Hot Wheels FTE Way 2 Fast

There is nothing like the thrill of 6 cars flying down the track and seeing your car out in front of them all.

We’re going to tell you about a car that will give you a good chance of having that feeling.  This review is about  the Hot Wheels Faster Than Ever Way 2 Fast.

Way 2 Fast debuted in 1997 in a hot looking orange color with a checkered flag on the roof.  Way 2 Fast has a classic hot rod look, but the frame has been extended to accommodate not one, but two engines! The first edition 1997 version has 5 spoke wheels and can be pretty fast.  However, in my opinion, this casting was perfected in 2005 when Mattel came out with the Faster Than Ever version.

In 2005, Mattel released a new series of cars called Faster Than Ever, also sometimes referred to as FTE.  The Faster Than Ever cars all have an open 5 spoke wheel with copper colored spokes.  The open spoke wheel can be a very fast wheel.  It has less mass than a solid wheel, which means it has less rotational inertia.  Without getting too technical, less rotational inertia means that it takes less energy to get the wheel turning and keep it turning. This means more of your car’s potential energy is converted into speed so your car is faster.

While the FTE wheel is a great wheel, it’s the axles that are the real key.  The FTE axles are nickel plated.  The nickel plating produces less friction between the axle and the wheel than a normal axle and wheel combination.  Less friction means more speed for your car.

The FTE wheels and axles help make this version of the Way 2 Fast quite quick, but there are other FTE castings and the Way 2 Fast can beat most of them.  So what else makes the Way 2 Fast so quick.  Well, of course it’s the second engine! Yeah, yeah, I know, the engines don’t actually make the cars go, but here’s the deal.  By putting the second engine on this car, the chassis was made longer.  The Way 2 Fast measures about 3.25 inches long.  This is one of the longest Hot Wheels castings.


Because of the extended chassis, the Way 2 Fast has a pretty long wheels base.  Generally speaking, the longer the wheelbase, the straighter the car will run, the fewer times it will bump into the side of the track, and the faster it will be.


While the Way 2 Fast is not a super heavy car coming in at 42 grams, most of its weight is concentrated toward the back.  That, in addition to its length, gives the Way 2 Fast more potential energy than a lot of other castings.  That potential energy is turned into speed as the car races down the track.  More potential energy means more speed.

The FTE Way 2 Fast is like the perfect storm.  Good wheels, nickel plated axles, long wheel base, long chassis, and weight concentrated toward the back all come together to make a very quick car.  If you don’t have one, get one. It will definitely win some races for you!

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