Which cars to buy? Production vs fantasy, HW vs MBX
I'm a noob and was wondering how many cars do folks own, total cars. I wa sorting some new ones and my wife commented on how many cars I have. I felt that I didn't have enough. Some races specify a type/model car and I feel I have a few holes in my line up. Here are a few questions I could use help with.
Am I better off buying production cars than fantasy cars?
Are Matchbox cars okay or should I buy Hotwheels exclusively?
Is there any advantage in buying the more expensive Hotwheels cars?
Is buying the boxes of cars worth it or is hunting them in Walmart/Target the way to find the good ones?
What are the "good ones?"
Discussion
For the most part any car can be fast as long as you know how to mod it, but here's a few things to watch out for when your car searching
1. It is recommended that you don't use cars that have tucked in wheels, as cars with tucked in wheels tend to lose more speed when hitting walls, open wheels or open fenders are your best picks
2. Cars with skinny wheels are definitely ones to look out for, even if you don't use the car itself skinny wheels are faster than regular wheels (which is a whole different topic) most funny cars have skinny wheels
3. The best thing to look for in a car is dependent on whether it's open track or drag racing. If it's open track you wanna have low to ground cars as it means more control, cars with high stances tend to tip over more often in the big turns on open tracks
Im far from the expert on this forum but from what I've learned these are things you wanna look out for. Hope this helps and welcome to the hobby!
- Have you ever raced on an open track? I hear having fat wheels can be the way to go for those tracks for more stability when you inevitably get sideways and slide — ConMan_Customs
- tires too far out can cause the car to ride up the track edge, it's, I believe, a fine line, body hits vs wheels touch, (crash track wise) — dr_dodge
- Thanx, I’m working on collecting a few more test cars. I’ll be picking a few different cars to see what works on what. — Soapy_Waters_Racing
My suggestion would be to watch some of the youtube events, also seek those who regularly test various cars on their dragways.
There are also many who may not be active now, but have a great achieve playlist to testing cars, and also modding cars.
Good luck out there
- I need to cut back on the YouTube videos. My 3 year old grandson is walking around saying “FATALITY.” — Soapy_Waters_Racing
Buy the ones you like
- absolutely, and it you really like it, buy a couple. buying in pairs also helps ensure you have a spare if you mess up the one you are building — dr_dodge
- Yup! — G4DiecastRacing
- words to live by Brother... words to live by! — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
- If I buy the ones I like it makes it difficult to use the grandkid as an excuse for doing this. ???? — Soapy_Waters_Racing
Welcome to the hobby Soapy Waters Racing!
There is a lot of great advice already, and many more past articles you can search on this site if you need additional racing tips.
I buy Hotwheels 99% of the time. If I'm not buying a specific casting for a race, I buy cars with specific wheel sizes or styles to swap for races. So they can be real production cars or fantasy castings. To answer your first question, I currently have about 450 total cars in my collection. That number includes about 100 returned modified cars, 300 loose stock cars, and about 50 cars unopened still on the card.
I think I reached my personal car fleet limit because I'm now finding myself buying duplicates on accident because I forgot I already had one at home! Lol! :D
Best of luck!
- lol... welcome to old timers syndrome! When you are talking to yourself and have to repat what you just said because you forgot what you were saying, you will have reached the pinacle! — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
- Thanks, I’ll keep picking and testing. — Soapy_Waters_Racing
honestly, I buy anything, any scale, toy or not
the texas brisket buggy is at beaverworx stoned road,
and the camper is a toy, grafted to a HW van front
I have sent to junkyard joust 3 micro machines, well techincally 4 (2 to make one)
lake sanitation, all trash trucks, so ...what to buy...
I'll finish with 3 (of 4) yard salers promo 50th aniv.
one was a HW, wheel conversion hand done brass nose, brass pipes, bumper
76 grams and workin' on the wheels off something else
dr
Some Great responces, I have over 250+ still hanging in packages, Most are at least two of each. In case I butcher up one while modding for Race, Good to have a backup. Most are Hotwheels but I do have 20+ Matchbox, some are for modding as the casting is Nice. About 150 loose stock, lots of slow cars But like a Chinese Bufffet got to take the Bad with the Good. If I find a fast car that has good Axels and tires I try to pickup every one I see. Don't mean all are good but if consistently fast for the most part that is wheel Harvesting Wheels come form. extra bodies you can paint up and switch out.
Diving in is like a puzzle Box, the more you look the More Intricate modding becomes. Sanding tires, Weight distribution, Axel prep, Graphite, Suspension! Always Keeping it Fun, Lots of reserch and testing, I suggest to start with a Drag track at least. Helps to find fastest and that is a goal to beat then that one is the next on the list. Welcome to the World of Racing 1/64th scale!
My two cents; when you buy one you like, try to get a duplicate. I use the duplicate body when test racing, so as to not damage the paint job on the actual one I intend to send (Bent Rods suggestion to me)........maybe I should paint it after finishing the weight, axles/wheels, etc?? ;)
I buy a lot for the wheels to swap too. Oh & I will get Matchbox's & swap wheels to hotwheels sometimes, my white Mustang currently in the Ford Fan duel is a Matchbox. Got a great qual. time.
Generally speaking, I think more races ask for real-world/production model cars rather than fantasy...BUT...if you're talking about modding/building cars for a race, you'll probably end up using both to create a single car.
Many events are just looking for a certain theme or vibe, so as long as the body of the car is the right one, what's on the bottom and inside doesn't matter much. Slap a Porsche body on a fantasy chassis and wheels, and you should be good. It just depends. I tend to believe a lot of fantasy castings have better wheels and metal chassis so they're valuable for that, if nothing else.
IMO, Matchbox cars are good if you need production-style bodies of real cars. Their wheels and guts aren't worth much, honestly. Put an MBX body on a Hot Wheels chassis and you might get something pretty sweet.
The premium Hot Wheels cars are just for looks, if you ask me. Get it if you really like the extra details and stuff. The premiums usually have metal chassis too, which can be worth something, but overall, I'd rather get five $1 cars than one $5 car :)