Carrera GreenGT H2

05/27/2014

1/32 Carrera GreenGT H2
Item #30667 (Digital)

A unique hydrogen powered LMP race car entered the 1:1 world and now Carrera brings us one for our tracks!

By Jeremy "bibbster" Bibbee

With the debut of the 1:1 car not too long ago, Carrera announced that they would be producing a 1:32 scale model. Folks eagerly anticipated the release of this unique car, and now that it's here, let's see how it looks and races. For a brief history about the actual race car, please visit GreenGT.com.

*NOTE* This is a digital car that was converted to analog. Please see the video at the link below for instructions on this simple conversion.

DIGITAL to ANALOG CONVERSION VIDEO

And now, for the nitty gritty on this hydrogen, err electric, powered kitty...

Length: 6 7/8", Width: 2 7/16", Weight: 3.6 oz. (100g)

* Spare guide blade and braids are located in the back of the case. *

Carrera has really knocked this one out of the park. The lines are nice and crisp with no bleed through and colors are nice and bright on all of the markings. My pictures don't do this car justice, but the black matte paint is stellar and the extremely small logos and text are so well done you'd think this was a high end die-cast model. Not so! This is a model that you can actually race!

Speaking of detail, note the web address for GreenGT (www.greengt.com) on the edge of the air intake (indicated by the green arrow)! Now that is impressively small print! The driver is painted well, though a few fingerprints on the helmet can be seen on this model. The gauge cluster is colorful and the small windscreen is accurately in place as well.

The mirrors on the GreenGT H2 are fairly rigid, and while there may be some concern about them breaking off, I don't expect them to see any road rash at all. Mainly because the air intake acts as a roll bar, coupled with the width and length of the nose of the car.

Many of us prefer to see tire manufacturer logos on our slot cars tires, self included. With this model, self is happy! This model features Dunlop tires and printing on the tires is nice a clean.

As with most digital models from Carrera, we get to enjoy both front and rear lights where applicable. This model has bright headlights but no tail lights. Night racing anybody?

Did I mention how good this car looks? No, well take another look at the picture above. I can't quit staring at it with those large shark-like gills and the huge air intake...and the sinister matte black paint. And what about those two huge hydrogen cylinders? Is this a race car or a rocket?!

Looking at the rear of the car, we see the large spoiler and other details. The spoiler is removable, and with hard racing, I'd suggest doing so. The spoiler on this model was a very tight fit, but with a little pulling pressure on the struts, NOT the wing itself, and wiggling it came out without issue.

In addition to all the detail we've seen so far, there are also cutouts in the top of each fender, both front and rear to match the 1:1 car. Again, cleanly executed with no jagged edges or flashing. And...more great details to take in; the split wing, tampos, and strut mounted cooler...or is that a newly designed flux capacitor?

Track Test
Vetaran's Memorial Speedway Roadcourse
6' x 16'- 3 Lane Particle Board- Flat Latex Surface
Copper Tape - Pyramid PS26KX Aftermarket Power @ 12 Volts
Parma 45 Ohm Controller

In typical fashion for my reviews, I removed the car from the case, adjusted the braids, and off to the track we went. The GreenGT H2 performed rather well. I fully expected that with the large wing and air intake that the car would want to roll out a bit and also be tail happy. Not the case at all. I did notice some hop in the rear, though it was very little. On a plastic track one would most likely never see this, but on wood where all things show up, the hop was there. A light scuffing of the tires helped a bit, but it showed a clear issue; the center rib of the wheel was pushing the tire out all the way around. This is not a deal breaker at all, in fact, most ready-to-run cars have way more wheel/tire issues than this. I left the car as it was, again with just a light tire scuff, and back to the track it went. The handling was better with a bit of grip to the tires, but there was still some bounce. Of course I knew what it was; play in the rear axle bushings. Wood track racers already know about this issue with ANY car from ANY manufacturer that uses press on wheels and knurled axles. It's an easy fix which I decided to go ahead and perform and I managed to run it around the track for thirty minutes or so. For those of you who race on plastic with magnets, you will find that it handles just as nice as it does on my wood track, even without any tuning.

Handling from the tires was better after I scuffed them a bit to get a better contact patch. A little more truing of the wheels/tires and it will just get better. I've said this before and by now it's become the norm, but it's worth a mention that the tire compound that Carrera is using lately is a good one; much softer and more grip than their earlier tires. The stock tires will not compare to silicone or urethane tires, but for out of the box running, they work very well.

The self centering guide on the last car I reviewed was very stiff, however this one was much better. I'll probably leave it as is.

The acceleration and braking from the motor are what we have come to expect from Carrera. Acceleration is quick and stopping is abrupt.

Now on to the details of the make-it-go parts and such...

The underside of the car shows that there are four body mount screws; two at the front and two at the rear.

If you are a magnet racer, you'll get two as standard equipment with this car; one forward the motor that does not show from the bottom (see highlighted green area), and one aft of the motor.

You'll also see the long guide blade, IR sensor and dipswitch for digital/analog conversion.

Let's take a look inside!

With the body removed, we can see the inside of the chassis including the digital chip. You'll also see independent front wheels in the front.

Again, the standard E200 motor as well as the 9 tooth pinion and 27 tooth crown gear (Note the area of the rear tires that are scuffed, mentioned earlier). I'd also like to mention that the same white grease that was used on the pinion and crown gear was also used inside each of the rear bushings. I've not seen Carrera do this on any other car to date. So this is either a step to provide some preliminary lubrication for the user, or someone at the factory saw a need and filled it. How this grease will hold up in a bushing is unknown to me, but it is nice to see lubrication present in the axle bushings from the manufacturer.

Due to the body shape and location of the guide assembly in the chassis, the space inside the front end of the car is tight. Because of this, the headlight assembly utilizes two PCBs (printed circuit boards) each with a surface mounted LED.

Taking a look at the body a bit closer, you can see that there isn't much there in the way of sides. One thing that I did note was how EASY the body fits onto the chassis. It literally falls right into place. No snapping of parts, pressing against the digital chip, etc. Basically, zero binding with any other part of the car. Other manufacturers should be greenGT with envy!

Here you can see the underside of the body. Looking from left to right, the hood, driver/cockpit, air intake/ducts, and axle assembly are all individual pieces plastic welded to the main body. You will see two structural ribs running the length of the body, parallel to each other. These ribs rest on similar ribs on the chassis. For those that want to adjust body float, some or all of these ribs may need to be trimmed. This isn't something that the beginner needs to do, or even something necessary, but for those of us that like to pretend to be part of a 1:1 race team pit crew and engineering team...

While I don't follow this class of racing, I can and do appreciate the beauty in an automobile such as this. It's as unique as the technology behind the hydrogen powered electric motor that powers the full size race car. The execution of this model by Carrera is really nice, proving that they pay attention to details. Adding this car to your LMP racing grid is a no brainer. It not only will grab the attention of those around you, but it's electric powered just like the full scale model, and did I mention, it just looks cool?!.As always, I have to mention the price of these models. Great detail, lights, digital, and an overall well running car all for under $50 ($46.99 at LEB Hobbies). What more could you ask for? Grab up this model and have some great fun racing or just watch it slink around the track. And remember, if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong!

Jeremy

Contact ME here about this review or the hobby in general. Or visit our discussion forum to read and share more about this and other models, HERE.

Thank you L.E.B. Hobbies for sponsoring this review!
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