Auto World Victory 400 4 Lane Wireless

[domer]

I've put together 3 additional video sharing my experience with the Auto World wireless controllers I own. Cleary a YouTube content creator I am not, so bear with the shaky video, etc.

[NicoRosberg.]

Thanks

You can post the vids here easily enough, except you made the last one private?

[Wet Coast Racer]

I'll bet that's because the last one is private.

[domer]

Ha, that's exactly what I did. I have since edited and made public. Hopefully they are all accessible now!

[xltjet]

domer - Thanks for the excellent videos! You are correct that the controllers can be ok when running a car, but I do a lot of oval track and also run on some tight road courses where, depending on the cars we are running, I sometimes have to go to full off to negotiate a tight turn. THAT'S where this system falls down. If you are running a smooth handling car on a smooth track with fairly large radius turns & only need to go down to partial throttle, then this system is probably adequate. Fast cars, especially those with lots of coast, on an oval or very tight course, will cause the "lag" to become painfully obvious and VERY detrimental to smooth laps.

A local (now long gone) hobby shop had a large scale wireless track set up one Christmas, years ago. I tried it out and was VERY impressed with both the cars AND the controllers. Can't remember the brand but it must have been Carrera. I don't remember any "lag" and have never heard of that in the larger scale systems. My 1/32 experience is admittedly quite limited.

[BSWAN72]

The Auto World wireless controllers seem to be an enigma. If someone only knew the wireless controller than most likely the person would adjust to the delay and be relatively happy. For those who have experience with a wired controller, then the control is most likely going to be a short coming with the delay being more noticeable. I look at the issue as a delay in the communication between the wireless controller and the powerbase. That's the reason if your really quick on the trigger it isn't quick enough to register the throttle position. Basically, the throttle position must be in the same position for a split second or the speed doesn't get transferred to the car. It's almost like built-in traction control but with the downside is being perhaps the equivalent of ABS braking when you let off of the trigger.

Carrera uses 2.4 GHz which is what they use in RC cars and works very good. Perhaps this is a limitation of Bluetooth.

I'm also really surprised that I haven't seen any customer reviews posted anywhere considering that the Victory 400 has been out for a month.

Thank you very much for posting the excellent videos. It would be good as you mentioned to try the Auto World power supply with the AFX track just to rule that out.

[CoachD]

A few thoughts after watching the videos.

The AW Cale Y Road Runner and Buddy A Charger look great (as expected).

The AW XT chassis is a lot faster than how I remember my old Magna-Traction cars from back in the day.

For just running laps/dad racing, the lag doesn't seem to be an issue for a strictly hobbyist/dad racer with kids.

This set is still on my wishlist, but would be much more tempting at $299. Maybe there will be some box damage discount sets eventually.

[model murdering]

Thanks Domer!
Still, seeing is believing. For me? Not having wires doesnt justify lowering the performance bar to that extreme. It might have been more definitive if the cars had swapped lanes.

A perceived lag of minute proportion might not be off putting for some, but visualizing a lag of gross proportion really put things in perspective.

Definitely DQ'ed

[xltjet]

CoachD - I think if you actually experienced the "lag", you might not think it's so OK.

model murdering - I'm with you, my long coil cords will suffice for the foreseeable future!

[Maddman]

Great concept but terrible execution! The videos show just how bad the throttle lag is. On a simple course with no traffic the controller might be acceptable as you could get used to the lag. I had an RC car with terrible lag. Went to a tri-oval and the car flew. Because of the lag it looked like I was braking for the straights and accelerating into and through the turns! For road course work or when racing with other cars the lag would be unacceptable. Other manufacturers have brought out wireless controllers with no lag. Couldn't AW copy one of their designs?

[xltjet]

Great concept but terrible execution! .... Other manufacturers have brought out wireless controllers with no lag. Couldn't AW copy one of their designs?

The technology isn't exactly new! I think they just cheaped out on it. Maybe a rush to get it out before Christmas?

[model murdering]

Now worries. They've got plans to install an asymmetrical traction magnet that will fix everything.

[domer]

Hi all, I contacted Auto World (called their customer service number) about this issue and was advised to disconnect power from the track, fully charge all controllers and re-pair each controller to the track. I have done that and unfortunately the issue remains. I have have since contacted Auto World again and I'm awaiting a response.

xltjet have you had any luck with your set in terms of customer service and any solutions?

[xltjet]

No, I will try the phone number this week. I plan to pass the power supply, terminal tracks and controllers around to any friends that want to try them.

[MrFlippant]

Even though it's a "toy" it's disappointing to see such horrible lag. This is the kind of thing that leads people to assume ALL wireless slot car controllers are laggy, when nothing could be further from the truth. I used my SCP wireless controller at The Quarrel last year, and everyone was impressed by it, and I did pretty well with it.

AW definitely "cheaped out" on this.