Little Tikes Tykes Hot Wheels Mountain REPLACEMENT LOOP

Do your custom loops really work better than the originals?  Yes.  They are reinforced, stronger, a more rigid plastic.  The originals are soft and flexible.  My custom loops barely move when a vehicle zooms around them so they're not absorbing the vehicles’ energy, a physics kind of thing.  The result is that more vehicles from your child’s collection will make it all the way around without dropping halfway through.  But no loop--custom or original--works to the degree that every die-cast car will make it around.  Read on for more details….

So many of my child’s cars don’t make it all the way around our original loop.  Should I replace the loop with one of yours?  Maybe.  It depends on several factors like the condition of your original loop, your overall performance expectations, even your budget.  Background: These mountains were originally sold with two special Little Tikes cars, a red one and a yellow one.  These cars were designed to successfully work with the loop.  They’re rather heavy and have thick performance wheels, two "musts."  But most of these original cars are long gone so our children are using the typical Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars instead.  No matter which type of loop you have, you will only have limited success using vehicles other than those two originals.

That being said, I would certainly replace an original loop with a custom if the original was bent, kinked, shortened in length or damaged in any other way since performance is being affected.  Also, the original loops are known for not staying on very well—all their wiggling jostles them loose.  My custom loops stay on better so that might be a factor to consider—less aggravation!  I would not necessarily replace an original loop that is in good condition.  A custom loop does work better--oftentimes considerably so--but only you can decide if you want to invest in a new loop to maximize the toy’s performance.  Remember, not all die-cast vehicles are going to make it around any style of loop.  It's oftentimes less of a loop issue and more an issue of finding the right vehicles.

Which types of vehicles work best on the loop?  What type should I buy?  If you’re going shopping, look for die-cast vehicles that are relatively heavy for their size.  And look for bigger, thicker wheels.  So many have chintzy, small wheels--avoid those.  My family has found the most success with SUVs, utility and monster trucks.  Low-to-the-ground, long-in-the-wheelbase race cars with tiny wheels tend to be some of the worst performers.

Won’t Hot Wheels tracking work as a loop replacement?  No, I tried it.  That type of tracking is manufactured flat so it wants to revert back to flat once it’s curved into the shape of a loop (if you can get it curved around at all).  The result is that the ends continually pull loose.

What colors are available?  This listing is for any one of the colors shown above in my BIG listing photo.  I sell a rainbow of primary colors to appeal to everyone: blue, yellow, red, green and even two-tones since the loops come in halves.  Sometimes I run out of a particular color or several colors for awhile so what you see in the BIG listing photo is what I currently have in stock.  All my loops work the same and are from the same manufacturer.  What I DON'T sell are wild, strange-colored loops and clips that don't match the Little Tikes mountains' colors: no purples, blacks, silvers, oranges, etc.  Other sellers find these from other sources so they are from unknown manufacturers, a different source than where I get my top performers.  Because they aren't appealing and may not work and hold up as well, they typically hurt the resale value of your mountain.  I only sell custom loops that have proven to increase the resale value of your mountain (up to $200+ near Christmas compared to mountains that have original loops).

Why not buy something from another seller?  As always, it’s buyer beware on eBay.  I’m a buyer too and I've seen it all!  Loops similar to mine can be passed off with tiny cracks at the points where they connect to the rest of the mountain.  They aren't going to stay on that way.  Sometimes sellers show up with original loops that have several inches cut off.  The originals tend to split at the connection points so sellers cut away the bad parts.  You wind up with a flimsy loop that’s going to perform even worse than normal.  Some sell loops that are really cheap Hot Wheels track.  These can be all colors, even yellow, which make them hard to detect.  Others offer loops with missing clips up top that connect the two halves.  Dark and fluorescent colors are from unknown manufacturers and hurt the mountains' resale value.  I've been selling replacement parts for enough years to have tested pretty much every option out there.  I now know how to go about selling only the best.

 My loops are from a quality toy manufacturer originally out of Germany.  They are designed for fast race cars.  They connect to the mountain perfectly and stay put.  ~Guaranteed~

Do you really FULLY guarantee your loops’ performance?  Yes.  If you are dissatisfied with your custom loop, I will replace it--at my cost--with a loop original to the mountain.  In other words, I’ll pay for return shipping and everything.  This is virtually unheard of on eBay.  All I ask is that you make sure to read the details on all the loops’ performance, in questions #1 and #2 up above.  There are limitations to performance no matter what loop you own, original or custom, so you have to be realistic if you don’t have those two original cars.