I have An Oktoberfest and Hot Wheels and I would definitely say they feel different, not really in a negative way tho. For me they are a bit bouncier and maybe slightly clunky compared to my other pins. The flippers do seem extra loud as well….but other than those nuances it feels like pinball to me.

When I bought my Hot Wheels (NIB) I had to turn down the flipper strength as it was way too powerful at the default setting. I was getting crazy amount of air balls even with the machine leveled properly. Maybe some operators are turning it down too much. Out of the box the flippers are too snappy for Hot Wheels layout if the pitch is at or near factory recommendations.

I have the new foam backing installed and it barely cut down on the amount of air balls on this machine, it’s like playing tennis. I’ve adjusted my machine countless times....the only way it shoots decent is to have it around 6.3-6.5 pitch with flipper strength dialed back to 23 instead of the default 25.