Auto World’s new race set, the Victory 400 – 4 Lane Pro Racing, has arrived! And do we have a lot to cover. New track tooling, wireless controllers and more! And one quick side story! I have a large front porch and we have a rubber snake coiled in the corner to keep birds from nesting under the porch roof. We have a new UPS delivery driver and fortunately he has a great sense of humor. When he was delivering my race set for review, he caught a glimpse of the snake out of the corner of his eye and almost bolted from the porch, package and all! He came back and realized it was a rubber snake and left this note with the race set. I’m glad we could laugh about it later!
Okay, let’s get back to the race set. And where to start and so much to talk about? First, the box has some heft to it. There’s a lot in the package and it takes a bit of time to unload it all.
This set contains a huge assortment of track pieces, wireless controllers, the new wireless, four lane terminal track, charger cable and the new variable voltage power pack and I haven’t gotten to the very cool 70’s era stock cars yet!
Let’s start with the new wireless controllers. They are self contained, rechargeable units. They have charger jacks in the rear of the controller handle and the charging cable can connect to all four controllers. The other end of the charging cable is a standard USB (Type 2.0) connector and can connect to any standard charger plug. I used an old phone plug (see pictures below) to charge my controllers. It took about 30 minutes to charge them the first time to full capacity. When you plug them in, the controllers flash red and will turn solid green when they are fully charged. I was able to run the controllers for 4 hours before I saw the battery wear down. Recharging was a bit quicker, taking about 20 minutes to turn green and ready for more action.
We are expanding our features here at Speed Inc. This is the first video clip we have attached to an article. We are planning more video coverage in future articles and hope this benefits our readers/viewers. Below is a quick how-to video on pairing the new Auto World wireless controllers.
The wireless controllers are fully electronic. They have no wiper assembly, but house a solid state unit that controls the power output to the cars. The units operate on Bluetooth frequency and have a range of 20-25 feet from the terminal track. The “feel” of the controller is similar to a 60 Ohm analog controller and the Xtraction cars respond in that manner. The trigger action is incredibly smooth and the handles are a bit larger so they fit well in the hand, but still a good size for younger drivers.
The Auto World Victory 400 Race Set comes with the new adjustable voltage power pack. The voltage can be set from 9 volts up to 24 volts and the power pack supplies a full 2 Amps. Plenty of power for all four cars.
Next up? New track! And I mean newly tooled track that is a game changer for building sectional HO race tracks. Auto World has spent some serious effort in tooling all new curve sections for building multi-lane race tracks. The new tooling for each section nest PERFECTLY for each radius curve. There are NO GAPS along the sides of the curves. AND we see the return of a 6 inch radius quarter curve, so we get fewer track joints in the tight corners. That gives us smoother turns and better performance. The new turns include:
| 6 Inch Curve | 1/8 Curve | 1/4 Curve |
| 9 Inch Curve | 1/8 Curve | 1/4 Curve |
| 12 Inch Curve | 1/8 Curve | |
| 15 Inch Curve | 1/8 Curve |
Below are some pictures of each radius curve in a full circle, with each size nested to the next. As you can see, no gaps and the turns fit nice and snug. No more tires catching in the gap in turns!
Another new track section is the 5 inch straight. Have you ever built a track and you come up an inch short or too long? Or maybe the straights are just off lining up by an inch or two? For the last several years, all the straight track was based on 3 inch increments. So if you build turns with declining or increasing radii, your alignment changes with each alteration from that 3 inch standard and become more difficult to match up. The old Aurora track (both pin and clip and Quick-Lok) had the offset straights, 5 inch and 7 inch, to address this. Auto World has taken the step to add the 5 inch straight to help address this issue and give the HO Racer more options for building track designs and having the proper track pieces to match the alignment for more complicated and challenging track designs. The new 5 inch straight is circled in the picture below.
The Auto World Victory 400 race set has 36 feet of racing action. The layout looks more like a competition layout seen in a racing club than what normally pops up in a race set. The design takes advantage of the various curve sizes and we get some challenging twists and turns that make racing really fun. Now add three more racers in the mix and you really need to pay attention to where you are on the track. Here’s the layout map for the Victory 400.
Here are some pictures of the track from a couple of different angles.
Now it’s time for another short video. This video will demonstrate the range of the wireless controllers.
I did not see any latency between the controller and the car. Response was quick and worked like a traditional wired controller. It is a great feature to be able to move to at any spot around the track and still control your car. Literally, no strings attached!
Let’s no forget the cars that come with this set. There are four hot stock car liveries that capture the 70’s era of racing.
1971 Dodge Charger – Blue/Red #67
1971 Plymouth Road Runner – White/Red #3
1973 Chevy Chevelle – Gold/White #50
1976 Ford Torino – White/Red/Blue #96
Here’s a few shots of racing action between the four lane warriors.
The new Auto World Victory 400 race set has a lot to offer. New wireless controllers that let the big dogs off the leash, will let the racer get the best view from any point around the track or even across the room. And we get new track pieces that are completely new tooling. Auto World really did their homework in getting the fit and finish with the nesting of the curve sections, along with the introduction of the 5 inch straight to help the hobby/racer design new and challenging track layouts. The four cars are very well done, a recognized Auto World trademark, and have the Xtraction chassis underneath and will keep the action rolling. And last but not least, a new variable power supply that can be adjusted so new racers or experienced drivers can have the right amount power to match their skills.
This is the ultimate Auto World race set and will be a great set to get the beginner or experienced racer a great start at building a multi-lane raceway that family and friends can all enjoy. Look for the Auto World Victory 400 race set (SRS345) at your local hobby shop or your favorite web store in October of 2022.
