NINCO Acura LMP2 World Cup Limited Edition ‘Lightning’ - by Kurt Moser

Sunday March 06, 2011

NINCO Acura LMP2 World Cup Limited Edition ‘Lightning’

By Kurt “ElSecundo” Moser

NINCO’s Acura LMP car has been making the rounds for the last few years, and we’ve seen all kinds of improvements in the series since they were first released. The latest installment, a NINCO fantasy livery commemorating the 2010 NINCO World Cup held in the Canary Islands, arrived with all the latest goodies. We’ll put it on the track and see what it’s all about.

The yellow base proclaims ‘Lightning’, which means racing parts, and lots of them: Machined 5-spoke wheels, inline ProRace crown gear, ProRace motor leads, and the NC-10 Crusher motor are mounted on NINCO’s Lexan racing chassis. The Acura was the chosen race car for the 2008 Ninco World Cup, and several of these components are improvements over the legal parts for the 2008 race. Do these pieces add up to a better car?

Before looking at the racing stuff, it’s worth looking at the outside. No matter how you feel about ‘fantasy liveries’, this new Acura has the look of a race car. One of several NINCO World Cup commemorative cars including the Lightning Gallardo and the Lightning Ford GT, the Acura looks great with its NINCO World Cup livery. A few of the guys couldn’t resist picking the car up as soon as they saw it on the track, which is always a good sign.

Once we get past the body and paint, probably the biggest improvement we can ever make to our slot cars is the addition of round wheels. In the past, NINCO’s EVO wheels were prone to being knocked out-of-round in even minor collisions, and were suspect even before leaving the packaging. The newest aluminum wheel from NINCO dispels any fears about that problem, with the new 5-spoke design. Besides looking great, the spokes give the rim much improved strength, and eliminate the need for wheel inserts. They’ve also added a size to the aluminum wheel range, filling the gap between the 15’s and 17’s with a nice 16” wheel. Now the front end doesn’t have to look totally goofy with an undersized 15, without sacrificing performance.

Rounding out the laundry list of performance parts, we have the racing Lexan chassis, with two screws for mounting the motor; NC-10 Exceeder motor; quick-disconnect ProRace motor leads; lightweight interior; inline ProRace gear set. Basically, everything under the hood – not too shabby! Note to magnet users, there is no magnet. The traditional pocket for the button magnet is there, so feel free to add one if you want, but this car aims squarely for the no-mag crowd.

So far, all testing has been done on a Scalextric Sport track and a wood track, with positive results. Taming the Exceeder motor’s monster torque is no small feat, and the 6.8 second lap times on a slippery 85 foot Scalextric track attest to decent grip. We can attribute that grip to two things, the latest rubber blend (feels like silicone and laprene), and a surprising amount of magnetic down-force from the motor. You can certainly feel the motor magnets at play when lifting the car from the plastic track with steel rails. The tires hadn’t been trued yet, so the grip went away in a relatively short time. The Acura was also the first car on the track that evening, and was picking up the most dirt, so I’d expect to see more consistent grip with truing and improved track conditions.

On to the wood track, I was able to get a head-to-head-to-head comparison with a stock Acura, and a race-prepped Acura. The race-prepped Patron Acura served as test chassis #2 for the 2008 NINCO World Cup, and was used to test how long our gears would last under race conditions, giving it six hours of hard driving. It’s seen some action, and it’s a proven fast car.

Not surprisingly, the latest Acura shows itself to be faster on the wood track, with the #2 test car second, and the standard car third. The review car still needs some tuning/smoothing out, though. The new Acura did have a touch of tire rub in the rear fenders, and in spite of this, was still the quickest of the lot. Gluing and truing the tires would be a good idea for any car using the NC-10 Exceeder, so the torque doesn’t unseat your tires. Run-in for the ProRace gears is recommended, and though I like the dual screws for holding the motor in place, I’d recommend taping the motor in place as well to distribute the stress caused by a motor with this kind of monster torque. Also, glue those bushings in, because with the powerful low-end grunt available, there will be some stress on the rear bushing holders. I think this motor could pull some tree stumps, so protect your chassis as much as you can with this little powerhouse.

This car is a little expensive, tipping the scales at around $75.00-$85.00 USD. Your money gets you one of the finer LMP racing platforms available for no-mag racing, and a fairly unique car for sure. For NINCO fans and collectors, the World Cup cars are always a welcome addition. Other folks who might really enjoy this would be the guys who run on big commercial tracks, as the Exceeder motor can really stretch its legs there.

My thanks go to MRC and “NINCO Bob” Lewen for providing this wonderful addition to the Acura line-up.

-Kurt