I really love this game too, and i can't stop modding . There is more to come.

Today i put street lights in, all powered with a extern USB cable.

The coolest stuff will be delivered soon.

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I buy a lot of new Sterns. Hot Wheels stacks up very well. Best game I bought in the last year for sure. And that's not taking anything away from my mainly Stern collection. I really Like my Stern games. AP has an unsung hit in my book - Hot Wheels is just plain that good ! Outstanding game. Very fun to play.

Buy a Hot Wheels - you will like it. It measures up very well. A+

Hey. You should change your name to Stern Quarters.

At one time I owned all Stern pins (when I was at 7). I’m still big in Stern but enjoy my other manufacturers too.

Also while it’s not a huge factor in me buying a pin but I do like to support the efforts these companies put into their games. I’m sure buying second hand indirectly supports the manufacturers but buying nib supports the dealers and the manufacturers directly so if something is worthy I’d like to support the new companies.

We would greatly appreciate the support. Thank you for considering Hot Wheels!

Can someone confirm the box dimensions for me?

Don't believe the guy that's been with them since the beginning ?

LTG : )

"Pretty sure" and "are" are two different things Mr. LTG. It is important since I am determining what little passengers I can bring with me.

While I don't have a Hot Wheels box to check. WOZ was 31"x31" and 58" high. Everything I saw on other games like Stern, you are looking at 30"x31" and 56" high. These measurements are without the pallet.

So if you go with the WOZ size you should be safe.

Or - https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Vehicles_for_Moving_Pinball_Machines

Or contact American Pinball :

rosh - Josh Kugler, ferret - Joe Schober, vegas98 - Michael Grant who is sales and marketing

Call them, open a new ticket on their support desk - https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/ send PMs to rosh ferret vegas9 and their new tech guy Dave :

Dave Brennan brenna98
Technical Services Manager
[email protected]
Phone: (833) API-HELP / (833) 274-4357

LTG : )

Thanks LTG. Welp I guess if it doesn't fit the kids can go home on the roof

I didn't want to trouble those guys with responding to a box size. I am sure their time is better spent taking care of something more important so I figured Id just ask here and someone would know off hand. I do have a few inches to spare but it the difference of having to remove seats if those measurements are off. Thanks LTG I appreciate it.

I had no idea there was a wiki devoted to fitting a pinball in various vehicles.

Have bought a NIB Stern Avengers Hulk LE......build quality on Hotwheels is so superior its not even funny. Don't know what newer Sterns are like since then.

Have bought a NIB WOZ........just reinforced I don't like wide body games even if they're pretty.

Have a MMR LE original run - I find the shots more satisfying on Hotwheels......but can be harder to make. Bally/Williams DMD games are some of the best with call outs and shots......but where the new pins stand aside in my opinion is how they fully draw you into the game with shaker motor, light show, music.

As you progress through hot wheels you really feel your game. You know your making shots and racking up your score without looking at the display so more than on older games.

Enabling the shaker motor to "full" (or whatever the setting is) and having it go off while the ball travels through the pop bumpers and the sound with sub just seems to draw you right into the game. The light show that changes with the modes makes it more immersive than WOZ ever was in my experience.

Had a rocky and bullwinkle, Fishtales, STTNG, Elvira scared stiff, Family Guy, Creature, Getaway II, RFM, data east start wars.

Of the pins I've had or have - Hotwheels easily in the top three. Game is fun if you just want to bash a ball around but can also be quite challenging if you are trying for different modes and shots. Personally really like the theme between the humor, animation, fantastic light show. Of all the pins I've had.......it's the one that's hardest to walk away from. Always find myself saying "just one more game".

I'm not a hotwheels fan......but do like color and humor in my themes. And I don't believe there's such a thing as a "kids themed" pin.

So I played HotWheels tonight, and HotDamn, its fun! I'm not really experienced enough to give pro vs cons per se, but here is my take after putting about 6 plays on the pin. My location was a semi lit area that is wide open, so not totally immersive, but it wasnt very busy and I got a good feel/sound of the pin.

1. Light show, attraction and overall presence. A+. This pin is in the same lineup as AIQ LE, BLKNIGHTLE, TMNT LE, JP2 PREM and AC/DC w Custom Backglass. Trust me, it holds its own as far as Quality looking and the light show is years ahead of Stern.

2. Gameplay. A, for now. Yes, its a one more time feel for sure. Yes, I'm new to this pin and really have no idea what to do, although I hit Redline Mania once(Intense) and a couple of multiballs! It appears there is a lot to learn, but I cant give an A+ on depth, yet.

3. Shots. So much to do and it can be fast, but at times sorta floaty (I had this same experience on Oktoberfest, the 1 time I played it, but still felt it. No idea what the pitch was on this HW, not a big deal). I dont see any bad geometry and feel the pf is packed, without being busy. Shots were smooth and lights indicate what needs to happen. One thing I will say, is that its hard to believe a real Hotwheels loop shot was not incorporated. At some point in this thread, it was said they looked at it, but it could not be done. The AIQ LE it sat next to, has a full loop shot. Just saying. Anyway, that is a minor point, it was just something that I had brought up early so it struck a cord with me. Play on.

4. Backbox display. I want to play with another person, so I can see whats going on with the backbox display. The animations, scoring, modes and whatever else I can tell will be really cool to watch as someone else plays.

5. Physical build. Not quite the tank JJP is, but not the butterfly Stern has become. Very solid and it appears will hold up for years.

ETC

The only issue I saw on the machine I played was airballs off the "car" shots. It hit the glass multiple times off those shots. Not sure if thats something that has been discussed in this thread though.

Overall. Hotwheels has a great playability/value when compared to Stern Prem, much less the pro. If you are thinking about it, I would go for it. I'm not a big time collector, but right now I would be hard pressed to find a better pin at the price. If you can..

Best score was 242,000,ish Fun pin!

Great job American Pinball. Talk about a company doing it right!!!! Whats next!

I know those guys. You are a customer. Nothing is better spent than helping a customer. Nothing is more important than a customer asking a question. No matter what the question is. A good tech guy is happy to help.

LTG : )

OK, I just took a tape measure to the two year old Oktoberfest crate I have in my garage, and got 31" x 31" x 58" (not including pallet). (An inch wider than what rosh cited, no idea why.) Hope that helps, @pinstyle.

I changend the foam behind the car targets with a black foam of higher density and also lowered the flipper power a bit. It helped !

Roostking great conclusion, reviews like that are helping buyers like me a lot.

The Hotwheels box in my garage measures 31.5” x 30” x 58”

@ pinstyle - You could always debox the game for transport in your vehicle if it turns out fit is a little tight. Minus packing and box when you pick it up may save having to put your kids on the roof for the trip home. Or rent a minivan or truck for the trip that you know has extra room.

Good luck with getting your game. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

The shaker goes off with the pop bumbers? How do you enable this?

These issues you raise have not been a problem on location. Haven't had one car get knocked off. Of course, one look at the layout and I decided not to remove the orange cable ties holding the cars down. Also, any operator worth their salt can identify and eliminate potential stuck ball areas. Other than a few early hiccups, Hot Wheels has been a very reliable location game. I just wish I had more foot traffic these days.

There are two shaker-related adjustments in the service menu... Settings > Standard > ...

- Shaker Intensity: value from 1-8 that caps the MAXIMUM allowed shaker intensity... so folks who are concerned about shaking parts off the game or waking the neighbors can tone it down but still get some vibration.

- Shaker Usage: Off, Low, Medium, High. If "Low", only the most noteworthy events will get shaker action, while on "High", more events will get shaker action... and of course Medium splits the difference. I don't remember right now if you need to put this on High for the pop bumpers to trigger the shaker, or if Medium does it... pretty sure that the bumpers do NOT shake if it's on Low, though.

The above statements also apply to Oktoberfest, BTW.

Hope this helps.

Shaker motor. Sorry I might have typed sub. And yes - setting usage to high as per previous post.

Yes I figured as much rosh, thank you sir.

Thank you everyone I appreciate the response. I am pretty excited to pick up this machine, this will by my first AP.

I’m excited for you. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the game after you get some time on it. Congrats again!

It's better than all of them; Love this pin. It's super approachable, but very deep; shots feel great, and awesome flow...Lots of depth with the code, and different ways to play it every time.

Best NIB bang for your buck on the market right now, barnone.

Anxious to see what follows Hot Wheels..... hoping for the next one to hit these benchmarks with a very good value for the money. Hit those marks in a similar fashion and I am in for game number 4. Hope we see something in the fairly near future.

I did get to play HW yesterday, very fun pin, but I need to get some more time on it to decide if I want to buy it.

I need to get the feel for the rules a bit more, the game looks fantastic and the shots/layout are great too.

Agreed. Any updated rumors? I’m really hoping it’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Would make an amazing pin

Ugh, so close to getting to Legend last night. Drained my last ball during Draven which was the last mode I needed to clear...

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I know the feeling. I lit Legend MB once, bricked the shot at the saucer to start it.... the ball was rolling down towards the center post, and opted to use the post vs an aggressive slap save, and it drained. Game over.

That was a 36-minute game, and of course I immediately smashed that start button right after.

Hot Wheels is such an adrenaline rush.

Had my game a few days now and loving it!!! Is it normal for one of the lights to occasionally lock on a certain color? All lights work fine after power cycling game. Anyone else hear "laughing on the inside" when callout says "passing on the inside"?

Going to the local joint to play again this weekend, and possibly tonight!

This is a really great game. It is still very fresh for me but here are a few things.

The build quality as many stated is very nice. Solid cabinet using all good materials. Cabinet protectors behind the legs. The pixel quality of the decals is great and the colors are vibrant. Back glass looks great. I love the artwork on the entire game. If I had to nit pick, I would like to see more cable supports under the playfield. Most of the harness is supported by means of all the cables tied together. The decals wrap the cabinet and while this is a nice look I can see wrinkling happening at the corners (two separate planes meeting). The leg bolts I scrapped, I like the different bolt type (something new) but the plain steel socket head cap screw is kind of crappy. Not a big deal, I slapped some standard leg bolts in there.

I am still very fresh on the gameplay but it is a blast to play. Its hilarious and I love that quality about it. The shots are a little tighter than I am used to but I am learning the shots well with maybe the forward kickback being the exception. That shot being not much wider than the ball itself requires dead accuracy. I do have the occasional air ball off the targets but I am sure this can be solved with different foam backing (as many have suggested). The ramp shot was nuts with air balls at first thought it did seam to calm down after a bunch of games. It is possible it was cleaned with something very slippery. I do still get a wild ball launch off of the ramp once in a while. I think maybe a cover would have been nice here. I am looking into adding something but there isn't many options for mounting (without drilling holes in the ramp).

No physical ball lock on this and even though I like a lock I do not miss it. The game plays a progresses seamlessly without one. It really made me think about the concept of a ball lock (sometimes I think too much lol). Last game I had without one was Party Zone. The rules are great, there are several directions to go in and things to work towards in any order. It has that open playground feel. I know every game progresses in a direction but too much funneling to one path or direction takes away from a game so I'd imagine this is a delicate balance. I think Hot Wheel did well here.

All in all this game rips when you are hitting shots. Well done to the American Pinball team and all involved, you did a great job.

Please file a support ticket at <https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/>, Dave and his team should be able to help ya out.

Will do, thanks.

I am wondering if the LEDs getting stuck on one color is related to the connectors. Mine was getting worse and worse so I decided to check the connectors and found almost every black colored LED board connector (address/power etc.) partially seated. When I get a game I go over every single connector in the game, check all points for shorting etc. so I know they were fully seated. It might be that since there are no harness supports, essentially the entire harness is hanging from every connector, they could be vibrating loose especially since they are not locking connectors. For those having trouble, I would suggest looking over these connectors making sure they are fully seated. After I corrected mine, so far no stuck LEDs. Could be a coincidence, I wont know for a little while but it is awfully suspicious and a partially seated plug is definitely no good. I think if AP doesn't provide any harness supports I may just pick a few up and add some in key places to get more of an upward pressure on the plugs instead of pulling away downward. For now clipping some wire ties will take a little stress off of them.

I’ve had this happen a few times on a few games as well. Hasn’t bothered me enough to file a ticket but maybe I will try reseating the connectors to the LEDs and see if that helps... if you find anything else out please post.

I'll probably re-seat the light board connectors before I file a ticket. Just wanted to see if others were having the issue and sounds like some are.

Ferret Does this mean a solution is available or is it to get on the list to be informed when a solution is available?

I think you can file a ticket anyway, as I understood it is hardware related and AP is working on a solution.

Try this first. The most common I’ve seen is the RPM connector come loose. I posted a picture to add a zip tie for strain relief a few posts back.

Very cool!

Totally fnosm.

No luck, still getting a color stuck on the lighting. Hopefully they work this out, its a real bummer. I love this game though. I like the layout, the animations, the light shows, the rules are fun. I like the opaque inserts.

Is anyone else getting the occasional wild ball launch off the orange ramp? I am at 6.2 degrees.

No Lock-ups for me but I am not running the latest code yet. I am still two updates behind but I should be updating today.

Mr_Outlane - No lock ups here. On latest code.
pinstyle - Not on the orange ramp. Yes, in mutli ball at times when things start hitting each other and uncontrolled physics takes over.

Well luck all came together at once, was going for victory lap mb and stacked loop crash mb with it by accident. Had the Gorilla mode going at same time with my tac maxed out for most of it. One thing I noticed that hopefully gets fixed in future code is multiple audio tracks will play over each other at times in the game.

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Don't recall any other customer reports of the game locking up. If this happens to you again, if you have a USB stick handy, please capture the logs when you reboot the game, and send them to ferret <at> americanpinball.com. Please verify that you're running the latest code, which is 20.12.10, available at the API support page <https://www.american-pinball.com/support/updates/>.

I've heard a couple reports of this... similar comment as above: if you hear this again, please note what you were doing at the time of the problem, and capture logs after you finish your game and send them to us. Super extra bonus points if you can record the errant audio and send that too, so we can get an idea of which tracks are stomping on each other.

Thanks!

I'll try to get video or logs tomorrow.