

The "retail wheels and axles" guideline means you need to use axles and wheels that come from toy cars. You can use wheels from another casting, and even axles from another casting, but you can't use some other object to make your axle - like a hat pin, or paperclip, or whatever. What you use has to come from a toy car. (You can still use axle tubes if you need, however, the axle you're shoving into the tube needs to be from a toy car).

It's not totally odd for a modder to use something else to make an axle or even wheels. And for some races, that type of experimentation is fun and awesome, but for your average modder that's probably more advanced...so that guideilne is in there to try and keep things more fair. 


  • Thanks Brian for clarifying about using axle tubes. I didn't realize I could use them, even with standard axles. I'm going to try them out! — G4DiecastRacing
  • Thanks Brian for the clarification about "retail" parts. Makes it easier to decide how to go about building a car for competition! I've noticed that other brands of cars, particularly obscure China types, appear to have NPAs at least at first glance. — Mike70
  • Good to know about the axle tubes. I thought that would fall under "custom axles," so I haven't tried building any. BUT, now that I know that you can use tubes with the actual axles that came with the cars .... — SpyDude
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