Do you preheat your engine before every run?

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gandalfnz

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Hi Guys

Just wondering how many of us preheat the engine before firing it up?
I myself do this every time, no matter if the engine has just been broken in or not.
Something that just stuck with me since my first nitro, and I do believe engine life does get extended by quite a bit.
We all know that engine small or big, wears the most until it warms up.

So, when running at home, I preheat it with a hair dryer to around 80C, it starts right up, never had a problem.
In fact, I am just about to buy a Makita (they recently released it) battery powered heat gun, for when I am outside, to do the same.

Please comment?

Thanks
 
taught by guys in the 1970's they always heated a nitro to temp.not a nitro guy just passing on advice
 
The only time I would personally do it is if it were cold outside but then again I've not really been in to nitros much for the last 10 years. I used to have a bunch of nitros but my heard is mostly electric these days. I love both but I'm more of an electronics person so over the years I've gravitated more toward that side of the fence. I still own a few nitros but I rarely ever run them anymore.
 
Electronics is my profession, but RC cars started as electric and we all had them as kids.
For this reason, they do not impress me much, like a small engine running does.
It does impress me how far battery cars have come along with brushless and lipos.

I preheat my engines even in summer when its 30C outside.
 
Electronics is my profession, but RC cars started as electric and we all had them as kids.
For this reason, they do not impress me much, like a small engine running does.
It does impress me how far battery cars have come along with brushless and lipos.

I preheat my engines even in summer when its 30C outside.
If it wasn't for brushless and lipos Id still be in to nitros lol
 
The old guy that owned the hobby shop here said to never start a nitro without heating it. It wears them out a lot quicker. Which makes sense, because the sleeve and piston are two different materials, that shrink and expand differently. And the sleeve and piston are machined to run smoothly at temp, so any movement between the two when cold will be at differing tolerances, creating more friction. You would be really surprised how much metal expands and shrinks with just a few degrees temp change 😉
 
The old guy that owned the hobby shop here said to never start a nitro without heating it. It wears them out a lot quicker. Which makes sense, because the sleeve and piston are two different materials, that shrink and expand differently. And the sleeve and piston are machined to run smoothly at temp, so any movement between the two when cold will be at differing tolerances, creating more friction. You would be really surprised how much metal expands and shrinks with just a few degrees temp change 😉

It absolutely pains me when I see people start their nitros from cold and then start reving it right away....see that too many times.
 
A lot of racing series like top fuel, IndyCar, etc preheat their engines for the exact same reason. The tolerances are so tight, they would destroy the engines before they made it through a lap if they didn't.
 
A lot of racing series like top fuel, IndyCar, etc preheat their engines for the exact same reason. The tolerances are so tight, they would destroy the engines before they made it through a lap if they didn't.
I have see ppl start the engines from cold, rev them, then race and none ever faulted.
I guess the life of those engines will be shortened, but they ran fine.
 
When I was running my nitro I always pre heated otherwise it would take forever to get running.
 
I preheat just because it starts, and then keeps running, in 3 easy pulls instead of 10+ hard ones that stall out the first few times it catches.

I've got about a gallon through this one, it might be a testament to how effective preheating is that there's still substantial pinch at ambient temp.

I've been using a 300W heat gun and an inverter that is perfectly sized to power it. I blast it right down the cooling head and the whole engine is warm in about a minute. It's perfectly sized for nitro engines, better even than a full sized heat gun because it's not going to scorch anything or overheat the engine.

Cordless heat gun is a great idea, that'll save me a few lbs from the kit... I'm going to try the off-brand version.

IMG20220914194342.jpg
 
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I preheat just because it starts, and then keeps running, in 3 easy pulls instead of 10+ hard ones that stall out the first few times it catches.

I've got about a gallon through this one, it might be a testament to how effective preheating is that there's still substantial pinch at ambient temp.

I've been using a 300W heat gun and an inverter that is perfectly sized to power it. I blast it right down the cooling head and the whole engine is warm in about a minute. It's perfectly sized for nitro engines, better even than a full sized heat gun because it's not going to scorch anything or overheat the engine.

Cordless heat gun is a great idea, that'll save me a few lbs from the kit... I'm going to try the off-brand version.

View attachment 152583
Haha oh wow, you actually carry an inverter with you. Amazing!

Yea battery heat-gun is what I am about to buy.
Has temp dial and also air volume adjustment, which would suit perfectly for heating up the nitro engine.

https://www.makita.co.nz/products/model/DHG181
 
I myself think whatever make you feel good. Without the glow plug in, it is relatively easy to turn over. So the piston and sleeve does not create too much friction. Sure, heating it up make the friction a bit less.

In the great white north, real car start a bit harder in the cold, because the engine oil is a bit thicker in the cold. We just have to take a easy when going out for the first couple of minutes.
 
I myself think whatever make you feel good. Without the glow plug in, it is relatively easy to turn over. So the piston and sleeve does not create too much friction. Sure, heating it up make the friction a bit less.

In the great white north, real car start a bit harder in the cold, because the engine oil is a bit thicker in the cold. We just have to take a easy when going out for the first couple of minutes.
Not sure how far North you are but I have 9 months of winter where I live. We actually plug our vehicles block heater in to allow easier starting 🤷‍♂️
 
Not sure how far North you are but I have 9 months of winter where I live. We actually plug our vehicles block heater in to allow easier starting 🤷‍♂️
Yes, we do have plug in for vehicles in the winter as well. Some days you would see VW diesel wouldn't go anywhere without plugin. The plugin helps to keep the engine oil fluidit. But most of the time we don't need to plug in. I know in Alberta, they have plug in when you are in the mall.
 
Yes, we do have plug in for vehicles in the winter as well. Some days you would see VW diesel wouldn't go anywhere without plugin. The plugin helps to keep the engine oil fluidit. But most of the time we don't need to plug in. I know in Alberta, they have plug in when you are in the mall.
Yea buddy thats where i am is northern Alberta. Just so you know block heaters actually heat the coolant which keeps the block warm 🍻

Any how if it is -40C out if you do not heat your nitro it will not start that cold lol
 
Yea buddy thats where i am is northern Alberta. Just so you know block heaters actually heat the coolant which keeps the block warm 🍻

Any how if it is -40C out if you do not heat your nitro it will not start that cold lol
I am glad that I no longer live in Alberta, I am now in Southern Ontario. Block heater is now an option. You can always turn over a nitro engine without problem in the cold. But keeping it at optimal temperature is not always possible. 🍻
Sometimes, I keep the glow starter on for a couple of slow run until it can warm up a bit.
 
But keeping it at optimal temperature is not always possible.

Given how much of the engine's cooling is derived from incoming fuel-air mixture, I've been thinking of an intake duct/manifold that goes around the cooling head and draws air across it before feeding it to the air filter, so that you're not feeding the engine ice-cold air. I bet if the intake temp was brought up to just 70-80F it would run as if on a perfect summer day. Maybe even better because it'd be nearly 0% relative humidity. I bet even just running a body with no ventilation holes could have a beneficial effect. I'll have to experiment this winter.

Kyosho made a Blizzard-GP, ostensibly intended to be run in wintery weather...
 
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