I should have my revo 3.3 here in a matter of hours and am very excited. It's not only my first rc car in over 20 years but also my first nitro. I am just looking for some revo guys to give me some lessons learned on their revo. Things that weren't covered in the manual or common to nitro's that a guy at my experience level, or lack thereof, would have to be told to watch out for or check to ensure I get the most out of this car. I can only afford this one car, barely afford fuel and really don't want to ef it up on day one and wind up stuck waiting for parts forever. Things apparently take their time getting to Iraq.
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Breaking In
- Thread starter cptvkirk
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Runaway Jim
RCTalk Talkaholic
Revo is a great truck. I'm sure you'll really enjoy it. With a new truck the best thing to do at first is follow the break in procedure to the letter. Breaking in that engine the way Traxxass outlines for you in the materials that come with your truck is important. It's simple to do but will go a long way toward having an engine that's reliable and strong for a while to come.
If you can get your hands on some after run oil that would be a nice to have but not crucial. All of the nitro fuel today is mixed with oil in it so if you can't get it don't worry too much about it. If you can get some, then after you're done running it and you're not going to run it again for a week or more, then take off the glow plug, drop a few drops into the cylinder and turn the engine over with the ez start a few times with the glow plug still out. Keeping it lubricated is always a good thing.
Next, a good thing to do after you run it each time is to return your piston to the bottom of it's stroke, I think it's top dead center. The best way to do this is to make a mark on your fly wheel when the piston is positioned at the bottom point. To make this mark, you'll want to take off the cooling head of your engine then rotate it until the piston is at the bottom. When it's there, turn the truck over and use a permanent marker or nail polish or a small drop of paint to mark that point. Then after you run each time you can turn the flywheel to that point. This is a good thing to do every time so that you're sleeve and piston combo keeps as much pinch as possible. Leaving the piston at top dead center or somewhere in between when you're done allows the cylinder sleeve to cool down and retract around the piston and over time it shortens the life of those parts and the engine over all.
A lot of guys, including myself, are advocates of the forward only conversion kit. If you're getting a new revo though, I think they come stock without reverse now. If not, it's something to think about. Removing reverse from your transmission makes for less gears inside there to get going, a smoother more efficient shift from first to second gear and much more pep from a dead stop.
Last thing I can think of for a new guy to nitro is tuning the engine. It's important to not let it get too hot. I've seen guys post that they're engines run great in the high 200 degrees range like 275-290 but I'm a believer in keeping it to around 210-230. These 3.3 like fuel. There's no getting around it. Give it to them and you'll be a happy camper. There are a lot of posts on this forum about tunning the low, high and idle needle on your engine. It would be a very good idea to read up on that. The temperature outside and the density of the air are two major factors as to where to tune your engine. Overall, make sure to keep the temps in the low 200s and always make sure you've got a steady, healthy stream of smoke comming from your engine when you're on the throttle. If you don't have the smoke, you're too lean and the engine will overheat. That's no good.
You'll get the hang of it. We all do. Have a great time with it!
If you can get your hands on some after run oil that would be a nice to have but not crucial. All of the nitro fuel today is mixed with oil in it so if you can't get it don't worry too much about it. If you can get some, then after you're done running it and you're not going to run it again for a week or more, then take off the glow plug, drop a few drops into the cylinder and turn the engine over with the ez start a few times with the glow plug still out. Keeping it lubricated is always a good thing.
Next, a good thing to do after you run it each time is to return your piston to the bottom of it's stroke, I think it's top dead center. The best way to do this is to make a mark on your fly wheel when the piston is positioned at the bottom point. To make this mark, you'll want to take off the cooling head of your engine then rotate it until the piston is at the bottom. When it's there, turn the truck over and use a permanent marker or nail polish or a small drop of paint to mark that point. Then after you run each time you can turn the flywheel to that point. This is a good thing to do every time so that you're sleeve and piston combo keeps as much pinch as possible. Leaving the piston at top dead center or somewhere in between when you're done allows the cylinder sleeve to cool down and retract around the piston and over time it shortens the life of those parts and the engine over all.
A lot of guys, including myself, are advocates of the forward only conversion kit. If you're getting a new revo though, I think they come stock without reverse now. If not, it's something to think about. Removing reverse from your transmission makes for less gears inside there to get going, a smoother more efficient shift from first to second gear and much more pep from a dead stop.
Last thing I can think of for a new guy to nitro is tuning the engine. It's important to not let it get too hot. I've seen guys post that they're engines run great in the high 200 degrees range like 275-290 but I'm a believer in keeping it to around 210-230. These 3.3 like fuel. There's no getting around it. Give it to them and you'll be a happy camper. There are a lot of posts on this forum about tunning the low, high and idle needle on your engine. It would be a very good idea to read up on that. The temperature outside and the density of the air are two major factors as to where to tune your engine. Overall, make sure to keep the temps in the low 200s and always make sure you've got a steady, healthy stream of smoke comming from your engine when you're on the throttle. If you don't have the smoke, you're too lean and the engine will overheat. That's no good.
You'll get the hang of it. We all do. Have a great time with it!
charliejp
Hardcore RCTalk User
The only thing I might add is LOKTITE! Theres not many areas on a Revo that need it but the engine mount should definately have loktite on every screw.IMO
MrClean
Hardcore RCTalk User
+1 to that! (use the blue one) You should also check all the screws on the rig before running it.
- Thread starter
- #5
Locktite, lol. Unfortunately, I learned that lesson the hard way. I got a little excited, didn't go over the car as well as I should have (actually wanted this car in a kit and couldn't find it, considered pulling it apart and talked myself out of messing with what isn't broke) The break in went pretty well, nothing major. I had a small dime sized piece of molded plastic that looked like it fell out of the car somewhere. It had an arc maybe a bit larger than the wheel bearings but I cannot find anything anywhere that was broke or missing. It is possible it got picked up from all the trash and crap lying around but it just looked like it belonged on the car somewhere. Doesn't matter anymore because I lost the piece and will most likely figure out where it was supposed to be when whatever it held flies in a different direction than the rest of the car. The only big thing so far is a tire blew......as in fell off and blew right by me. I thought, ok, so I forgot to tighten everything down...slow down and go over it...so I did, went back out and after two more tanks, tire left me again. Amazingly, I was able to find the nut both times. Not much anodized blue out here, yet. So they'll be getting locktite before the next run. Everything else is going well. I'm not too keen on the starter set up; I don't like not having any kind of "feel" of the motor turning and can't ever tell if it won't turn cuz it hydro locked or because the battery is dying. I do like access to the flywheel to roll it with my thumb to clear instead of having to pull the glow plug every time….which I did once and won’t be doing again unless I can’t keep it running. All the running I did so far was a borrowed 500cc from a buddy's 30% cool power jug that he brought with him for his helicopter. I am still working on figuring out how to get fuel over here so until more shows up, the best I can do is continue reading up on the all the links in the forum s. I'll have some down time to check it out thoroughly and possibly install the optional suspension. I think. I like the stance and low cg but the ass nearly squats to the ground under acceleration and with all the rocks and stuff over here it’s getting a good bump a little more than I’d like. Never mind that the track I built would be fun on a CR125 much less for RC’s so big air is just about every other turn. (yeah, I ride dirt bike a lot and could see its influence on the track) It’s probably not the ideal set up for an RC but it’s certainly a challenge and just about any sized car can run it one way or the other.
One last thing: Cool Power (Morgan fuels) is it as good as I hear or is it a mediocre fuel? It’s all I have currently and seemed ok for break in, (oil dripping from the exhaust gave me a warm fuzzy it wasn’t all just burning up) I only ask cuz I’m about to order a case to send to my wife and have her try sending over here. I was going to get the same thing because it’s what I borrowed but if there’s something better or just as good but less expensive, please let me know.
One last thing: Cool Power (Morgan fuels) is it as good as I hear or is it a mediocre fuel? It’s all I have currently and seemed ok for break in, (oil dripping from the exhaust gave me a warm fuzzy it wasn’t all just burning up) I only ask cuz I’m about to order a case to send to my wife and have her try sending over here. I was going to get the same thing because it’s what I borrowed but if there’s something better or just as good but less expensive, please let me know.
MrClean
Hardcore RCTalk User
Just stick with 30% fuel since that is what you broke it in with. You can change brands, I think a few guys recommend that you let it idle for the 1st tank of new fuel. I can't comment on that brand of fuel, never used it, but you gotta run what's available to you.
Sometimes those nylon lock nuts don't work too well, luckily you found the wheel nut when it fell off, those can be hard to track down.
Sometimes those nylon lock nuts don't work too well, luckily you found the wheel nut when it fell off, those can be hard to track down.