NINCO Porsche 550 Spyder - Home Racing World & Slot Car Garage!

Thursday March 06, 2008

The NINCO Classic series has introduced a brand new player with the arrival of the Porsche 550 Spyder. The Classic series is my favorite of the NINCO line so I was pretty excited when I saw the first announcements of its release. It finally arrived here safe and sound so let us look closer at this new contender.

The first impressions here were favorable of course. I suppose it is simply by personal bias of the classic line and I was just pleased to have another new entry to race against.

Tampo stamped markings were clean and crisp with no signs of bleed through or peeling. It does appear that there is no clear coat to speak of. If there is, then it is a dull finish. Overall it still is a very attractive livery and I will most likely add a protective clear coat to protect it.

As far as scale authenticity goes, it does appear that the livery chosen was not accurate for the original car. I did find photos of it on this year of Porsche, but they were for a historic reproduction. It appears to me that NINCO modeled it after this reproduction. Does this really bother me? No. I am just not that critical.

When it comes to scale detail, only you can determine if a manufacturer delivers a product that meets your standards. In the case of this little Porsche, there is nothing that bothers me enough to prevent me from racing it along side other classics.

Wheels and tires seem nicely done and were fairly round and true. As with most Classics in the line, some wheel and tire sanding will be needed to increase the overall smoothness and performance. The standard NINCO Classic rubber is utilized here which does please me. I like the compound of these tires and they work well even on our flat latex routed track surface.

Turning the model over we see that 4 screws mount the body to the chassis. I also spotted something I did not expect. It looked like a magnet was included. Could this be? A beautiful classic like this equipped with such an evil presence? Surely not. I had to find out for sure so I quickly removed the screws and removed the body.

There it was. Right in front of the now standard NC-8 Thruster motor (16,000 RPM @ 14.8V). Appearing to be the standard button magnet NINCO uses in other models, but it is not. It is much thinner. Of course I am being light-hearted about the addition of a magnet, in fact I think it is a good idea. For hardcore classic racers, it is very simply removed - problem solved. For those new racers just starting out, having a little magnet might help them a little. Especially given it is a thinner magnet and placed more to the front of the car.

The rest of the car is standard NINCO components with brass bushings holding the rear axle snugly in place. The axle is equipped with a 27 tooth crown gear that is turned by the 9 tooth pinion gear.

Up front we have the spring loaded front guide which has a decent depth guide blade. If you do not care for the spring action, you can simply remove it.

The front axle has the same design found on many classics. There is some excess horizontal & vertical free-play that could be reduced with simple modifications.

Box Stock Testing
Artin Plastic Track - Aftermarket Power @ 12 Volts - PARMA 25 OHM Control

After a quick braid adjustment, it was off to the races. After 25 laps we posted lap time averages in the 6.3 second range. This is only slightly faster than some of our older, NC-1 equipped models. One item of interest was the magnet, or rather, the lack of it. There really is not much downforce here, so do not think this magnet will make much difference in performance. These are cars you MUST actually drive and will take some getting used to. This model was a touch on the "tipsy" side, so smooth control in the tight corners will be your best strategy.

We decided to run against the latest Ferrari to see how things stacked up. With the magnet removed to make things fair we started out with 25 lap heats. After 4 heats things were fairly even, although the Ferrari just seemed to have a little better balance to it. We did manage a 6.2 second average with the Porsche but the Ferrari dipped into the 6.1 range easily.

Time to tune it up a little and see how we can improve things. Rather than repeat myself, here is a link to the recent Ferrari Review which shows how we sanded and trued the wheels and tires.

Click Here For Simple Wheel & Tire Sanding

Once the wheels and tires were sanded and cleaned, we moved to the front. To eliminate most of the vertical slop in the axle we braced it with Evergreen Styrene tubing part# 226 3/16". This worked perfectly and it was on the horizontal side of things.

I used nylon washers that you can find from several of our listed dealers. These press fit over the NINCO axle nicely and only one washer per side was needed to remove virtually all horizontal free-play.

Wood Track Testing
3 Lane MDF Routed Wood - Flat Latex Surface
Copper Tape Conductivity - Aftermarket Power @ 12 Volts PARMA 25 OHM Control

Now we were ready for some true non-magnet racing. We started out very smoothly and I was very happy with our tire and wheel maintenance. After 20 or so laps a 5.5 second average was posted. This is pretty good, in fact better than the Ferrari. However, I forgot to brace the axle in the Ferrari so once completed I was back to the track. These cars are VERY close racing with both now in the 5.5 second range. Although this little model is a little on the high side, it can be tuned easily to run with the rest of your classics.

It has been quite a few years since we have seen an all new model for this line and I for one am happy it is here. And in my opinion the NINCO Classic line of cars has just added another winner to the field. Although these models are not for every enthusiast, for those who do enjoy them you might as well get one while you can. I think you will be glad you did.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!

Thanks Go To MRC For Providing Us With This Sample!

Check With Your Favorite NINCO Dealer For Availability