| January 8 2006 Review |
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 Ninco 'Tuning Style' Honda NSX Review By Shawn Smith [Click here to chat about this item on our Forum] Appearance:  The NINCO 'Tuning Style' Honda NSX, as well as a Toyota Supra not sent for review, arrive as the third and fourth cars in the young 'Tuning' series following the first two cars which were a silver and black Mitsubishi Lancer and an orange and black BMW M3.  Designed to represent high performance street racers this Honda NSX fit in to the line nicely. Painted in a medium metallic blue with silver accents I think this is the only car in the tuner series not to come with some body panel painted in flat black to model the look of carbon fiber.  Styling for this 'Tuning' NSX is unchanged from previous releases of the car, whether the releases are replications of actual paint jobs used on the JGTC/Super GT racing series or the NINCO Club edition of the car released last year. The vented and louvered door windows, the modeled air snorkle of the engine cover as well as the giant rear wing all are identical to the other NSX models sold by NINCO making the paint job one of the few things that makes this car special.  Printed on the 'street' inspired paint job the various graphics applied to the body of the 'Tuning' NSX are all well done and are printed both in black and silver depending where on the car they appear. Both the hood and the doors get treated to black manufacturer brand names while other areas like the rear bumper, rear quarter panels and windshield are decorated as well.  The wheels for the 'Tuning' NSX are NINCO's good looking six-spoke rim pattern and while identical to all other NINCO NSX's released so far they come trimmed in chrome as has been standard for all cars coming from the 'Tuning Series' line of cars. An interesting side note about the wheels: for some reason the NINCO website has 19 by 10 listed on the 'Data Sheet' for both the front and rear tire sizes of this model yet in reality the front tires are NINCO 20 by 10 slicks and the rear tires are the NINCO 20.5 by 11.5 size.   Performance::  Much like the cosmetic features of the NSX little has changed in the functional design of the car as well. There has been one noteable chassis change however to see it you must first remove the body by taking out the two Screws that secure the body to the chassis.  As with the 'Tuning' BMW M3 tested previously the NSX comes packing the punch of the NINCO NC-6 Crusher motor. For those interested in the numbers that means 23,500 RPMs available from the motor which is 3,500 more than the NC-5 motors used in the race painted cars.  Having mentioned one noteable change to the NSX's chassis it is here under the rear axle that NINCO has modified their design to now have cross-bracing at the rear of the chassis. The assumption would be that this has been done to increase chassis rigidity and I like seeing changes being made if the intention is to improve on an already solid performing model.  Gearing is unchanged, with every NSX that NINCO makes using the red anglewinder gearing combination of a 12-tooth pinion gear and a 32-tooth axle gear and for my driving style this combination works nicely. As we saw in the review of the NINCO Pro-Race Supra Kit this gear ratio is recommended by NINCO for tracks having a good mix of corners and high speed sections of track implying that this 12/32 combination is perhaps the best 'all around' choice for gearing.   Prior to truing the tires on any slot car it is always a good idea to check the rims for issues and as is typical of NINCO models the rims of this NSX were found to be true and free of any flashing that might inhibit performance. The tires provide for a good fit on the rim and do not require a lot of sanding to get the best grip.  Magnetically speaking it is my personal opinion that the NSX continues to be at the top of the class in the NINCO line and not because the magnet is any different from other NINCO models, as every model currently made, with the exception of the RAID line of trucks, uses the same cyclindrical button style magnet. Instead its the placement in relation to the rear axle, the height the magnet rides in the chassis, the basic balance of the chassis and the low center of gravity that makes this car enjoyable to drive. Understand however that I am not implying this NSX is a magnet rocket, or that it will perform to the likes of cars by manufacturers using wider bar magnets in their products, but ounce for ounce the NSX is #1 in my eyes out of all of the NINCO models currently available.  With that said the lap times for this 'Tuning' NSX on my 60-foot test track mostly hovered under the six second mark with a fastest lap of my testing working out to be a 5.869 time. Compare that to a 5.838 set by a standard NINCO NC-5 equipped Supra, and a 5.796 run recently by the Pro-Driver Kit Supra and its easy to see that NINCO makes a great line up of equally performing cars. The NC-6 really doesn't get to shine on smaller home tracks, which will explain why the lower RPM NC-5 equipped cars can run equal or better times on my track, yet get the NC-6 on a track with straights long enough to get close to top end and the only thing you'll be wishing for is a little more downforce to keep it planted in the corners. The back end will kick out under power in the turns and it will slide around if you carry too much speed in to or out of the corners however if you are a fan of ligher downforce cars with a lot of punch this NSX is for you.  As with any review you need to understand that opinion plays a giant role in what is said about a model. It is my opinion that the NINCO NSX is a great looking and good performing slot car and is my favorite out of all of the NINCO offerings. Yes it could use a lower RPM motor for small track use, here again I would prefer the NC-5 for my home track, and yes it could stand to have a bit more magnetic downforce to allow it to play nicer with offerings from other manufacturers yet run like for like and there isn't a more enjoyable plastic RTR, in my eyes, than the NINCO NSX and this 'Tuning Series' edition adds yet another nice option for fans of the popular line. Thanks go to the folks at MRC – Model Rectifier Corp for providing the new Ninco 'Tuning Style' Honda NSX for review. As always, feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions and I will be happy to answer anything that I can. Happy Slotting! Shawn Smith SJSlots@hotmail.com |
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