Nor-Cal Hobbies

San Jose, United States

4

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 408-293-5555
Website:
www.norcalhobbies.com
Address:
2099 S. 10th St., San Jose, CA, 95112
Fairgrounds
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.3 mi1st & Keyes
1.4 miCurtner
1.5 miTamien
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Open now
Local time (San Jose) 12:36 PM Friday, June 27, 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Nor-​Cal Hobbies’ mission is to breed the next generation of RC champions. We’ll guide you from rookie to world class pro. We give you access to a superb track with ample practice times. We offer a variety of racing formats and competitions. We have mentors and a fully-​stocked shop with experienced staff for all your racing needs. Benefit from the decades of experience in this professional facility and our tight-​knit group of racers. Just want to have fun and race without getting too serious? Nor-​Cal Hobbies is perfect for your type of racing. We encourage racing at any age, so bring your family!

Indoor climate-​controlled environment and professional-​grade track. The track features a professionally graded surface that is usually only experienced at national championship events. We have this every day. The track surface is composed of a proprietary mix of compounds, giving superior traction in a climate controlled environment. The layout is challenging for the pro-​level driver and the beginner alike. Clean and roomy pitting area for 60 drivers with irrigated tire cleaning stations. Fully ADA compliant facility — separate wheel chair lift and adjacent ADA pit spot.

History

Established in 2006.

Nor-​Cal Hobbies has a racing legacy hosting the ROAR US Nationals in both 1⁄10th scale On-​Road (2010) and 1⁄10th scale Off-​Road (2011). Nor-​Cal Hobbies hosted the first ROAR 1⁄8th scale electric Nationals in 2010.

We’ve also had the pleasure of being the home of The International Reedy Touring Car Race of Champions for 4 years. This event features the top on-​road talent on planet earth.

Meet the Business Owner

Eric V.

Business Owner

Eric has been into RC Cars for over 30 years and has been in the business for 25 years, He has owned Castle Hobbies throughout the ’90’s and co-​founded Werks Racing. Eric has won a few ROAR National Championships and has the fortune to travel the US and the world racing RC Cars for RC Manufacturers like Kyosho, Team losi and FG Modelsport. The RC Racing experience has been directed to what Nor-​Cal Hobbies is today — the culmination of business experience and the fun of all things radio controlled. Nor-​Cal Hobbies is all about enhancing everyone’s experience with RC Cars, from the beginner to the national level competitor. We hold no secrets back and hope everyone improved from their experience with this facility.

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20 reviews of Nor-Cal Hobbies

No registration required
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
What a great place to have fun. Brought my kids down and let them drive on the indoor track. They had a great time and the other drivers gave them some pointers on how to drive the track. The guys in the shop are friendly and gave us a hand on fixing one of the trucks. Over all a great place to bring kids and have fun special on those rainy days. Keep it up NorCal we need more places like this in the Bay Area.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
I highly recommend No-​Cal Hobbies. It’s a great place to bring kids who love RC cars and RC car enthusiasts. I needed a last minute back-​up place for my sons birthday party and they were extremely accommodating. They usually run parties during their non-​business hours (which I also recommend), but were able to take our small group of 14 (ages 9 – 14). Their staff were very patient and understanding. We borrowed/​rented 5 cars throughout our time there, changing out the batteries as needed. The kids were also able to help around the track with car crashes and turning over cars. We were able to bring in our own food and drinks and they provided a table. It was reasonably priced and the kids had a blast. A couple of times our inexperienced drivers crashed into the other cars and the other drivers were very kind to the kids. In the future I would rent this place out at night so that we could have our own real race and not interfere with the regulars. Can’t wait to bring my kids back!
Place rating: 5
Ventura, CA
First time visiting the shop, service was awesome!!! the shop is clean !! Got the parts for my truck and now ready for the indoor track !!! Will be back again
Place rating: 1
Coarsegold, CA
From out of town, needed a part for my rc Rock Crawler. The track looks nice. The set up seems good. The service, not so great. I asked the woman working for a part I needed which she didn’t carry. She then told me she doesn’t carry stuff for «toys» and I’d need to go to Fremont. Great service in Bizaro Land. Sure, you didn’t have my part. Rather than be friendly and offer any sort of service, she turned and left me standing there. BTW, I have other rc, not just the toy you didn’t carry a part Hobby Town stocks. I came here to «support my local hobby store.» So good job norcal. Won’t buy any of my parts here. I was really looking forward to coming here too. Just advised a friend against going there to purchase his rc car.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Norcal Hobbies is a great place to spend your time. Staff are knowledgeable and helpful, and the track atmosphere is great for folks at all ages. Support your local shop!
Place rating: 1
San Jose, CA
This place is a good place to run and tune your car! I have had great success with my b4.2, thanks to DANIEL Zee, jeff leong and the owner Eric. Former employees are good with knowledge Mondrel and Grant. As for the lady in the back counter «No comment» VERY RUDE AND MOODY. For example I ask her for a simple exchange and she got upset and said why didn’t I ask the other employees to me… I don’t know if I should tell my parents about it. Hopefully Eric can teach her some customer service values. She is the only reason why I’m giving this place a one star. Its funny how all the BAD reviews are all pointing towards her.
Place rating: 5
Los Gatos, CA
Great service, honest and friendly.
My car was missing some crucial parts and the guys at the parts store were very forthcoming in giving my options to fix it.
I have yet to try the tracks but it seems awesome
Place rating: 5
Milpitas, CA
Eric is a real nice guy and is very knowledgable in teaching me and my son how to get into racing. Jeff is cool too and is always eager to help me and answer any questions I may have. Tuesday nights Rookie Boot Camp is something we look forward to attending every week. Thanks Eric and staff for being professional and helping me keep my RC skills on point. Highly recommend visiting NorCal if your serious about improving your driving skills.
Place rating: 2
San Francisco, CA
It’s a okay store but the lady working behind the counter was very rude and not helpful at all. Too busy on her cell phone to ask any questions. My colleague and I were simply trying to find some wheels and tires, maybe even a body or two. I only give this place a 2 star because their track is nice and it was somewhat fun to watch the people race while the lady behind the counter is staring at you.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
I love this place, but the kids love it more. It’s a great way to spend time with my boys. Their ages are 9 and 11, and absolutely love getting behind the wheel. The staff is awesome, and took us through all the trucks and the technology’s they offer to help with our buying purchase. After hitting the track and hitting it hard we broke a component. Within ten minutes the pro shop had us back on the track. It’s great having a shop that seams to have everything you might possibly need. We’re planning on going to the Tuesday night rookie boot camp. Check out their web site at the schedule. We started by watching a race and checking out the pits to see what everyone was driving and had a great afternoon and got bit by the RC truck racing bug.
Place rating: 5
Fremont, CA
Norcal Hobbies, awesome place to take your kids, or for kids to take dad or mom. Very family oriented and everybody seems to help those who really are not sure how to get stared with a new hobby. It was great watching the kids and parents learning and playing together while staff members assist and spend quality time with the newbies and old timers. They even offer a bootcamp on Tuesday evenings for all those who want to get quality time on the track along with group & one on one instruction on driving techniques and getting your car set up along with basic mechanics. This group of men and boys even take their love of this hobby one step farther than most, they attended the Alma Center National Night Out. Bringing to the children of this local community a track and cars for them to enjoy they even gave away free passes in the community raffle. A big thank you goes out to all the men & boys who gave up their time for the kids in their community. If looking for a hobby that’s fun for the famiy, you should check out norcal hobbies ask for Jon or Eric or if wanting a kids point of view Dylan, Anthony or Brendon, I found them to all be helpful and excited to share norcal info. Thank you Norcal, I will definitely be back !!!
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
This is a great place for the whole family. If you are an expert you can join races several times a week and from time to time tournaments that span several weeks. If you are just starting out you definitely want to go to the weekly boot camp. And if you are a pro or a novice you want to shop in the store. They have everything you need. If you can think of anything you need and it isn’t already there they’ll get it for you. Organized, fun, and very nice people. Everyone is having a good time.
Place rating: 1
San Jose, CA
ok im not the kind of person to leave a bad review, but after a visit, to take my son to buy a traxxas slash, i got ignored for about 20 minuets ,
so i waited because my son really wanted one so he could race on the track so 30 mins went by and no help. i finnaly got mad, i just left, i think they cater to they own race croud .if your a newby go somewhere else.
now ill try sheldons,
Place rating: 5
Saratoga, CA
This place is great, they have everything anyone interested in rc cars could want.
I was big into on-​road 1⁄10 electric racing in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, wanting to get back into the hobby I went to Nor Cal to get setup with a 1⁄10 electric buggy and accessories. Their service was great, and very helpful. It is easy to tell that everyone in this shop is passionate about rc and racing.
On top of having a touch notch shop stocked with everything you could possibly want or break they have a top notch off-​road track on site… looking forward to building my buggy and hitting the track.
I highly recommend this place for anyone into or getting into rc.
Place rating: 4
Belmont, CA
First time in the shop today. I was into buggies in the late 80s and I am getting back into it now. So I bought a Tekno kit online and came in the store to look at my choices for electronics needed to finish my build.
So the track is the first thing you see inside. It looks just like the pics or YouTube videos seen online. The shop is smaller than most hobby shops I’ve been in but they have used the space wisely with sliding walls with parts bags for almost all the top suppliers. I am not that up on all of them now but Associated, Losi, Tekno and Traxxas were there in plenty. Everything you need.
So the poor lady there was by herself and busy with all the practice drivers wanting parts, which is great because there you are with all these parts while at the track. (cash, and credit card WITH ID ONLY). As busy as she was she still spent time with me helping me find the parts I needed for the build as I screwed up by not using a real HEX screwdriver like the ones they sell from MVP. worth 4x what they sell them for. She also hooked me up with a guy who works there and drives the same Tekno. In his day off he spent 30+ minutes with me and I wasn’t even buying today. He showed my all I needed and what was good and bad about components he has used. Truly appreciated this kind of customer support.
Thank you both for the great help and taking the time to get me on the right path to complete my build. I will be back when I am ready to buy the rest and race it when she’s done.
Place rating: 5
Campbell, CA
This place is great. The atmosphere is positive and fun. My husband is big into RC, he goes 2 – 3 times weekly and it’s like a big family/​community down there. My 3 year old son and I go down to watch and everyone is very friendly to us. They have a very reasonably priced hobby store. Both practicing and racing are reasonably priced. Most of the staff races, so they are very knowledgeable, even the one’s that don’t race are knowledgeable. If you’re beginner and have questions, they don’t mind helping you out. They also rent cars and trucks for people to try the sport out. For the RC wives out there, this is a kid friendly environment. If the kids are little, may want to bring them some entertainment, since they can’t race yet. The bathrooms are clean and they do have vending machines for snacks and drinks. It’s also really close to ‘The Plant’, where there is a ton of food options.
If your curious what RC Cars are all about, check out Nor Cal Hobbies! It’s definitely worth the trip.
Place rating: 1
San Jose, CA
Sorry to have to be the first bad review but our group booked this place for an event and when our event planner contacted them with a final head count as was previously arranged, they told us they could not accommodate us because they decided to do something else! Thanks big time! Just not the way to do business, they never contacted us about it and now it leaves us just a week to fill the hole in our groups plans.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Just got into RC hobby for the first time in my life.
Came to this place and bought RC8.2e kit at a pretty good deal.
As I were almost completing building my RC kit, one of the parts (Shock Collar) was bad. I went back to the store the buy replacement part and I was expected to pay full price for the part since this is a manufacture defect. But instead of paying full price, they split the cos for the replacement part. Eric and his staff provide excellent customer service and I am glad they’re in San Jose within just 15 minutes of driving from where I live. I am definitely going to come back here again to get 2 more cars for my little daughters to take it out on the track at their shop.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Pretty cool how not only the workers are friendly but the overall environment of this place is awesome. They only charge 10 bucks to race all day and you can even charge your batteries with the available power outlets free to use when paid entrance. They have a full on hobby store for all your needs. ALL YOUR NEEDS. this place is awesome. The employees make this place turn.
Place rating: 5
North Las Vegas, NV
I’ve been coming here for a few weeks now for off-​road and on-​road practice races. The atmosphere is always pleasant, and the people that race here are friendly. I’ve overheard many conversations where veterans have been helping newbies with building, tuning, and racing their cars.
After seeing the on-​road racing setup, I wanted to transform my Tamiya TB03 to be able to compete in the VTA class. The lady who manages the hobby shop on site was very helpful in letting me know exactly what I needed to qualify for that class. They’re always well stocked with parts, oils, tires, etc.
The track itself changes layout on a fairly regular basis, which is awesome. Every few times I go back there’s a new layout to learn with new challenges.
Prices are very reasonable. All-​day racing for practice (every Saturday) is $ 10. They allow you to bring in or have food delivered to the location as well, which is good if you plan to spend a while there.