Carrera GO Plus Night Chase Race Set Review

Carrera GO 1/43 slot car products have been around for quite some time and have been providing a lot of fun to families and friends.  Carrera has recently launched Carrera GO Plus in the USA which adds a lot of new features including a 1 player mode in which you can race against a ghost car (autonomous car) as an opponent and the ability to display race information on a phone or tablet.  This Carrera GO Plus Night Chase 1/43 race set review will walk you thru all that Carrera GO Plus has to offer.

To get started, here is a picture of the front of the race box.

Then to open up the race set you need to open up one of the side flaps, then slide out the cardboard tray that holds the contents out of the race set box.  It's important to pull the handle out as you do this, otherwise the cardboard tray will hang up on the ends of the handle that are inside the race set box. 

The cardboard tray does a nice job of holding the contents of the race set and each type of track piece is nicely shrink wrapped together.  I found some care needs to be taken when removing the shrink wrap from around the track.  I recommend cutting the shrink wrap off rather than just trying to puncture and pull it off by hand.  This will help to protect the track tabs that stick out on each end. 

The assembled track layout size is 9.02 x 4.17 feet so be sure you find an area large enough for the layout.  You could also alter the layout slightly to change the footprint size as needed. I chose to set up the track in our basement on a carpeted floor.  Before doing so, I recommend vacuuming the carpet and then setting down a tarp or heavy duty plastic table cloth.  This will serve as a barrier between the carpet fuzz and the track and cars.  Carper fuzz can get in the car's wheels and axles over time which can eventually slow the cars down and diminish their performance.

Another cool option is that the directions show how to set up the track with or without the loop.  The loop can be challenging for some, so if it is your first time racing on a Carrera GO track, then you may consider setting up the layout without the loop.  You can always add it later on.  The layout assembly directions are a diagram with each part lettered.  The underside of the track pieces have a letter which really helps to identify which track pieces go where. 

Assembling the track is one area that can be a bit tedious, especially the first time since some of the track pieces can be a little challenging to get together.  You basically want to push the track pieces together evenly.  I found some track pieces were really easy to put together and some were a little more stubborn.  For the track pieces that you are having a tougher time with it, it really helps to push the pieces together evenly until you get a 1/8" gap or less.  Then push one side together and then the other.  A few pieces didn't seem like they would go together so I moved them some where else in the layout and all went together just fine. The bank curves also seemed a little more difficult to assemble then the flat track pieces.  The main thing is to set up the track (especially the first time) with an adult or with adult supervision while taking a little extra care not to over stress the track connecting tabs.

This set also comes with some new easy to attach red track supports. They are easy to install once you find the place that they attach to on the underside of the track.  I tried putting the supports according to the instructions but did find that some of them weren't touching the floor so I moved them around until I found a place where each support touched the floor.

The total assembly time was about 45 minutes, I am sure subsequent assembly times will be quicker since you will have a better idea where all the track pieces go and the track pieces will be easier to put together.  The track layout itself is a fast flowing track with plenty of banked curves, R2 curves, intersection and a narrow straight.  The layout only has 4 R1 curves which are the smallest radius curves but banked for higher speeds.  This ultimately means that the cars can be driven faster with fewer de-slots than those Carrera GO layouts that use the R1 flat curves. 

This Carrera GO Plus Night Chase race set come with two Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 1/43 slot cars, the Miami Police with flashing roof lights and the street Avio with ground effect lighting.  The cars measure approximately 4.125 inches long by 1.250 inches wide.  Both cars are super cool and very well detailed.  Before running the cars, it's important to fan out the braids and position them as shown in the instructions.

The Carrera GO Plus connection track really adds to the racing experience and can be used with or without the App.  You get three race modes - 20 or 30 lap race, chase which gives one car a head start and the other car has to catch him and training with no lap restriction.  Additionally, you have the option of programming one of the cars or any other Carrera GO 1/43 slot car as a ghost car.  This is a great option for solo racing with the track.  When racing without the app, a fan fare sound is played and the winning car can continue driving while the losing car is stopped on the track.

One player mode is set up by switching to the ghost using the selector switch on the Carrera GO Plus connection section.  Then you position the car to be programmed in the red lane about one standard straight or 12 inches behind the start/finish line.  Press the Plus button on the power base and drive two complete laps stopping before the start/finish line (where you started).  You will then get a sound signal after a few seconds letting you know that the programming is complete.  Unplug the controller that you used to program the ghost car, select a race mode and then start the race.  The ghost car will actually speed up and slow down just as it was programmed around the track.  If the ghost car comes off the track, then you can restart it by pushing it at a normal running speed across the start/finish line.  In my opinion, this is a great feature and is great fun when using the track by yourself.

Now onto the Carrera GO Plus app which uses a Bluetooth connection to link your IOS and Android phone or tablet to the Carrera GO Plus connection track.  The main benefit is that you get the lap count and lap times for each car.  It also adds games that are sent randomly to one of the drivers while the race is in progress.  The driver in question is stopped on the track and the game either must be completed successfully or after 20 seconds will resume racing on the track.  This may be fun for some but I found it to disrupt the racing action too much and the games seemed to be more of a chore after awhile that you need to do just to rejoin the race.

The good news is I found a workaround for those who don't want to play the games.  In one player mode, the games are deactivated since the ghost car wouldn't be able to do them.  In two player mode, you only need to have the red lane controller unplugged when you first press the Plus button to initiate the start of the race countdown.  Once the countdown starts, you can then plug in the controller and race with two drivers without the random games coming up during the race.

This set has provided many hours of fun both racing solo and with other drivers.  The controllers also have a turbo button which gives you a higher top speed that when perfected helps getting a little extra speed and into the loop. The intersection adds a lot of excitement to the racing, since if you don't time it right the cars run into each other and will most likely come off the track.  The cars run really smooth, are plenty durable and the lights are neat for racing with low light in the room.  I find the skill level of the race set to be just right since you need to drive the cars somewhat around the track but not so much that it gets frustrating.  We have had kids and adults of different skill levels use the track and all were able to get around the track just fine (some faster than others).  The only issue is that one of the cars started making a squeaking sound.  I put a drop of plastic compatible oil at the interface of the chassis and the axles (4 spots) and the sound disappeared.  Then the car ran even smoother due to the oil reducing the friction of the axles.

Is Carrera GO Plus worth it?  I say yes.  It adds the ability to run properly scored races, gives the option to run against a ghost car and shows lap times with the app which is good for fine tuning the cars.  The Carrera GO Plus connection track will also be available separately in the near future.  If you have one of the newest Carrera GO race sets that come with red controller plugs than you only need the Carrera GO Plus connection track to convert an existing Carrera GO track to GO Plus.  If you have a Carrera GO track with black controller plugs, then you will also need two Carrera 20061663 GO Plus Controllers.

This Carrera GO Plus Night Chase 1/43 race set is available for purchase right now at BRS Hobbies for $ 135.99 with FREE shipping within the United States.  Here is the link - Carrera GO Plus Night Chase Race Set